Preparing Your Mustang For An Open-Track Day - Preparing For Battle

To combat the high temperatures in road racing, Crazy Horse drained the oil and power-steering fluid in order to replace them with Royal Purple XPR 5W30 and MAX EZ. The high film strength of the oil should do well to protect the bearings as the crank screams into the upper rpm range; meanwhile, the power-steering fluid would keep the steering rack quiet and fully operational. After draining the coolant and replacing it with an 80/20 mix for increased heat absorption, one bottle of Purple Ice was added for even greater protection.

Ford Racing Performance Parts supplied us with an oil filter to eliminate the last weak link.

Auto Meter provided us with the Digital Pro Shift System (DPSS) and a single gauge pod to mount it. The DPSS has a progressive, programmable LED shift light with multiple colors.

It was total overkill, but it's better to be overprepared than underprepared-plus, we really like the look of the Cobalt series gauge.

The '99 GT still had the factory-original battery, which was obviously pretty crusty. Rather than simply clean off the terminals to comply with NASA's safety regulations, we went ahead and replaced it. The battery tray bolts turned out to be oxidized and unable to remove without breaking, so we had to replace them as well in order to properly secure the battery (very important in road racing). One last check was made of the car, including the serpentine belt, the radiator, hoses, and so on. Everything seemed to be in working order as there were no leaks or cracks.

Crazy Horse sends all of its customers down the street to the Sears in Old Bridge, New Jersey, as it has a long-standing relationship with this store and crack technician Jason Mendes. Though we wanted to go with a radical amount of negative camber, according to Crazy Horse, it would have caused tire wear too excessive for a street car. Instead, Mendes kept the alignment near stock at about -0.8 degree camber and 0.24 degrees (total) toe-in with a slightly randy 5-degree castor for quicker steering recovery.

The day before NASA's outing at Pocono International Raceway, I packed up my usual cargo, including a helmet, driving gloves, driving shoes, a change of clothes, tools, a lug wrench, a jack, mechanic's gloves, sunscreen, a tire-pressure gauge, extra fluids, paper towels, water, and a cooler filled with Vitamin Water and snacks. If you can fit them, jackstands are a good idea, too.

There was no way Gangsta's street tires would have passed tech (as they had less than 3/32-inch tread), but we weren't planning to use them anyway. A much stickier set of 275/35ZR18 Nitto NTO1s were in the car's future, mounted neatly on these Steeda Ultra-Lite 18x9.5 rims. Steeda uses a special pressure-casting procedure to create a light yet sturdy wheel that's well suited for heavy-duty track use at an affordable price.

After registering and checking in, I mounted the race wheels and tires, then set the pressure to 30 psi front and 28 rear using an Auto Meter tire-pressure gauge.

Tire pressure is very important to check before and after racing.

NASA Northeast owner Joe Casella conducted the drivers' meeting before racing got underway, familiarizing everyone with the course, the different flags, the passing rules, and other track etiquette. For Group 1 drivers, classroom instruction was first on the agenda, while the more experienced racers took to the track. Casella went over all the basics, including understeer and oversteer, trail braking, track safety, managing tire pressure, car maintenance, seating position, early and late apex, and threshold braking.

Two half-hour sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon ensured plenty of seat time without punishing the car too much. Overall, the event was one of the most well run open-track days I've ever been to. I highly recommend letting the instructor take a few laps in your car, as I did. When Winter was behind the wheel, it was easy to tell how far away from the limit I was, especially on the second infield were he was practically flat out and getting airborne over the little hill. After the full day of racing, Winter said the improvements in my driving were obvious; it definitely took a few laps to get the cobwebs out. He also said my experience and guts were there-it's just a matter of getting smoother and more confident.