Sunday was day three of the yearly Z Nationals event held by Z1 Motorsports. This event draws Nissan and Infiniti owners from around the US for all the right reasons, as you saw by my previous coverage of the Dyno Day and Car Show(
Z Nationals Car Show Coverage) this event is filled with highly modified cars. Not only does Z Nationals give car owners a chance to participate in the car show and get some dyno numbers but also, have the chance to really get out and destroy some tires and brakes on track. There were many cars that looked absolutely stunning parked at the show and then less than 24 hours later were getting debris tossed at them on the track...and I can truly respect that.
We left our shop dark(can't call it bright because the sun hadn't risen) and early Sunday morning with our two car hauler strapped to the Forged Performance tow pig F-450. After stopping for a quick breakfast we rolled into Atlanta Motor Speedway and unpacked the Forged Performance race prepped GT-R and GT3. Both cars quickly drew a crowd as they were being pulled out of the trailer and I had heard a few whispers about how fast they were. Seams like our cars are get a well deserved reputation! After we got settled in the pits, chairs set up, cooler unloaded and made sure we had plenty of E-85 on hand we made it over to the drivers meeting. Shortly afterwards we realized we had taken over the right hand side of the large coverage garage in the pits with Forged Performance Shop cars, employee cars, friends cars and customers cars that all came out to play on this beautiful Sunday. After making sure everybody around us was set-up properly and well taken car of it was time to head out for a few laps.
The majority of us had never ran this NASCAR track with it's unknown infield sports car section. Instructors went out first for some sighting laps to assess the track conditions and preview the course. Sharif returned and declared the track fun, but incredibly dirty. Apparently, the NASCAR officials at the track don't consider the infield and apron a high priority when it comes to sweeping. Gee, I wonder way...ha! Rocks and gravel went a'flying and cars were peppered with massive amounts of debris on the first few laps.
Fortunately, it did not take long for the debris to find it's way off track while the cars stayed on track. And this is actually a REALLY fun circuit. Sharif said he prefers it over Nashville Super Speedway which is also a NASCAR track that is popular for the track day crowd, and infinitely better than previous year's Talladega Gran Prix. "The track is a lot of fun, but the real fun starts with the backside entry onto the longest straight which begins with a left hand 24 degree tight banked oval. In the higher powered cars, keeping your right foot firmly on the ground takes some serious insanity but it's doable, and the feeling of 2.5+ g's pushing you into the seat and braking from 160mph down to 60mph is intoxicating", said Sharif Abdelbaset the GM here at Forged and our resident hot shoe. "The rest of the track is merely a prelude to that banked oval, and I can't wait until next year.", continues Sharif.
This day completed Z Nationals 2011 and another track event for the Forged Performance Team. I can assure you that we will be participating in many more track days between now and this time next year, we will always cherish our time spent at Z Nationals. This event is always one of our favorites because of the great people and awesome atmosphere surrounding all three days. I truly hope you enjoy my video coverage and we will see you at Z Nats 2012!
~PLEASE WATCH IN HD~
Forged Performance: Z Nationals Track Day