u/ThePinkMohawk

The VP Challenge entry list for Mosport is officially out, and if you look closely at the attached image, you’ll see a massive update under our tent!

For the next round, Ismaeel Ellahi will be piloting the No. 25 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo instead of our usual Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

Switching from a mid-engine platform to the front-engine Vantage mid-season is a huge technical puzzle, but the crew is ready to tackle it. There is no better place to debut a beast like the Aston than a fast, legendary track like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

We can't wait to get to work up north. Let us know if you'll be catching the races this weekend!

#Season2026 #BlameCanada

It's the big one! Waking up to beautiful skies here at Watkins Glen.

Tire World is open for business once again! Cappy has reassumed his position as Supreme Tire Guardian, overlooking the racks under the Czabok-Simpson Motorsport canopy.

Here is the action plan for CSM today:
9:05 AM: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 2 🏎️
12:05 PM: Fan Gridwalk (Come say hi! 👋)
1:05 PM: LP Building Solutions 120 (2 Hours of Michelin Pilot Challenge mayhem!)

We are locked, loaded, and ahead of the schedule. Let's do this!

#Season2026

Waking up to dry skies at The Glen today!

Day 3 is officially a go, and the weather is finally cooperating. We’ve got Cappy stationed right at the top of tire world under the Czabok-Simpson Motorsport canopy, keeping a watchful eye on our Michelin rubber. Practice 2 and Qualifying are on the menu for Michelin Pilot Challenge and Qualifying and Race 1 for Porsche Carrera Cup today, and the energy in the paddock is high. Let’s get to work!

If you're at the track today, make sure you stop by and say hi to Cappy, myself and the rest of the CSM crew!

#Season2026

Load-in day was a massive success!

With the split paddock rules, we absolutely crushed the Porsche Carrera Cup setup. Since we had to unload anyway, we even got our entire "tire world" staged and ready to rock.

We finished our work early enough to take Cappy out for the afternoon track walk. Things... escalated quickly. Standing on the asphalt of the Esses is one thing, but apparently, Cappy found the limits immediately.

Despite the "incident," we are 100% ahead of the game. The Michelin Pilot Challenge truck opens at 8:00 AM tomorrow, and we are locked, loaded, and recovering. Let the mayhem begin!

Here's a video of me driving in through the crossover, up to the garages and then parking.
Load in at Watkins Glen

Action on track starts with P1 for Mustang Challenge at 815am and P1 for Carrera Cup at 9am!

#Season2026 #Cappy

We're back at The Glen, this time for race week! I was just leaving here a week ago 😂

Our trucks are fully staged in the outer lots, and we actually managed to sneak away for a few hours today to check out the gorge and the falls. It’s always surreal having that little bit of downtime before the paddock schedule kicks in.

Tomorrow the real logistical puzzle begins: it's load-in day for both the Porsche Carrera Cup and Michelin Pilot Challenge trucks. Because Carrera Cup hits the track at 9:00 AM on Thursday, we can open that truck early in the day and get right to work setting up that garage space. Meanwhile, the Michelin Challenge truck has to sit tight and closed up until Thursday morning at 8:00 AM sharp per the schedule rules!

It’s going to be a game of split focus this weekend , but we'll have the Cup side locked down before the mayhem truly starts.

Who all is heading out to the track this weekend?

#Season2026 #RacingLife #IMSA #WatkinsGlen #Truckie #BigRig

We're back at The Glen, this time for race week! I was just leaving here a week ago 😂

Our trucks are fully staged in the outer lots, and we actually managed to sneak away for a few hours today to check out the gorge and the falls. It’s always surreal having that little bit of downtime before the paddock schedule kicks in.

Tomorrow the real logistical puzzle begins: it's load-in day for both the Porsche Carrera Cup and Michelin Pilot Challenge trucks. Because Carrera Cup hits the track at 9:00 AM on Thursday, we can open that truck early in the day and get right to work setting up that garage space. Meanwhile, the Michelin Challenge truck has to sit tight and closed up until Thursday morning at 8:00 AM sharp per the schedule rules!

It’s going to be a game of split focus this weekend , but we'll have the Cup side locked down before the mayhem truly starts.

Who all is heading out to the track this weekend?

#Season2026 #RacingLife #IMSA #WatkinsGlen #Truckie #BigRig

Forgot to drop an update yesterday (oops, track brain is real!), but we've been running hard and testing all day today.

