Southern California Region of NASA

GoRacingTV.com To Produce Show For June Event

2012-05-11T17:27:25Z

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CORONA, CA- June, 5, 2012- The SoCal region of the National Auto Sport Association is pleased to announce that GoRacingTV.com will be producing a comprehensive media package for the June 23^rd and 24^th event at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. "This event is a NorCal crossover race for Spec Miata and Spec E30 which means those NorCal drivers also earn regional points but get to battle the SoCal drivers for top bragging rights. As a result, we are expecting huge fields so we are working hard to make the event extraordinary", said SoCal Regional Director Ryan Flaherty.

GoRacingTV.com will be producing a TV quality half hour summary show to showcase the feature races for both SM and E30 and plans to install more than 15 GoPro cameras throughout the field to capture the in-car excitement. In addition to the feature race webcast, GoRacingTV.com will push more than a dozen video vignette interviews to report trackside action in near real time fashion. Fans can expect to see many NASA drivers interviewed before the race, at impound, and of course insights to any controversies that come with an exciting race weekend.

]]> @font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

Errol Tucker Sr., Producer of GoRacingTV.com Inc. stated, "NASA is known for delivering some of the most intense Grassroots Racing in our sport and we are thrilled that GoRacingTV.com can provide premier coverage to showcase this great event".

Flaherty said, "I had the opportunity give professional level exposure to our drivers and since these classes have been steadily growing, I wanted to showcase the camaraderie, competition, driving talent, and overall fun that so many of our racers have at NASA events".

To join the fun, you can register for this event at http://www.nasaproracing.com/event/1433

Weekend video vignettes can be seen during the event weekend on the GoRacingTV.com web site and with their mobile iPhone or Android App. The half hour summary show will also be available on their site and through their App, a week following the event.

About NASA:

The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) was formed in 1991 with the premise of delivering high-quality motorsports events to enthusiasts at major racing venues throughout the nation. NASA has created programs that allow owners of both race cars and high-performance street-driven vehicles to enjoy the full performance capabilities of their cars in a controlled professionally managed environment. NASA offers many different programs that will allow you to enjoy motorsports on a number of different levels, including our High Performance Driving Events (HPDE), Rally Sport, Time Trial, NASA-X and Competition Racing programs.

About GoRacingTV.com Inc.:

GoRacingTV.com is the premier web-video channel for the club racing/grassroots racing community. GoRacingTV.com began airing episodes of its instructional video shows, the "Club Racer" and "Auto Crosser" web-based video shows in February of 2009, but has quickly become the site where club racers can obtain updated information and news related to the amateur racing community. Presently, GoRacingTV.com produces several video programs for the grassroots racing community. GoRacingTV.com also provides a daily updated news article section on the front page of its site, for those fans who either cannot or do not want to view video for their news. These articles cover news from the entire top Amateur and Pro Racing series in the US. For the past two years GoRacingTV.com has provided video coverage of the NASA Championships and the SCCA Championship Runoffs, producing a daily evening news show from the event informing fans of breaking news in a format similar to a standard network evening news show. Most recently GoRacingTV.com teamed up with Mazda and Cooper Tires to stream a Live Show from the 2011 Performance Industry Racing Show in Orland FL. GoRacingTV.com has partnered with some of the top Sports Car series in the U.S. and Canada to host their racing video archives. Racing fans around the world can now come to the GoRacingTV.com web site to see racing from their favorite series, SCCA Pro Racing Trans AM and Spec Racer Ford Series, Mazda Playboy MX5 Cup, Dodge Viper Cup, Star Mazda and Canadian Touring Car to name a few. This is just a handful of some of the video coverage available on GoRacingTV.com.

SoCal Spec E30 Round 2- Buttonwillow

2012-05-08T01:37:51Z

Round 2 of the SoCal Spec E30 race series at Buttonwillow Race Park
would start off on a sad note. Car owner Erick Strong and his
co-driver were testing the #111 car for the Saturday night enduro.
With Eric's co-driver behind the wheel, the car lost control coming
out of Sunset and had a heavy impact into the tire wall; the car was
destroyed. Luckily, the driver walked away uninjured.

Within an hour of the crash, one of the other SoCal Spec E30 drivers
had heard about the wreck and immediately offered him a car he had
recently bought and was about to start building. By Monday morning,
Erick already had a replacement car and is now ready to swap all the
usable parts and get back to the track. Meanwhile, he is looking for a
rental car to finish the 2012 season out in or until his replacement
car is ready for competition. Our hearts go out to Erick because he
has a very limited schedule to work on his car and he had just
completely gone thru the car taking care of every maintenance item
needed. That's the sad truth of motorsports in that sometimes the plan
changes.

