Convertibles haven’t raced at Martinsville because the Fifties, when NASCAR went to a closed cockpit idea that might have the power to run on a wide range of tracks. However a brief task for Martinsville president Clay Campbell led to an concept the place NASCAR and IMSA management agreed to place Mazda MX-5 Cup vehicles on an oval. And so, a number of a long time later, the powers that be have been placing convertibles again on monitor, and that monitor occurred to be Martinsville.
The preliminary check 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 vehicles to race and not using a roof, the MX-5 Cup sequence vehicles have been already prepped for racing — no less than to run occasions at highway programs alongside the highest degree IMSA sportscar sequence. To tackle an oval, these vehicles simply wanted a setup conducive to operating on one.
The Preliminary Setup: From Highway 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 commonly the identical as what you may discover on the lot at your native Mazda dealership. Whereas, the vehicles that usually run at Martinsville are purpose-built tube body machines weighing round 3,100 kilos with a silhouette physique, typically constructed to be asymmetrical, which signifies that bodywork and generally even suspension is unequal from the left facet of the automobile to the appropriate. 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 elements 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 a whole bunch of manufacturing MX-5s into race vehicles and sustaining them could be essential to get these MX-5 Cup vehicles oval-ready. Utilizing the info from that first check in 2023, they started making a baseline setup for the MX-5 vehicles. Crunching the numbers, the changes wanted have been minimal, touchdown on a suspension setup that may very well be executed utterly with the MX-5’s spec elements.
One of many MX-5 Cup vehicles within the storage space at Martinsville.
Picture by: Bozi Tatarevic
Now, highway course vehicles, just like the MX-5, will run unfavorable camber on either side of the automobile since they’ve to show left and proper. But, vehicles arrange for ovals will usually run optimistic camber on the appropriate and unfavorable camber on the left since they’re solely turning left. This often 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 in a position to arrange the vehicles in that route with out it. Whereas the setup was not as aggressive as one thing that you simply may see throughout a NASCAR weekend with a number of levels of camber and very low tire pressures, the MX-5 Cup vehicles had a couple of quarter diploma of optimistic camber on the left and round 2.5 levels of unfavorable camber on the appropriate.
These modifications have been supplemented by dropping the trip peak on the left facet about an inch decrease than the appropriate facet, and operating ten kilos much less of tire strain on the left than the appropriate. The oval setup was accomplished with some toe modifications and operating 300 pound springs on the left, together with 500 pound springs on the appropriate on the spec Multimatic DSSV shocks.
Flis’ MX-5 setup was lastly put to the check 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 vehicles and folks over for some laps.
The JTR No. 96 MX-5 automobile within the storage in the course of the Martinsville check session.
Picture by: Bozi Tatarevic
Take a look at Day
It was a sizzling August day when the MX-5 Cup groups arrived for the massive check, and it did not take lengthy earlier than vehicles have been placing down lap occasions within the 23-second vary because of Flis’ preliminary setup. After all, then it was time to do extra tweaking, and staff proprietor and driver Chad McCumbee of McCumbee McAleer Racing (MMR), began to play with the setups to seek out extra pace.
“I simply needed to check and be the check dummy, and work on completely totally different setups and take a look at every little thing we might presumably attempt,” 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 vehicles was actually good.”
McCumbee has a historical past of competing in nearly each nationwide NASCAR and IMSA sequence, and is a daily on the Vehicles Tour (which competes on brief ovals across the Southeast U.S.), making him an ideal match for taking over this sort of train.
One factor McCumbee paid thoughts to whereas making changes and all through testing have been the tires. The MX-5 Cup vehicles 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 line with McCumbee. Even testing on older used tires for many of the day, he had but to seek out one tire with any sort of imperfection, which is vital to notice as oval tires usually are available in a spread of compounds, and issues like warmth and nook masses can reveal imperfections throughout a protracted check like this one.
McCumbee’s MX-5 Cup automobile within the storage whereas they speak setup.
Picture by: Bozi Tatarevic
Placing his vehicles to the check have been Vehicles Tour regulars Brandon Pierce and Landen Lewis. McCumbee invited the 2 as a method to step exterior of their consolation zone, and lend their experience. Lewis has gained in ARCA and had simply come off a win on the Vehicles Tour Late Mannequin Inventory race at Wake County Speedway, whereas Pierce, was a fellow Vehicles Tour competitor in addition to Late Mannequin winner with expertise on filth tracks.
“That is my first time ever driving one among these kind of vehicles. 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 obtained headlights! I can flip these on!”
Lewis was first to get into the automobile. He had expertise on highway programs with inventory vehicles and had pushed smaller vehicles 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 in a position to brake a lot deeper into the corners. It wasn’t lengthy after nailing that new braking line that he was providing suspension adjustment options to the MMR crew which then considerably improved Lewis’ lap occasions via the remainder of the session.
Pierce was subsequent as much as take the MX-5 on monitor. With a background in filth 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 occasions.
“For us brief monitor guys, wedge might be the largest factor for us,” Pierce stated. “That is a similarity that they have been in a position to do as an adjustment that we like most and out of doors of that just a few rebound modifications with the shocks and air strain. 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 modifications. For us in late fashions, should you do one thing like that you simply may not 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 appropriate entrance and left rear corners of the automobile is split by the full weight. Flis issued a really useful cross weight of 47.6% and groups might modify that up or right down to adapt the automobile to the monitor. Along with that adjustment, the Multimatic DSSV shocks which can be put in on the MX-5 provide rebound and compression changes. Lewis discovered that he might fine-tune the automobile by altering the rebound settings on particular corners.
MX-5 Cup vehicles on monitor throughout testing at Martinsville.
Picture by: Bozi Tatarevic
Additionally becoming a member of the test-day session was ARCA and Whelen Modified Tour driver Andy Jankowiak. Modified Tour vehicles, as a word, are tube body open wheel race vehicles and fairly a bit totally different from the MX-5. However like most drivers, Jankowiak races something he can get his fingers on. He discovered he was in a position to make pace shortly and recommend changes to the MX-5, because of his expertise racing modifieds at Martinsville and racing lighter weight vehicles within the Northeast.
“We have been engaged on some shock stuff,” Jankowiak stated. “And so they even have a daily driver that was right here. He began the day after which I labored with the automobile all day. […] He truly jumped in after I was executed and appeared very impressed with the way in which 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 could be a straightforward wager.
“I’m very fortunate to have a very good good friend 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 already know we’ll wait and see what’s occurring.”
A enjoyable drive would be the convincing issue for any driver not within the MX-5 sequence to discover a trip for the October race. Regardless of who finally ends up behind the wheel, these MX-5s on an oval will make for an thrilling look ahead to followers and provide one thing fairly totally different than what most have witnessed at Martinsville.