Now that our sessions are wrapped up for today, it's great to just sit back, watch a little bit of the remaining on-track action, and enjoy the sights and sounds of Watkins Glen. The weather held out nicely for us, and the data looks solid.

Time to reset, prep the gear, and get ready for the next session in the morning! #Season2026

PS: if you're in the area there is a grandstand that is open to the public and cars will be on the track until 8PM tonight and again tomorrow until I believe 4PM.

From a weather lottery at Mid-Ohio straight back to the day job

The racing gods definitely kept us on our toes this weekend, but Tuesday morning hits hard when you go from a high-speed paddock straight back to the real world.

**The Highs:**
Ismaeel absolutely drove the wheels off the #25 Cayman GT4RS Clubsport in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX class. Mother Nature threw the entire playbook at us on Saturday. A severe thunderstorm rolled through, leaving the track and pit lane completely soaking wet. Ismaeel handled the treacherous changing weather beautifully to lock down a massive P3 podium finish—and we’ve got a shiny third-place trophy to prove it!

By Sunday morning, the rain was gone, but we were greeted by an absolute pea-soup fog on pit lane at the start of the race. Ismaeel braved the low-visibility morning to back up Saturday's podium with a hard-fought P4. Incredible weekend for the #25 side of the paddock!

**The Lows:**
The 4-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race started with a ton of promise (and a ton of heat). Madeline Stewart started the race out from the 20th spot and ran a solid long first stint for the team staying on the lead lap and trying to set up a fuel mileage play for the end of the race. Even running in fuel-save mode she managed to keep it on the lead lap and was even in the lead by strategy when she came in for her pitstop and driver change to Cody Scully.

Cody was able to log some solid laps and run another long stint, but unfortunately went a lap down towards the end of it as the leaders were running around on fresh tires as he was trying to stretch another long stint out of his tires. Unfortunately, the car seems to have run out of fuel as he came to pit lane for his stop, which caused a bit of a delay and some confusion during the stop.

As you can probably guess, the car did not like being run out of fuel, and on Morgan's first lap in the car, he spun out as the car fought back. He was able to get the car reset and get rolling again. Unfortunately the spin put us back a bit further than we would have liked, but Morgan definitely had the pace to keep us in the long-term fight!

Unfortunately, with all the rain from the day before, the grass off-track was holding water like a sponge. The #2 Cayman dropped tires into the slick, wet grass out of the final turn while trying to make a move around the outside of another car. Without any traction, the car snapped and slid nose-first into the Armco, ending our day early.

The most important thing is that Morgan is completely fine. The car is going to need some serious front-end love back at the shop, but the crew should have it ready to roll by the time we head to Watkins Glen. Huge shoutout to the entire crew for pulling double duty across two series in some of the craziest weather changes we've seen all year.

**The Reality Check:**
...And just like that, the weekend is over and it's back to the real job today. Swapping out high-octane fueling and tire management for CNC machinery and daily operations.

The contrast is wild, and for a fly-in contractor, the turnaround is immediate. I’ve only got a few days at home to catch my breath and handle the day job before I head back out Sunday morning to pick up the truck and trailer. Then it's right back on the road for testing next week.

The grind truly never stops!

#Season2026 #IMPC #VPRC #MidOhio

The racing gods definitely kept us on our toes this weekend, but Tuesday morning hits hard when you go from a high-speed paddock straight back to the real world.

**The Highs:**
Ismaeel absolutely drove the wheels off the #25 Cayman GT4RS Clubsport in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX class. Mother Nature threw the entire playbook at us on Saturday. A severe thunderstorm rolled through, leaving the track and pit lane completely soaking wet. Ismaeel handled the treacherous changing weather beautifully to lock down a massive P3 podium finish—and we’ve got a shiny third-place trophy to prove it!

By Sunday morning, the rain was gone, but we were greeted by an absolute pea-soup fog on pit lane at the start of the race. Ismaeel braved the low-visibility morning to back up Saturday's podium with a hard-fought P4. Incredible weekend for the #25 side of the paddock!

**The Lows:**
The 4-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race started with a ton of promise (and a ton of heat). Madeline Stewart started the race out from the 20th spot and ran a solid long first stint for the team staying on the lead lap and trying to set up a fuel mileage play for the end of the race. Even running in fuel-save mode she managed to keep it on the lead lap and was even in the lead by strategy when she came in for her pitstop and driver change to Cody Scully.