]]> drivers take the green flag with us, our first car to be retired, we
had an SE30 driver take his first ever pole, we had some first time
winners and we had a first time racer join us on the grid! Steve
Nagel decided it's time to go racing and joined us from the ranks of
NASA's HPDE program. We welcome Steve and wish him much success!
Unusually warm weather for April at Buttonwillow would be the focus of
the weekend. Hydration was key as the temps were in the mid 90's and
humidity levels were around the 60% range.   The weather made what is
usually a pleasant desert track feel more like an August weekend in
Florida! Little did we know that we would be subjected to record
level highs all weekend. But the boys wouldn't let this stop them
from having a great weekend of racing; not even close!
Saturday morning warm-up proved to be eye opening to the group.
Drivers discovered the track was lacking the grip levels they have
been used to from previous events. Nevertheless, they gained valuable
information on track conditions, adjusted their tire pressures and
forged on. It is no surprise that Allan Hauser would quickly jump to
the top spot on the time charts. Matt Thiemann was closest but still 2
full seconds behind. Team TFB, with Charlie Hayes driving on saturday,
showed that while they were new to the SoCal group, but not new to
Spec E30, nor racing! They logged a fast lap in the warm-up being only
3 tenths behind Thiemann's fastest lap.
The rest of the group struggled with the slippery track conditions and
contemplated an alignment change before the qualifying. That's a tough
decision considering that historically, the track tightens up as the
day progresses.

1) 320    Allan Hauser               2:09.367
2) 21      Matthew Thiemann        2:11.333
3) 70      Team TFB            2:11.634
4) 67      Steffen Thompson          2:12.649
5) 22      Rius Billing                   2:13.423
6) 28      Steven Stepanian            2:14.930
7) 11      Frank Reed                 2:14.971
8) 15      Joseph Powers                         2:15.159
9) 3     Isaac Schumacher                2:15.552
10) 25    Chris Donnelly           2:17.178
11) 33    Sean Aron                           2:17.204
12) 75    Team Sykes Racing          2:18.456

Saturday Qualifying:
Sean Trapp, Kevin Nichols and Joseph Powers all elected to skip the
morning warm-up. Instead they focused their efforts in the qualifying
session. On lap 4 Allan Hauser would claim the pole position but it
didn't last long. The very next lap, Sean Trapp and Kevin Nichols
would work together to take the front row of the field. This would be
Sean Trapp's very first pole position of his career! Hauser would
start in the 3rd spot. Unknown to all the drivers, the format was
already set in place to invert the first 8 drivers if their qualifying
times were within a set limit. Sure enough, the drivers met the
criteria and the first 8 drivers would be inverted!

Saturday raw qualifying times: (first 8 inverted.)
1) 24       Sean Trapp                    2:10.642
2) 55       Team road runner               2:10.788
3) 320    Allan Hauser                 2:10.910
4) 70       Team TFB               2:11.121
5) 21       Matthew Thiemann             2:11.620
6) 67       Steffen Thompson               2:12.100
7) 28       Steven Stepanian                 2:12.466
8) 22       Rius Billing                     2:12.793
9) 15       Joseph Powers             2:13.137
10) 11    Frank Reed                    2:13.281
11) 3       Isaac Schumacher                2:13.333
12) 75    Team Sykes Racing               2:14.191
13) 33    Sean Aron                             2:14.600
14) 25    Chris Donnelly              2:15.344
15) 77    Steve Nagel                   2:15.853
16) 99    Mitch Pepper       2:16.405

Saturdays Race!
Even with the muggy heat, the drivers were anxious to get the race
underway. 16 drivers would line up for the standing start. With the
inversion of the first 8 drivers, Rius Billing would start on pole and
Steve Stepanian would start on his outside. Green flag flew and the
roar of 16 SE30's thundered through the paddock. Everyone made it
cleanly thru turn one and the field began to settle in and begin to
work on trying to pass the car directly in front. This practice was
used well and before the first lap was completed, nobody was in the
same position they started in. Either passing or being passed,
nobody's position was secure as battles raged all over the track.
Coming off the tightest turn on the track at the button hook, Thiemann
would fail to find a gear and Hauser would help push him up and out of
the way as the field stacked up behind them. By the time Thiemann
moved off track and found a usable gear, the entire field has passed
him.
Allan Hauser, Kevin Nichols and Team TFB would all quickly work their
way towards to the front. The biggest move would be Team TFB, who
started 5th and not only got to the front to take the lead quickly,
but would open up a huge gap over the rest of the field! Hauser would
eventually find a way past Nichols for the 2nd spot but was too far
back to challenge for the lead. Sean Trapp would battle hard for most
of the race with Frank Reed, who would defend his position
relentlessly until Sean Trapp was finally able to capitalize on a late
brake move in the sweeper to pass Reed. There was not enough time left
in the race to improve his position and had to settle for 6th with
Stepanian & Powers right behind him in 7th & 8th, respectively. Reed
would eventually hold on to 9th with Matt Thiemann salvaging 6 spots
and claiming a 10th place finish.
Another notable item is that the Team TFB car has been raced for years
and had never claimed a victory. Congrats to Team TFB for finally
claiming that winners sticker and first win while posting the fastest
lap of the race...well done guys!

