Photos from the Desert: The StopTech Brake Test at Willow Springs

The StopTech crew rolled out to The Streets of Willow Springs, part of the Willow Springs race park in the California desert, for some brakes testing. The test vehicles were the StopTech Porsche 911 GT3 that served as a World Challenge car for a few seasons before the 2010 model rolled along, and a Chevy Corvette Z06.


The day started with about 15 minutes of a light drizzle before flourishing into an absolutely beautiful day to have a world class racetrack all to yourself.

Keep an eye out for a video recap of the day, including some in-car footage, but here are some photos, You can also catch more photos at our sister blog, The StopTech Blog.

There is something great about being handed the keys to world class race track on a beautiful day

Once the early morning rain cleared out

it was time to get to work

the rain left a parting rainbow to kick the day off,

but it needs something more...

 There we go.  Much better.

 The Chevy Corvette Z06 arrived a little later. 

If the car broke, the option existed to pedal around the track

That's a lot of muscle!

A super tight fit for the driver. 

Not much Sunday driving is gonna happen in here.

First step is get some real brakes on that car!

Centric Parts Director of Engineering Steve Ruiz (left), and Centric Parts CEO Dino Crescentini

(next to Steve) catch up with from visitors

Meanwhile the vette got to go through its paces

Then Dino hit the track!

Dino knows this car pretty well, considering he drove it

in in the SCCA World Challenge series (GT Class)

It was a top notch day from start to finish!

Tune In Alert: Long Beach race rebroadcast

Did you miss the broadcast of the SCCA World Challenge from Long Beach this weekend? 

First, you should start following us on Twitter or Facebook so that does not happen again. 

Second, you still have another chance to see StopTech CEO Dino Crescentini's amazing race when VERSUS shows it again on Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 at 4pm Eastern.

Here is a little teaser at what went on behind the scenes at this great race...

Photos from 2010 Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend

It was a great weekend for StopTech down at the 2010 Long Beach Grand Prix as the company's CEO, Dino Cresentinti turned in a stellar driving performance that landed him on top of the SCCA 2010 GT Driver Championship standings.  Here are some behind the scenes shots from the festival of racing courtesy of Danger Dave...

This was a weekend for true racing fans

The weekend kicked off with a little daredevil action in the skies.

Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk prepares for the Celebrity/Pro race featuring identical StopTech-equipped Toyota Scions for all drivers.

StopTech does not make brakes for Indy Cars but they were still on the track.

The pacecars for the Indy races, including this nifty Lexus, sported StopTech brakes...

...so did the Indy rescue vehicles. These cars and trucks need to whip around the streets of Long Beach at near race speeds. 

Dino gives the thumbs up before heading out to the track for the SCCA race after winning the prior round in March...

...he does not come back empty handed!

You can catch some more photos on The StopTech Blog.

Photo Essay: Dino's 2009 SCCA Car at SoCal event

The car the Dino Crescentini drove for GMG Racing to victory at Watkins Glen last year as part of Team StopTech made a head turning appearance at a weekly car enthusiast event in Southern California.

The event was Cars & Coffee, a weekly free gathering of car enthusiasts and the cars they love and drive in Irvine California.

This was the car that Dino, who is also the CEO of Centric Parts, drove for the second half of the 2009 season in the SCCA World Challenge season.

The car he drove the first half of the season was totalled in a warmup lap midseason. This car made its premiere at Watkins Glen and was driven by Dino right to the Winner's Circle with a first place finish.

He has a new car lined up for the upcoming 2010 season. This 2009 winner now serves as an ultimate track day two-seater with the occasional stop at events like these.

These pics come courtesy of Frank Filipponio who is our favorite writer over on Autoblog.

Centric Parts CEO featured on CarCast with Adam Carolla

Dino Crescentini, CEO of Centric Parts, which includes StopTech, dropped into Adam Carolla's garage to a record an episode of his popular automotive themed CarCast podcast. Click here to visit the page where you can download or stream the podcast.

Got a little extra time? Dino, who races a Porsche for GMG Racing in the SCCA World Challenge GT Series, brought by one of only about 600 Porsche Carrera GTs in the United States.

You can catch the video profile of the vehicle with Adam and Dino by clicking on this link. Highlights including Dino proving a CEO can fit in a ridiculously small supercar trunk, and Adam push starting the vehicle with his co-producer.

Dino Enters AIA Hall of Fame - Alive!

Another big day for the Centric Parts family in Las Vegas for SEMA and AAPEX. Today Centric Parts CEO Dino Crescentini was inducted into the Aftermarket Industry Association Hall of Fame, which is the highest honor handed out by AIA. You can read the details in this press release.

