#GRIDLIFE TrackBattle - MIDWEST FEST Spotter's Guide
We have arrived at the conclusion of the 2020 #GRIDLIFE TrackBattle season. We made it. To say that this year has been strange is an understatement. We started the 2020 competition season at the end of 2019, and began 2020 with an event cancellation because of COVID. When the mass quarantines were winding down, drivers rallied around us to create a season worth remembering. Each year, the level of competition that drivers bring to our events impresses all of the GRIDLIFE Track Team. 2020 is no exception. While the championships for each class are effectively locked up, GRIDLIFE Midwest Fest brings out the best of the best. Drivers will be looking to break records if the weather in South Haven cooperates. Here’s who you should be keeping your eye on:
STREET
Josh Halka did his off-season homework in 2019, and put together a compelling case for an S209 turbo swap into a Subaru WRX/STI. Adam Jabaay (GRIDLIFE Motorsports Director) and Abe Schmucker (GRIDLIFE Competition Director) are the GRIDLIFE Supreme Court, and get to decide based on the arguments presented, and interpretation of the rules. Josh argued well, and was able to do this swap. To our knowledge, this was the first case of this turbo being purchased to be swapped into a non-S209 car in America. The results speak for themselves. He’s been in contention for the top spot on the podium at every event he’s attended. With the championship in his pocket already, he’ll be focused on trying to reset his own record here at Gingerman Raceway. Both Charles Miller and Brandon Ranvek/Team Twitch have their own entries, and aren’t far behind on pace. Expect both of them to be challenging the record by the end of the weekend. The time to beat in Street Class is 1:37.770.
STREET GT
Coby Shield has ran away with the championship this year. The only class with a driver scoring a perfect 400 points. However, he’s taking the weekend off. Chris Bickford and Alex Artayet will be on track, chasing Coby’s record set this spring. The time to beat in Street GT is a very respectable 1:37.313.
FCP EURO STREET MODIFIED
Street Mod presented by FCP Euro has really been the class to watch this year. Alex Moss, Jackie Ding, Ryan Matthews, Dewey Dewitt and RS Motors have been in a 5-way battle for the top of the podium at each event. In the end, Moss came away victorious in accomplishing his goal of winning the season championship, and has elected to put the car into the shop to rebuild this winter. The rebuild, is fitting a BMW-sourced DCT to a turbo k-swapped S2000. He’s been planning the project for more than a year, and along with Andy Smedegard, have decided to take their time on this one to make sure everything is perfect. In it’s place, he’ll be co-driving the One Lap TTRS with driver Micaiah Hackbarth. Many expect Jackie Ding to run away with this event at Gingerman, because he has so many laps with this car at this place under his belt, but don’t count the TTRS out of this one. This car is FAST through corners, and is certainly the highest horsepower SM competitor we’ve had. Micaiah struggled at Road America a few weeks ago with Haldex issues, but we think that’ll be fixed by this weekend. Shawn Krebsbach’s taken pause from previous events to focus on Gingerman. He’s been fast here, and this weekend is no exception. We’re also expecting Dewey to bring his A-game with a new motor partner, and a fresh rebuild. Let’s hope that this is a great conclusion to a fantastic season long battle. The record time in FCP Euro Street Mod is 1:33.095.
TRACK MODIFIED
Things went crazy in TrackMod in 2020. For the most part, Feras Qartoumy was competing exclusively against the clock, as many of the typical competitors we see in TM were absent this year. With a pair of giant turbskis, and a sequential transmission, laptimes have been on another planet. If the weather is good, expect Feras to be the first car on street tires we’ve seen go under 1:30. His current record is 1:30.557. I’m told that Andy Smedegard might get to do some fast laps in the MS7, but the jury is out on how close this battle could be. The time to beat in Track Mod is Feras’ 1:30.557.
UNLIMITED
Don’t expect any fireworks here this year. With the borders being closed, our Canadian competitors have been sidelined from our events. Hopefully we’ll see a return to competition from Will Au-Yeung, James Houghton, and the local team from Professional Awesome.
GRIDLIFE LIVE BROADCAST
Catch the TrackBattle action on track with GRIDLIFE Live - Broadcasting HERE Friday at 12:15 pm EST, and Saturday 11:15am EST (times are estimated and are subject to motorsports schedule changes).
