The GRIP Seminars presented by Circle Track are fast approaching. In less than two weeks, racers from across the country will come together to share knowledge and get some first-hand experience with race car data in Mooresville, N.C.
With the seminars just on the horizon, we wanted to circle back to last year’s GRIP and touch base with a driver who made a trip down from Wisconsin. Maxwell Schultz was already on the upswing as a top driver at Wisconsin International Raceway on Thursday nights. So were there things from GRIP that he could apply to make the race team even better?
“There was quite a bit. We never really ran bump stops or anything like that prior,” Schultz said. “We got more into that this year.”
Schultz was coming off a breakout year in 2015 that saw him set multiple fast times and contend for wins. Coming off GRIP, Schultz started off 2016 with a blistering pace at WIR. He set fast time in four of the first five events of the season, and was consistently in the fast dash throughout the year. In 13 events Schultz recorded nine Top Fives (including a win, three Second Place Finishes, and a Third Place finish). If not for DNFs late in the season, he may have captured the title.
“You could see that we were a little bit better this year than we were in years past,” Schultz said. “I can’t remember everything we used. There was a lot of the setup stuff that everyone does a little different. We used some of their ideas.”
One of the unique things according to Schultz about GRIP is that there is no magic bullet to take away. He said there were many different things throughout the three days that he brought back to his program.
“As far as listening to them talk about bump stops and shocks, that was huge for us this year,” Schultz said. “But also, going down and being able to see the wind tunnel and seeing some of the changes, there was stuff that we could apply back to what we were doing. I guess there wasn’t one thing that jumped out as being the biggest. Mostly it was getting to listen to Jason [Enders of RE Suspension] and Gary [Crooks of Crooks Racing] talk about shocks and those sorts of things.”
Schultz said he would like to attend GRIP again, but could not make the trip down in 2017. He thinks this year’s seminars will be very advantageous with the extra time at the A2 Wind Tunnel and the Morse Measurements KRC Rig.
“I think this year is going to be even better with all the hands-on stuff for people to look at,” Schultz said. “We can do all our stuff in the shop all we want, but until you get on a machine and it can tell you what it’s doing, it’s all just guess work. At GRIP you can put it on the machine, try it and actually have numbers to take home with you.”
He also has a suggestion for those drivers who attend – stick around and socialize with the other drivers. Forming those relationships can be just as helpful as the information that is gained from the seminars and hands-on experience.
“We were there together the whole time, even during lunch and the breaks,” Schultz explained. “I became friends with a guy on Facebook and we talk every so often. They run a Late Model Stock Car which is different, but we get some different ideas they do that we can try, and we just go back and forth.”
“There is so much that goes on there you might miss something and they pick it up and tell you,” he added. “That was one nice thing was being able to talk to everyone afterward and bounce ideas off each other and learn more.”
The GRIP Seminars take place February 10-12 at the Charles Mack Citizen Center in Mooresville, NC. Limited seating is still available. For more information visit www.gripseminars.com
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