Cody was able to log some solid laps and run another long stint, but unfortunately went a lap down towards the end of it as the leaders were running around on fresh tires as he was trying to stretch another long stint out of his tires. Unfortunately, the car seems to have run out of fuel as he came to pit lane for his stop, which caused a bit of a delay and some confusion during the stop.

As you can probably guess, the car did not like being run out of fuel, and on Morgan's first lap in the car, he spun out as the car fought back. He was able to get the car reset and get rolling again. Unfortunately the spin put us back a bit further than we would have liked, but Morgan definitely had the pace to keep us in the long-term fight!

Unfortunately, with all the rain from the day before, the grass off-track was holding water like a sponge. The #2 Cayman dropped tires into the slick, wet grass out of the final turn while trying to make a move around the outside of another car. Without any traction, the car snapped and slid nose-first into the Armco, ending our day early.

The most important thing is that Morgan is completely fine. The car is going to need some serious front-end love back at the shop, but the crew should have it ready to roll by the time we head to Watkins Glen. Huge shoutout to the entire crew for pulling double duty across two series in some of the craziest weather changes we've seen all year.

**The Reality Check:**
...And just like that, the weekend is over and it's back to the real job today. Swapping out high-octane fueling and tire management for CNC machinery and daily operations.

The contrast is wild, and for a fly-in contractor, the turnaround is immediate. I’ve only got a few days at home to catch my breath and handle the day job before I head back out Sunday morning to pick up the truck and trailer. Then it's right back on the road for testing next week.

The grind truly never stops!

#Season2026 #IMPC #VPRC #MidOhio

Load-in day is officially in the books!

We started the morning with two completely bare garages (forgot to snap a finished photo tonight, but ⁠the first image shows what we started with), and now we’re fully built out and ready to rock.
Because we’re running in the main event this weekend, pit lane setup was a bit more intensive. ⁠Image 2 is our home on pit lane for the weekend—had to bring our own timing stand and complete control center setup out to the wall. I'll get a more complete and uncovered photo tomorrow.

"Tire World" is also fully operational under the tents. Between managing 4 sets for the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge car (#25 GSX) and 7 sets for the Michelin Pilot Challenge car (#2 GS), it’s going to be a flat-out weekend keeping pressures and allocations straight.

Since I always get asked what the various writing on the rubber means, I figured I'd share a quick breakdown using a set we just prepped:

-LF / RF / LR / RR: Standard corner designations so we don't accidentally put a right on the left. You will sometimes see European teams switch the order (FR or RL for example) but that's too much thinking for new 😂

-MIDO: Track designation (Mid-Ohio) to keep allocations organized.

-25-38: The team set tracking. This tells us it's for Car #25, Set #38 and allows the engineers to keep permanent records on each set. We number ours sequentially each race weekend to allow full yearly tracking and data sets.

-The big white "2": That’s actually a Michelin reference used for their logistics and billing so they know which team account to charge. They'll just bill a set to one of our car numbers and then we scan them into a system to tell IMSA and Michelin which car we actually put that set on.

-Pink Arrows: These point straight to the valve stems. When I'm scrambling in a hot pit lane or a dark tent, you don't want to waste any time searching a tire just to find where to check the pressure.

Everything is locked down and ready for practice. If you’re hanging out at the Keyhole, China Beach, or Thunder Valley this weekend, come find us in the paddock and say hi! If you watch 'The Racing Trucker' and see his video from today, you might catch a cameo of me in Tire World!

#Season2026 #LivingTheDream #TireWorld

Load-in day is officially in the books!

We started the morning with two completely bare garages (forgot to snap a finished photo tonight, but ⁠the first image shows what we started with), and now we’re fully built out and ready to rock.
Because we’re running in the main event this weekend, pit lane setup was a bit more intensive. ⁠Image 2 is our home on pit lane for the weekend—had to bring our own timing stand and complete control center setup out to the wall. I'll get a more complete and uncovered photo tomorrow.

"Tire World" is also fully operational under the tents. Between managing 4 sets for the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge car (#25 GSX) and 7 sets for the Michelin Pilot Challenge car (#2 GS), it’s going to be a flat-out weekend keeping pressures and allocations straight.

