I appreciate the irony of naming the annual summer pilgrimage to Barber Motorsports Park, ‘Winter in July.’ And just like in previous years, the weather did not disappoint. The heat index was 101 degrees, with clear and brutally intense skies. But with a racetrack as iconic as Barber...
It is finally here: the fabrication portion of the exo car build. Getting to this point has been quite the process: digging up all of my old equipment and piecing together a functional fabrication space. But with all of the prep work behind me, it is time to build the roll cage. The first step is...
I find it hard to believe, but I have been here for two decades, writing about my passion for motorsports. Am I getting old(er)? While this site has ebbed and flowed with the ups and downs of my journey, one thing remains constant: this will always be the original/OG Driftopia. I say that because...
Mechanical tube benders need to be mounted securely to the floor for operation. Typically, a hammer drill and concrete anchors are used to secure the mount to the floor. This time, though, with the JD2 bender being converted to hydraulic, I am free to mount the bender in a mobile configuration...
I have a bit more work to do before starting the roll cage on the exo car build. One of those tasks is converting my 15-plus-year-old mechanical tube bender to hydraulics. To risk sounding like a broken record, my workspace is small and not tube-bender-friendly. I can save space by converting the...
Racing doesn’t just happen on the track; much preparation goes into each event. But if you can’t stay cool in the racecar, no amount of physical or mental prep will salvage your results. Overheating in the racecar can lead to poor performance and results, unnecessary incidents, DNFs...
The old adage goes something like this: You can build your car fast, cheap, and reliable. Now, pick two. This principle seems to hold true with racecars and most things in life. But occasionally, a product comes along that seems to laugh in the face of this principle. I actually got excited when I...
The roll cage is a pivotal moment in the exo car build, and I am taking a super small step back to ensure the cage is executed properly. After all, it has been 10 years since I fabricated, installed, and welded a roll cage. Although I am still confident in my abilities, a few decisions and other...
May has been a busy month. Formula Drift, NOLA Motorsports Park, and then Nashville Superspeedway. Nashville would turn out to be an interesting conclusion to the month with wild weather and a few unusual experiences.
In the previous Failure Points segment, I discussed a recent front wheel bearing failure on the Super Touring 6 Miata. This failure was abrupt, and there was no indication of issues before the session. And as promised, here are the steps to replace the front wheel bearings on the Miata. A...
The harsh environment of the racetrack pushes a car right to its limit and beyond. As such, racecar failures are bound to happen in many different ways. Failure Points is a new series that dissects these moments and what to do when things go wrong. This time it is the front wheel bearing of the...
The 1991 Mazda Miata from which I am building the exo car has led a rough life. This was especially evident when I finished the chassis cleaning in part 5; quite a bit of surface rust was exposed. Usually, I would wait to address the rust during the fabrication process while fitting the roll cage...
