SCNAX Nationals Test & Tune

Run 1


Run 2









I had a long weekend... helping Romel move to Bakersfield =(...
so having a whole day dedicated to autocross made me very happy.

So after Registration i was placed in Yellow Work group and had to work first. I was a little stressed because that would mean i'd have to waste time putting on the race tires while everyone else started running. Prior to working I had walked the course 3 times and twice with the Allstar guys. But because of me having to mount tires without a jack, I had lost focus and forgot the elements of the course.

My first runs i knew i would get lost. The course was EXCELLENT, but i figured i should give some spectators rides for my first 2 runs. After I got that out of the way, it was time to set some good times and get some national drivers looking.

Overall, I felt like today was the best I have ever driven all year. Yeah there was a couple cones here and there but they were lazy cones.

SCNAX Championship

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Back Home in San Diego

Saturday, August 23
This weekends events were being held by my new club I joined, SCNAX. I guess it stands for Southern California National Autocross - club? oh well, all i know is now im collecting points each event now.

Practice - 7:30am
-Oh crap im late... Since i volunteered to help setup the event this weekend I was supposed to be at the site at 7:00am. Oh well, hahaha. Before i arrived i had to stop by my good buddy Romel De Castro's place to get the water sprayer. I think i may have left my own water sprayer back in Corona. Anyway, i knew that the practice was going to be hard on my new Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs. Plus i needed to find the right pressures to run in order to get that maximum grip. After I had left the house, it was onto the site. Once I got to the site I registered, teched, and helped out by chalking the course.

Run Group Blue
So im in the grid, pressures set, car's warmed up, shocks at full soft up front - full stiff in rear. All ready for todays practice and the championship the next day.

1st run out - 59.6xx
wow, i didnt think i would be able to break 60.xxx After that i got side tracked a bit and started giving people rides but it was okay because some were newbies and giving a little instruction is alright. I was churning out 60.3xx consistently.

7th run out - 59.2xx
Alright Im back into the 59 second range. Pressures seemed to like 42F 37R. Just like i figured it would be around. So I let the tires cool down a bit (they shot up to 160 at one point). These tires like to be in the 125-140 range. Now im being flagged to go.

8th run out - 58.560
OH SNAP! hahaha the only sts car to be under 60 seconds. Marco Vasquez had a hard time getting into the low 60s and couldn't believe the times i was putting down. I wish I could of gotten him to ride with me. Along with this time came with a lot of autox veterans wondering who i am. HA im still being noticed =). Some think im an autocrosser from another place. Little do they know that i STARTED in SD.

New Battery

In local news today... I bought a buddyclub race spec battery today from a good friend of mine. I'm sure you guys have seen his car in the recent super street magazine. Its a bright yellow wide body EP3 known as Bumble Bee... Anyways...got that for dirt cheap =P. Slowly getting the car prepared. I just got a set of 4 Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec 195/55R15. Some say the sidewall is too tall but we'll see. I think the rubber has potential. Next week i plan to purchase the Energy Suspension Bushings, but who know when i'll have time to install them =(. Maybe it might be time to hand the car over to my sponsors over at Hyper16valvE to get the work done. Who knows?!?!? Stay Tuned

SD Divisional Series - STS WIN!!!!

Whew... finally my first win. And to make it better, my first place win at a Divisional Series Championship!!!

I had a blast this weekend. Big thanks to good ole' Clay for allowing me to co-drive. This time we were prepared to make it up there and be heard.

Saturday, July 13 2008

Alright... the day started out pretty crappy. I made the mistake of going to a party the night before and ended up only getting 5 hours of sleep. NO BUENO. Walking the course was quite difficult for me that morning. I had walked it 3 times the day before, however my memory retention is pretty poor. After taking a closer look at the course, it became apparent that it would be a very GUTSY course. Meaning... all go, less brakes. Although the course was very spaced out, it still was a tight course and line choice would play a big part. I was very nervous coming into this event. Although it wasn't quite like the national tour. It felt just as big for me.

The car was well setup and prepared for this event other than the driver seat was still the stock couch. Everything from the HF front bar...to the es poly bushings was done in preparation for this race. I personally had no chance at contingency money since i did not attend the SF race. But to me, this was a chance for me to prove to everyone else that I am a contender in STS and that I wasnt just some punk kid with a civic.

First run out... 82.697+1
I had hit a cone on the second slalom before the backside turn around. This actually happened because I was still getting used to the steering response of the car... no problem

Second run out... 79.524

sweet... now im 3rd place and withing 0.5xx seconds from 1st. I still have a chance for tomorrow!!!

