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Since it's next to impossible for me to take pictures of myself while participating in the Wilwood brake challenge here's a shot of our friend Ken “The Legend” Suen showing the rest of the competitors how to really get on the brakes. I'm pretty sure Ken ended up placing 2nd overall for the event. Picture Credit: Sportcar Motion. Once everyone cycled through the RideTech Autocross and Wilwood Brake Challenge all participants gathered together for the sundown cruise. Unfortunately since it was Father's Day weekend I had to skip the cruise and head home for a nice dinner out with the family, plus I wasn't in the actual competition/judged group so I didn't need the points you get for the cruise.
After a nice dinner out, a new torque wrench as a Father's Day present, and a few hours of sleep it was 5:45am and I was awoken by that wonderful alarm clock sound we all love. Time to get back in the car and get down to AutoClub Speedway for the BFGoodrich Hot Lap Challenge portion of the event.
First things first was a few parade laps. As I was waiting in the staging lanes one of the instructors jumped in my car to offer me some tips around the track. He was a BMWCCA racer and just took a liking to Project E36. I got some great tips regarding driving line and braking points. 
This was what I came for, seat time on track. The participants were put into their respective groups, Expert, Advanced, and Novice to see what we could do on the infield course of AutoClub Speedway. Photo Credit: Sportcar Motion.
At first I was intimidated by the big horsepower cars that were there. Would I be a burden on the track and have a bunch of drivers mad at me or would Project 323is keep up with them? Photo Credit: Ultimate Street Car Association.
Rocking a brand new set of DForce LTW5's paired with some Achilles 123s Project 323is performed as well as could be expected on the infield. I was able to drop from the 1:33:6 in session one down to 1:30:5 in my fourth session. I know I could of gotten it sub 1:30 with one more session, maybe even into the 1:28's as there were a few corners I was sure I could have gone faster through. As you can see from the video below Project 323is was able to keep up with and even chase down a much more powerful Camaro, not once but twice!
Here you can see Project 323is trying to reel in a Ford Focus ST driven by one of the Hooniverse guys. Photo Credit: Ultimate Street Car Association.The beauty of the event is that everyone can participate from novice drivers to experts and it didn't matter if you were driving old school or new school American muscle, JDM or Euro everyone is invited and good times are expected for all.
If you are looking for a safe place to release your inner speed demons or just want to get out on track for some weekend fun I would highly recommend participating in an Ultimate Street Car Association event. I know I will again, hopefully with more power next time.
Tune into MavTV on August 29th at 8:00 p.m. ET to watch the event and see if you can spot Project E36 323is on track.
Sources
Ultimate Street Car Association
