As is traditional, discussion of the weather must always be the first
thing on the drivers mind since the weather has the most influence in
the racing ahead. Once again, the SoCal NASA weather didn't
disappoint. Clear skies, gentle breezes and temps in the low 80's
would make for near perfect racing conditions. Many minds were focused
on breaking the existing track record of 2:03.216, which was set by
Rius Billing, but nearly broken at the event held earlier this year in
March. However, this is the point in the season where the guys start
to seriously contemplate their points. In fact, for many that was
their biggest concern.
For this race, the Spec E30 racers would share the track with Spec
Miata and 944 Spec groups. Spec E30 always has a standing start,
therefore would take the third green flag.
In qualifying, Rius Billing would set the pole position on the second
lap with a time that was 2 1/10's faster than his previous track
record! Steffen Thompson would qualify second, 7 tenths behind and
Mitch Pepper would round out the top 3 with his best qualifying effort
to date! Also having a great qualifying session was Team Sykes Racing
in the 4th place spot! Steven Stepanian, who suffered from broken
valves at the last event, was above to capture the 5th spot while
breaking in a new cylinder head. Amazingly, Allan Hauser still manages
to qualify 8th even though he would suffer from a broken spark plug
wire.
thing on the drivers mind since the weather has the most influence in
the racing ahead. Once again, the SoCal NASA weather didn't
disappoint. Clear skies, gentle breezes and temps in the low 80's
would make for near perfect racing conditions. Many minds were focused
on breaking the existing track record of 2:03.216, which was set by
Rius Billing, but nearly broken at the event held earlier this year in
March. However, this is the point in the season where the guys start
to seriously contemplate their points. In fact, for many that was
their biggest concern.
For this race, the Spec E30 racers would share the track with Spec
Miata and 944 Spec groups. Spec E30 always has a standing start,
therefore would take the third green flag.
In qualifying, Rius Billing would set the pole position on the second
lap with a time that was 2 1/10's faster than his previous track
record! Steffen Thompson would qualify second, 7 tenths behind and
Mitch Pepper would round out the top 3 with his best qualifying effort
to date! Also having a great qualifying session was Team Sykes Racing
in the 4th place spot! Steven Stepanian, who suffered from broken
valves at the last event, was above to capture the 5th spot while
breaking in a new cylinder head. Amazingly, Allan Hauser still manages
to qualify 8th even though he would suffer from a broken spark plug
wire.
Saturday Qualifying:
1) 22 Rius Billing 2:03.015
2) 67 Steffen Thompson 2:03.706
3) 99 Mitchell Pepper 2:04.180
4) 75 Team Sykes Racing 2:04.657
5) 28 Steven Stepanian 2:04.728
6) 33 Sean Aron 2:04.799
7) 11 Frank Reed 2:04.924
8) 320 Allan Hauser 2:05.279
9) 111 Erick Strong 2:05.431
Saturday's Race:
After finishing up the out lap, the cars would line up on the grid
with all eyes on the flag man as he raised up the green flag over his
head. The flag furled at first, and then it is opened up to display
the green in all its glory. Hearts begin to pound as they anticipate
the flag being dropped. A brief pause by the starter and then he
drops the flag and the race begins!
2 notably good starts were from the #28 of Steven Stepanian who would
quickly be contending for third as they headed into turn 1, but the
car began to lose power. Clearly being down on power, he would slowly
fall back in the field, but still managed to finish on the lead lap.
There were to be no retirements in this race. The other was the 320
car driven by Allan Hauser. He would start way back in 8th place and
as they were turning into turn 3, he was up to the 4th position!
Billing would retain the lead.
Qualifying 9th on an old set of tires, Erick strong got a great launch
off the green flag. However, he could not find second gear off the
start and consequently watched the entire field walk away from him. He
would not give up and began his pursuit.
On lap 2 Hauser and Thompson would pass Mitch Pepper on the front
straight to take over the 2nd and third place positions. Strong, as
you remember fell back at the start, has now caught and passed for the
6th place position!
On lap 5 Hauser would pass Billing for the lead! Meanwhile, Strong and
Sean Aron would work together to catch the ailing car of Stepanian and
as Strong worked past Stepanian, Aron was next to find a way past
Stepanian who was using every tool in his bag to maintain his
position.
On lap 7 of the race, Hauser, Billings and Pepper would have to deal
with slower traffic as they caught the back of the 944 Spec field.
Luckily, they would not play a factor in the Spec E30 race up front.
Thompson, who was in 4th place, would find himself behind 3 944 Spec
cars. Meanwhile, the #11 car of Reed would now try to find a way past
Stepanian and would get it done on the front straight.
