On July 19-20 2008, performance enthusiasts from across Southern California met at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. for the Redline Time Attack! event.
For those of you unfamiliar with this style of racing, time attack is all about fine tuning your car and finding the perfect line around the track. The goal is to achieve the quickest lap time, thus beating out the competition. Cars get a practice session out on the track to tune their rides and learn the lay of the land. When it comes time to race, a small group of 5 to 9 cars, one after the other, are sent out onto the track. The goal is not to beat each other to the finish line, but to see who can get the quickest lap time.
First Ever Muscle Car Series
For the first time ever Speed by Spectre, which is celebrating its 25th year in business, hosted a special Redline Time Attack! Muscle Car Series. The company makes cold-air intakes and performance accessories. As such, numerous classic muscle cars were on the track for a weekend of racing. Some notable participants included a 1966 Shelby Mustang driven by Morton Racing and a 1965 Mustang driven by Alltime Racing. Both cars ranked high in their class. Alltime Racing finished 5th with a 2:02.320 time and Morton Racing finished 7th with 2:09.042 lap time. Another high-ranking Mustang was a 3rd place finish completed by Steve Butscher who was driving a 1968 Ford pony racer. Butscher clocked a 1:58.732 lap time.
Making a Weekend of It
To provide structure, the event was broken up into two days. Early Saturday morning teams met for a mandatory driver’s meeting. Chris from Redline Time Attack! laid down the rules of the track and went over passing and signaling. Afterwards teams spent the rest of the day completing practice laps around the track while tuning their cars for Sunday’s big race. The Barber Driving Experience racing school was on hand to provide on track instruction. Best of all the school brought several S197 performance Mustangs with them. Even Universal Technical Institute was on the track in their performance Mustang. The following day their car placed 2nd in the Muscle Car Series with a lap time of 1:56.010.
A Day at the Races
On Sunday the cars hit the Auto Club Speedway track for all-out time attack racing and to see the JDM Car Show. Although the event consisted of many different makes and models, the Ford Mustang was represented nicely. Mike Morrow and the guys at Speed by Spectre brought out a 1966 Ford Mustang for Sunday’s races. They also had ‘70 and ‘71 Camaros on the track, as well as a high-performance GTO.In addition to racing, a vendor midway was set up in an area across from the garages. Some vendors on hand included sponsor Speed by Spectre, Universal Technical Institute, Falken Tire, hpi.racing, and Swift Springs.
In all, performance driving events are becoming increasingly popular across the country. Best of all, Ford Mustangs are fast becoming an active part of these gatherings. Looking back, it was a great way to spend a weekend.