1) 70       Team TFB               2:10.151
2) 320    Allan Hauser              2:10.982
3) 55       Team road runner        2:10.646
4) 22       Rius Billing                 2:12.319
5) 67       Steffen Thompson        2:12.482
6) 24       Sean Trapp                2:10.768
7) 28       Steven Stepanian       2:13.583
8) 15       Joseph Powers               2:13.815
9) 11       Frank Reed                      2:12.915
10) 21    Matthew Thiemann             2:12.860
11) 33    Sean Aron                          2:14.388
12) 75    Team Sykes Racing            2:14.319
13) 99    Mitchell Pepper                   2:13.305
14) 25    Chris Donnelly                     2:14.928
15) 3       Isaac Schumacher              2:13.674
16) 77    Steve Nagel                         2:14.852

Sunday
2 SE30 teams entered the Saturday night enduro, but just as Friday,
misfortune found the #33 car of Sean Aron as he would fall victim of
an overly optimistic Miata driver who, while thinking the Esses would
be a great place to attempt a pass, would drive up and launch over the
curb in the Esses and land on the entire passenger side of Aron's car.
That crashed cause enough damage to effectively end their enduro race
and any plans of competing in SE30 on Sunday. Sean hopes to have the
car repaired in time for the next event at Willow Springs in May.
Fortunately for us, joining us for Sundays race was another new face
to the SoCal SE30 group in the #58 of Henry Schmitt! That kept the
field strong at 16 cars.

Morning Warm-up results:
Sean Trapp, Kevin Nichols and Joseph Powers would again elect to skip
the morning warm-up. The second team driver, Tim Barber, in the Team
TFB car would
also take to the track for the first time this weekend and laid down a
blazing time! Team TFB has the attention of the field for sure!

1) 70       Team TFB                               2:08.229
2) 320    Allan Hauser                 2:10.202
3) 21       Matthew Thiemann             2:10.642
4) 67       steffen thompson                2:11.717
5) 58       Henry Schmitt               2:12.136
6) 15       Joseph Powers     2:13.018
7) 99       Mitchell Pepper                   2:13.307
8) 22       Rius Billing                     2:13.363
9) 28       Steven Stepanian                 2:14.899
10) 25    Chris Donnelly              2:17.275
11) 77    Steve Nagel                   2:18.121
12) 75    Team Sykes Racing               2:18.704
13) 11    Frank Reed                    2:20.708

Sunday Qualifying:

By lap 4, Team TFB's would lay down the pole position time. Allan
Hauser would start outside pole with Matthew Thiemann and Sean Trapp
right behind.
Chris Donnelly felt the car was down on power and eventually had a
misfire in qualifying. A post qualifying inspection of his power
plant revealed that a rocker arm had broken on the #5 cylinder. They
decided there was not enough time to make repairs and elected to
withdraw from the race. The good news that he has a fresh motor to
install and was looking for a reason to get it in the car!
1) 70       Team TFB                               2:09.580
2) 320    Allan Hauser                 2:10.224
3) 21       Matthew Thiemann             2:10.649
4) 24       Sean Trapp                    2:10.914
5) 55       Team road runner               2:11.016
6) 67       Steffen Thompson               2:11.019
7) 22       Rius Billing                     2:11.173
8) 28       Steven Stepanian                 2:12.558
9) 99       Mitchell Pepper                      2:12.604
10) 11    Frank Reed                    2:12.704
11) 75    Team Sykes Racing               2:13.302
12) 15    Joseph Powers             2:13.423
13) 58    Henry Schmitt               2:13.832
14) 3       Isaac Schumacher                2:14.284
15) 77    Steve Nagel                   2:15.489
16) 25    Chris Donnelly              2:15.503

Sunday Race:

