Here is a double update for the SoCal SM series for 2009 season.
Round 3: April 25/26- Buttonwillow Raceway
There was an eighteen-car field for the event and the weather was perfect for racing. At the conclusion of Saturday's qualifying session, Grant Westmoreland (2:04.737), Tim Weaver and Jonathan Christian were at the top of the time sheets. A great race followed, and in typical fashion top four were swapping positions back & forth until Westmoreland and J. Christian pulled a small lead to settle the winner between them. When the checker flew J. Christian won by a mere 0.066 of a second ahead of Westmoreland, followed by Clement Lee & Jeremy Barnes.
Round 3: April 25/26- Buttonwillow Raceway
There was an eighteen-car field for the event and the weather was perfect for racing. At the conclusion of Saturday's qualifying session, Grant Westmoreland (2:04.737), Tim Weaver and Jonathan Christian were at the top of the time sheets. A great race followed, and in typical fashion top four were swapping positions back & forth until Westmoreland and J. Christian pulled a small lead to settle the winner between them. When the checker flew J. Christian won by a mere 0.066 of a second ahead of Westmoreland, followed by Clement Lee & Jeremy Barnes.
Here is a double update for the SoCal SM series for 2009 season.
Round 3: April 25/26- Buttonwillow Raceway
There was an eighteen-car field for the event and the weather was perfect for racing. At the conclusion of Saturday's qualifying session, Grant Westmoreland (2:04.737), Tim Weaver and Jonathan Christian were at the top of the time sheets. A great race followed, and in typical fashion top four were swapping positions back & forth until Westmoreland and J. Christian pulled a small lead to settle the winner between them. When the checker flew J. Christian won by a mere 0.066 of a second ahead of Westmoreland, followed by Clement Lee & Jeremy Barnes.
Sunday saw more of the same with Jonathan Christian winning the qualifying race and thus the honors of starting in lead position for the afternoon race. Grant Westmoreland started 2nd and Austin Christian 3rd. Within such close quarters, all hell broke loose when the green flew... At the front, a few cars came together sending the ensuing pack every direction possible. Things quickly calmed down to a normal Spec Miata fervor, with close tight racing throughout the field. At the finish Jonathan captured a 2nd win while Grant Westmoreland and Austin Christian filled the final two podium positions.
It has to be mentioned that Rob "Iron Man" Burgoon raced his SM in three classes during the event. Rob raced in Performance Touring E (PTE); Spec Miata (won the Weekend-Racer.com Hard Charger Award on Sat) and also the 3hr WERC Enduro on Saturday night (finished 4th in class). Many people were impressed by this accomplishment.
Round 4: May 23/24- Willow Springs
A solid sixteen-car field turned out for all the fun... Saturday qualifying saw the top three spots going to the Christian boys with Jonathan (1:37.721) 1st, William II 2nd and Austin starting 3rd. The afternoon race was epic, with the top 5 positions switching places lap-after-lap until the second to the last lap when Austin & Grant sailed off the track leaving first to third up for grabs. At the finish stripe, Clement Lee edged Jeremy Barnes with a true photo finish whereby only the timing system could determine a 5-thousands of a second gap, followed by Jonathan Christian in 3rd.
Sunday was a convergence of two NASA's (the race guys and the space guys)... While there was action on the track, sonic booms from the nearby landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis surpassed the roar of engines. The SM qualifying heat-race on Sunday was amazing with the top six cars all crossing the stripe within 1 second of each other. They were:
1. Jonathan Christian
2. Austin Christian (-0.001)
3. Jeremy Barnes (-0.301)
4. Clement Lee (-0.411)
5. Grant Westmoreland (-0.898)
6. William Christian II (-0.904)
With racing this close, competitors should re-examine the placement of their timing transponder. The final points race of the weekend was just as close with tight-for-position racing allover the track... At the checker, Austin Christian took his first win of the season by 0.183 over his brother Jonathan, pursued by Jeremy Barnes in 3rd.
Next round of incredible Spec Miata racing will take place at Buttonwillow Raceway on June 27th and 28th, where you can be assured that more close quarters battles will ensue. For a review of the season points standings, please visit http://socal.drivenasa.com/points/
Round 3: April 25/26- Buttonwillow Raceway
There was an eighteen-car field for the event and the weather was perfect for racing. At the conclusion of Saturday's qualifying session, Grant Westmoreland (2:04.737), Tim Weaver and Jonathan Christian were at the top of the time sheets. A great race followed, and in typical fashion top four were swapping positions back & forth until Westmoreland and J. Christian pulled a small lead to settle the winner between them. When the checker flew J. Christian won by a mere 0.066 of a second ahead of Westmoreland, followed by Clement Lee & Jeremy Barnes.
Sunday saw more of the same with Jonathan Christian winning the qualifying race and thus the honors of starting in lead position for the afternoon race. Grant Westmoreland started 2nd and Austin Christian 3rd. Within such close quarters, all hell broke loose when the green flew... At the front, a few cars came together sending the ensuing pack every direction possible. Things quickly calmed down to a normal Spec Miata fervor, with close tight racing throughout the field. At the finish Jonathan captured a 2nd win while Grant Westmoreland and Austin Christian filled the final two podium positions.
It has to be mentioned that Rob "Iron Man" Burgoon raced his SM in three classes during the event. Rob raced in Performance Touring E (PTE); Spec Miata (won the Weekend-Racer.com Hard Charger Award on Sat) and also the 3hr WERC Enduro on Saturday night (finished 4th in class). Many people were impressed by this accomplishment.
Round 4: May 23/24- Willow Springs
A solid sixteen-car field turned out for all the fun... Saturday qualifying saw the top three spots going to the Christian boys with Jonathan (1:37.721) 1st, William II 2nd and Austin starting 3rd. The afternoon race was epic, with the top 5 positions switching places lap-after-lap until the second to the last lap when Austin & Grant sailed off the track leaving first to third up for grabs. At the finish stripe, Clement Lee edged Jeremy Barnes with a true photo finish whereby only the timing system could determine a 5-thousands of a second gap, followed by Jonathan Christian in 3rd.
Sunday was a convergence of two NASA's (the race guys and the space guys)... While there was action on the track, sonic booms from the nearby landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis surpassed the roar of engines. The SM qualifying heat-race on Sunday was amazing with the top six cars all crossing the stripe within 1 second of each other. They were:
1. Jonathan Christian
2. Austin Christian (-0.001)
3. Jeremy Barnes (-0.301)
4. Clement Lee (-0.411)
5. Grant Westmoreland (-0.898)
6. William Christian II (-0.904)
With racing this close, competitors should re-examine the placement of their timing transponder. The final points race of the weekend was just as close with tight-for-position racing allover the track... At the checker, Austin Christian took his first win of the season by 0.183 over his brother Jonathan, pursued by Jeremy Barnes in 3rd.
Next round of incredible Spec Miata racing will take place at Buttonwillow Raceway on June 27th and 28th, where you can be assured that more close quarters battles will ensue. For a review of the season points standings, please visit http://socal.drivenasa.com/points/
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