The Taxman Group Racing Team, headed off to South Haven, Michigan for our 2nd racing weekend of 2026. Chief Wrenches, Floyd Allyn and Richard Schwartz, made up my pit crew and traveling companions.
We took off early Friday morning for our 400 mile drive. We arrived at the track about 2:30 p.m, picked up our registration packet, paddocked and started to prep the XKE for the next day of racing. Afterwards, we to South Haven and ate at one of the town’s famous restaurants, Clementines.
It had been 7 years since the last time I raced at GingerMan. It’s the track where I went to driving school back in 2015. I’ve had bad experiences at Gingerman in the past, having blown an engine in 2016 and then getting hit by a rookie driver in 2019, so was a bit apprehensive about racing there again, and it would come to bite me again. (See more later in report)
GingerMan Raceway was established in 1995 by racing enthusiast Daniel Schnitta. His vision is to share the racing experience with visitors and their families. Rather than spending your trip to the track in isolation, visitors are just six miles away from the beach, boutiques, events and dining that are common to any beachside community. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of GingerMan is its dedication to the safety of the driver. The course layout was designed to minimize the chance of damaging yourself or your vehicle. GingerMan is considered the safest track in the region and among the safest of tracks in the nation. This makes the race track perfectly suited for both the novice driver who is learning the ropes and the advanced driver who is pushing the threshold.
GingerMan Raceway is situated on a 350-acre site. GingerMan has also eliminated hazards such as walls, utility poles, trees and other objects. The course layout simulates the full spectrum of driving situations: high speed straights and short sprints, long sweeping corners and tight apexes, heavy and light braking, and elevation change. The track is 2.2 miles long, with dynamic elevation change on a naturally rolling landscape. The length of the back-straight is more than 1,700’.
My Saturday schedule called for 2 practice sessions, 1 qualifying session, then a sprint race. Even though it had been 7 years since I raced on this track, the learning curve as to the race line came back to me rather quickly. Turn 3 requires a hard brake and late apex. If done correctly, you’ll be pointed down the track right at Turn 4, do it wrong, and your heading off towards the grass! Turn 6 is a severe left hander and you’re going uphill. You need to apex late and then get back to the left side of the track as soon as possible. The Straighter you go the faster your time. Turns 7 thru 9 are a carousel sweeper, more kinks than turns and you just need to dance thru them. Turn 10 is a reverse camber sweeper. You need to be curb left, brake late, turn late getting to the right side of the track and keep your momentum up for the long two straights ahead. You want to look all the way down the straight and go fast, pedal to the floor. I caught and passed a lot of race cars between 10 and 11.
Friday night it rained until 6 am Saturday. So even though it was blue skies and 70 degrees and windy, the track was still damp for my first practice. We arrived at the track at 7:45 a.m. for the mandatory driver’s meeting, and then headed to the grid for our 8:30 a.m. warm-up session, the first session out on the damp track. 32 Cars were on the grid for this first practice. Many drivers didn’t go out due to the damp track. I decided to be cautious and just relearn the track. Our race group was made up of 10 different classes, which meant there would be a vast diversity between horsepower and speed. I finished 1st in my class, 6BP, and 21st overall, with a best lap time of 2:40. Lots of room for improvement. The track dried out for the 2nd race at 10 am, however it was still around 70 degrees so the asphalt didn’t heat up that much. 42 cars showed up on the grid and I finished 1st in class and improved by lap time to 2.14. The qualifying race was at 11:20 am and I was putting it all together with consistent improved lap times. 47 cars mad the grid, lots of traffic, and I finished 37th overall, 1st in class, with a best lap time of 2.06. The Sprint Race was after lunch at 2:15 pm. 48 cars made the grid and I had some spirited back and forth racing with several cars, especially a 1984 Honda CRX and a Datsun 510. I finished 33rd overall, with a best lap time of 2:07. HOWEVER, this is where the Cat Bit me again…or I might say a Nazi Car. A new racer who just got his racing license the day before, dived bomb me at turn 7 (where no one ever passes as its dangerous), hit my left rear and spun me in the grass. I was able to restart and finish the race. The #69 Porsche 911 was damaged badly, leaving lots of plastic and front-end pieces on the track. Not only was he not able to race due to damaged, the Drivers Committee put him on 1 year probation and told him to leave the track. They are considering pulling his racing license.
We managed to pull out the fender enough so the tire didn’t rub and had to reset the exhausts. We would be a bit scarred, but racing on Sunday. We went out for another wonderful dinner in downtown South Haven and then retired early as we had two feature races on Sunday. The weather was beautiful and about 85 degrees and the track was heating up a bit. We changed out our Goodyear BlueStreaks for our Hoosier TDRs, which are lighter and faster. I could tell immediately that the Hoosiers were going to perform well. 36 survivors made the grid for our Heat Race at 9 am. I was really enjoying the racing and felt “IN THE ZONE”. I finished 26th overall and had my best lap time of the weekend at 2:03. I was still racing at what I call 80%, and knew I could knock off 10 seconds or more with more seat time on Gingerman. The feature race was at 2:35 pm. 24 cars made the grid (always a lot of breakdowns etc). I had some very exciting laps racing with the Honda, Datsun B510, and two 240Zs. I passed the Honda on lap 8, the 240Zs on lap 12, and finally caught the B510 on the last lap right before the last turn and the checkered flag, beating him by 3 car lengths. I finished 16th overall and 1st in class.
The various cars in my race group included: 1972 Mallock MKII, 1963 Elva MKVII, 5 Mazda Miatas, 1971 Dodge Charger, 4 Porsche 944, 2 2008 Ford Mustang, 2 Legends Thunder Roadsters, 1968 Corvette, 2 1966 Yenko Stinger Corvairs, 1996 Ford Probe, 2 BMW 2002, 1974 Triumph TR6, 5 Datsun 510s, 2 1968 Alfa Romeo Duetto, 1979 VW Rabbit, 3 Datsun 240Zs, 1973 Datsun B210, 1994 Toyota Tercell, 2 1971 Porsche 914, 1967 Volvo 142S, 1967 BMW 1600, 2 Porsche 911s, 1968 MGB/C, 1977 Toyota Celica, 1972 Opel Manta, 3 Triumph GT6+, 1984 Honda CRX, 1977 Triumph Group 44 TR7, 1968 Datsun 2000, and 1971 Alfa Romeo Spider.
We enjoyed seeing old friends and made quite a few new friends, (but not the driver of the #69 Porsche). Two JCNA members from Indianapolis were there and we spent some time together. Steven Jones came to Gingerman and attended the racing school, getting his license. He brought a 1953 purpose made XK120 racecar. It’s a strange looking thing, with wood dash, bicycle fenders, and purple paint. He struggled a bit with it, but he did okay. He said he saw the article about me in the Jaguar Journal and it was his inspiration to start racing.
I was really pleased with how well both the XKE and I performed at GingerMan. I’m taking the Jag back down to Benton, Illinois to have the body repaired. I don’t know if it will be ready for Blackhawk Farms, but It will definitely be ready for RoadAmerica and the Brian Redman International Festival in July.
Many thanks to Richard and Floyd for helping out and making this such a fun and successful weekend.
Philip Taxman