When given lemons.....Thompson begins to bump draft the Spec 944 car
of 805 whom, frantically waves Thompson off. The 805 has quite a long
tow hook on the back bumper and he was fearful of Thompson having his
radiator taken out. Thompson saw the hook and thought for a second,
shrugged his shoulders, and began to bump draft the 805 anyways!
Thompson was able to work his way past the Spec 944 back markers and
once again, see the 3 lead cars in front of him.
Strong would battle with Aron for 5th, finally getting past him on lap
9. The #75 car of Jeremy Sykes, which was also having engine trouble,
battled with Stepanian for a lap before taking the 8th spot.
As the checkered flag flew, it would be the brilliant drives by
Hauser, Billings and Thompson to round out the top 3 on the podium!
Post race tech inspections would find the #99 of Mitch Pepper a few
pounds too light; hence he was disqualified from 4th place. The
finishers from 5th place on would move up a position due to Pepper's
unfortunate weight miscalculation which also cost him some valuable
season points.
Besides the first place points and Toyo Bucks, Hauser would also win
$50 cash for the hard charger award from E30 Motorwerks as well as a
bottle of Mothers R3 cleaner for being first to the racing grid! 2nd
to the grid was Sean Aron, who took home a bottle of Mothers Showtime
Instant Detailer. 3rd to the grid was Billing, who received a bottle
of Mothers Glass Cleaner! Congrats!
1) 320 Allan Hauser 2:03.581
2) 22 Rius Billing 2:04.022
3) 67 Steffen Thompson 2:04.249
4) 111 Erick Strong 2:04.974
5) 11 Frank Reed 2:05.142
6) 33 Sean Aron 2:04.616
7) 75 Team Sykes Racing 2:05.228
8) 28 Steven Stepanian 2:06.285
Not classified
9) DQ 99 Mitchell Pepper 2:04.420
Saturday night, even after a generally disappointing racing day,
Steven Stepanian would graciously open his house the Spec E30 group,
and friends of the group, to a fantastic BBQ featuring BBQ Ribs,
tri-tip, pulled chicken, Tater salad and a BBQ wouldn't be complete
without Slaw! Dinner and great discussions went well into the night.
It was a great time just hanging out with friends, who also happen to
race together! Sometimes, it's good to deposit a big karma check!
Either that, or Steve was trying to weigh the field down as we all
woke up Sunday morning still full from dinner! Thank you so much
Steve!
Sunday Qualifying:
After the race on Saturday, the crew (Seth) at Midnight Oil would
discover and solve the problems with the #28 car on Saturday. This
would allow Stepanian to use all of the car in qualifying! However
Billing would still turn in his best qualifying effort, breaking into
the 2:02:730 world for the first time! Stepanian would show that "The
Pumpkin" was back in business and took the outside pole position with
a qualifying time that was two 1/100 th's off the old track record!
Erick Strong reminded us he can lay down a lap from the March event
here at AAA Speedway and would start right behind Billing in 3rd.
Thompson missed the 3rd spot by 1/10th of a second! This was a blazing
fast qualifying session!
1) 22 Rius Billing 2:02.730
2) 28 Steven Stepanian 2:03.237
3) 111 Erick Strong 2:03.572
4) 67 Steffen Thompson 2:03.608
5) 320 Allan Hauser 2:03.714
6) 11 Frank Reed 2:03.796
7) 99 Mitchell Pepper 2:04.098
8) 33 Sean Aron 2:04.438
9) 75 Team Sykes Racing 2:05.262
Sunday Race:
One again, the group took their positions on the grid. "Reluctantly
crouched at the starting line,
engines pumping and thumping in time.
The green light flashes, the flags go up.
Churning and burning, they yearn for the cup.
They deftly maneuver and muscle for rank,
fuel burning fast on an empty tank.
Reckless and wild, they pour through the turns"....
Ok, I totally stole that from the band "Cake", but it so very much
fits with this group! Once again, the green flag drops and those who
have figured out how to get the most out of a standing start, DO, with
the exception that many more of the drivers have figured out how to
get things going.
Hauser started right behind Strong and was well into 2nd gear when
Strong's car unexpectedly slowed as fast as he realized Strong wasn't
going anywhere. Unfortunately, a returning problem for Strong from
Saturday would leave searching for 2nd gear again. Hauser couldn't
react fast enough and drilled Strong in the left rear as Hauser tried
to turn down under him, nearly spinning the #111 car. Hauser did
manage to get back on track, but Strong would fall back to last place,
but this time he wasn't as far back behind the field. He would battle
forward.
