Ryan Cheek Racing

This was the final lapping session of my HPDE1 weekend at Road Atlanta with NASA-SE, March 14-15, 2020. This was the first time I had driven my recently built S197 Mustang GT on track, and my second time at Road Atlanta. During the weekend we had dry, damp, wet and down pour conditions. The track condition was constantly changing, even during a lapping session. 

I don't have a lot of time in driving this car. I bought it at the end of January 2020 and began replacing/upgrading worn parts. The car has a Stock Engine running 87 octane, Ford Performance Adjustable Suspension kit, Ford Performance Brembo GT500 Brake Upgrade kit, All new OE spec fluids, All Seats Removed and front seats replaced with Sabelt X-Pad & Sabelt GT-Pad. Wheels are SVE Tech7 in 19x10et35 with three-quarters worn Michelin PS4S tires in 296/35zr19 (square). 

I was cautious to push the limits of this car the whole weekend. Even during this last lapping session, I was cautious, but felt more comfortable with the car. Shift points were designated by the instructor. I didn't have any spins or offs all weekend, and got a lot more comfortable keeping up with flag stations, watching my mirrors, and handling traffic. All of which were my top goals. The car drives pretty great, imo. Different than the S550, but still very capable. I think with some changes to shift points and stickier tires, the car is capable of being a lot faster around the track. More seat time will make me faster, too.

There's always a risk when going on track. During the NASA-SE track weekend at Road Atlanta, the weather was constantly changing. We saw sunshine, drizzles and full on down pours, sometimes all within the same lapping session. This meant, for a beginner like me, I was not only working on looking ahead for flag stations and being aware of traffic, I was making mental notes every lap about where the water was puddling or where the pavement was starting to dry. The Esses and turn 12 were the two places I saw the most drastic changes in pavement conditions. This photo is at turn 5, coming out of the esses. I didn't see the sn95 Mustang go off and I can't speculate as to what happened, but I did see the yellow flag, at turn 5, from the top of turn2 going into turn3, and watched the station worker put it away by the time I was dropping into the Esses. THEN I saw the car off to the side, which might have startled me if I hadn't previously seen the flag. 

There's always a risk when going on track, but I also learned there's a ton of communication and non-verbal relaying of information available to drivers on track. Staying aware as a driver, looking ahead for that information, and driving within your own limits, can reduce this risk immensely and make you more confident as a driver. 

Side Note: Sometimes sh*t happens and I am very antsy to get my roll cage installed!

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