Long time no posting! As some already know, in mid-December I left the craziness that was K-fx2 and now am in the motorsport industry full time. I joined the founding team at NOLA Motorsports park, a road racing facility outside of New Orleans, Louisiana.

I cannot think of a more qualified staff. Each person chosen is the best in their niche but also has the capability to cross over into other areas. We have a team atmosphere that is beyond anything I have ever worked with.

The track has a large vision and quite a bit of momentum to see it through. We are pushing the concept of a racing facility and country club in every way, striving to innovate at every chance.

Last week we traveled to Joliet, IL to visit the awesome Autobahn Country Club. The facility was amazing. We had the privilege of personal time with the founding staff, a behind the scenes tour and then discussed our latest round of planning and brainstorming. Here are some pictures I took.

There are big things afoot at NOLA Motorsports including shifter karts, a speed shop, first rate dyno facility. Stay tuned…

This Thanksgiving holiday was great for me despite being sick for its entirety. I caught two illnesses back to back so my visiting was cut to zero except for Saturday where I ventured out for a little dyno time.

We ran (and completed) an urban race – biking, running and canoeing. It was a blast – part treasure hunt and part torture. Finishing was awesome. About halfway through I got massive leg cramps and couldn’t walk for about 5 minutes. I was exhausted. We prevailed. Overall we finished 60th of 90.

After that race it was off to the shop to tune some cars and prep my own before we went to the dragstrip to see if I am any good at this tuning thing. As luck would have you every car we messed with prior to the track that day set a new best (my own included).

Despite some issues with the rear suspension I was able to pull out a 11.66 @ 119mph. Much more awaits once I get a decent burnout going and can launch the car with obscene violence like it is setup to do. Not too shabby for a daily driver eh?

We just took a week long getaway that was mostly without any sort of Internet access. Great to be able to unplug. Good times with Glenda, maybe our best vacation yet. Surfing, boogie boarding, feasting it up, shopping, yogurt, 3D movies, car show, baseball, riding in our convertible ’stang down Pacific Coast Highway.

I got a chance to meet with a couple fellow tuners while we were there. Had a great time as they were VERY down to earth people that have just as much fun as I do while doing what they love. Things at Total Performance Solutions are continuing to grow. Word is spreading. I’ve got big news on the horizon but more on that at a later date.

I heard an awesome quote on ESPN that I will get printed on a banner to hang over the dyno: “The competitor to be feared the most is the one who never worries about others at all and goes on making himself better all the time“. Pretty nifty eh? I think that sums up what we are doing over there quite nicely.

Before we left for California I dyno’d my car with a new torque converter and made 476rwhp at 6000rpm before I pansied out and stopped dialing in more power – that is a killer amount through an automatic with a stock engine that has over 150,000 miles. Oh yeah at just over 15 pounds of boost! Insane. It won’t live much longer. It pulls good on the street. When the engine gives up there are plans afoot for something to easily hold about a hundred more than that at the wheels. Oh yeah and still get about 18mpg.

Seeing all the classic cars in California got me in the mood to get back on the ‘72. After I swapped it over to electronic fuel injection I haven’t done much else to it. There is something uniquely awesome about daily driving a classic car though. Especially if it has turbos…

I’ve got a couple articles in mind for our TPS blog involving riviting topics such as how unleaded vs leaded race gas affects the air to fuel ratio of your vehicle’s calibration and some thoughts on tuning for fuel economy and possibly an article on the observed accuracy of narrowband vs wideband O2 sensors. Killer stuff eh?

Lastly I guess I’ll watch Heros without Glenda since she is playing tennis so late. Sorry G! haha!

We had a TPS employee day where we shut the doors and worked on our own personal cars. Benjy’s turbo car got an upgraded fuel system and retuned at 10psi to the tune of over 400 horsepower at the wheels, Glenda’s car got some new exhaust and I started a pulley swap but being the genius that I am reamed out a thread so her car is down for the count until a specially sized tap comes in, and finally my car got a major suspension overhaul. All the beating on the street and general daily driving had reamed out pretty much every bushing on the car and broken a few welds. Benjy was kind enough to reweld the ripped metal and go ahead and weld up everything else to keep it living the good life. I also got new lowering springs, upper and lower control arms, front lower control arms, poly bushings all around. The car drives completely different now!

Kayla is growing up and despite her klutziness has proven to be a tough cookie and a good climber. She’s become quite loving lately and likes to give hugs and kisses.

I am always impressed with Glenda – she has taken up tennis, bike riding, Kayla wrestling, swimming, working out. She can now beat me up at will (which honestly isn’t saying too much against me).

For me personally we are kicking butt over at Total Performance Solutions (TPS). Despite gas prices, economy and whatnot our business has steadily grown and the name has spread. Fast cars (400-600rwhp) have become common place around the shop. I keep reminding myself not to take any of it for granted, I’m living a gearhead’s dream. Happy customers have become our mainstay. I’m able to continually push the envelope with my tuning and research of the combustion engine. The fruits of these labors pay big dividends at the track and stre… — eer “closed course”.

So there’s your update – great news from around here, busy busy as always but no complaints!

On the home front Kayla has been busy as ever doing every little mischevious thing she can come up with. She is both a lot of fun and a terror all at the same time. K and I just spent about an hour and a half outside playing in the back yard and trying to clean up my shop a bit. I can’t find anything in it anymore (not even the floor).

Glenda and I began our spring cleaning on the yard today. Raking leaves, mowing etc. Getting it ready for Kayla’s big 2-yr-old birthday bash coming up next weekend. We’ve got a ways to go but with some nice weather coming up things should be in tip top shape once again. I had to lay down the hammer on an ant pile. I scooped them up in a shovel and threw them over the fence. What remained of their pile was a crater and it got doused with gas. Ants gone.