Ran Open Road Race Course In My LS

Turboguy

Well-Known LVC Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Messages
220
Reaction score
3
Location
Western Nebraska
Hey guys,

So I went to the Sandhills Open Road Challenge road race this week in Arnold, Nebraska: http://www.sorcrace.com

The SORC is known as one of the most technical/hardest open road races out there, it is 55 miles of narrow, 20-foot wide roads with scary ditches and barbed wire fences as runoffs. And a particularly hairy section with hundred-foot cliffs on either side! Compared to 50-60-foot wide roads with concrete shoulders in other Nevada/Texas races, this one is a killer.

The classes range from 80 mph to 140 mph, plus an Unlimited class. Twin turbo Lambos, Ford GTs/GT500s, Corvette ZR1s/Z06s/Stingrays, etc. are common here, and some break 200 mph.

Anyway I've done some road racing and auto-x in the past, and I know a couple of the race directors, so I went up to watch the races in the LS. FYI, my 2000 LS is basically stock with 146,000 miles. One of my mechanic LS buddies gave it a detailed check, and all brakes/hubs/suspension pieces were verified to be in great shape before I ran it. Of course I had all safety equipment too: helmet, proper clothing, etc.

I drove the course on Wednesday before the race, and the LS performed very well. It is heavy and under braked for so many tight corners, but I avoided ABS with smooth braking. The suspension and Goodyear tires performed very well, and the LS felt very balanced as it breezed through long single-apex and double-apex corners.

There's a nice straight that terminates with several hills right in a row, and I hit...XXX (BIG) mph before braking hard for the first one. The suspension floated just a touch at the crest, but quickly regained composure, and the strong V8 reeled in a nimble Mazda that was trying to get away ;)

It was an amazing experience that really woke me up to its true potential. It's really easy to just settle into a numb highway cruise with these cars, but they are very capable performers on the track too!

IMG_5999.jpg


IMG_6005.jpg


IMG_5966.jpg
 
VERY nice!!! Having the suspension designed by an F1 engineer sure pays dividends; 50/50 weight distribution also really helps!!!
 
There a reason your big MPH number is letters?

It is a very capable car for what it is.
 
There a reason your big MPH number is letters?

It is a very capable car for what it is.

I have a lawyer in the family who always says "CYA!" ;) the road was basically shut down then so the racers could learn the lines...but technically still open to the public that day.

What a blast that course is though...
 
track.jpg

Small track near my place I plan to visit with the LS, hopefully still this season.

track.jpg
 
That sounds like fun! I've been thinking about taking the LS to HPDE/track day events. I would be a bit worried about the added stress breaking something on an 11 year old car, especially since I'd have to drive it home afterwards (~3 hr drive).
 
you would either have to have some heavy modifications to break stuff that wasn't going to break anyway... if your stock or near it, anything that would break was just going to break anyway in a week or two...
 

Members online

No members online now.
Back
Top