In the course of an average race season, spring symbolizes a start, the beginning of another cycle of trials and finding ways to overcome those challenges. It is the time when most teams desperately try to find solid footing for the long days of summer that lie just around the bend. And for crews that compete with the Scion brand, this spring has been especially promising.
Endurance road racing is perhaps the truest test of automotive durability. Recently, the Jackson Dawson Scion Racing Team, listed simply as "Scion Racing," pulled off an amazing victory in the E1 class of the National Auto Sport Association's (NASA) Western Endurance Racing Championship (WERC) season opener on April 25. The historic win saw a Scion tC take the checkered flag on Lap 81 at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California, logging more than 225 race miles.
Less than three hours after winning a nail-biter sprint race in NASA's Performance Touring C run group that saw driver and team manager Dan Gardner cross the finish line a scant half second ahead of the second-place Mazda, the very same Scion tC race car was prepped and ready to be put through the wringer for the three-hour endurance contest.
Gardner teamed with veteran endurance driver Scott Webb for the WERC event, and the two proved to be a potent combo. But the win would not have been possible without an amazing overall team effort. Pit crew members Brad Allen, Sean Morris, John McNulty, Patrick David, Sean Bradley and Chris Earl pulled off the single fastest pit stop of any car regardless of class during the race.
Webb qualified the car well, putting the Scion in P2 in the E1 class pack, ahead of many higher-class E0 cars. Gardner was in the car for the first stint, and when the green flew he rocketed ahead, immediately taking over the lead in E1 as he passed just about every E0 car.
More than halfway through the race Webb came on the radio and complained that the car was doing strange things under braking and wasn't handling right, with lots of vibration coming through the steering wheel. The team found that the left front tire was corded and severely flat-spotted. Gardner thought the ABS system had malfunctioned, causing the car to go into standard braking mode. This would indeed prove to be the case, as the team would later find a left front wheel speed sensor that had been severed.
A few laps later Webb returned to pit road with the same ailment affecting his right front tire. The fourth and final pit stop of the race went smoothly, though it was gut-wrenching to have two unscheduled stops. The team had now fallen back to 11th, and the second place E1 car was not far behind.
Webb maintained a consistent pace, getting on the radio to say the car felt perfect with the new tires. He brought the car back up two slots to ninth while at the same time putting a massive gap between the Scion and the second place E1 car.
During the closing laps of the race, Webb was punted by an out-of-class BMW that almost took out the Scion's right rear wheel and tire. Though banged up in the right door and fender, the tire actually held air despite the chunked wheel. The Scion crossed the finish line not seconds ahead of the second place car, but an entire lap ahead, even with the unscheduled stops.
During the race the TRD supercharger and intercooler helped keep cars with bigger engines at bay, while the TRD big brake kit bled the speed off flawlessly. The pedal remained firm and responsive despite the wheel speed sensor getting severed.
"You just can't get a better test bed than when you put your parts through any kind of endurance racing," said Gary Boler, Toyota Racing Development's (TRD) business operations manager. "The WERC series win is proof of just how strong our components actually are. If they can withstand the abuse Gardner and the Scion Racing Team subjected them to, they can get through just about anything."
Time attack contenders Chris Rado and the World Racing team proved they have been doing their homework in the off season, setting a record with their Scion tC and destroying the competition at the second round of the Redline: Time Attack! series on May 31. On Willow Springs International Raceway's 2.5-mile big track, Rado debuted a new look for the World tC, one that employs a giant forward aerodynamic wing that juts from the front of the car.
The unconventional appearance notwithstanding, the car seems to have all kinds of front grip now, allowing Rado to triumph in the Unlimited-FWD class with an unbelievable time of 1:22.623. The mark was an incredible eight seconds faster than the next challenger, sets a new high point for a FWD car on the track, and equals the RWD record that was set one week earlier. Rado and the World team now look to the remainder of the time attack season to fine tune the car and likely continue setting more records.
In American drifting, Road Atlanta is where it all started for premiere series Formula Drift; the renowned circuit was home to the organization's inaugural competition in 2004. This May 9, Scion was represented at Road Atlanta by two-time defending Formula D champion Tanner Foust and his Rockstar/Scion tC and Ken Gushi and his RS*R/Scion tC for Round Two of the 2009 FD national championship chase.
On the road course, the howl of Foust's AEM-tuned, TRD NASCAR V8 RWD tC was unmistakable, and the massive waves of smoke from his Hankook tires drew everyone's attention to the circuit. Foust qualified number one in the Rockstar tC with a near flawless run, combining huge speed, steep angle and tons of tire smoke. Gushi qualified 17th out of the top 32.
In the first round of tandem competition, Foust squared off against number-32 qualifier Calvin Wan and his Nissan. Foust dominated the leading run, and followed Wan's car so closely during the second pass that the judges immediately chose Foust as the winner. The track tuning and practice time had clearly paid off and put the team in a good position as they went deeper into eliminations.
In the Sliding 16 round, Foust was paired with Gushi, who had just dispatched Michihiro Takatori's Nissan in the previous round. Foust lead the first run and had a sizable lead during the second half of the course. Between the incredible amount of tire smoke and the speed the car was generating, Gushi was having difficulty seeing and unable to keep up with the Rockstar/Scion tC.
Foust held a clear advantage going into the second pass, but got too aggressive following the RS*R tC into the first turn. Foust was locked on "the Gush's" passenger-side door when Ken made a correction and Tanner made contact, forcing the Rockstar/Scion tC into a slow spin. Foust was able to complete the round but the advantage went to Gushi and the RS*R car, ending the day for the Rockstar/Scion Drift Team.
Gushi took the Scion baton and battled points leader Ryan Teurck in the Elite 8 round. It was a big smoke showdown against a Pontiac, and it was close until Gushi couldn't maintain his angle and straightened out the RS*R Scion in his chasing lap. The second-run slip kept the Gushi and his Scion tC from advancing any further. Both teams now turn their attention to Round Three New Jersey in June.
In the 1/8-mile running National Guard American Drag Racing League, Titan Motorsports was optimistic as testing in the weeks leading up to the ADRL Hardee's Georgia Drags V in April at South Georgia Motorsports Park had produced some of their fastest runs to date. The team's Scion tC had been consistent and running strong. However, once the team pulled in the pits in Georgia, the car had a slight change of mind.
At first, the Extreme 10.5-class tC didn't even want to start. Frantic texts were sent back to the Titan home base in Orlando, Florida, and parts and wiring harnesses were being readied to be overnighted to the track if needed. But finally the race team got the car up and running in time for Friday's qualifying.
During that qualifying, the tC put down a 4.667 at 165.74, good enough for 11th on the starting grid. Final qualifying was a little tighter, with the Scion barely making the squeeze into 14th (out of 16) with a 4.424 at 172.39.
The team wound up a disappointed, losing in the first round but walking away with a valuable lesson in racing. No matter how fast or consistent you may run, anything can happen. Parts break and variables change, but this is racing. The boys will have their work cut out for them in the coming weeks and will definitely be looking to redeem themselves.