Billy does Buttonwillow

That’s right—I finally made it to Buttonwillow. Last April, I tagged along with Pat to document his track day for the blog, but as some of you might remember, things didn’t exactly go as planned. His motor blew on the third lap, and we had to get his car towed all the way back to Vegas. Thankfully, just days before the trip, he’d had a gut feeling and decided to get AAA. Honestly, I don’t know what we would’ve done without it.

The event Pat had signed up for was one of Buttonwillow’s “Test Days.” Watching how it all worked, I instantly knew I had to come back someday to drive it myself. For those who’ve never been, a “Test Day” is basically a dream scenario for track junkies: you get eight hours of open track time. No run groups, no sessions, and barely any rules—just you, your car, and the track. They only pause for a quick 30-minute lunch break or the occasional black flag if someone needs a tow. The freedom to come and go as you please is such a rare and refreshing experience.

And let’s not forget the setting. Buttonwillow is iconic—a mecca for grassroots motorsports enthusiasts in California. It’s about 45 minutes northwest of Bakersfield, surrounded by farmland and tucked away just off the 5 Freeway. It’s not fancy or glamorous, but that’s part of its charm. For me, Buttonwillow was always one of those tracks I knew I had to drive. Almost every track enthusiast I know has been there at least once and can’t help but share their lap times afterward.

But before I could finally head out to Buttonwillow, I had some work to do. My 4-door’s brake pads were shot after two track days, and I’d really been pushing my luck. I knew I couldn’t put off replacing them any longer, but I also wasn’t in a position to drop money on new parts. So, I turned to my neglected EG for a solution. I ended up pulling the Project MU Club Racer pads and rotors off it. Lucky for me, the Spoon twin blocks on the EG use the same pad size as the NSX calipers on my 4-door. With those swapped over, I felt ready to take on the challenge ahead

These pads and rotors only have two track days on them.

Below you can see the rotor on the left is my old worn-out one from the 4-door, and the one on the right is the new(ish) one from my EG.

And below is how worn the pads were! It was a very good thing I decided not to press my luck a third time.

And here they are, all swapped onto the 4-door.

My work schedule is all over the place—some mornings I’m up at the crack of dawn, and other times I’m clocking out late at night. It makes prepping and working on the car during the week a real struggle. I knew I had to get the brakes swapped early in the week since I’d be working until 5 p.m. on Thursday, and we needed to hit the road that night. With a 5-hour drive to the motel and the track going hot at 9 a.m. Friday, there was zero room for procrastination.

But, of course, procrastination won. I did swap the brakes and test-drove the car earlier in the week to make sure everything was functional, but I didn’t bleed the brakes. I kept telling myself, “It’ll be fine, we’ll do it at the track Friday morning.” This was my first time at Buttonwillow, though, and I couldn’t shake the worry that something might go wrong.

Then, the curveball hit: Pat, who was supposed to make the trip with me, couldn’t come due to a last-minute emergency. Suddenly, I was staring down an out-of-state track event completely solo. No Pat to help if the car broke down, no personal instructor to guide me through the learning curve, no backup plan if things went sideways. The thought was intimidating, but I made up my mind—I was doing this. If I backed out, I knew I’d regret it.

So, I got off work Thursday, rushed home, and dove into my to-do list: washing the car (because, let’s be honest, it needs all the help it can get), bleeding the brakes, and packing every tool and supply I might need. Angie pitched in and helped bleed the brakes and pack up the gear—honestly, I couldn’t have done it without her. By 8 p.m., I was finally loaded up and ready to hit the road.

It was 365 miles to the motel, and as I pulled onto the freeway, I felt a mix of exhaustion, anxiety, and nervous energy. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew one thing: I wasn’t turning back. If I didn’t push myself to follow through, I’d feel like I let myself down.

A few months ago, I’d installed a Grams 320lph fuel pump in the 4-door. At the time, I thought it’d be a good way to keep the motor “hydrated” during track sessions. I’d considered a Walbro 255lph pump, but the Grams was gifted to me, so I figured, why not? Since installing it, I’d noticed the car burning through fuel faster on the track. Not a huge deal—just meant I could only manage about three sessions before needing to refuel.

