August 2009 Newsletter

We hope you are having a great summer!

In this newsletter, I’ll tell you about the new and improved ways to access parts, services, and advice from TC Motorsports. Our Team Crew Chief and Service Center Manager, Jon Ament, will share maintenance tips to keep you on track. Finally, one of our Lead Driver Coaches, Taryn Sparacio, will give you a way to get more bang for your track buck.

Plus, our special offer for August…receive 10% off your purchase of any GoPro camera (up to a $20 value per camera you order). Give us a call or use the code BEAHERO at our online store by August 31, 2009, to take advantage of this special offer!

Drive smarter, not harder!

Sincerely,
Carlo Sparacio
TC Motorsports, LLC
(253) 887-0500

News from the Front
By Carlo Sparacio

We have been busy in the Service Center working on race cars, track cars, and high performance sports cars, as well as racing across the country in Mustang Challenge and locally at club races. If you have called for parts and services during the times we have been gone, you may have reached our answering machine. Thanks for being patient with us during these times.

Although we only have one more Mustang Challenge race left this season (September 17-19 at Miller Motorsports Park), we are implementing new procedures to make sure you get the parts, services, and information you need quicker and easier than ever.

You will now be able to reach us virtually any time during normal business hours even when we are away for professional races across the country! For technical advice, order placement, or service scheduling just call (253) 887-0500. If we miss your call and you leave a message, we promise to get back to you within 24 hours.

You can also order many of the parts you need right from our online store at http://www.tcmotorsports-store.net/index.html. Our online selection is always expanding, so take a look. We also stock many of the items you need for race car and track car service or builds every day at our Service Center in Auburn, WA.

Give us a call or go to our online store and take advantage of the resources available to you from TC Motorsports!

Crew Chief’s Corner—Maintenance
By Jon Ament

Here we are in the dog days of summer and half way through our race and track season. If you are anything like most racers, you unload the car at the track, run it hard for the weekend, and put it away until the next race. Now would be a good time to step back and take a good look at your car and make sure that it is going to be as fresh for the second half of the season as it was for the first half. After every race, each of our cars is inspected from top to bottom to ensure that they are in tiptop shape.

First thing to look at is the safety equipment. Are your harnesses in the best possible condition? Also, take a critical look at your cage. Is it as safe as it can be? Are the welds all compliant? Could it be modified to be safer or more effective? Take a look at all of your safety equipment, fire system charge, kill switch routing/terminal covers, roll bar padding, etc.

Secondly, I know we all like to focus on speed and performance parts, but I also recommend looking at general maintenance. When was the last time your fuel filter was replaced? What is the condition of your belts and hoses? Check all of those hubs and bearings, suspension bushings, tie rods, and ball joints regularly. We have recently seen four cars with bad engine mounts in the Service Center. These parts are not as glamorous as a shiny billet widget, but your race or track session can be cut short by a burst hose or some other maintenance issue. Remember, to finish first, first you must finish.

If you have any questions, feel free to call us, or bring your car by for one of our free track inspections. See you at the track and happy motoring!

Driver’s Dictum—Getting the Most from Being on Track
By Taryn Sparacio

One of the best ways to become a better and faster driver on track is to video record your sessions. I remember the first time I watched one of my recorded sessions. I was so horrified I could hardly finish watching! I wasn’t consistently hitting my apexes like I remembered or going to throttle soon enough like I thought.

By recording your sessions and watching them later, you can more objectively look at how you performed during the session. Did you really hit all of your apexes? Were you really unwinding the wheel? Were you really looking up? I found watching videos of my sessions improved my driving tremendously because I could objectively determine what to work on the next time I went out on track.

An easy and inexpensive way to record your sessions is to use a GoPro camera (see our special offer this month). You can place one or more GoPro cameras anywhere on or in your car (suction cup and adhesive mounts are removable and safe on painted surfaces), and they are reliable in ultra-high vibration environments. We’ve used GoPro cameras for the past two years on all our race cars with great success.

If you have questions about GoPro cameras, or want to give one a try, call us, email us, or go to our online store. Be fast and be safe!