Hernando County Airport, Brooksville, FL - Steve Frank came up with a truely interesting and challenging course for Brooksville's runway, demanding well coordinated use of the controls and careful car placement. A very small contingent of 26 drivers contested it; the small turnout meant we were a little thin on workers, but all got 10 runs to compensate. Unfortunately, I found a cross-threaded lug nut when I started to change to my race tires. Rather than risk breaking off the wheel stud and sidelining the car, I chose to run on street tires instead. I'd run the Miata on street tires at the January NASA-X event, the first I'd ever run in the car; this time, I had the car dialed in better, and enough seat time to push it much harder.
The difference was significant! While the balance was the same, there was almost no grip by comparison... even tiptoeing through some maneuvers, the Miata was something of a pig on skates, and every run was an exercise in driving just beyond the edge of control. On the other hand, launching the car became much easier, since I could finally get some wheelspin off the line. Bringing a knife to a gunfight cost me in the results, though, with midpack finishes in Class D -- 4th out of 8 -- and overall -- 13th of 26. Not to mention the future joy of changing a wheel stud before the next event.
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