Since I always get asked what the various writing on the rubber means, I figured I'd share a quick breakdown using a set we just prepped:

-LF / RF / LR / RR: Standard corner designations so we don't accidentally put a right on the left. You will sometimes see European teams switch the order (FR or RL for example) but that's too much thinking for new 😂

-MIDO: Track designation (Mid-Ohio) to keep allocations organized.

-25-38: The team set tracking. This tells us it's for Car #25, Set #38 and allows the engineers to keep permanent records on each set. We number ours sequentially each race weekend to allow full yearly tracking and data sets.

-The big white "2": That’s actually a Michelin reference used for their logistics and billing so they know which team account to charge. They'll just bill a set to one of our car numbers and then we scan them into a system to tell IMSA and Michelin which car we actually put that set on.

-Pink Arrows: These point straight to the valve stems. When I'm scrambling in a hot pit lane or a dark tent, you don't want to waste any time searching a tire just to find where to check the pressure.

Everything is locked down and ready for practice. If you’re hanging out at the Keyhole, China Beach, or Thunder Valley this weekend, come find us in the paddock and say hi! If you watch 'The Racing Trucker' and see his video from today, you might catch a cameo of me in Tire World!

#Season2026 #LivingTheDream #TireWorld

Mid-Ohio grind starts today!

Back on the grind today. Cappy and I are heading down to the shop to hook up the truck and trailer, then getting the rig lined up for pre-staging for this weekend's IMSA rounds.

We’re pulling double duty this weekend, keeping a pair of Porsche 718 Cayman GT4RS Clubsports ready to roll:

Michelin Pilot Challenge: Running the 4-hour endurance race in the GS class with the #2 Cayman.
VP Racing SportsCar Challenge: Running both sprint races in the GSX class with the #25 Cayman.

Honestly, after that brutal 5-day haul each way to California earlier this season, this one-day commute from the home office to the shop to the track feels like an absolute luxury. The crew is going to be flat-out with both cars, but I’ll take this commute any day.

For anyone heading out to Mid-Ohio this weekend, where is everyone setting up their lawn chairs? Are you a Keyhole purist for the passing zones, watching them try to keep it together braking hard into China Beach, or just hanging out for the pure noise down in Thunder Valley?

If you see the rig or see me working the paddock, come say hi. Safe travels if you're driving in this week!

Back on the grind today. Cappy and I are heading down to the shop to hook up the truck and trailer, then getting the rig lined up for pre-staging for this weekend's IMSA rounds.

We’re pulling double duty this weekend, keeping a pair of Porsche 718 Cayman GT4RS Clubsports ready to roll:

Michelin Pilot Challenge: Running the 4-hour endurance race in the GS class with the #2 Cayman.
VP Racing SportsCar Challenge: Running both sprint races in the GSX class with the #25 Cayman.

Honestly, after that brutal 5-day haul each way to California earlier this season, this one-day commute from the home office to the shop to the track feels like an absolute luxury. The crew is going to be flat-out with both cars, but I’ll take this commute any day.

For anyone heading out to Mid-Ohio this weekend, where is everyone setting up their lawn chairs? Are you a Keyhole purist for the passing zones, watching them try to keep it together braking hard into China Beach, or just hanging out for the pure noise down in Thunder Valley?

If you see the rig or see me working the paddock, come say hi. Safe travels if you're driving in this week!

My son had to go somewhere right after his soccer tournament today and missed the team photo with their medals for 2nd place. Can anyone add him into the team photo so he doesn't feel left out? I know he might not have the medal on his neck, but at least he'll be in the photo.

He's the goalie in pink in the photo in front of the net.

TIA.

One of the coolest parts about being a contract "fly-in" truckie in the motorsport world is how quickly the scenery changes.

Yesterday was all about a team's new hardware. I went to pick up a trailer a team just bought, and honestly, it’s impressive how much life you can get out of these setups if they’re maintained well. This one is a 2000 Featherlight, and for being over 25 years old, it’s in damn good shape! Check out the interior, it won't stay that empty for long.

Today, the pivot is real. I’m back at my day job running CNC machines to craft parts for arcade and pinball machines.

It’s a pretty wild transition going from hauling professional racing equipment one day to precision-machining the guts of a pinball cabinet the next, but I love the variety of the grind.