GOODGUYS NASHVILLE – 2016
NASHVILLE, TN – The 2016 Goodguys Nashville Autocross was definitely one for the record books. The event took place on May 13th-15th on a temporary road course in the parking lot of Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. The track itself was big, challenging, and fast, which meant all drivers had their work cut out for them. Adding to the difficult track was the dramatic change in the Nashville weather which kept the Ultimate Performance team on their toes. A beautiful, warm & sunny spring day greeted the crowds on Friday and allowed the teams to shake down their machines and start to dial in their setups. Saturday, on the other hand, brought cool, cloudy, and windy conditions which presented quite the challenge for the competitors, but made for some great competition for the fans. Saturday’s autocross opened according to schedule, but competitors didn’t take to the track until after lunch because of wet and rainy morning conditions.
The Ultimate Performance team was well represented in Nashville with six cars carrying the UP colors. Kyle Tucker and Ryan Matthews showed up from the Detroit Speed stable, showcasing their 1970 Camaro test car and 1972 Corvette Test car, respectively. Each DSE car was displaying the latest Detroit Speed subframe and suspension technology, including 4-way adjustable JRi Shocks and BF Goodrich Rival tires. Brian Finch also represented DSE by competing in his 1971 Corvette complete with a DSE/JRi suspension and BF Goodrich tires. Mike Junior Johnson threw his hat in the ring with his beautiful C3 Corvette displaying Wilwood Brakes. Tyler Powell competed in the Pro class with his 1963 Grand Sport Corvette, with PAC Springs and JRi Shocks. Brad Grainger showed up in his 1965 Chevy C-10 and competed in the truck class, which rounded out the Ultimate Performance fleet for the weekend.
Friday’s and Saturday’s on-track action was quite different due to the vast overnight change of weather conditions. Many of the UP cars found the track to be slick on Friday, which called for spring changes and air pressure adjustments to tighten up the cars. Saturday was a different story, with many of Friday’s adjustments being undone and then some. Many of the cars were too tight in the afternoon session because of the cool temps and overcast skies. Springs were stiffened to help get the cars to turn, which called for rebound to be added to the JRi shocks to control the higher rates. Tire pressures were increased after the wet conditions went away to take advantage of the grip in the cool track surface. As Saturday’s session concluded, the Ultimate Performance cars were once again atop the leaderboard with Mike Junior Johnson and Ryan Matthews finishing 1-2 in the Pro Class. Mike’s lap of 42.806 seconds was the only lap recorded in the 42 second bracket in the Pro class, and a full two tenths ahead of Ryan Matthews. This victory qualified Mike for the Duel In The Desert finale in Scottsdale, AZ in November. Brian Finch followed suit in the Street Machine class by taking the win with his lap of 42.951 seconds, and the only 42 second lap in the Street Machine Class graduating him to the Pro Class for the remainder of the Good Guys’ autocross events this season. Kyle Tucker brought his Camaro home to a 4th place finish (43.151 sec) in the Pro class and Tyler Powell completed a successful top-10 by all the Ultimate Performance cars with his 7th place finish (43.552 sec). Finally, Brad Grainger took home second place in the truck class with a lap time of 47.936 seconds. Congratulations to all of the Ultimate Performance cars competing in Nashville. Your on-track success is a reflection of our hard work and dedication to make you go faster each week and we are honored to have our logo on your car.