That night, I fueled up before leaving Vegas, but by the time I hit the state line, my fuel gauge was way lower than expected for just 75 miles of driving. I made it to Barstow, but it was clear I had to stop and top off—there was no way I’d make it to the next gas station an hour away.

While I was there, I snapped a few pictures of the car to document the journey. Then came the gut punch—LOOK AT THOSE FUEL PRICES! It felt like a slap in the face, but hey, what can you do? I laughed it off, fueled up, and kept going.

This trip was already shaping up to be an adventure, and I hadn’t even made it to Buttonwillow yet.

I got back on the road, focusing intently on the fuel gauge. Not really sure how many gas stations lay between me and the motel, I kept going for another 75 miles before deciding it was time to stop for gas again. With around 150 miles to go, I reassured myself that a full tank should definitely get me there.

As I glanced at the car, I couldn’t help but notice how low the back was sitting, weighed down by all the stuff I’d packed. Two spare wheels and tires, because, well, one just didn’t seem like enough. And I made sure to bring a full-size jack in case I needed to handle any serious car issues. Plus, I threw in two jack stands to keep everything steady and safe in case something major went wrong and I needed to do repairs on the spot.

But that’s not all. There’s a crate filled with every fluid and part I could think of—just in case I had to perform some emergency repairs while on the road. And the 30-pound toolbox? Yeah, that’s in there too—because you never know when you might need to take apart your whole car.

And just when you think that’s all, I’ve got the basics covered: a helmet (because it’s required), a water sprayer to keep things cool, a bag of soft goods for comfort, a camera bag for those “perfect shot” moments (because I’m a professional blogger), and even a skateboard—because when I’m not shredding the track in my car, I need to be shredding the pits on my board. Or at least that’s what I call getting to the bathroom quicker than walking.

So, yeah, the car might be sitting low in the back, but at least I’m ready for whatever comes my way. Time to keep pushing forward, stay prepared, and take on whatever this trip throws at me. Keep calm and carry on…or, in my case, carry everything I could possibly need!

The gas prices here were just as bad.

I quickly got back on the road, feeling determined to push through the final stretch of my journey. But then, it hit me: I needed two hundred dollars to secure my registration for the event the next morning. I wasn’t sure if they only accepted cash (spoiler: they took cards too), so I decided to take “Pat’s shortcut” through Arvin just in case.

When I saw the first ATM, I pulled into the parking lot, realizing I’d need to grab cash. As I parked, I couldn’t resist snapping a few extra photos—something about capturing the moment felt important, like it would make the story that much better. After getting the cash I needed, I grabbed my tripod from the car, set the vehicle up, and got ready to take some long exposure shots. It felt like the perfect way to capture the night, and I was excited to add that extra touch to the adventure.

Clearly the photo shoot was too rushed and lacked the emotion I was aiming for.

The home stretch was a breeze. I simply had to conquer Arvin and jump on the Five North for a pleasant 15-minute drive until reaching the motel exit. Last time Pat and I stayed at this motel, we enjoyed a racer discount, paying only twenty-five dollars. However, tonight was a different story. It seemed that the universe had conspired against me, as the price had suddenly jumped to fifty-five dollars. Despite this setback, I remained undeterred. With a 6 AM wake-up call, I calculated that I was essentially paying ten dollars per hour for a good night’s sleep. As I settled into my room on the second floor, I couldn’t help but notice the peculiar aroma of weed and unpleasant body odor emanating from the room below. Determined not to let it ruin my night, I resorted to creative measures. I slept with the bathroom’s exhaust fan on, to prevent any contact high. Prudently, I chose to keep my distance from the bedding, opting to sleep on top of the blanket, wearing my hoodie with the hood firmly over my head, and hands tucked into the pockets. I was determined not to let even an inch of my skin touch that questionable bed, for fear of contracting an unwanted visitor or disease. As I drifted off to sleep, the comforting sounds of Rocko’s Modern Life played softly from the TV.

Five hours later, my alarm goes off at 6:27 AM. I groggily check the temperature—43 degrees outside. I step outside to make sure my car hasn’t been broken into (luckily, it hasn’t). I head to the gas station to fill up—still $5.29 a gallon—and grab some caffeine to wake myself up for the day ahead.