Up front, Billing would lead the way into the infield with Stepanian
right behind in 2nd while Hauser would hold on to the 3rd position.
The three cars would maintain this until lap 5, where Stepanian would
make his move past Billing for the lead. Thompson would also move up
and take 3rd place from Hauser. There were 5 position changes on lap 5
and there were more to come before this was all over.
The very next lap, Thompson dove down the inside of Billings as they
both exited the high banked turn 2 in an attempt to move up into
second place. Tragically, Thompson lost focus and missed his braking
zone. He narrowly missed having contact with Billing, but collected
Stepanian (who was in the lead) by colliding with the side of his rear
bumper, spinning both cars. Billing and Hauser would take over the
lead and 2nd place, respectively. After narrowly missing the wall on
drive's left, Stepanian somehow got his #28 car rolling again and gave
chase on Billing and Hauser with Thompson also in hot pursuit heading
into the turn 5-6 combination.
As the cars come across the start line, Hauser's prior contact with
Strong at the start begins to shows it was more than just minor as the
#320's transmission would not allow Hauser to use 5th gear causing him
to fall to 4th place. Having the drive of his season, Stepanian
managed to catch up to Billing with Thompson, again sporting a
familiar look of missing the left front headlight assembly, a few car
lengths back. Hauser continues his fall down the grid as his
transmission was now stuck in 4th gear.
Miraculously, Stepanian is once again able to pass Billing and retake
the lead! Pepper, Reed, Strong and Aron battled all race long, each
waiting for the other to make a mistake. Reed was able to get up into
the 4th position while Pepper, Strong and Aron continue to hound each
other for the 5th spot. Near the end of the race, Strong would use up
his brakes and end up too deep in a turn as Pepper and Aron were able
to squeak by him.
As the Checkered flag flew, Stepanian would cash in on his Saturday
night BBQ scheme and take the win! Billing finished 2nd with another
consistent drive and Thompson would claim what appeared to be the last
podium position. After the post race impounding of the cars and
drivers, the Race Director would determine that Thompson would be
disqualified for punting Stepanian in turn 3. Reed would now claim the
3rd place trophy.
The racing was so close that one winner could not be determined. It
was decided that the $50 cash hard charger award from E30 Motorwerks,
would be shared by 2 drivers! Mitch Pepper and Sean Aron would each
take home $25 cash!
1) 28 Steven Stepanian 2:03.908
2) 22 Rius Billing 2:04.433
3) 11 Frank Reed 2:05.111
4) 99 Mitchell Pepper 2:04.826
5) 33 Sean Aron 2:04.369
6) 111 Erick Strong 2:04.940
7) 320 Allan Hauser 2:03.793
8) 75 Team Sykes Racing 2:08.875
Not classified
9) DQ 67 Steffen Thompson 2:04.162
Another great SoCal racing weekend is in the books. One huge
contributing factor in this weekend being so successful, not only for
Spec E30, but for some of the other series as well as some detailed
Tech inspections that were performed flawlessly for NASA's PT series,
Midnight Oil made a huge difference for so many people. Thank you for
all you do to make this series the absolute best NASA has to offer in
SoCal! (OK, I'm biased, how can you blame me? Tell me SoCal SE30 isn't
great? Go on!) Thank you Midnight Oil and Seth!
Unfortunately, we won't return to the track again until October at
Buttonwillow where I expect the group to pick up where we left off!
More outstanding racing, as always! Meanwhile, teams will be crunching
the numbers to see where the results place them in the 2012 points
battle! Hope to see you all there!
1) 22 Rius Billing 2:03.015
2) 67 Steffen Thompson 2:03.706
3) 99 Mitchell Pepper 2:04.180
4) 75 Team Sykes Racing 2:04.657
5) 28 Steven Stepanian 2:04.728
6) 33 Sean Aron 2:04.799
7) 11 Frank Reed 2:04.924
8) 320 Allan Hauser 2:05.279
9) 111 Erick Strong 2:05.431
Saturday's Race:
After finishing up the out lap, the cars would line up on the grid
with all eyes on the flag man as he raised up the green flag over his
head. The flag furled at first, and then it is opened up to display
the green in all its glory. Hearts begin to pound as they anticipate
the flag being dropped. A brief pause by the starter and then he
drops the flag and the race begins!
2 notably good starts were from the #28 of Steven Stepanian who would
quickly be contending for third as they headed into turn 1, but the
car began to lose power. Clearly being down on power, he would slowly
fall back in the field, but still managed to finish on the lead lap.
There were to be no retirements in this race. The other was the 320
car driven by Allan Hauser. He would start way back in 8th place and
as they were turning into turn 3, he was up to the 4th position!
