There are three main ways you can throw your car around. You can do an "open track" day, where you aren't timed and have the opportunity to pass if you can, but it's a fairly loose setting. You can also run your car at an autocross event, where you are timed, but you go out on your own, so there isn't any opportunity to pass. The third type is Pro Solo, or "Time Attack." It's a combination of both, where you go on the road course with other cars, but instead of racing for position, you race against the clock for the best lap time, the same as in an autocross.
I recently attended a Redline Time Attack event at California Speedway (not to be confused with Redline Oil), where half of the course took advantage of the NASCAR straight and oval, as well as the infield, which was filled with tight turns. The more experienced drivers told me it's a fast track, but the infield was so tight, many of the turns were one car wide, where passing isn't allowed. It was a good balance, though, since the low-horsepower cars had plenty of territory to catch up, while the high-horsepower cars could have their fun on the straights and the banked oval.
As it stands now, most Time Attack events are dominated by imports-but it doesn't have to be that way. My Camaro was one of the few domestics in attendance, and given the huge interest our readers have shown in corner carving, the situation could easily be reversed.
With its current suspension and tire setup, my Camaro performed well, and I had a blast dicing it up with the imports with my new suspension. This had never been the case before, as negative camber was not possible with the factory control arms and my slim header clearance; super-sticky tires just aren't enough to overcome a lack of good suspension geometry. Now I have 2.5 degrees negative camber, 500 hp, and BFGoodrich R1s-a deadly combination for the unsuspecting Mitsubishi Evo or Subaru STI.
The spread of cars in the beginner and intermediate groups was pretty narrow, and included mostly modern imports, a couple late-model domestics, and a pair of Z06s. Redline hopes to encourage more muscle cars to attend by working on the Muscle Car Series, which is open to vintage cars produced before 1981. They had a couple of Spectre Performance second-generation Camaros out on the track, but I would have liked to see even more domestics come out and play. With a little help from our readers and the muscle car community, I hope there will be next time!
For more information, visit www.redlinetimeattack.com.