Scion tC Rocks Road Atlanta “Time Attack”
and N.A.S.A East Coast Finals
August 24, 2006 – Reading Pa. Sport Compact drag racer Chris Rado continued a successful foray into the world of road racing behind the wheel of his Scion, WORLD electronics, WORLD Motorsports, ACT, Twins Turbo, APR, and MOMO sponsored Scion tC at the Road Atlanta circuit in Georgia over the weekend.
Rado’s weapon of choice, a lightly modified Scion tC, performed beyond all expectations in a field of cars that included many fully modified race cars and expensive exotic “Supercars.” The giant killer Scion tC is surprisingly stock with a low-boost turbocharger kit, weight reduction, suspension and braking modifications and the addition of safety equipment to comply with racing regulations. Even so, Rado was enthusiastic about the performance of his Scion tC and the potential it has as a serious competitor in future events.
“We have intentionally tried to keep our Scion tC as close to stock as possible. We are aiming to show that you don’t need to mortgage your house and sell everything you own to go racing and have a lot of fun. The Scion tC is very affordable and the modifications we have made for the race track can be duplicated at an extremely low cost.” Rado explained. “We are working with several manufacturers to developing race-tested parts and ultimately we will be able to show the average driver that he or she can go road racing without breaking the bank.”
As if to prove his point, Rado and J.R. Gitten spent the weekend beating cars that cost up to ten times more than his Scion tC driving around on the straights bouncing off the rev limiter in 5th gear. “I have to admit that it’s very satisfying to catch and pass a high-dollar race-prepared exotic car in my Scion tC. It has to be annoying for them but it’s great fun for us.”
The first session on Saturday at the N.A.S.A event at Road Atlanta was an eye-opener for the opposition as Rado pushed the Scion tC to a best time of 1:39.99 and a 140.06. “It had just finished raining but the track was drying fast and I decided to make an all-out effort while the tires and brakes were still fresh. The car was awesome and I was really excited when I saw a 1:39.99 flash up on our in-car timer. After the car preformed so well in that first session Chris decided to save the car feeling confident for the Monday Time Attack event only making 3 laps on one of the Sunday Sessions. All the while Chris’s Partner/ Co-Driver for weekend J.R. was getting comfortable with the front drive tC hot lapping it and dropping time on every session.
Monday came around and Chris and J.R. were chomping at the bit especially with new tires and some experience on the track. Rado took the first session, made two laps and brought the tC in to check tire pressures and temps after the break-in on the tires. Rado then ran the car again and felt confident that he had just set the mark in that session and had gone even faster than Saturdays 1:39.99. Unfortunately, to Chris’s and the Team’s misfortune, the track signaled to us that their transponder was not functioning correctly and no lap times were recorded. J.R. had second session and made it count with a 1:41.6 scoring the Scion Team Second Honors at the event. Rado ended up third with an official best of 1:42.8 in the later sessions with much higher track and air temps at the “Time Attack.” Although Rado was a little disappointed with Monday’s results, going almost 3 full seconds slower than Saturday, Rado pointed out that this was an awesome event and a huge learning lesson for the future.
Rado was also eager to praise his driving partner for the event, Drift driver, J.R. Gitten. “J.R. is a great driver and a lot of fun to be around. He is one of the top drift drivers in the world and I’m a drag racer but even though our chosen forms of racing are very different we have a lot in common. We both want to show a path to motorsports success that any young kid can take. We are both passionate about our sports and we both want to do whatever we can to bring in new blood. The time attack series is a perfect doorway into the sport compact racing arena and that’s why we are so enthusiastic about it.”
“I have to pay special thanks Sheila Swanson, Steve Haig, and Mark Templin at Scion for allowing us to come out here and have a great time. I also want to thank the guys at K&W Suspension for the killer coil-overs and APR supplied a rear wing and Canards to help with our aero. Rob Miller at Sinister Racecars built a great cage for our Scion tC and Hotchkiss supplied a killer set of rear suspension links. I would also like to thank my crew for all of the hard work that it takes to make me look good. Eric and Marc Kozeluh of Twins Turbo, you guys rock. Thanks also go out to Eric Plebani, Kurt Siebels, Tyler Cooley and Mitch Stahl the Ace for helping me get the car setup for Battle.”