Billing would retain the lead.
Qualifying 9th on an old set of tires, Erick strong got a great launch
off the green flag. However, he could not find second gear off the
start and consequently watched the entire field walk away from him. He
would not give up and began his pursuit.
On lap 2 Hauser and Thompson would pass Mitch Pepper on the front
straight to take over the 2nd and third place positions. Strong, as
you remember fell back at the start, has now caught and passed for the
6th place position!
On lap 5 Hauser would pass Billing for the lead! Meanwhile, Strong and
Sean Aron would work together to catch the ailing car of Stepanian and
as Strong worked past Stepanian, Aron was next to find a way past
Stepanian who was using every tool in his bag to maintain his
position.
On lap 7 of the race, Hauser, Billings and Pepper would have to deal
with slower traffic as they caught the back of the 944 Spec field.
Luckily, they would not play a factor in the Spec E30 race up front.
Thompson, who was in 4th place, would find himself behind 3 944 Spec
cars. Meanwhile, the #11 car of Reed would now try to find a way past
Stepanian and would get it done on the front straight.
When given lemons.....Thompson begins to bump draft the Spec 944 car
of 805 whom, frantically waves Thompson off. The 805 has quite a long
tow hook on the back bumper and he was fearful of Thompson having his
radiator taken out. Thompson saw the hook and thought for a second,
shrugged his shoulders, and began to bump draft the 805 anyways!
Thompson was able to work his way past the Spec 944 back markers and
once again, see the 3 lead cars in front of him.
Strong would battle with Aron for 5th, finally getting past him on lap
9. The #75 car of Jeremy Sykes, which was also having engine trouble,
battled with Stepanian for a lap before taking the 8th spot.
As the checkered flag flew, it would be the brilliant drives by
Hauser, Billings and Thompson to round out the top 3 on the podium!
Post race tech inspections would find the #99 of Mitch Pepper a few
pounds too light; hence he was disqualified from 4th place. The
finishers from 5th place on would move up a position due to Pepper's
unfortunate weight miscalculation which also cost him some valuable
season points.
Besides the first place points and Toyo Bucks, Hauser would also win
$50 cash for the hard charger award from E30 Motorwerks as well as a
bottle of Mothers R3 cleaner for being first to the racing grid! 2nd
to the grid was Sean Aron, who took home a bottle of Mothers Showtime
Instant Detailer. 3rd to the grid was Billing, who received a bottle
of Mothers Glass Cleaner! Congrats!
1) 320 Allan Hauser 2:03.581
2) 22 Rius Billing 2:04.022
3) 67 Steffen Thompson 2:04.249
4) 111 Erick Strong 2:04.974
5) 11 Frank Reed 2:05.142
6) 33 Sean Aron 2:04.616
7) 75 Team Sykes Racing 2:05.228
8) 28 Steven Stepanian 2:06.285
Not classified
9) DQ 99 Mitchell Pepper 2:04.420
Saturday night, even after a generally disappointing racing day,
Steven Stepanian would graciously open his house the Spec E30 group,
and friends of the group, to a fantastic BBQ featuring BBQ Ribs,
tri-tip, pulled chicken, Tater salad and a BBQ wouldn't be complete
without Slaw! Dinner and great discussions went well into the night.
It was a great time just hanging out with friends, who also happen to
race together! Sometimes, it's good to deposit a big karma check!
Either that, or Steve was trying to weigh the field down as we all
woke up Sunday morning still full from dinner! Thank you so much
Steve!
Sunday Qualifying:
After the race on Saturday, the crew (Seth) at Midnight Oil would
discover and solve the problems with the #28 car on Saturday. This
would allow Stepanian to use all of the car in qualifying! However
Billing would still turn in his best qualifying effort, breaking into
the 2:02:730 world for the first time! Stepanian would show that "The
Pumpkin" was back in business and took the outside pole position with
a qualifying time that was two 1/100 th's off the old track record!
Erick Strong reminded us he can lay down a lap from the March event
here at AAA Speedway and would start right behind Billing in 3rd.
Thompson missed the 3rd spot by 1/10th of a second! This was a blazing
fast qualifying session!
1) 22 Rius Billing 2:02.730
2) 28 Steven Stepanian 2:03.237
3) 111 Erick Strong 2:03.572
4) 67 Steffen Thompson 2:03.608
5) 320 Allan Hauser 2:03.714
6) 11 Frank Reed 2:03.796
7) 99 Mitchell Pepper 2:04.098
8) 33 Sean Aron 2:04.438
9) 75 Team Sykes Racing 2:05.262
Sunday Race:
One again, the group took their positions on the grid. "Reluctantly
crouched at the starting line,
engines pumping and thumping in time.
