Convertibles haven’t raced at Martinsville for the reason that Nineteen Fifties, when NASCAR went to a closed cockpit idea that will have the power to run on quite a lot of tracks. However a short lived task for Martinsville president Clay Campbell led to an concept the place NASCAR and IMSA management agreed to place Mazda MX-5 Cup automobiles on an oval. And so, a number of many years later, the powers that be have been placing convertibles again on monitor, and that monitor occurred to be Martinsville.
The preliminary take a look at in 2023, introduced NASCAR veterans Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bobby Labonte, together with a few of the MX-5 Cup regulars for the day the place the group demonstrated that there was potential within the concept of placing the MX-5 on an oval. Due to the FIA-approved cage and an inside with issues like arm restraints particularly constructed for automobiles to race with no roof, the MX-5 Cup sequence automobiles have been already prepped for racing — not less than to run occasions at highway programs alongside the highest stage IMSA sportscar sequence. To tackle an oval, these automobiles simply wanted a setup conducive to operating on one.
The Preliminary Setup: From Street Course Racer to Oval Contender
For reference, the MX-5 Cup automobile weighs round 2,400 kilos and is intently based mostly on its manufacturing counterpart, utilizing the identical 4-cylinder engine. The production-based bodywork is usually the identical as what you would possibly discover on the lot at your native Mazda dealership. Whereas, the automobiles that usually run at Martinsville are purpose-built tube body machines weighing round 3,100 kilos with a silhouette physique, usually constructed to be asymmetrical, which implies that bodywork and typically even suspension is unequal from the left facet of the automobile to the proper. To get a inventory, production-based automobile to be able to run on an oval would require a variety of adjustment whereas utilizing production-based parts on a automobile that’s constructed to be symmetrical, in addition to lighter.
Todd Flis and his group at Flis Efficiency have been up for taking over that problem. Their experience turning lots of of manufacturing MX-5s into race automobiles and sustaining them can be essential to get these MX-5 Cup automobiles oval-ready. Utilizing the information from that first take a look at in 2023, they started making a baseline setup for the MX-5 automobiles. Crunching the numbers, the changes wanted have been minimal, touchdown on a suspension setup that might be performed fully with the MX-5’s spec components.
One of many MX-5 Cup automobiles within the storage space at Martinsville.
Photograph by: Bozi Tatarevic
Now, highway course automobiles, just like the MX-5, will run damaging camber on either side of the automobile since they’ve to show left and proper. But, automobiles arrange for ovals will usually run constructive camber on the left and damaging camber on the proper since they’re solely turning left. This normally requires specialised items to be made or fitted, however it seems, based mostly on the setup sheet that Flis shared with me, they have been capable of arrange the automobiles in that route with out it. Whereas the setup was not as aggressive as one thing that you simply would possibly see throughout a NASCAR weekend with a number of levels of camber and very low tire pressures, the MX-5 Cup automobiles had a couple of quarter diploma of constructive camber on the left and round 2.5 levels of damaging camber on the proper.
These adjustments have been supplemented by dropping the experience top on the left facet about an inch decrease than the proper facet, and operating ten kilos much less of tire stress on the left than the proper. The oval setup was accomplished with some toe adjustments and operating 300 pound springs on the left, together with 500 pound springs on the proper on the spec Multimatic DSSV shocks.
Flis’ MX-5 setup was lastly put to the take a look at following the IMSA race weekend at VIRgina Worldwide Raceway. With Martinsville simply an hour away, it was a brief journey for groups to haul their automobiles and folks over for some laps.
The JTR No. 96 MX-5 automobile within the storage throughout the Martinsville take a look at session.
Photograph by: Bozi Tatarevic
Take a look at Day
It was a sizzling August day when the MX-5 Cup groups arrived for the massive take a look at, and it did not take lengthy earlier than automobiles have been placing down lap instances within the 23-second vary because of Flis’ preliminary setup. After all, then it was time to do extra tweaking, and crew proprietor and driver Chad McCumbee of McCumbee McAleer Racing (MMR), began to play with the setups to seek out extra pace.
“I simply wished to check and be the take a look at dummy, and work on completely totally different setups and check out the whole lot we may probably strive,” McCumbee defined. “We discovered some stuff that would have some benefit, however we additionally discovered that our baseline that we had on all these different automobiles was actually good.”
McCumbee has a historical past of competing in nearly each nationwide NASCAR and IMSA sequence, and is an everyday on the Automobiles Tour (which competes on quick ovals across the Southeast U.S.), making him an ideal match for taking over any such train.
