Chuckwalla Valley Raceway

We arrive in the middle of no where- literally.

The race track is hidden from the highway unless you know what to look for and the turn off is just as alluding as there are no signs for the track - Exit 192.

A little desert mirage as the temperature rolls toward 35 Celsius (95F for our American friends).

We arrive and waited in line for what seemed forever. The track side temperatures hovered around 38 C (101 F).

The track is surround by the desert and I'm not sure what to make of it yet. I'm use to seeing a little more green than just cactus shrubs. It's a constant reminder - don't go off track.

Kevin takes out the duster and gives the Grand-AM TSX a cleaning. It is surprising how much dirt a race car collects in the desert.

Doc and Andy pull in beside us and we admire what every race car aspires to be as it ages. We also look at Doc who is in his eighties and still out running with the boys. We can only aspire that we can follow in those footsteps.

Like all race cars there's no such thing as retirement - they only retire when they can no longer be driven.

The 2004 TSX that we campaign has a production number of 24 from the assembly line. This TSX is a little special in that it is designated for "special use"; aka racing. It came off the assembly line, caged, and then battled the Koni/Continental Grand-AM race series.

IMG_20160330_151507 — One of the few race cars that would give you wood (pun intended).

The Ferrari 308 GTB (F106AB) has a similar story. The 308 came off the assembly in 1978 and from there, caged, and then ran Pikes Peak; 38 years later it's still being campaigned on the track.

I have a feeling some Ferrari purist may call foul and noticed race parts installed. Let me put your mind to rest - actually I can't. This is a street car that has been built for real racing. It only shares some similarities with it's brothers. Just like the TSX it's life will be at the track.

We head out to the track and test out the new Hasport front and rear mounts. After a few laps the check engine lights up and so the trouble begins.

The Hondata ECU is also a first generation KPro, which means there is no memory retention or data-logging capabilities. A little ingenuity magic with a notebook and we find the knock sensor is not happy. A little more testing and we find the culprit - the header flex pipe internal coupler broke and a couple of pieces bounced around causing the knock sensor to activate.

A quick fix and we're back at the track and what a fun, fast road course. How fast? The TSX was able to hit 6th gear. That's just great - how fast is that? - it's about about 212 km/h (133 mph).

chuckwalla_gps_map3 — It's a challenging course filled with elevation, off camber, and long sweepers.

The last race session ends and the track temperatures has been a steady 46 C (115 F). It was a fierce battle as the TSX was setting pace and leading the class until the differential gave up on corner 9 - c'est la vie! (That's life)

The good news is the comptech header is still in one piece thanks to the hasport mounts and everyone feels beat up from mother nature.

We fire up the BBQ and enjoy some home cooking. Those are some pretty sophisticated cooking instructions. Thanks Janice!

As night falls we hang out with Hurley and Dylan from ProAutoSports and with the usual truth stories of who is driving better than who.

That's race life.