Finally Hittin The Track! Time For My Come Back!

Hey everyone how's it going? Sorry it's been awhile!

I want to first start off by Thanking Perfect Harvest for making any of this possible and for continuing to support and encourage me when everyone thinks I'm crazy! 

 I want to thank all my other sponsors as well for standing by me through this crazy season, as well and helping me get things to where they are today.  Huge thank you to B&Z Manufacturing for helping me take my control drawings/plans from the computer screen to actual reality!

I apologize again to everyone for not keeping up with updating this thing, I've just been pulling my hair out trying to get the car running and plans worked out for next season!  We've been working like crazy and I think we finally are making progress towards hitting the track in the extremely near future!  We're shooting for this weekend at Thunder Hill up in Willows Ca.

Now that we're no longer worried about weather or not the car is maneuverable enough to get around the track we have began to tackle A-Z of everything that needs to be done to finish prepping the car for the track.  If everything Goes as planned we're shooting to have the car all put back together, tech'd and ready by the end of this week.  The car still has a few things that need to be done before it is all complete, but for the most part it is track ready and good to for for this weekend!  

Huge thank you to Scott at Pagh Enterprise for jumping on board and getting the car handled and ready in such a quick time crunch!

We finally got the steering assembly all put bak together, (the right way) and I have the controls all assembled and in the car as well ready to be track tested.  We were able to test the car last week for the first time in town with the new controls.  We were mainly concerned with the amount of turning radius I can get out of the car with the limited input I'm able to apply to the wheel.  We estimated turn 11 at Sonoma Raceway is about 100'-125'foot radius, so we laid out some cones 100 feet apart to get an idea about where we stood.  We were extremely surprised and pleased to find out that with the new setup, the car will not only make turn 11 but will do it with plenty of room to spare.  I still have a few more adjustments to make on the controls as well as suspension, but right now as we stand the car is able to make about a 75' foot radius turn which should be plenty for any of the tracks around here!

Unfortunately things haven't gone exactly as planned this season, and it is now nearing the end.  We've had a long year of learning and problem solving but now have the rest of the year to finish adjusting the controls and get the car all set up to hopefully contend for the GTS3 championship next season.

I'm stoked I just got my custom painted helmet back from Lufo's Custom Design's this week as well..! Bringing my colors back out to the track in fashion!  Thanks Lufo for taking care  of me this season and keeping my lid looking fresh!  Hit him up for your own custom painted brain bucket!

As most of you know as well, Keep Em Spinnin is much more then a saying or soon to be cooperation.  It is a way of life, a moto to life by and the only way to succeed.  The last few years now I've been working hard on not only getting myself back out on the track but a way to share with others the same blessing and opportunities that I've been given!  We're still laying out all the ground work as far as the legalities and legitimacy goes, but we plan to have the full program up and running by January of next year or possibly sooner...I'm proud to announce that Perfect Harvest will be Keep Em Spinnin's main title sponsor for next year as we continue to test realities boundaries and change people's outlooks on what is deemed possible!

Our main Objective is:
Keep Em Spinnin Racing’s main objective is to equip a hand full of vehicles with different control accommodations for differently abled individuals. From injured athletes, to veterans or anyone that may have been born with any different physical abilities. We would like to offer the opportunity to those that desire still to not only drive, but drive and safely maneuver their vehicle at exhilarating speeds around a race track. It will basically be a membership based latter program that we hope to have most, if not all of the expenses offset by title sponsors. We would like to present the opportunity free of charge to the individual to come out to the track, feel like a pro, and partake in literally rewriting realities laws and what's believed to be possible. We would like to be able to provide an opportunity for those that have the desire to drive, but haven't been given the proper tools needed to do so. This will not only help them see what they are still capable of, but will also give them the confidence to go out and try new things they might not have thought possible before. We want to show them what is still possible and would like to be able to assist them in achieving what ever goal they set forth for themselves no matter what they're abilities may be.