The quote of the day has to be the one uttered by a visitor to the StopTech booth at SEMA when she heard that Dino was at AAPEX getting this honor.

"I thought he was dead."

Ouch!

The story behind this is that last year another race car driver named Dino Crescentini perished in a track accident during a race in a different series than the one the Centric Parts CEO races in. Obituaries showed up all over race media - with a picture of the wrong Dino - our Dino.

The journalists had used Google Images to find a photo of the deceased. They typed in "Dino Crescentini race car driver" and, not knowing there were two people with the same name in this community, ran the first photo they found.

The situation was compounded by the fact he was scuba diving in a remote part of the world when the news broke. Therefore he was uncharacteristically not returning phone calls.

Over a year later, it turns out there are still a few people out there who did not see the corrections and retractions that ran a days later.

Team StopTech Drives to Twenty-Five in 2009

It turned out to be a truly stellar “Podium or Pole Position” year for Team StopTech2009, which consisted of the select production based race cars from the Tri-Point Motorsports, GMG Racing and Turner Motorsport teams competing on StopTech performance brakes in the Grand-Am Koni Sports Car Challenge Series and the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Series.

The stated goal of the season for Team StopTech, as put forth by StopTech CEO Dino Crescentini who also drives for GMG Racing, had been to accumulate at least 20 combined visits to the podium or pole-position earning qualifiers. Crescentini brought in number 20 by himself when he earned his way to the podium at the Road America Grand Prix. By the end of that mid-august weekend, Team StopTech was up to 22.

A pair of podium visits from Turner Motorsport at the Salt Lake City 200 stop of the KONI Grand Am challenge joined up with GMG Racing’s James Sofronas taking the SCCA SPEED GT season finale at Laguna Seca to ratchet the final 2009 tally to 25 for Team StopTech.

“It has been a fun and remarkable season,” noted Crescentini upon returning to Southern California after the final race. “I think most of us are already thinking about 2010.”

Can Team StopTech match this year’s incredible successes next time around? Stay tuned in 2010.

...and Dino makes 5: Team StopTech Tally Soars

Team StopTech has surged in the last few days, with five more "podium or pole position" achievements over three races on two tracks.

Four of those came from the SCCA SPEED World Challenge, where the Road America Grand Prix (coincidentally presented by StopTech) served as Round 8 of the 2009 season. Stoptech CEO Dino Crescentini made it to the podium along with Charles Espenlaub of Tri-Point Motorsports, who also served up a top qualifying time along with James Sofronas of GMG Racing. (read release)

A whole country (sort of) away, Turner Motorsport was taking the checkered flag with tag-team drivers Matt Bell and Don Salama. Sure it's two drivers but it only counts as one victory for Team StopTech.

Here's a two minute recap. The yellow (some say "gold") beemer in front for most scenes is our boys charging to victory...



That puts the season total to 22, with a long break before we see the last few races of the season.

Is 25 in range?

Closeup: StopTech CEO's Watkins Glen Victory

You may already know that Dino Crescentini, CEO of Centric Parts/StopTech, took first place at round 5 of the SCCA SPEED GT World Challenge series at Watkins Glen from the official press release. It was a, metaphorically speaking, long road for Crescentini to this, his second career SCCA victory.

A crash during the practice rounds back at the Long Beach Grand Prix took his car out of the running for a few rounds. This was the same car that that opened the SCCA season with a top qualifying time back in Sebring. Up until 4 weeks before the race it was a bare chassis. The crew at GMG Racing gets huge props for knocking the ride back into such great shape that it lands in the winner’s circle, pretty much picking up where it left off.

Here is a one minute clip of Dino’s interview with SPEED Channel moments after winning…



Starting second in his Porsche 911 GT3, Crescentini got the jump on first starting Jason Daskalos’ Dodge Viper, but not as good as teammate Sofronas, who moved his Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3 to the lead from third on the grid.

Sofronas led Crescentini for the opening four laps before Crescentini put his No. 4 car out front on lap five, out-braking his teammate going into the Inner Loop. That move that earned him the AutoWeek Move of the Race and the victory as he gradually pulled away as Curran and Sofronas traded second place, turning the Fastest Lap of the race with a 1:55.347 (106.114 mph).

It was Crescentini’s second-career win, and came a day after his 49th birthday. He last won a World Challenge GT race at Portland International Raceway for his debut season in 2005.

“I have to credit GMG and especially Steve Ruiz,” said Crescentini, referring the StopTech’s and GMG Racing Team head engineer. “The car has been perfect every time he works on it! He was everything to me. He gave me the car and all I had to do was drive it.””

