Haven’t heard of GridLife? Don’t worry we didn’t either. GRIDLIFE Festival is part track day / part car show / part music festival, bringing all aspects of car culture to a single venue for a one of a kind celebration of automotive enthusiasm.
Visit their website here: http://gridlife.co/index.html
2014 was the inaugural year for GridLife. We were very impressed with their organization and presentation for the very first year. We also liked the no alcohol served until AFTER the track closes. I’m sure some people did bring their own booze but it seemed the general crowd was sober still at 3pm. We, along with some extra friends, will be back next year for sure!
So, we loaded up the Evo, the 350Z, and the STi and left early Saturday morning from Stevens Point, made a quick stop near Milwaukee to pickup our good friend Paul of Boosted Films. We arrived at Gingerman Raceway around 2pm. Unloaded the cars and trailer, walked around, talked with others, and watched some people attempt to drift (I say this in a nice way). Overall it was a welcoming atmosphere with a very diverse car crowd. Everything from show cars (stance), drifters, and real track junkies. So after a few hours of spectating, we found a nice place for lunch, then went back to the hotel.
Sunday morning- Early breakfast and head to the track. Tech, driver’s meeting, then 1st practice session. This all happened pretty smoothly and we were on track. They ran the Time Attack with 2 practice sessions, 1 qualifying session, then 2 timed sessions. This proved to be a nice format as it didn’t put pressure on you to get that fast lap in on the first or second session (your car is always faster early morning).
Throughout the day we kept at it. Made few adjustments here and there. Softened sway bar, adjusted tire pressures, just trying to squeeze every last bit out of the cars. Coming into the time sessions, we were about to put the fast tires on the Evo only to have some lug nut issues. After asking around and a trip into AutoZone, we got us some cheap spline drive tuner lug nuts that were close ended (I have extended studs). Being in 2nd place overall and about a second needed, we forced them on and went back out. Sure the studs may need to be replaced, but sometimes you got to do whatever it takes. This made a pretty big difference in lap times and was enough to clinch the FTD.
In the end, we took home the overall fastest time, and 2 1st place wins in class.
Big thanks to our supporters out there! Grimmspeed for the generous contingencies, Ron at RS Motors for assistance and advice, Kurt at Sign Pro, Paul of BoostedFilms, and lots of other family and friends.
BoostedFilm VLOG:
Boosted Films video of the entire event:
Few pictures:
