Redline Time Attack!

Time Attack competition slots in somewhere between Auto-X and Club/Pro racing – sort of. Popular in Japan as a venue for tuners to show their stuff, it’s just catching on here in the States. I say sort-of because the drivers vary in experience from those fresh off the auto-x course to pro-racer/drifters like Tyler McQuarrie with his Hankook sponsored RHD Nissan Sylvia S15. At the Laguna Seca event, he was the only one with an 18- wheeler support truck and all the trappings of his Formula Drift team – (running a Porsche in that series). There were more than a few serious teams from all over the country that had towed out to Laguna Seca, like the AMS Lancer Evo from Chicago with just as many hands on the car as the guys with the rig. But then there were also the first timers with minimal modifications, just getting used to track driving. The atmosphere was test day with Linkin Park blaring over the loudspeaker system – with friends and crewmembers making up the majority of the crowd. Many of the events take place during the week, so it’s not designed to be totally spectator friendly – but the competition looks fairly low key. The only weird thing I experienced asking questions about the cars was a reluctance to give up any “tuning secrets.” “I can’t tell you what we’re doing with the turbo system on this NSX…” That’s OK, I’m not going to turbocharge my S2000 powered English Ford for a while anyway. The Redline series started in November of 2005, ran four events in ’06, and six in ’07. It’s definitely a great alternative to street racing your 450hp EVO, carbon bodied Miata, or Crazy Rotary 510…