The green light flashes, the flags go up.
Churning and burning, they yearn for the cup.
They deftly maneuver and muscle for rank,
fuel burning fast on an empty tank.
Reckless and wild, they pour through the turns"....
Ok, I totally stole that from the band "Cake", but it so very much
fits with this group! Once again, the green flag drops and those who
have figured out how to get the most out of a standing start, DO, with
the exception that many more of the drivers have figured out how to
get things going.
Hauser started right behind Strong and was well into 2nd gear when
Strong's car unexpectedly slowed as fast as he realized Strong wasn't
going anywhere. Unfortunately, a returning problem for Strong from
Saturday would leave searching for 2nd gear again. Hauser couldn't
react fast enough and drilled Strong in the left rear as Hauser tried
to turn down under him, nearly spinning the #111 car. Hauser did
manage to get back on track, but Strong would fall back to last place,
but this time he wasn't as far back behind the field. He would battle
forward.
Up front, Billing would lead the way into the infield with Stepanian
right behind in 2nd while Hauser would hold on to the 3rd position.
The three cars would maintain this until lap 5, where Stepanian would
make his move past Billing for the lead. Thompson would also move up
and take 3rd place from Hauser. There were 5 position changes on lap 5
and there were more to come before this was all over.
The very next lap, Thompson dove down the inside of Billings as they
both exited the high banked turn 2 in an attempt to move up into
second place. Tragically, Thompson lost focus and missed his braking
zone. He narrowly missed having contact with Billing, but collected
Stepanian (who was in the lead) by colliding with the side of his rear
bumper, spinning both cars. Billing and Hauser would take over the
lead and 2nd place, respectively. After narrowly missing the wall on
drive's left, Stepanian somehow got his #28 car rolling again and gave
chase on Billing and Hauser with Thompson also in hot pursuit heading
into the turn 5-6 combination.
As the cars come across the start line, Hauser's prior contact with
Strong at the start begins to shows it was more than just minor as the
#320's transmission would not allow Hauser to use 5th gear causing him
to fall to 4th place. Having the drive of his season, Stepanian
managed to catch up to Billing with Thompson, again sporting a
familiar look of missing the left front headlight assembly, a few car
lengths back. Hauser continues his fall down the grid as his
transmission was now stuck in 4th gear.
Miraculously, Stepanian is once again able to pass Billing and retake
the lead! Pepper, Reed, Strong and Aron battled all race long, each
waiting for the other to make a mistake. Reed was able to get up into
the 4th position while Pepper, Strong and Aron continue to hound each
other for the 5th spot. Near the end of the race, Strong would use up
his brakes and end up too deep in a turn as Pepper and Aron were able
to squeak by him.
As the Checkered flag flew, Stepanian would cash in on his Saturday
night BBQ scheme and take the win! Billing finished 2nd with another
consistent drive and Thompson would claim what appeared to be the last
podium position. After the post race impounding of the cars and
drivers, the Race Director would determine that Thompson would be
disqualified for punting Stepanian in turn 3. Reed would now claim the
3rd place trophy.
The racing was so close that one winner could not be determined. It
was decided that the $50 cash hard charger award from E30 Motorwerks,
would be shared by 2 drivers! Mitch Pepper and Sean Aron would each
take home $25 cash!
1) 28 Steven Stepanian 2:03.908
2) 22 Rius Billing 2:04.433
3) 11 Frank Reed 2:05.111
4) 99 Mitchell Pepper 2:04.826
5) 33 Sean Aron 2:04.369
6) 111 Erick Strong 2:04.940
7) 320 Allan Hauser 2:03.793
8) 75 Team Sykes Racing 2:08.875
Not classified
9) DQ 67 Steffen Thompson 2:04.162
Another great SoCal racing weekend is in the books. One huge
contributing factor in this weekend being so successful, not only for
Spec E30, but for some of the other series as well as some detailed
Tech inspections that were performed flawlessly for NASA's PT series,
Midnight Oil made a huge difference for so many people. Thank you for
all you do to make this series the absolute best NASA has to offer in
SoCal! (OK, I'm biased, how can you blame me? Tell me SoCal SE30 isn't
great? Go on!) Thank you Midnight Oil and Seth!
Unfortunately, we won't return to the track again until October at
Buttonwillow where I expect the group to pick up where we left off!
More outstanding racing, as always! Meanwhile, teams will be crunching
the numbers to see where the results place them in the 2012 points
battle! Hope to see you all there!
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