Luwin1026
03-31-2004, 08:44 PM
As the sun begins to set over the black tarmac of the makeshift track, you cannot help but recall the day’s events.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/Nuk.jpg
Tires squealing as cars pitch left and right on the edge of their handling abilities, the sounds of ratchets and wrenches as adjustments are hastily made between runs, flashes of orange as cones get bumped as a drivers get a little too close. There’s no uniformed pit crew in sight, nary a television camera documenting the action, and no commercialized winner’s circle with umbrella girls and champagne showers. No multi-million factory-backed race teams fighting for a manufacturer’s championship, no politics dictated by upper echelon team owners. This is a world of people like you and me. People who have normal weekday jobs, and do this on weekends out of their own pocket, their own passion. People who even drive their own cars to the track instead of having it trailered in, and bring a cooler of food and drinks as there isn’t a catering table under a team tent in sight. You can call it grassroots, you can call it simple. But for those who are involved, you can call it life. Welcome to the world of autocrossing.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/nuk3.jpg
They say good things can come in small packages. This is quite true of the autocross scene, as you see mostly smaller, nimble cars like the Mazda Miata zipping around the course. And don’t be surprised if you see a Brilliant Silver C230 Kompressor coupe tearing it up as well. That is the weapon of choice of avid autocrosser Nukblazi, who I am proud to present to you as BNZsport.com’s April Ride of the Month.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/Nuk2.jpg
The connection is not one that is automatically made, and it’s obvious to the reasons why. Mercedes-Benz’s are mostly known for their luxury and classiness, with a hint of sportiness. Perhaps that reputation was advocated by the boxy, sedate sedan offerings in the past, but Mercedes is changing that notion with their current lineup offerings. And on a local level, you have people like Nukblazi who are changing the public’s perception of the brand. While his C-coupe might look quite stock on the outside, it is what he does with it that amazes people. No pampered people-mover here – this is a car that is set up to be competitive on the autocross circuit, and that is exactly what Nukblazi does with it.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/Nuk4.jpg
Nukblazi fell in love with the car right when he took delivery of it in February of 2002. With barely a few thousand miles on the odometer, his car experienced her first autocross while still in stock form. While it was a good learning experience for him as he got a feel of how the car performed, he sought out ways to raise the bar on the car’s performance. The car had proven to be very reliable, which is a great testament to the build quality that Mercedes-Benz is known for and gave Nukblazi less headaches and more time to focus on modifications. He ordered up a set of H&R springs and Eibach sway bars to tighten things up on the handling side, and a call to Kleemann USA resulted in a pulley upgrade as well as a lightweight aluminum flywheel. Other go-fast mods include an Unorthodox Racing 6-puck sprung hub clutch disk and a modified S4 pressure plate with increased spring rate. Needing something sticky to put that increased power to the ground, Toyo stepped up and provided some Proxes RA for the C7 wheels. Holding him in place in the cockpit as he slides around is an OMP 4-point autocross harness.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/Nuk5.jpg
While that might not seem like an extensive modification list, the combination of the parts combined with the Nukblazi’s driving skills netted him three podium finishes last year and allowed him to typically stay in the front of the pack. He plans to upgrade his suspension even more as well as his brakes, and acquire his professional racing license this year. When those upgrades are realized and his skills even further honed, Nukblazi will be sure to tear up the autocross circuit and let everyone know that indeed, you can bring your Mercedes-Benz out onto the track.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/Nuk6.jpg
-LK
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/Nuk.jpg
Tires squealing as cars pitch left and right on the edge of their handling abilities, the sounds of ratchets and wrenches as adjustments are hastily made between runs, flashes of orange as cones get bumped as a drivers get a little too close. There’s no uniformed pit crew in sight, nary a television camera documenting the action, and no commercialized winner’s circle with umbrella girls and champagne showers. No multi-million factory-backed race teams fighting for a manufacturer’s championship, no politics dictated by upper echelon team owners. This is a world of people like you and me. People who have normal weekday jobs, and do this on weekends out of their own pocket, their own passion. People who even drive their own cars to the track instead of having it trailered in, and bring a cooler of food and drinks as there isn’t a catering table under a team tent in sight. You can call it grassroots, you can call it simple. But for those who are involved, you can call it life. Welcome to the world of autocrossing.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/nuk3.jpg
They say good things can come in small packages. This is quite true of the autocross scene, as you see mostly smaller, nimble cars like the Mazda Miata zipping around the course. And don’t be surprised if you see a Brilliant Silver C230 Kompressor coupe tearing it up as well. That is the weapon of choice of avid autocrosser Nukblazi, who I am proud to present to you as BNZsport.com’s April Ride of the Month.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/Nuk2.jpg
The connection is not one that is automatically made, and it’s obvious to the reasons why. Mercedes-Benz’s are mostly known for their luxury and classiness, with a hint of sportiness. Perhaps that reputation was advocated by the boxy, sedate sedan offerings in the past, but Mercedes is changing that notion with their current lineup offerings. And on a local level, you have people like Nukblazi who are changing the public’s perception of the brand. While his C-coupe might look quite stock on the outside, it is what he does with it that amazes people. No pampered people-mover here – this is a car that is set up to be competitive on the autocross circuit, and that is exactly what Nukblazi does with it.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/Nuk4.jpg
Nukblazi fell in love with the car right when he took delivery of it in February of 2002. With barely a few thousand miles on the odometer, his car experienced her first autocross while still in stock form. While it was a good learning experience for him as he got a feel of how the car performed, he sought out ways to raise the bar on the car’s performance. The car had proven to be very reliable, which is a great testament to the build quality that Mercedes-Benz is known for and gave Nukblazi less headaches and more time to focus on modifications. He ordered up a set of H&R springs and Eibach sway bars to tighten things up on the handling side, and a call to Kleemann USA resulted in a pulley upgrade as well as a lightweight aluminum flywheel. Other go-fast mods include an Unorthodox Racing 6-puck sprung hub clutch disk and a modified S4 pressure plate with increased spring rate. Needing something sticky to put that increased power to the ground, Toyo stepped up and provided some Proxes RA for the C7 wheels. Holding him in place in the cockpit as he slides around is an OMP 4-point autocross harness.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/Nuk5.jpg
While that might not seem like an extensive modification list, the combination of the parts combined with the Nukblazi’s driving skills netted him three podium finishes last year and allowed him to typically stay in the front of the pack. He plans to upgrade his suspension even more as well as his brakes, and acquire his professional racing license this year. When those upgrades are realized and his skills even further honed, Nukblazi will be sure to tear up the autocross circuit and let everyone know that indeed, you can bring your Mercedes-Benz out onto the track.
http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/album128/Nuk6.jpg
-LK