Steven Melson's Secret to Fielding Two Cars Twice Every Weekend
Four years into track days and he’s taken a few trophies and made plenty of friends. More than those accomplishments, Steven Melson’s been able to field a couple of spectacular cars with more enthusiasm and energy than guys half his age.
When I heard he would frequently take his two cars to weekends, driving double sessions on consecutive days and doing most of the work himself, I thought he must’ve had some sort of trick he uses to him through that slog. My first guess at his secret was crystal meth, but the answer turned out to be something a little less exciting.
This ‘91 300ZX, the car Steven started track driving with, is still brought along every weekend. It’s a little faster than it was when he started fifteen years ago, though.
Steven abstains from all the fun little vices most folks need to get through the day. No booze, no cigarettes, and only rarely will he sip coffee. “It’s only Frappuccinos—and I drink them for the taste.” His ability to sleep soon after drinking a couple of them is indication that either caffeine has no effect on him or that he’s simply a serene sort of person. Either way, his only real rush comes from driving.
With more vigor than most twenty-somethings, this fifty-two-year-old loads his two cars in his 34’ trailer and starts the trek from Reno to his favorite tracks in Northern California. He abstains from camping and usually gets five or so hours of sleep the night before the first day, which makes his first morning at the track the hardest. After a few sessions, he gets his adrenaline boost which carries him through the remainder of the day. That night, he retires early and is usually out as soon as his head hits the pillow.
“I don’t get much downtime, but I’m alright with that. After years of drag racing in which all you’d do was wait, I’m happy to have to hustle a little.”
Not only does running double sessions drain him a little faster, but he has the added challenge of jumping between two different vehicles. Either one is an unusual sight at most track days, but the combination of the two is rare. A highly modified ‘91 300ZX and a lightly tuned 2014 Audi R8 aren’t a typical duo; they don’t even belong to the same genre, but this pairing is easy to explain. The bug first bit Steven when he was younger and driving the Z: a car which he slaved to afford as a youngster. As the years passed and he came up in the world, he bought himself the supercar. That’s simple enough, but it’s a little strange to witness someone who can both afford and appreciate a modern supercar, yet still holds the fondness for the machines which first ignited the racing flame. Stranger still, he races them both.
The 650-whp 300ZX has been a regular source of frustration up until recently. Once, after having to change the power steering belt six times one hot Sonoma afternoon, he considered hiring some mechanics to tag along to keep the car humming, but help from the Speed SF community kept him from ever having to do that. An observant Joe McGuigan stopped by and offered some assistance in the form of an electric power steering pump—something which has helped make the Nissan, the car dearer to Steven’s heart, a car that now gets thrashed a little more frequently.
The Nissan and the Audi run in S2 and S1 respectively, but the limits of the Z haven’t really been found yet. It weighs less than the R8, but the somewhat temperamental nature of a tuned turbo car has made it harder to get seat time in. It’s mainly that the R8 is easier to drive, much more comfortable, and the one which will always start that has made it the regular choice. As a result, Steven’s a little quicker in it.
Fortunately, they’re both fairly easy to get started now that the Nissan has an aftermarket ECU running the show. Even so, there are still some differences in preparation Steven must take with each car. The race car runs exclusively on C16, so Steven prepares for an optimistic weekend by filling a 55-gallon transfer tank with this special brew. An electric pump lightens his load slightly.
In the case of the Audi, he usually loads a couple pails full of 100 octane—a little simpler, sure, but it still contributes to the significant fuel load. Sometimes he brings as much as 100 gallons along with him.
The help he receives is minimal. When he has an instructor working alongside him, he’ll ask them to check tire pressures after a few warm-up laps, but coaching isn’t something he always gets. Most days, he’ll simply have to extricate himself from his race seat, pull out the pressure gauge, and do it himself—all while rushing to work within the schedule’s constraints. Provided there isn’t a timed event happening that day, he’ll usually stick to one car if he’s running back-to-back sessions, since maximizing track time is his main objective,
Good health, nicely tuned cars, and a supportive environment has helped this one-man show chug along for the past four years without any signs of slowing. True, Steven’s usually out cold the moment he turns out the lights, but he’s never dragging ass around the paddock. It might seem like a Herculean effort to some, but for him, it’s a matter of combining luck, logistics and adrenaline that ensures a successful weekend.