Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Craig Coker piloted Dark Helmet at Gridlife Big Willow on April 28th, and despite sub-optimal SOC and motor thermals, he reset his prior EV record, set a new overall Gridlife record, and took 1st place overall at the event with a time of 1:19.63!
Full Story:
We hit Gridlife Big Willow last weekend with our driver, Craig Coker, behind the wheel of Dark Helmet on a quest to not only win, but set a new bar (or record) for fastest lap in a production-based car. We’d previously set an EV record of 1:20.03, and with some upgrades we knew a sub-1:20 was possible, but we were really gunning for the all-time production-based record previously set by Billy Johnson with a 1:18.55 in his NSX.
Racing an EV at Willow Springs comes with its challenges as EV charging infrastructure is limited. With no Tesla Superchargers near our best option is a 50 amp 220 that generates roughly 10kw. With peak power coming from a 100% state of charge (SOC), we are reliant on charging in between sessions to ensure we maintain power levels. Getting from 75% to 100% SOC in between sessions is often not achievable due to timing and as a result we often return to sessions without being at peak power.
Additionally, a single lap can throw the motor thermals into a heat-soaked state which reduces power drastically. This is amplified with insufficient time between sessions for thermals to reach a cooled state, thus increasing the risk of heat-soak within one lap. Once all three motors reach a completely heat-soaked state power can be reduced by as much as 50% which is quite impactful on a 1,020 hp, 5,000 lb car.
At Gridlife Big Willow last weekend, we experienced both challenges. We started the lap at 81% SOC, much lower than the ideal 100%, and thermal levels higher than ideal too. You’ll see in the video that up until turn 6, Dark Helmet was performing flawlessly, and was actually already 2 seconds faster when comparing lap videos with Billy Johnson’s lap record. However, after that, heat-soak stepped in, and cut power significantly. Craig tried to mitigate the thermals by slightly lifting out of turn 8 and retain some power exiting turn 9 and then onward to the front straight, but it was too late; the car had enough. It is so obvious when you look at the acceleration on the speedometer on the front straight going into the lap, vs coming out of it. Craig was 10 mph lower coming out of turn 9 and ultimately 25 mph lower crossing the finish line.
Despite these challenges, Craig went FULL SEND lapping Big Willow with a time of 1:19.63 earning himself new records for fastest EV to lap Big Willow (resetting his prior record), and fastest Gridlife Big Willow lap ever. Needless to say, he also took first place overall! Though, we didn’t hit the goal of setting a new production-based lap record, we’ll learn from this experience, and improve Dark Helmet for better thermal management to knock off those 2 seconds we see still on the table. We will be back WSIR Big Willow!!
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Unpluggedperformance.com
youtube.com/@UnpluggedPerformanceTesla
Twitter.com/unpluggedtesla
Instagram.com/unpluggedperformance
Facebook.com/unpluggedperformance
TikTok.com/unpluggedperformance
UP Development driver:
Craig Coker @FromWhereICharge IG: instagram.com/fromwhereicharge
Thumbnail Image: @bobbyufoto on IG
Craig Coker piloted Dark Helmet at Gridlife Big Willow on April 28th, and despite sub-optimal SOC and motor thermals, he reset his prior EV record, set a new overall Gridlife record, and took 1st place overall at the event with a time of 1:19.63!
Full Story:
We hit Gridlife Big Willow last weekend with our driver, Craig Coker, behind the wheel of Dark Helmet on a quest to not only win, but set a new bar (or record) for fastest lap in a production-based car. We’d previously set an EV record of 1:20.03, and with some upgrades we knew a sub-1:20 was possible, but we were really gunning for the all-time production-based record previously set by Billy Johnson with a 1:18.55 in his NSX.
Racing an EV at Willow Springs comes with its challenges as EV charging infrastructure is limited. With no Tesla Superchargers near our best option is a 50 amp 220 that generates roughly 10kw. With peak power coming from a 100% state of charge (SOC), we are reliant on charging in between sessions to ensure we maintain power levels. Getting from 75% to 100% SOC in between sessions is often not achievable due to timing and as a result we often return to sessions without being at peak power.
Additionally, a single lap can throw the motor thermals into a heat-soaked state which reduces power drastically. This is amplified with insufficient time between sessions for thermals to reach a cooled state, thus increasing the risk of heat-soak within one lap. Once all three motors reach a completely heat-soaked state power can be reduced by as much as 50% which is quite impactful on a 1,020 hp, 5,000 lb car.
At Gridlife Big Willow last weekend, we experienced both challenges. We started the lap at 81% SOC, much lower than the ideal 100%, and thermal levels higher than ideal too. You’ll see in the video that up until turn 6, Dark Helmet was performing flawlessly, and was actually already 2 seconds faster when comparing lap videos with Billy Johnson’s lap record. However, after that, heat-soak stepped in, and cut power significantly. Craig tried to mitigate the thermals by slightly lifting out of turn 8 and retain some power exiting turn 9 and then onward to the front straight, but it was too late; the car had enough. It is so obvious when you look at the acceleration on the speedometer on the front straight going into the lap, vs coming out of it. Craig was 10 mph lower coming out of turn 9 and ultimately 25 mph lower crossing the finish line.
Despite these challenges, Craig went FULL SEND lapping Big Willow with a time of 1:19.63 earning himself new records for fastest EV to lap Big Willow (resetting his prior record), and fastest Gridlife Big Willow lap ever. Needless to say, he also took first place overall! Though, we didn’t hit the goal of setting a new production-based lap record, we’ll learn from this experience, and improve Dark Helmet for better thermal management to knock off those 2 seconds we see still on the table. We will be back WSIR Big Willow!!
Follow Us
Unpluggedperformance.com
youtube.com/@UnpluggedPerformanceTesla
Twitter.com/unpluggedtesla
Instagram.com/unpluggedperformance
Facebook.com/unpluggedperformance
TikTok.com/unpluggedperformance
UP Development driver:
Craig Coker @FromWhereICharge IG: instagram.com/fromwhereicharge
Thumbnail Image: @bobbyufoto on IG