One factor McCumbee paid thoughts to whereas making changes and all through testing have been the tires. The MX-5 Cup automobiles have been operating on the identical Michelin tires that that they had used at VIR over the weekend, which have been particularly designed to run on highway programs—not ovals. However the worn Michelin road-course tires carried out flawlessly, in keeping with McCumbee. Even testing on older used tires for a lot of the day, he had but to seek out one tire with any kind of imperfection, which is vital to notice as oval tires usually are available a spread of compounds, and issues like warmth and nook masses can reveal imperfections throughout an extended take a look at like this one.
McCumbee’s MX-5 Cup automobile within the storage whereas they speak setup.
Photograph by: Bozi Tatarevic
Placing his automobiles to the take a look at have been Automobiles Tour regulars Brandon Pierce and Landen Lewis. McCumbee invited the 2 as a option to step outdoors of their consolation zone, and lend their experience. Lewis has gained in ARCA and had simply come off a win on the Automobiles Tour Late Mannequin Inventory race at Wake County Speedway, whereas Pierce, was a fellow Automobiles Tour competitor in addition to Late Mannequin winner with expertise on dust tracks.
“That is my first time ever driving one among some of these automobiles. Something with headlights,” Lewis stated. “I seemed in my mirror on one lap and I had a headlight on and I’m like oh, I received headlights! I can flip these on!”
Lewis was first to get into the automobile. He had expertise on highway programs with inventory automobiles and had pushed smaller automobiles with sequential gearboxes, however had by no means raced one thing just like the MX-5. Due to the lighter weight of the MX-5, he was capable of brake a lot deeper into the corners. It wasn’t lengthy after nailing that new braking line that he was providing suspension adjustment recommendations to the MMR crew which then considerably improved Lewis’ lap instances via the remainder of the session.
Pierce was subsequent as much as take the MX-5 on monitor. With a background in dust racing and go karts, and his most up-to-date expertise being in asphalt late fashions, he too, adjusted to the brand new automobile, then shortly started posting aggressive lap instances.
“For us quick monitor guys, wedge might be the largest factor for us,” Pierce stated. “That is a similarity that they have been capable of do as an adjustment that we like most and outdoors of that just a few rebound adjustments with the shocks and air stress. That’s actually all that you are able to do to those issues and that’s fairly cool. I like how they react even to these minute adjustments. For us in late fashions, in case you do one thing like that you simply won’t even see a change.”
Wedge is a measurement of the cross-weight of the automobile which is a measurement the place the burden of the proper entrance and left rear corners of the automobile is split by the whole weight. Flis issued a advisable cross weight of 47.6% and groups may alter that up or all the way down to adapt the automobile to the monitor. Along with that adjustment, the Multimatic DSSV shocks which might be put in on the MX-5 supply rebound and compression changes. Lewis discovered that he may fine-tune the automobile by altering the rebound settings on particular corners.
MX-5 Cup automobiles on monitor throughout testing at Martinsville.
Photograph by: Bozi Tatarevic
Additionally becoming a member of the test-day session was ARCA and Whelen Modified Tour driver Andy Jankowiak. Modified Tour automobiles, as a word, are tube body open wheel race automobiles and fairly a bit totally different from the MX-5. However like most drivers, Jankowiak races something he can get his palms on. He discovered he was capable of make pace shortly and counsel changes to the MX-5, because of his expertise racing modifieds at Martinsville and racing lighter weight automobiles within the Northeast.
“We have been engaged on some shock stuff,” Jankowiak stated. “They usually even have an everyday driver that was right here. He began the day after which I labored with the automobile all day. […] He really jumped in after I was performed and appeared very impressed with the best way that the dealing with improved. That’s all the time encouraging to listen to and we have been fairly related on the stopwatch there. I feel we have been each inside a tenth. That’s encouraging for me seeing that I can tempo with the blokes that do that on a regular basis.”
Subsequent Up: Race Day
The 100-lap Mazda MX-5 Cup exhibition race at Martinsville shall be paired with the 200-lap season finale of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Saturday October twenty sixth. For a driver like Jankowiak, who already races within the Modified Tour, and now has expertise behind the wheel of the MX-5 at Martinsville, racing each can be a straightforward guess.
“I’m very fortunate to have pal with Teddy Marsh and he’s going to work actually arduous to place a deal collectively to have the ability to run this Mazda race,” Jankowiak stated. “Then my automobile proprietor within the Whelen Modified Tour is Steve, […] I by no means know what he’s going to do however you recognize we’ll wait and see what’s happening.”
A enjoyable drive would be the convincing issue for any driver not within the MX-5 sequence to discover a experience for the October race. Irrespective of who finally ends up behind the wheel, these MX-5s on an oval will make for an thrilling look ahead to followers and supply one thing fairly totally different than what most have witnessed at Martinsville.
