AMS NOS Energy Drink TA EVO X takes 1st in Unlimited AWD – Redline Time Attack CMP

The 5th race in the Redline Time Attack series brought teams to Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina. CMP is a 2.3 mile challenging road course that has a mix of lower speed technical corners and some high speed straights.

It was a typical August weekend for CMP bringing 95+ degree heat and high humidity. Everyone knew it would be tough to set records in these conditions but the teams went to work on Saturday to bring the best out of their machines. The AMS/NOS Energy Drink EVO X was fast right out the box. With only its 3rd event since its debut, the car is still undergoing many tweaks that make it faster and faster at each event. After the first practice session AMS put down the fastest time in the Unlimited AWD class and second fastest time overall, only 2 tenths behind the Factor-X turbo NSX, but there were problems. Mark Daddio, the driver, brought the car in and complained that 5th gear would not engage properly. After the shifter linkage and clutch release point were inspected and adjusted the team decided to see if things would improve in the second session. Unfortunately the transmission would not go into 5th gear in the next practice session and the team knew it had a problem on its hands. A shifter linkage issue plagued the car in its last two races and was finally resolved for this race but the damage was done. The decision was made to run the car as little as possible to save the transmission and try to turn the engine higher in 4th gear to make up for the lost 5th gear.

Sunday morning was race day and team AMS/NOS raised the rev limiter to 9400 rpm and hoped for the best. Although this helped, the car was still running out of gear on two of the straights and cost the team dearly. In the first race session the AMS/NOS Time Attack EVO X turned a 1:33.15, putting it well in the lead for the Unlimited AWD Class. After the session Mark Daddio told the team that he could only use two gears, 3rd and 4th! With the transmission on its last breath the decision was made to sit out the rest of the competition knowing that 1st place was secured. Ultimately team AMS/NOS brought home the class win and set an impressive time, beating out a wide variety of cars including a Grand Am Rolex GT Porsche cup car!

The next event is Englishtown NJ and the team is already planning on upgrading the transmission, adding a rear diffuser, and extracting a little more power out of the potent Mitsubishi 4B11 engine.

AMS would like to thank our sponsors, without whom none of this would be possible:

-AEM http://www.aempower.com/
-Aeromotions http://aeromotions.com/
-BF Goodrich http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/index.jsp
-Child Rescue Network http://www.childrescuenetwork.org/
-Exedy http://www.exedyusa.com/race/
-JE Pistons http://www.jepistons.com/
-JRZ Suspension http://www.jrzsuspension.com/
-Manley http://www.manleyperformance.com/
-Mishimoto http://www.mishimoto.com/
-Mitsubishi Motors USA http://www.mitsubishicars.com
-NOS Energy Drink http://www.drinknos.com/
-Precision Turbo http://www.precisionturbo.net/
-Prototype Composites http://www.prototypecomposites.com/
-Status http://www.statusracing.com/
-StopTech http://www.stoptech.com/
-StickerDude http://www.stickerdudedesigns.com/
-Vibrant Performance http://www.vibrantperformance.com/More