(Last) Weekly Roundup: It's Just Another Manic Mustang Edition

Sometimes you make your own problems. I didn't make the right call for rear tire pressure before the start of this race, so for the first three or four laps the back end of the car was on rollerskates until I got enough heat for them to stick. As a consequence, it took me a few laps and a couple of close calls, shown above, to make it to the front of my starting group. If you like V-shaped Honda engines, you'll want to crank up the sound.

In the end, it didn't matter. I was the overall Honda Challenge winner, setting a new lap record of 1:39.137 for Mid-Ohio's Club Course in the process. I caught all but four of the cars in the start groups ahead of me, moving up 23 spots to finish fifth overall. Of the thirteen laps I drove in the race, seven were good enough for fast lap of the race and my last lap was record-setter. I now lead the Honda Challenge standings with 5 wins in 5 starts.

None of this could have happened without help. I had a four-person crew this weekend: Josh and Reese took time out from their own driving and classroom schedules to do everything from loading the trailer to fixing an electrical problem that was causing Spike The Accord to cut out on right-hand turns. The infamous Danger Girl set a 1:50.26 in her stock 2014 MX5 Club around the Pro layout on Saturday and a 1:51.84 around Club on Sunday but she also handled all the logistics, meals, and grown-up decisions along the way. Last but not least, my son pitched in on Sunday to do things like return transponders, carry tools, and encourage his dad to set yet another track record in America's last muscle car. He wouldn't want me to tell you, but he set a track record of his own last week, running a 41.602 at GPK in Columbus and beating the next-fastest junior driver by a scarcely credible 2.9 seconds. This weekend he met our regional director, who explained to him that with a sufficient karting resume he could be replacing me in the Accord in April of 2022, when he turns 13.

We will have to ballast the car.

If you've enjoyed my Harkonnen-fist domination of Honda Challenge racing this year, why not help me pay for it by reading the stories I wrote last week?

At TTAC, I showed some respect to a Toyota that has made a bigger difference in the automotive landscape than most of us would like to admit.

For R&T, I gave you the lowdown on how brakes work and talked about how to expand the capability of your sedan.

As always, thank you for reading!