A Special Delivery
Seeing is Believing
2020 wasn’t all bad.
On one sunny October morning, a Hendrick race hauler unloaded stock cars in Riverside County, California for the first time since 1988.
The venue was The Thermal Club - a place you just have to see to believe. It’s a country club for the brazen and a playground for the bold.
The occasion was the delivery of our second customer build, Track Attack car TA003 - a striking robin’s egg blue and ash painted former Chase Elliott NASCAR stocker turned track day monster. 630 unapologetic horsepower comes from a Chevrolet Performance LSX454 through a brisk RaceTech Services 6-speed sequential gearbox with rev-matching technology.
The customer was Don Cusick - a gentleman we feel most comfortable calling a badass.
Our visit was a true thrill - even for our resident four-time NASCAR champion, Jeff Gordon, who came along to see what all the rave was about.
“I’ve heard about this place, The Thermal Club, for years, and I’ve always wanted to check it out and here we are,” said Gordon. “Exciting day - got a bunch of cool cars here. The track is beautiful - just smooth as glass, but it also has some great sections where you can get some real speed up, and this car accelerates amazing. It’s a beast - I mean it just is a beast and you have to respect it, and when you do its just so much fun to drive and I think this track’s gonna compliment that.”
The Thermal Club is an incredible facility that exceeded all of our expectations, and we’re proud to say Don’s new apex predator exceeded his expectations before he even climbed behind the wheel.
“It looks even better in person. I mean the craftsmanship on this - look at this thing; just as clean as it can be!” mused Cusick. “I’m not a speechless kinda guy…but right now, I’m pretty speechless. This is beyond a dream. So here we are in a real racecar for the first time ever.”
For Don, a Track Attack car was a departure from the driver-aided exotics which, while impressive in their own right, are commonplace at track days around the globe.
“I wanted something different than everybody else has and I came across this and these guys and they’ve been awesome.”
Don had two words after his first bewitching laps: “Holy expletive!”
“That’s amazing. It’s unbelievable. That is an amazing ride. It is crazy - this thing is like nothing I’ve ever driven - ever. The 911s, the M cars - not even close. It is so fast - pure racecar. Just the noise, the smell. I’m usually not at a loss for words, but I would not know a word to describe that feeling. Pure adrenaline.”
You can be like Don and set yourself apart from the pack with a Track Attack car of your own. Starting at just $195,000, you can troll the competition and leave them frustrated, hard of hearing, and shrinking in your rearview.
We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to Don and everyone at The Thermal Club for their hospitality and we cannot wait to return with more clamorous cars to play with. You can learn more at thermal.cc