After our inaugural Arrive & Drive event in March, many enthusiasts and friends expressed interest in a followup event… so at 8am on Saturday, June 2nd (thanks to our platinum sponsor, Minicorsa, as well as sponsors Speed District, and Traffic Ticket Pros for their awesome support), a group of sleepy-eyed racers gathered under a blue desert sky and prepared for a day filled with adrenaline-pumping driving, music, comraderie, and scorching heat. Once everyone had consumed their fill of delicious doughnuts and coffee, the drivers donned their helmets and headed to the starting grid for a brief driver download. By 9:30am, the first run group was out warming up the tires and testing out the track.

At the inaugural Arrive & Drive event in March, a few racers mentioned that they would have enjoyed a little more track time prior to the Grand Prix event. Building on that critique, Josh Brozen stepped up to the plate and created a brilliant (and exquisitely detailed) track schedlue, providing each of the four run groups with two 20 minute practice sessions each before lunch and by two “qualifying” sessions in the afternoon – all before the Grand Prix event. As the day progressed, the smiles everyones faces was all the feedback we needed to know Josh’s plan was truly genious.

As the last morning practice session tore around the track, our chefs for the day, Mark and Matthew, fired up the grill. The stiff winds posed an interesting challenege to our aspiring grillmasters, but with the assistance of several helpful racers, the hot juicy hamburgers and hotdogs began piling up just as the final practice sessions came to an end. Lunch was enhanced with the smooth sounds of DJ PJ on the 1s and 2s, and by 1pm everyone was rested and ready to begin afternoon qualifying sessions!

As the sun beat mercilessly on the track, the racers headed out for afternoon qualifying sessions. Each racer’s best qualifying lap time determined their ranking for the final Grand Prix race, so the stakes were higher… and the racing more intense! After each run group completed their two qualifying sessions, the times were compiled and we prepared to begin the Grand Prix sessions.

Around 3:30pm, the top ten competitors made their way onto the track for a rolling start race for first place. When the pace vehicle left the track and the green flag was waved, spectators were treated 12 laps of intense wheel to wheel racing. After the tire smoke and dust settled, third place went to Ken Lukach, second to Frederick Johnson, and first place to Gerold Arnone. Congratulations gentlemen!

After the top ten Grand Prix, racers ranked 11th-20th made their way onto the track for a bit of friendly racing. While the competition was more relaxed, there were many great photo moments and everyone had a blast. Once the second race finished, everyone headed back to the garage for the awards ceremony. The top three positions in the Grand Prix received their trophies, and the racer with the best time during qualifying, Ty Gi, won a trophy and a free track day thanks to our generous sponsor, Speed District.

A few minutes later, a group of happy and exhausted racers headed home with smiles and great memories, eager for the next time we get to meet on the track.

Thanks to Studio 6 Speed Photography for race day photography – you can find the entire album here. Recorded racer times are listed at the bottom of the page.

Racer Times

Track Map