You must get back on the 5 freeway and drive north for another 15 minutes before you get to the exit for the track. I arrived at the track at 7:30 am, paid my two hundred dollars, and found myself a spot to call my own for the day.

Here’s a few of the cars that I was sharing track time with. (there was also about ten different s2000’s, a couple 944’s, some Miata’s, a fit, and a corolla.) It’s hard to document and do the event.

The driver’s meeting was at 8:30 am, where the massive crowd of thirty-three drivers met to just cover the bare minimum. What layout we are doing, protocol for black flag, open passing, and what time lunch was. Seriously, that’s it, the meeting lasted about 15 minutes.

9:00 am! It was time. I was about to drive my first-ever lap of Buttonwillow. I was so nervous… I clearly had the slowest car, and for sure, I was the only person who had never done this track before. I waited until a few guys headed out, then pulled into the hot pit and awaited the signal to enter the track. I pulled out of the hot pit and merged into the racing line. I had NO clue how the track went, and I was even wondering if I would be able to memorize the track in one day. Once I hit “Cotton Corners,” I was completely lost. There were no brake markers, and the elevation changes were more than I was expecting. As I entered Bus Stop, coming out into Riverside, I couldn’t believe how fast this track was. I cautiously approached Phil Hill, up then down, into the sweeper, still having no idea what I was doing, just trying to stay on track. As I came out into the esses, then finally into Sunset and onto the front straight, I had done it. I had completed my first lap of Buttonwillow CW 13 and didn’t get in anyone’s way. For the next 45 minutes, I exploited the fact that there weren’t too many cars out and just tried to learn/memorize as much as I could. Finally, I came in to give the car a once-over and let it cool down.

The best part about the “Test Day” is that you can come in and go out as you please. The car was all good, and I was ready to head back out. I went out and continued to push harder and harder, working on setting up brake markers and becoming familiar with the blind corners at Cotton Corners and Phil Hill. The scary thing about the open test day is that people can and WILL pass you ANYWHERE! I made it another 30 minutes before deciding I was ready to put the AIM in the car and start getting some baseline times.

It was challenging to get clean laps since I was so slow, and I was just trying to stay out of people’s way most of the time. The first clean lap I got was a 2:14.26, and I was simply happy to be sub 2:15. I also knew that I would be able to get a better lap as the day went on and I got more familiar with the track. I texted Pat to show him the time I did, and he asked me what my line was through the sweeper. He told me to hit it like a double apex. Basically, I would trail brake into it, apex the first inside corner, then hit the outer apex of the sweeper, and finally hit the inside apex coming out as straight as possible into the esses. I headed back out eager to try the line that Pat had instructed me to take, and on the second lap out, I was able to hit 2:13.9 using his line suggestion. Even though he was 350 miles away, he is so familiar with this track that he was able to assist me via text.

I knew that going into this event my tires were on their last leg, but what I didn’t know is how quickly this track would wear them down. Having an open diff was causing the passenger tire to wear much more than the driver. Heading into “off-ramp,” I downshift into second, and then it’s a tight right where you can pretty much floor it, running wide to the outside as you exit onto I-5 and head into Cotton Corners. I’m also assuming that running hot laps for more than 30 minutes at a time was also consuming tires at a much faster rate.

After lunch, I went back out and achieved my personal best (PB) for the day: a time of 2:12.18. It was incredibly close to a 2:11. During that session, after achieving the 2:12.18 time, I continued to push harder in an attempt to reach 2:11. However, I encountered fuel starvation issues and had to come off the track to refuel. I noticed the issue when I tried to blip the throttle to downshift going into the “off-ramp” and experienced a delayed rev halfway through. Then, when I floored it in second gear coming out of that corner, the car had a slight hiccup. The cost of fuel at the track was $5.49 per gallon, a whopping twenty cents more than at the gas station near the hotel (which was only 15 minutes away). Despite the higher price, I decided to refuel at the track due to the convenience factor being worth the extra twenty cents per gallon.

I feel like after that, my tires were completely worn out; they had given me the 2:12 and that was the end of it. From then on, I was only able to get 2:14s, and I was sliding all over the place. After another 45 minutes of trying to fight traffic and struggle with the worn-out tires to get that 2:11, I came in, and what I saw blew me away. My tires were horrible!

