NJMP Race Report - P9 to P5

P9 to P5 at New Jersey

Intro:  

I entered this weekend with clear objectives to find consistency, comfort with the car, and make my way  up to the midfield. I felt I had achieved all these goals and more. The team dynamic this weekend  helped in creating a productive environment where every session was a step forward in pace and  consistency, going from P9 to P5 and gaining seconds of time, closing the gap to the leaders. This report  will detail the highlights of the race weekend.  

Thursday Testing:  
NJMP had allowed for more testing and practice which made a great difference in my preparation before the races. From the start, the car felt much more drivable than it had in Ohio. In these ideal conditions, I was able to start pushing my comfort zones on track quickly. Thanks to advice from Tom Dyer, my driver coach for the weekend, and Brian Halahan, the race engineer, I found some  level of consistency and we identified improvement areas.  

Friday Testing and Official Practice:  

Consistency began to improve and laps were now within tenths of each other which helped establish a  baseline from which we could chase more performance. Tom and I looked through the video and data  to create an actionable plan with specific changes which I would apply in the next session. This process  

of trial and error brought me another step up in pace by the end of the day. We had also implemented a  strategy to run fresh tyres in every session throughout the day, providing valuable lessons in heating  and maintaining fresh tyres.  

Saturday Qualifying and Race 1:  

Track temperature began to play a significant role in the car’s performance on Saturday. With qualifying  in the morning on fresh tyres and with lower track temperatures, I had the opportunity to put together  the results of testing and practice earlier in the weekend and set my fastest time so far within 2 tenths  of Alex Kirby. With data from the pole sitter’s fastest lap as reference after qualifying, we discovered the  next set of crucial changes to implement in my driving during Race 1. Track temperature spiked going into the race and dramatically decreased grip. Due to the strategy of running fresh tyres all day on  Friday, we began Race 1 on used tyres from qualifying, compounding the issue of decreased grip. While on track, times were seconds slower than qualifying, prompting me to quickly change my objective from finding pace to maintaining consistency. However, in stark contrast to qualifying, the car’s balance had also changed, creating understeer on entries and oversteer on power. Though the times were slower, I could stay consistent. Following the difficulties of the first race, Brian Halahan, our race engineer, worked with Tom to determine what changes needed to be made to the car for Race 2. An overall softer setup, coupled with fresh tyres and lower track temps, led to a much-improved performance on both pace and consistency during this race.  

Sunday Race 3:  

The final race of the weekend was also the most eventful. Track temps were once again high; however, the improved setup kept the car’s balance in the right window. The next several laps were very  consistent with good pace, allowing me to close the gap to Alex and make a successful pass into Turn 1,  then build a gap until the first safety car. I was able to stay close to the car in front throughout the race  and benefited from post-race penalties, moving up from P7 to P5.  

Summary:  

The team was a large contributor to the success at NJMP. The dynamic between Brian, Tom, and Jesse was crucial for adapting the car to the changing track conditions and my driving style. Tom did an amazing job as a driver coach by working to understand my habits as a driver and proactively speaking on the radio on track for improvements. Thanks to the solid baseline established this weekend, my goals going to Virginia are to continue climbing to the top 5 and build on the skills learned this weekend.