Ed's Note:Danielle is a two-time National Solo II Champion, sponsored by Mid-Atlantic Motorsports and KevTec Machine Services, Inc.
Starting a Solo team isn't always as simple as one might expect, especially when friends are involved. Friends teamed with friends to go racing doesn't necessarily translate to a good business relationship. You have to have a solid plan if you expect to be competitive in any form of racing. After all, racecars are expensive and time consuming, and everyone in the partnership must be aware of the pitfalls; what might look like a good idea up front, might eventually strain or even ruin a long-term friendship. Over6Racing has a good approach.
I went out to dinner one night with my friends Brad Lamont and Jason Saini and they talked about the idea in detail. They were going to buy an S2000 together to go racing and were rationalizing the finances. I could think was that this seemed like the ideal way of racing on a budget. Other cars were considered (briefly), including the Boxster, Miata, MR2 Spyder, new M3, Corvette Z06, but for one reason or another, none seemed as right as the S2000-it was nimble, and powerful.
At this point all they needed was another partner to make their dream a reality. That's when they found Juliann Pokorny, an eager autocrosser who was ready to make the commitment. Shortly after the three formed a pack to purchase the S2000, they started having "team meetings," contacting friends who worked at Honda dealerships and within a few months they took delivery of the vehicle.
Over6Racing has a rudimentary contract that spells out everything they could think of-payments, maintenance and set-up costs, scheduling of races, sharing the car on weekdays, etc. "The main thing we wanted to avoid was anyone having any mistaken impressions that could be a conflict later. We started out as good friends and we all wanted to be sure that after owning a car together, we would still be that way." Lamont said.
Group decisions had to be made about everything. After racking their brains for a name for the car, Pokorny came up with the one that stuck: The Mistress. "She [our S2000] is not the wife [a daily driver], she's The Mistress. The Mistress is the one that we buy expensive gifts for and only drive on the weekends or for fun. She's a little too racy and high maintenance, but damn, if we don't like spending time with her." Saini explains.
Their team name, Over6Racing, came from the fact that the S2000 makes power over 6000 rpm when the VTEC cam-lob switchover occurs. Other names, were tossed around, but they ended up being vetoed by one or another of the group. When asked about the strengths of their arrangement, Pokorny said, "Big money divided by three! None of us could have done this alone.
"Each of us brings a special talent to the collective-Brad is the voice of reason, Jason is the car set-up guru. I feel like the newbie slacker sometimes- not able to give back, as much, but, hey. I keep the car clean!"
Another huge advantage of sharing the car and associated costs is this system has allowed the team to go to more national-level Solo events. They split travel costs and drive straight through on long trips by sharing behind-the-wheel time, this also translates into less time off work. Then there's the opportunity to compare competition driving time and learn from each other. They have a Geez! data acquisition system in S2000 that allows for exact comparisons of acceleration, braking, g forces, and the all-important lines through the courses.
Like all team ventures, there are concessions made. Yes, Saini refuses to stop for gas until the light comes on in the truck (while towing) and Pokorny doesn't always seem to know what a brake pedal is, but overall, the three members of Over6Racing are very happy with their arrangement and their S2000.
So what's the set-up? Over6Racing has followed in the footsteps of the 2000 Solo II A-Stock National Champion when it comes to car set-up. The Mistress breathes easier with a JR Air Filter, keeps cooler with a Mugen Thermostat (from King Motorsports, one of their sponsors), and exhales better with a Mugen Exhaust (cat-back, stainless and titanium, 28 lbs. lighter than stock!), also from King Motorsports. She moves better with a Comptech front anti-sway bar and Penske Racing shocks (Double Adjustable Remote Reservoir), custom valved by Ankeny Racing Enterprises. On her feet, she wears JDM (Japan Domestic Market) Honda, forged six-spoke wheels, which saves 3-4 lbs. each, over H&R 5mm wheel spacers. Her wheels are shod with Hoosier A3SO3 Autocross Radials - 225/50/16 front and 245/45/16 rear. Being the racy type she is, The Mistress enjoys a fairly aggressive racing alignment with her front set at 1.5 degrees of negative camber, 6 degrees of caster, and 1/16-inch toe out. Her back end alignment is set at 2.5 degrees of negative camber and 1/4-inch toe in.
New Kind Of TreeSCCA's well-established ProSolo program has a new timing system, based on standard drag racing equipment. RaceAmerica of Santa Clara, Calif. has manufactured a customized version of its ProTree XL system specifically for SCCA ProSolo events. This timing system offers the usual features found at the Drags (reaction times, elapsed times, 60-foot times), plus ProSolo standard timing features such as finish times displayed out to the third decimal place and many others.
Someone's Got The IdeaThe ProSolo event at Irvine, Calif. showed an increase in participation by 22 percent over last season. All ProSolo events are a part of The Tire Rack/ SCCA NationalSolo Program, which culminates with the National Solo Championships in Topeka, Kansas. This event is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America and will be hosted by West Texas Region, SCCA.
For additional information about the SCCA and Solo racing, call 800-770-2055 or check these Web sites.* SCCA Solo II: www.scca.org/amateur/solo2* SCCA Solo II National Tour: www.scca.org/amateur/solo2/nat_tour* The Tire Rack SCCA NationalSoloProgram: www.scca.org/amateur/solo2/nationalsolo.html
Events Calendar9/8-9NHRA/Summit Import Racing SeriesHouston Raceway Park, TX
9/8-9Battle of the ImportsVirginia Motorsports Park, VA
9/9BF Goodrich Drag WarsGreat Lakes Dragway, IL
9/15-16NOPI NationalsAtlanta Motorspeedway, GA
9/22-23Battle of the ImportsRoute 66 Raceway, IL
9/29-30NHRA/Summit Import Racing SeriesPomona Fairplex, CA
10/6Hot Import NightsSan Mateo Expo Center, CA
10/7IDRC 2nd AnnualRocky Mountain NationalsBandimere Speedway, CO
These dates are subject to change. Please check with the event location for a confirmed time before planning any travel.