I didn’t want my day to end since I was having so much fun. I rotated the tires around and headed back out, not trying to PB but just getting as much seat time as possible. I figured that the smoother I could be on worn-out tires, the faster I would be next time I came with new tires. (There is a tire shop on the premises. I almost went and asked them to flip my tires but was afraid of what their reaction would be to me wanting to flip them.)

It was almost 4pm and I headed back out to get some much-needed seat time, but by this time I was fatigued from not eating since the night before, only drinking water all day, lack of sleep, and I was incredibly sore from the abuse of just being in the car after almost 100 laps, and more than 200 miles on track. (I averaged twelve laps per session and went out 7 or 8 times. Each lap is 2.68 miles, so 2.68 x 12 = 32.16 miles x 7 = 225.12 miles)

By now, my tires were officially done. I came in and was going to call it a day. There were still another 30 minutes left until the day was over, and I felt like I was going to shortchange myself if I didn’t go until the very last minute. I rotated the tires once more, taking the best two Nankangs and putting them up front, and then taking the old Federal RS-R tires I had as spares and putting them on the rear just to see how bad it would be. The Federals are at least 8 years old, and even though there is plenty of tread, they were super dried out. I went out one final time, taking it slowly. I was able to get into the 2:16’s, but it was super sketchy. The rear was sliding all over the place and would oversteer in the worst possible areas of the track. It was awesome though to feel the differences between the tires and how drastically they affected me on track. These kinds of experiences are what help you become a better driver. At the end of the day, there were only a handful of people out, so I wasn’t worried about messing up anyone’s lap.

Keen eyed readers will notice that these are actually Angie’s spare set of wheels from her FIT. 15×7.5 konig dekagrams, with 205/50 federal rsr tires.

I packed everything back up and headed back home.

I had such an amazing day. I was able to surpass my expectations I had set for myself and become familiar with the track quite quickly. Once again, I’m astonished by how much abuse my car takes. Clocking almost one thousand total miles in only 24 hours, and not skipping a single beat (except running low on fuel). This thing is truly a testament to how tough SOHC motors are. I’m going to say that I wasn’t too comfortable after sitting in the bucket seat for that many miles, and on the way home, I was wishing I had a stock seat to sit in. I encourage anyone to try and make it out to one of these “Test Day’s.” It may seem a little overwhelming at first, but everyone there is polite and respectful. If you practice good track etiquette, everyone will be cool with you. Don’t worry about breaking or going off. People were doing this all day long! When people would go off, if they could keep driving, everything was fine. It was unfortunate though because this caused a lot of dirt and rocks to get on the track, making it slippery in certain areas. I would say that this is as close as you can get to wheel-to-wheel racing without actually doing it. It’s not like a normal HPDE event where they specifically tell you not to race anyone; there really aren’t “enforced” rules when out on the track.

If you’re at all nervous about taking your first step towards hitting the track, I would suggest you fight the jitters/anxiety and just do it. The only way to gain experience is to actually get out on a track—it’s such a different feeling than you’ll ever get driving on streets. Let my car be the perfect example: You don’t need anything special to get out on the track, stop making excuses for yourself. Just put some higher temp brake fluid in, and you’ll be fine. Yes, I have pads, but if it’s truly your first time on a track, you won’t be able to be fast enough to exceed the limits of stock pads. If you do, then all that means is you’re ready for some upgrades. I have the cheap Tein’s, street tires, SOHC motor, full interior, and a stock steering wheel. YOU CAN DO IT TOO!

Thanks for reading the story about my trip to Buttonwillow, and please! If you have any questions at all about doing your first track day, where to sign up, what you need for it, will your car be adequate, or anything else, DO NOT hesitate to reach out to me. Comment below on this post, email me at Billy@functiontheory.com, or DM me on Instagram @functiontheory. I want to help you get out there and use your car!

I had some GoPro issues while I was there, for some reason it said my memory card was full when clearly it wasn’t. So, I was only able to get this 8 min clip. It’s raw and uncut and doesn’t include my PB lap. Sorry.