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Dread Nought Racing - Race Car Build, Prep & Service

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The HMS Dreadnought circa 1905, and the namesake for our team.

SCCA Road Racing(30+ yrs)
In such areas as:
SOLO 1
SOLO 2
Club Formula Ford (CFF)
Spec Miata (SM)
Improved Touring A (ITA)
F-Production (FP)

Current Drivers:

Henry

Picture
Henry Payne, Team Manager, has a 1993 1.6l  MX5 racing in F Production.


Joe Bryan

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Joe Bryan Payne, our Shop Manager, has a 1995 1.8l Mazda MX5 (#3) currently racing in ITA wheel-to-wheel events and     SOLO 1. 

Previous Drivers:

Nate

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Nate Wimbrow, Former Shop Tech, had a 1993 1.6l Mazda MX5 (#93) prepared by Dread Nought Racing, which ran in SCCA Spec Miata wheel-to-wheel racing, SOLO 1, and SOLO 2.                                                            

Jerry

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Jerry Malsam had a Dread Nought Racing prepared 1992 1.6l Mazda Miata (#25) which ran in Spec Miata wheel-to-wheel events.

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.

Check out some pictures from track, or videos of the action from the driver's perspective.
Like what you saw? It could be you! We have cars for rent, waiting to get on the track.

Henry shows off the size of the field at a driver's school race (30+ cars), and playfully harasses Jason Owenby (driver renting #92). Then he listens to Brian Gaffney (driver renting # 93) comment on how much fun he's had.
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 News

May/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. 
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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!

Hours:  8AM - 5:30PM Monday through Friday - Weekends by Appointment
 Located on the Highway 29 Frontage Road near the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 8.