In a nutshell that is basically what we have in the works for next season...  We're actively adjusting our program as we speak and will be starting to reach out for additional sponsors for next year in the extreme near future.  If you or anyone you may know might possibly be interested in helping out in anyway wether; through sponsorship, donations, or even just volunteering your time.  Every little bit helps and we're all in this crazy race they call life together might as well help your Nieghbor cross that finish line together!If you or anyone you know may have any interest you can email me at KESRacingMario@yahoo.com

Anyways stay posted for pictures and videos from this weekend with the cars first time on track.  I will keep everyone updated via social media and through this blog as to how things are progressing for Keep Em Spinnin next season.  

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement and continued support!

Huge thank you to Perfect Harvest for making any of this possible and bring my dreams to reality!

God Bless You All & Always Remember To Keep Em Spinnin!

KripTrols Are all done, Its almost time for some FUN!

Hey everyone how's it going!  

I apologize for taking so long since the last update.  A lot has been going on and I've just been going crazy trying to get it all worked out.

Most you guys already know that I've missed the first three races of the season due to mechanical issues so now were kind of in another race to be ready for next months race.  We're still waiting on parts that are back ordered or got lost in the mail so unfortunately were having to deal with a bunch of minor set backs but it's all starting to come together.  We still have a lot the car needs to get it to where it will be championship contending, but we plan to just get it all put back together and go try and shake it down with what we have so far.

Like I was saying in my previous post that were now left figuring out all the issues with the controls to make the car functional, we basically had to restart from scratch and pretty much threw the last two months down the drain.  

The shop that did the work delivered such a sub par product that the car was basically inoperable for anyone, disabled and able bodied alike.  The first day we got the car back to the shop, the steering column snapped just trying to push it around and turned the wheel.  

In a way it was kind of a blessing in disguise I guess that the controls made the car un-drivable because otherwise I most likely would have been in the car on track when the column snapped and probably would have totaled the car as well as injured myself.  

So we began disassembling the New setup and couldn't believe how much of a death trap the whole system really was.  Luckily I've had quite a few intelligent good people helping me out and we were able to problem solve and come up with a few good solutions.  

We ended up using the rack and pinion that is out of an older BMW Z3.  This one has a much quicker gear ratio (one of the fastest bmws ever made.) then my stock M3 rack.  Everything bolts right up so it made for a easy fix that will hopefully workout.  We also got a different steering quickener that should be much better/stronger.  We're hoping with this new combination we should be able to get the steering response that I'm looking for out of the car, or hopefully at least be in the ball part for minor adjustments.  All I'm waiting on now so we can test the steering amount is a coupler to attach the new quickener to my column.  I hope to have that made by next week so we can see where we are at, I'm just working on finding someone that can cut splines for me.

I've also been working directly with B&Z MFG. machine shop that has been extremely helpful with teaching me the ins and outs of everything I need to know about manufacturing and working with a machine shop. 

They've been awesome with helping me learn how to take my drawing from the computer, to a format they can use, and then to actual reality.  It was pretty cool seeing my first set of parts go from the screen to my hands! Lol I'm just excited to finally get to put them to the test after all these years!

We are actually building two prototype sets, so once they are done I plan to put one of them in my M3 and the other set in my GSX.  I've been talking to a buddy about helping me to get that thing all rebuilt and finished up so I'm hoping to possibly have another car all fully prepped and ready for some other differently abled individual can take out and enjoy it!  We're still figuring everything out but all in Gods time it's all starting to fall into place.

I cant thank the guys at B&Z MFG. enough for all their time and help, it has been a great experience and I couldn't have done it without you! Thank you for everything!

I'm stoked to say Bimmerworld and Gopro are now helping me out this season as well. 

I wanna thank them, D2 racing, Spy Optics, HMS Motorsports, VMR wheels and BST Ink. For all their continued support and encouragement and I just want to thank Perfect Harvest for making all of this possible!  It's been a crazy slow starting season, but I look forward for what's still to come and can't wait to show the world what I'm actually capable of!

