June gloom, the marine layer known and loved by southern Californians for its cooling effect in the summertime, painted the sky a flat gray when word was passed down to me that I’d soon be driving NISMO in the desert. That’s NISMO ala Nissan, and awaiting my arrival was everything from hopped-up Sentras on the track at Willow Springs to massaged Frontiers on rock-strewn trails. I must be doing something right, to be rewarded with a plumb assignment like this. First started in Japan in 1984, Nissan Motorsports International (NISMO), was introduced to the U.S. market in 2003. Since then, the dealer-exclusive parts and apparel business has exceeded $15 million in sales with about 230 items available for most Nissan vehicles, including some “legacy” models dating back to 1984.

Then reality kicked in: Rosamond is out in the middle of the desert, well north and east of the Los Angeles area. It seemed my “reward” was being sacrificed to the terrestrial frying pan, where temperatures in the shade routinely creep over 100 degrees. Evidently, this was punishment, not praise. None of that mattered when rolling up to the track, though. Heat stroke might be inevitable, but this was going be way better than a day spent in a dour gray cubicle under a dour gray sky.