So what are you saying? JB's "tone" is off the mark? Do you actually think the current administration is the most competent administration in history? Do you think they're competent at anything? Personally, I don't think it should really matter where you are "across the spectrum" to simply acknowledge observable reality and state the obvious: this might possibly be the most incompetent administration in history, if only for their pretty clear track record of f-ing up everything they touch... ... View more

HA! That reminds me of an HPDE incident the newbies may need to hear, just to understand what might happen... I signed up for a Fri HPDE at Road Atlanta to test before the race that weekend. This track day org did things... differently. Anyway, the first session was an intermediate group and I remember seeing 3 Challenger Hellcats head out together. About 15 minutes later, there was an announcement for another driver's meeting, which was strange because they had just done a driver's meeting before the first session... ...at driver's meeting Part 2, I found out why: the Hellcats - street cars, mind you - had apparently been racing each other, one guy lost it and put it on its roof. To top it off, the guy was wearing shorts and was barefoot. ... View more

+1: Spec class racing vs enduro... admittedly not much enduro experience, but I found it was a lot of managing out-of-class traffic, and even "racing" class traffic you weren't sure if they were laps up or down... Conversely, Spec racing is a 30- to 45-min dogfight... it's intense, exhausting, brutal and you become really good. In a Spec class sprint race, you simply can't afford to leave anything on the table... it's 10/10, every second. Mistakes don't cost you tenths of a second, they cost you positions and it SUCKS watching P3, P4, and P5 go by - after you drove like mad to get past them - because of one mistake. This will teach you to not make that mistake again. When I was running with the top 5 guys in my Spec class, that's when I finally felt like a racer... - 1: Wearing a suit on a track day. I do this all the time now. Instead of feeling like an idiot, I'm hanging around the paddock in shorts and t-shirt while the HPDE guys are in jeans and long-sleeves... ... View more

The late-model Boss 302's are indeed built for the track. In 2018, I entered my 2012 Kona Blue Boss into the Ultimate Track Car Challenge at VIR. My car is very lightly prepped for the track:  3-in lugnut studs, brake cooling ducts, tubular rear control arms, lowering springs, and a shifter... all factory Ford upgrade parts. Most other cars in the competition were fully-prepped race cars, stripped down, with cages, wings, and turbos. My Boss had A/C and a stereo.   It rained a lot during the competition (a time trial format), so tire strategy ended up playing a huge part... but my Boss ended up placing 7th out of over 30 cars, and won the "Fastest Street Production" category as the fastest car of the competition that was still street legal. These are incredibly competent race cars, especially with very minimal prep.   Great to see some Boss appreciation from a knowledgeable Mustang enthusiast....     ... View more

My condolences, Sam... but you gave your mom the parting gift that we all knew you could give, better than anyone else in the business. Now we all miss her, too...   ... View more

Can I say it, can I say it? Can I be that guy?   2015 Mustang GT with PP... $28.3k from Carvana. $1900 Performance Pack 3 upgrade, which I installed myself. $1000 Ford Racing exhaust. $300 Hawk brake pads. $450 MGW shifter. That's pretty much it.   The car runs 2:06's at VIR, and I'm an average driver. At my last Porsche-heavy track day, only the new GT3 RS's were faster (as they should be). Any previous-gen GT3 or anything Boxter/Cayman wasn't even close. The car literally behaves like a minivan on the street. Stock suspension is so good I may not even modify it... all I do is put gas in it and empty the oil separators after my track day. In a Ford. ... View more

Killer looking car... with different color options for paint and graphics, I bet there are going to be some gorgeous color combos... and the Handling Package will be a must-have.     ... View more

I had to laugh at the "new-to-me" point... that's another car nut quirk:  new vs "new".  Last year, I sold my 2006 Expedition when I found a great deal on a 2008 Expedition. Most of my friends were confused when they found out my "new" Expedition was 11 years old... ... View more

...aaand this is why I followed Sam to Hagerty. (My ideas:  Aeronca Champ on straight floats/gutting a pristine S550 Mustang and turning it into a Time Trial car/race suspension on my Electra Glide Standard) ... View more