“Now that was a fun race, running with Dino and Curran, two great drivers, this is what World Challenge racing is all about,” beamed co-teammate and GMG owner James Sofronas. “I had a great start and jumped into the lead for the first 4 laps but I could see Dino had a little stronger car.”

The race will be broadcast Tuesday, July 22 at 2 p.m. (EDT). The SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship next travels to Autobahn Country Club for Round Seven, July 24-26, 2009.

Race Report: StopTech CEO earns SCCA Pole Position

posted by The Brake Room Staff

Dino Crescentini, CEO of Centric Parts, which includes the StopTech ultra-performance division, earned pole position in Florida over for the 2009 season opener of the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Series before the weekend to be televised nationally later this month on SPEED Channel. The performance on the track was also the debut of the company's Trophy Big Brake Kits, designed exclusively for track use.

Crescentini races a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for Global MotorSports Group (GMG) Racing in the SCCA Speed World Challenge Series, and has also brought the company’s Director of Engineering, Steve Ruiz, on as the team’s Head Engineer to enhance StopTech’s racing and development programs.

Crescentini pulled the fastest lap during the qualifying sessions at Sebring International Speedway on Thursday, March 19, to earn a pole position start for the race the next day. Crescentini held his pole position through the start of the race and remained a podium contender through the 15th lap of the 20 lap race. Contact with another vehicle after a yellow flag restart forced his vehicle into the pits on lap 16.

“Winning the qualifying round yesterday and earning pole position like we did validates the technical efforts GMG Racing and StopTech have put into the vehicle,” said Crescentini after the race “The fun part as a driver is facing all of the moment-to-moment challenges on a crowded track on race day shoulder to shoulder with racing professionals.”

Trophy BBKs, first announced late last year at the Performance Racing Industry show (watch video / see news item), feature ultra-lightweight racing calipers in four- or six-piston configurations providing a 20-percent weight reduction without sacrificing stiffness or performance. Full floating versions of StopTech’s patented AeroRotor/AeroHat two-piece rotors eliminate pad knock-back and increase cooling airflow by 15% for consistent performance and pedal feedback under the unique combination of hard cornering and braking found on the track. These BBKs sport a “natural” finish for an attractive in-wheel presentation and also include billet aluminum mounting brackets with stainless steel caliper studs and DOT-compliant stainless steel braided brake lines. Trophy BBKs make no compromises found on hybrid systems designed for both street and track.

The next race up for Crescentinti will be in Long Beach on April 19th as part of the weekend long Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix. The Brake Room will be there with with exclusive behind the scenes coverage. Also keep an eye out in the next week or so for some in-car footage of his pole position earning performance.

TrACkTICS: Dino’s 75/25 rule for braking on the track

Posted by Dino Crescentini

Any of you who read the recent “Science of Stopping” post from Steve Ruiz about the reality of balanced brakes probably got a bit of an eye-opener on the complex physics behind slowing down a vehicle. His insights focused on the effort that goes into the brakes long before the car ever hits the pavement.

Now imagine yourself behind the steering wheel at over 100mph barreling down on a sharp turn that is only a few dozen yards away. Throw another car right behind you and maybe another off to your side and you get an idea of what I face over a thousand times during the racing season as a driver for the Global Motorsports Group racing team in the SCCA SPEED World Challenge series. The concept of “balance” becomes very dynamic on the track.

Perhaps no skill is harder to execute perfectly on the track than slowing a race car at the limits of its braking performance. Braking changes the race car's weight distribution, posture, and handling characteristics. Do it right and you gain valuable time on the competition. Do it wrong and that podium finish gets farther and farther away. Do it really wrong and… well, you have probably seen the footage of what happens.

For a race car driver, most if not all of the braking happens in preparation for a turn. So not only is the vehicle’s balance shifting forward, it is also shifting side to side from the inside to the outside of the cornering direction. Even with the best equipment in this situation, each wheel is dealing with either too much weight for efficient braking or too little to optimally transfer the stopping power through the tires to the road.

So now what?

Probably the first lesson we learn, and one I would like to impart to you, is that the most efficient way to slow a car is in a straight line. This is when the car's weight is evenly distributed to both sides. The mission here is to complete as much of your braking as possible before commencing the turn.

When braking and turning at the same time, neither braking nor cornering occurs optimally, creating a true lose-lose situation. So getting as much of the braking underway as possible before the turn will pay dividends that can translate into victory.

This may create a bit of a disconnect for some of you. Cutting your velocity before the turn seems like a slow strategy in a speedy sport, but this is where having great brakes comes in. The shorter potential stopping distance of racing brakes and tires allows us to start braking much closer to the turn and still get our speed down to a manageable level before we need to move the steering wheel. Racers look to racing brakes for the ability to brake late so they can keep their hard earned momentum as long as possible.

