Grand Bend, ON, Canada June 23, 2013 - Round 2 of the Canadian Sport Compact Series moved west to the resort town of Grand Bend, Ontario. Known for its sandy beaches, the aptly named Beach Burnout event brought the heat with 100 plus degree temperatures on race day. Throughout the day the heat took its toll on equipment and drivers alike with many competitors overheating or losing focus and taking themselves out of contention.
On the drag strip Jason Velenosi’s Innovative Tuning drag Subaru was ready for the heat courtesy of a custom water to air intercooler conversion added in the off season. In qualifying he put down a 10.1 pass in the 10.0 second Super Street Power Adder index class and secured the top qualifying spot again. After multiple turbo Hondas suffered drivetrain failures, one sturdy Acura Integra remained. In an exiting final battle, Jason got out front and let off on the top end of the track to avoid breaking out, narrowly taking the win with a 10.2 second pass. Once the win was secured Jason made a fun run of 9.71 at 146 MPH despite 104 degree ambient temperature and a greasy starting line, reminding everyone his Subaru is still the quickest and fastest in Canada.
Over on the road course, the Super Street AWD category was hotly contested as well. With three drivers running similar qualifying times, Innovative Tuning racing team member Mike Harvey had his work cut out for him. Overcoming the competition seemed secondary to his health as the timed session approached once signs of heat exhaustion set in. After an ice bath Harvey rose to the occasion in grand fashion, not only completing the event, but bettering his qualifying time, winning his class and resetting the Super Street AWD class track record he has held since 2012 with his 2005 Subaru STI.
Sunday was more of an exercise in controlled execution for Innovative Tuning’s Unlimited AWD class time attack monster dubbed Voltron. Despite a new highlighter yellow/black paint scheme, slower traffic moving out of the way was still an issue in qualifying. After getting one clean lap with a time seconds ahead of the previous overall track record and the rest of the field, the car was parked until the timed session. When the timed session arrived, the mission was clear. Don’t beat yourself. With the pressure off, pilot/tuner/owner Mike McGinnis set off on a modest warmup lap followed by a 50.9 second hot lap, gave the eager crowd which had been waiting to hear the new track record all day a wave and parked the beast. With the previous CSCS track record of 54 seconds set by NV Auto’s Subaru and the overall track record held by a modified liter bike surpassed, Innovative Tuning now holds the overall track record at Grand Bend’s road course.
Round 3 of the Canadian Sport Compact Series heads to Mosport where the Mikes will take a shot at sweeping CSCS class and overall records at all 3 tracks the series visits.
Video of the track record breaking session: http://vimeo.com/69244193
For more info, check out InnovativeTuning.com, facebook.com/InnovativeTuning, facebook.com/MikeAtInnovativeTuning, CSCS.ca
Innovative Tuning would like to thank their sponsors:
Driveshaft Shop
MSI (Moore-Sport)
All Wheel Engineering/Kartboy
BoostController.com
Manley Performance
All three cars sport Manley Performance, Kartboy, and Boostcontroller.com components, while two have MSI and Driveshaft Shop parts.
Photo credit: Charles Spivak
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