Thank you all for your encouragement and cant wait to put these new controls to work!

Stay posted and I will post a video of the next test drive hopefully this week. 

God Bless & Keep Em Spinnin!

No Controls on the Race

Hey everyone how's it going?  Sorry for dropping the ball on keeping this updated, alot has happened over the last few weeks so I've just been stressing on getting all the issues were running into rectified.

First off I want to thank Borelli Motorsports for letting me set my car all on display on Saturday for Cars and Caffein.  It was a great day with a lot of good people and a ton of cool cars!

Here is a video of the build process almost up to date minus the new controls.

We ended up dropping the car off about a month ago at a shop down south to have the controls custom built to my design and personal specs around myself and my abilities.  That's where everything started to get out of wak.  They ended up building me an inoperable system and now I'm stuck trying to decipher out what issues need to be addressed and corrected on my own to make them functional for a full race application.

Right now the car won't/can't turn the wheels far enough to do a U turn or a hairpin right or left do to the amount of required steering input to make a 90-180 degree radius turn.  The shifting mechanism and throttle are functioning but not with the precision or response I need out of them for full race application.  We've taken the first few baby steps in the right direction, so now once I re-engineer the controls and get them tweaked and tested I think we will finally start taking giant leaps on the way back to the podium. 

Here is the video of the first test drive so you can get an idea of the concept of how they work and kind of see the issues I'm experiencing...

So unfortunately it doesn't look like we're going to make this next race coming up on the 16th but were shooting for a track/test day at the end of the month so hopefully that works out.  I'm currently redesigning and drawing out my controls the right way as we speak so I can just take them to a machine shop once I'm done and get them all cut out.  We have quite a few other things to do to the car to get it to respond and turn with The precision I'm looking for but I think we have a pretty good idea of what exactly we need to change and fix in order to get working right.  

We are going to have to have a custom new rack and pinion built and ordered in order to get the amount of steering angle I need with the minimal amount of input as possible.  Hopefully we can get that measured and ordered on Monday and keep the ball rolling.  I'm trying to have my drawings all complete by the end of this week and then hopefully get those new bad boys all cut out and tested within a few weeks.

Things haven't been exactly going to plan nor on schedule, but then again I guess it's kind of hard to plan something out that's never really been done before.  Diagnosing and dealing with the bugs are all big parts of racing, I just happened to have a few other technical variables thrown in the mix.  It's kind of a bummer, but I know all in Gods time I will get back out there with a presision performing car and make up for all the time that's been lost!  

We also had a bunch of promo shirts made up to help raise a bit of race funds... We have white, black and red.  Get yours today and rep it hard to support the cause.

$25 donation : email or all me if interested. (kesracingmario@yahoo.com 408-427-5175)

We have a ton of stickers as well if you hit me up I'll hook you up!  Here are the new KES logos that I would be stoked to see running around on everyone's car for support... 

We can and are also starring to make custom vinyl stickers  as well.  If you just let me know what you want, how many, what color and what sizes we should be able to handle it.  (Prices will very according to quantity and size.) (kesracingmario@yahoo.com 408-427-5175)

Their is an article coming out in this months SCCA racing magazine "The Wheel" on myself and the whole current build process along the way so that should be cool!  It's been a steep bumpy hill so far but I'm looking forward to smooth and exciting rest of the season.  

I have a great group of people helping me out right now but I still look forward to meeting new people, go new places and trying new things as the season!  Thank you all for the continued encouragement and support through out this crazy journey.  I really look forward to showing the world what I can do in the extremely near future and proving myself to be a championship contending competitor!

Stay posted as things start to come together and hopefully I will have a new video of the redesigned controls try'd and tested before the end of the month.

Thank you to all my sponsors that have helped me get to where I am today and huge thank you to Perfect Harvest for giving me my life back! Hypothetically speaking...

I hope everyone has a great day and God Bless!

Keep Em Spinnin!