Gates311.com / AMS Performance / Nitto Tires Evo X – Race Report
Event: Redline Time Attack! Nashville – July 25th-26th, 2009
On July 26th, 2009, Ryan Gates once again dominated the Modified Class at Redline Time Attack!, this time at Round Four in Nashville, TN at Nashville Superspeedway. Ryan’s latest win makes him 3 for 3 in the Modified Class this season.
Coming off a win at Autobahn, Ryan headed to Nashville, TN for Round Four of the Redline Time Attack! Series at Nashville Superspeedway. With the continuous support of AMS Performance, the Gates311.com/AMS Performance/Nitto Tires Evo X was prepped and ready for battle better than ever.
Ryan used the Saturday Practice sessions to learn the track and dial in the car with the JRZ Triples Adjustable Race shocks. Things went smoothly as Ryan learned the track quickly, making it much easier to focus on the setup of the car. With Chris from AMS at the track, the tune on the stock 4B11T was perfected, making well over 500whp.
After the times posted by other Modified Class competitors during Saturday Practice sessions, Ryan felt very confident heading into Sunday’s Time Attack. Ryan used in-car timing to record his laptimes to keep everyone else guessing. In the final session, Ryan posted a 1:03.2 laptime, more than 5 full seconds faster than his nearest competitor. The stage was set for the Time Attack in the morning.
On Sunday, Ryan headed out for the first practice session to record a lap which would determine his grid position in the Time Attack session. Ryan posted a conservative 1:05.0 laptime, which was fast enough to earn First on the grid.
In the first Time Attack session, Ryan drove smoothly and posted a 1:04.4 laptime on his first timed lap. The laptime was fast enough to secure the lead in Modified Class by more than 3.5 seconds over second place and smash the current Modified Class Track Record by more than 2 full seconds. Knowing things were secure, Ryan planned to take a much more aggressive approach in the second Time Attack session intent on breaking his own Modified Class Track Record from the previous session.
Unfortunately, while on grid for the second Time Attack session, there was an issue with the clutch master cylinder causing the clutch to stay partially engaged. The crew at AMS Performance did all they could to fix the issue on grid, but there wasn’t a simple fix. Luckily, Ryan had already secured the Win in the Modified Class, as well as capturing the Overall Modified Class Championship in Nashville at Round Four of the Redline Time Attack! Series.
With the next Redline Time Attack! event at Carolina Motorsports Park in less than two weeks, Ryan and AMS Performance will be working to resolve any issues while also making some serious improvements to the car. Competition will be tough at Carolina, but Ryan and the AMS Performance Time Attack Race Team will be well prepared and faster than ever. Look for a strong performance from Ryan at Carolina Motorsports Park for Round Five of the Redline Time Attack! Series.
Ryan Gates would like to thank the following sponsors for their incredible support in 2009:
AMS Performance (www.AMSPerformance.com)
Nitto Tires (www.NittoTire.com)
K&N Engineering (www.KNFilter.com)
JRZ Suspension (www.JRZSuspension.com)
etnies (www.etnies.com)
Carbonetic (www.Carbonetic.net)
Girodisc (www.Girodisc.com)
Seibon Carbon (www.SeibonCarbon.com)
Forced Performance (www.ForcedPerformance.net)
Double Down Motorsports (www.DoubleDownMotorsports.com)
Evasive Motorsports (www.EvasiveMotorsports.com)
Voltex (www.voltex.ne.jp/english/index.html)
And I took the kink slow (120mph) but there was no point to push the car thru some of the most dangerous corners in the country on an open track day haha. Anyways, enjoy the video and the pics. If you haven’t made it out to R/A before…get out there. It’s so much fun.
