It’s 2:30 a.m. Why is there a siren blasting outside our hotel?

Scrambling for my phone, I see an emergency message for a tornado warning. We knew severe storms were possible, which is why we stayed an extra night in Nashville. But this was a bit more than we bargained for–a twister had been sighted just 10 miles north of our hotel.

One of the hallmarks of the One Lap of America is weather. We’ve seen it all over the years: rain, snow, sleet, baking hot sun, and yes, twisters. Comes with the territory as springtime breaks–or doesn’t–in various parts of the country.

So it seemed only natural for our recon trip with our Hyundai Elantra N to include some extremes. Foreshadowing, perhaps?

After the threat subsided, we checked the forecast and saw a narrow window to escape to the north before the next round came through. Time to hit the road.

With Nashville in our rearview mirror, we headed north for another SCCA Track Night in America–this time at Blackhawk Farms. We have very little seat time at this track, having only been there a few years back. It’s a cool little 2-mile-long, club-style track that emphasizes flow and handling. Carrying speed is key, though there is one moderately long straight.

We used the Novice pace lap session to refresh our memory, focusing on line and visual references. Then we did two push sessions in the Advanced group to establish braking points and speed through turns. While the data logger said we never put everything together in a single lap, our quickest on the clock was a 1:21.5.

Unlike in Nashville, which mixed a top speed over 125 with two 30 mph hairpins, we never slowed below 45 at Blackhawk with a top speed of only 115.

We did make a key stop on our way north to gather tire-changing supplies since our Elantra N does not come with a spare. We’ll be carrying one and needed a way to change it out.

This also gave us a chance to swap both of our spares onto the car to scrub them during our final session at Blackhawk. Depending on the weather forecast for the upcoming Tire Rack One Lap of America Presented by Grassroots Motorsports, we’ll choose either those or the more worn pair that we’ve used for the recon days.

As seen in our recent testing, the worn RZs are quicker and more consistent. But they give up a little bit of hydroplaning resistance.

We’re writing this report from South Bend the morning after our day at Blackhawk. Competitors are starting to arrive. Tomorrow–that’d be Friday–is Sticker Day, where everyone gets registered and teched and transforms their street cars into race cars with sticker magic. It’s part family reunion and part car show. Stay tuned.

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