Ideally all braking should be done before the wheel is turned for a corner. That’s easy when putting around a parking lot looking for a spot at the mall, but unrealistic in the heat of a race or time trial. However, on the track with the right car and equipment (I drive a StopTech-equipped but mostly stock Porsche for GMG) you should aim for my 75/25 rule. Essentially, you should realistically pull off about 75% of your deceleration before turning and cap off the last bit by the time you are 25% into the turn. That puts your vehicle into its best performance zone for three quarters of each turn. That is quite an edge.

The technique required is to very quickly get your brakes to the limit to start the deceleration, then ease back a little off the brake pedal as you start the turn until you are a quarter of the way into it.

It takes a knowledge of your car’s abilities and practice on a track, not a walled one in case you overshoot the turn. Watch the SCCA races on SPEED channel, which features production based race cars, and you’ll see the 75/25 rule being applied all over the place. Once you get it down, you will be glad you did.

Happy racing!

Dino Crescentini races for GMG Racing and is the CEO of Centric Parts, which includes the ultra-performance StopTech brand

Centric CEO suits up for SCCA Racing Season with Global Motorsports Group

posted by The Brake Room staff

Dino Crescentini, CEO of Centric Parts, will once again ride with Global Motorsports Group (GMG) for the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED GT World Challenge Series when the 2009 season kicks off at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida on March 18-20. This will be his first race since Crescentini was one of three drivers on the team that won the Baja Challenge at the grueling Baja 1000 late in 2008.

With that victory under his belt, Crescentini is optimistic about the 2009 SPEED GT season. “This will be GMG racing’s first full season with Stephen Ruiz, StopTech’s Director of Engineering, as the team’s Head Engineer,” stated Crescentini. Ruiz assumed the role late last season, followed by some of the GMG’s best races. “Steve Ruiz is a magic ingredient that can transform the car from something you fight into something that works with you as a driver, which is key when driving an agile Porsche against the more horsepower driven competition found on the SPEED GT tracks,” he added.

Crescentini will debut Trophy Big Brake Kits from StopTech on his Porsche GT3 this season. These are the first kits from the company designed for use on the track only, featuring ultra-lightweight calipers and a full-floating version of the company’s patented AeroHat coupled with patented AeroRotors.

“Porsche’s stock brakes are exceptionally good for original equipment, but StopTech’s Trophy Big Brake Kits go the extra distance for serious performance on the track,” commented Crescentini. “Porsche is my personal vehicle of choice on the track or off, so it was important to me that StopTech offered significant performance enhancement on those cars.”

As a Porsche driver, Crescentini prefers the SPEED GT street courses such as the Grand Prix of Long Beach in California and the Thunderbolt Raceway in New Jersey. “The Porsche GT3 is a great cut-and-thrust vehicle, so put me on a track with good brakes and lots of tight turns and I can leverage every advantage over cars that dominate on long straight-aways,” says Crescentini. “Plus I am not spooked by the concrete barriers typical of street courses, which can be unnerving to some drivers.” It is this attitude that has earned Crescentini the nickname “Street Fighter” amongst some colleagues.

Dino Crescentini was born in Los Angeles and began racing various motocross and desert events in 1972. He has expanded his racing resume for over 30 years, having participated in Alfa Club Races/Time Trials, Trans-Am series, Can-Am vintage car races, and many more classes of events before joining this current SPEED series. Along the way he has won several Rising Star of the Race awards and was named 2004 SPEED Touring Car Rookie of the Year. On the business side, he co-founded StopTech in 1999 in Southern California and departed a year later to start Centric Parts, which later added Power Slot and StopTech and performance and ultra-performance divisions.

Crescentini’s SPEED GT racing schedule with GMG Racing this season:

• Sebring International Raceway in Florida (March 18 – 20)
• The Grand Prix of Long Beach in California (April 17 – 19)
• Thunderbolt Raceway in New Jersey (May 1 – 3)
• Mosport International Raceway in Canada (May 15 – 17)
• Watkins Glen International in New York (July 3 – 5)
• Autobahn Country Club in Illinois(July 24 – 26)
• Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Ohio (August 7 -9)
• Road America in Wisconsin (August 14-16)
• Road Atlanta in Georgia (September 23 – 25)
• Laguna Seca Raceway in California (October 9-11).

The races will be broadcast on SPEED Channel.

Crescentini will start contributing his racing insights to The Brake Room blog here next week, and we will feature race reports and in-car footage throughout the season.

Related links:

Global Motorsports Group (GMG)

StopTech Brakes

Centric Parts

SCCA World Challenge