Dread Nought Racing - Race Car Build, Prep & Service
The HMS Dreadnought circa 1905, and the namesake for our team.
SCCA Road Racing(30+ yrs)
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Welcome to the homepage of Dread Nought Racing.
We participate in Sports Car Club of America and NASA events around the Southeast. Our competition vehicles are fully race prepared Mazda MX5 Miatas which compete in the Spec Miata, Improved Touring and Production car classifications.
The scope of our services range from complete auto build to track side support; including-
Car Rental Car Preparation Pre-Race Inspection Driving Instruction Track Side Support (Crew) Tire Sales Engine Building Chassis/Suspension Set-up Whatever else it takes to get you on the track! Contact at us at (864) 947-9989 to discuss your specific needs. Our shop is in the HPMotors Building at 7009 Hwy 29 North, near Pelzer SC 29669. email at henry@sportscarsetc.com Most Current Race NewsMay/5-7/2017: SARRC/MARRC Challenge at VIR
Finally back to racing! After taking a year off to focus on other projects and concerns, Dread Nought Racing returned with Henry Payne's F-Production 1993 Mazda Miata. This event was a double race (one Saturday and one Sunday) held at Virginia International Raceway, and a good way to shake down the rebuilt motor and other aspects of the car. The plan was if the drivetrain worked well, it would be pulled and used in the new race car build planned for this summer. Saturday's race went well, with Henry finding speed and learning both the car and the course again after a long time away from both. Unfortunately the race was called short due to a crash, but he finished a solid second place in class and had been working through the field. Sunday's race went well, with Henry racing another car for first place in class over several laps. Unfortunately on the last lap Henry had a spin, but did manage to keep second in class.
So with good results, and reliability, it's time to begin the new car build. This car might see one more race weekend in June before it's parted out to contribute to the new build.
October/9-11/2015: SAARC Invitational Championship at RRR
The final race of the season, with Dread Nought Racing and driver Henry Payne in the points lead by a narrow 2 point margin. Exciting stuff, huh? The team arrived on Friday and began testing and tuning. The car showed good speed throughout the day, and the times reflected it. With steady time drops, things looked promising. Unfortunately, during the last test session, Henry pulled in early with complaints of the car not pulling as strongly down the straights as it had earlier and that he felt a strong miss. Investigation found that the spark plug in cylinder 4 had failed. The tip of the spark plug had burned/fell off into the combustion chamber. A compression test showed the cylinder had lost some compression from the incident, but compression was still fair. Fresh plugs were put in the motor, and it ran as well as could be expected. The team would just have to wait for the Saturday qualifying and hope for the best. Qualifying came with heavy morning rains, and no one raining quickly during the early sessions. Henry was unable to truly push the car until the afternoon when things had dried out. Unfortunately, his times were slower than previous practice sessions and he came in with complaints of the motor feeling a little soft. This meant he qualified 3rd in class. For the Sunday race, Henry's times showed steady improvement throughout the race. By the end of the race, the car was turning the fastest times it had all weekend. Unfortunately, by starting further down on the grid than hoped, he was unable to catch the 1st place car in his class, and claimed 2nd. A strong second place in class for the race meant a strong second place in class for the season. While it was not the season championship win that Dread Nought Racing hoped for, the results are still very solid and we are proud of Henry. Nice Driving! Investigation of the motor after the race weekend found that the failed spark plug had badly damaged the number four piston surface in two separate places. It's an unfortunate situation, but that just means it's finally time to build the new FProd car we have been planning. A huge thank you goes out to Mary Payne, George Cummings, Ashton Bourbonnais, and everyone else who has crewed for us off and on throughout the season. Hopefully next year we can bring home the win for you!
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