Third run was no bueno, i hadnt gone faster and not to mention coned the very last cone of the course...

Sunday, July 14 2008

This was the BIG one... with less than 0.5xx seconds between 1st and 3rd, it was still a toss up on who could win it all. Steve Ekstrand had been leading all weekend but there was still a lot of hope for myself and for Marcko Vasquez (sts 2.5rs)

With plenty of sleep, and a good understanding of the course. I can honestly say that i was prepared for today. Since our run group was last, i had plenty of time to myself to think over the course. At that time, i was also able to install my race bucket seat into the car. I have to say that this addition alone made understanding the car much easier. It then clicked to me like a big flashback that every aspect of this course, i have driven before exactly... with the exception of the increased speed. At that point, all i could think of was... "stay on the pedal, DON'T LIFT!!! IT WILL GRIP!!!"

Early that morning I received a text from good ol' buddy Jason Flores. I can't provide that information...BUT he kept on telling me to just go for it all on the first run... once that scare is out of the way, its all about managing it and harnessing the speed properly. NO PROBLEM

First run out... 77.987
Fastest time in STS based on first runs... everyone but Marcko had been in the 79.xxx second runs just like yesterday. Of course I was shocked to see that time, i thought i had coned somewhere. Right when i came back, I had Steve Ekstrand and Mark Duerst at my grid congratulating me for such a quick first time. It felt nice having a couple veterans of the sport coming over to talk to me. I felt noticed...LOL

Second run wasnt so hot... i was at a low 78.xxx but i knew it wouldnt be fast. You'll see in the video that my line choice was best overall. But that fact that i tried to give more steering input caused me to accel/understeer at some points.

Third run... 77.527
I HAD DONE IT!!! I had gained the overall lead in STS!!! But wait, Marcko was the last STS car to go and he was on my tail as well... turns out his run was a 77.661.

I had beat him by 0.049 seconds!!! Thats crazy talk!!! not to mention the leader of the whole weekend Steve Ekstrand was only 0.090 seconds away from 1st at the end of the day. Wow, what a weekend. SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!

It felt just like the national tour when Jason won. I won on my very last run... second to last person out as well.

Dry Season

yep... just as its stated. LONG BREAK until the next event. And the next event is a Divisional Series Championship. YIKES... talk about training difficulty prior to the event. Anyways, i thought that i would give an update on MY actual STS car and its progress so far.

Good news: As a daily driver... THE GAS MILEAGE IS AWESOME. I think i got close to 370 miles on one tank. I'd say thats pretty damn awesome. The car handles great (GMR test) and i'm highly confident with my unprepared car going into competition.

Bad News: The clutch is slipping... yep, the oil leak coming from my rear main seal has slung onto the clutch disc and flywheel face. Also my trailing arm bushings still need to be replaced. My Brake Master Cylinder also may need to be replaced as sometimes the pedal will go to the floor at stop lights. I still need a new front crossmember and the Energy Suspension bushings. And then when all that is done, finally rims and tires.

Yep still need a lot of preparation to be done. I'm hoping i will be able to get everything by the end of the year. The road to Topeka for me will start 2009 season. Things are looking great so far. Majority of the car is done and soon it'll be ready for serious competition.

June 14, 2008 - NO$ Practice Event

This had to have been the most productive practice i have ever attended. I would like to thank my friend Jason Flores and his Co-Driver Stephen Yeoh for allowing me to practice with their STS civic. It feels so much different from my civic and it has that race car feel that my car lacks (good and bad).

Anyways, Jason gave me plenty good pointers which i had already knew... only he confirmed them for me. EF civics love short lines-grip lines. I tried to slip the car every now and then throughout the day to get an idea if the car would like it or not. I personally believe an EF sts civic should be at that limit of corner entry grip and slip at the same time. Hard to conceive but by the looks of how Ken Montonishi's car is setup, and his driving skills.... that type of style is possible with the right driver.

Quote of the day goes to me though =).
"STS civic driven by Jon Lugod comes in with a 66.803"

"...who is that guy (towards Jason Flores)" - Ken Montonishi

HAHAHA!!! YAY at least im getting the attention from "near" perfect driver Ken Montonishi. By the end of the day i ended of the morning session both me and Jason were within .5xx seconds of Ken. This made our day, but then by the end of the event Ken beat me by 1 second and Jason by .6xx

Not too shabby, but puts us in our place as drivers. I know i still need a lot of experience and seat time to get faster. Thanks to this practice i will be going into the SD California Divisional with more confidence and technique. So thank you Jason.