Once again the field would line up on the grid for the standing start.
When the green flag flew, Allan Hauser would get a great start and
take the lead going into turn 1. However, a tip of the hat should be
given to "The Great Pumpkin" as Stepanian in the #28 car started 8th
and exited turn 1 in 4th fully engaged in a close battle with Kevin
Nichols. Stepanian was able to stay ahead on the inside of the
buttonhook and would have Nichols on his rear bumper (literally) for
the entire race. Team TFB and Allan Hauser would quickly pull away
from the field and the 2 would battle closely the entire race. Once
again, the same theme of battles racing all over the track would
ensue.
Frank Reed's car would find that 2nd gear was fun and refuse to
disengage 2nd no matter where he put his shifter. Reed would retire
from the race on lap 4 stranded out near the bus stop to spectate from
an entirely new perspective. The whole time he was heard saying, "I
would have been there" as the group of cars raced by. The next lap he
was heard on the radio, "I would have passed him and I would have been
there". Eventually everyone turned off their radio's and the course
worker asked him to please quiet down as Reed would have won the race
had they continued to listen. Meanwhile, back on the track, there was
a great battle between Joe Powers and Jeremy Sykes. They would trade
positions all race long until eventually Powers would overheat the
tires and was forced to slow his pace.
The other battle out on track would be for positions 4 thru 9.
Stepanian, Nichols and Billing were all nose to tail for the entire
race. Once he got out of turn 2, Stepanian's entire race was driven
defensive. He used out of class traffic and smartly chosen lines to
basically hold off the rest of the field.   However, with 3 laps to
go, Billings found a way by him in the sweeper and held that position
to claim a 4th place finish. Unfortunately, Nichols was not as
fortunate and finished behind Stepanian in 6th. Henry Schmitt was
finally able to take advantage of Powers tire situation and got past
him in the closing laps to claim 10th place.
Up front and with 3 laps to go, Team TFB would find a way past Hauser
for the lead coming off the button hook. Hauser had a poor exit and
Team TFB was able to get up the inside and had position for the next
turn. Hauser would hound TFB for the rest of the race but wasn't able
to retake the lead before the checkered flag flew! Sean Trapp claimed
the last spot on the podium.
This was, by far, the best racing ever seen in SoCal SE30! There were
battles all over the track. The toughest part was deciding which one
to watch, full well knowing you were definitely going to miss great
racing action elsewhere on track. I feel I am doing the racing on
track a disservice by not being able to recall all the battles for
you, but it was impossible to watch all of them at once. We need ESPN
coverage and replays!!

1) 70         Team TFB                             2:10.102
2) 320    Allan Hauser                                 2:10.086
3) 24       Sean Trapp                                    2:11.637
4) 22       Rius Billing                             2:12.038
5) 28       Steven Stepanian                                 2:12.506
6) 55       Team road runner                               2:12.392
7) 67       Steffen Thompson                               2:11.795
8) 21       Matthew Thiemann                             2:12.082
9) 75       Team Sykes Racing                       2:12.182
10) 58    Henry Schmitt                               2:14.112
11) 3       Isaac Schumacher                                2:12.326
12) 15    Joseph Powers                  2:13.713
13) 77    Steve Nagel                           2:14.292
14) 99    Mitchell Pepper                   2:14.196
15) 11    Frank Reed                       2:13.935
16) 25       Chris Donnelly                   DNS

Other than the 2 damaged cars and the unusually hot weather for this
time of the year, this was an outstanding weekend and I hated seeing
it come to an end. Thank goodness we have Willow Springs Intl. Raceway
to look forward to the weekend of May 26-27! We only visit this track
once this season and I look forward to another large field of SE30's.
I suspect we will see some good bump drafting, like we did at
California Speedway, as the group figure out how to get around the
track, quickly! The current lap record of 1:41.332 was set last season
by Allan Hauser and with the racing the way it has been so far this
season, it is definitely under threat!
Who will claim it? I can't wait to find out! See you there!

SoCal Spec Miata Round 2- Buttonwillow Raceway

2012-05-08T00:18:30Z

Soaring temperatures turn up the wick on the Spec Miata field at Buttonwillow

When the Spec Miata field took to the track for the second event of the 2012 season at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, battling the blistering heat was nearly as important as beating the guy gridded next to you.

Tires warmed past the point of usefulness early. Engine power waned. Drivers wilted. Rising mercury notwithstandting, Rob Burgoon started on pole with a qualifying time of 2:07.571, followed by Jeremy Barnes with a 2:08.299 and Arizona region's Scott Phillips with a 2:08.995.

"I spent some time in the test day and had found a couple of things that helped the car a little better through the middle of the corner, and come Saturday I was a little surprised to have qualified second," Barnes said. "The car didn't feel as strong Saturday as it had on Friday, but the weather was already getting warmer at that point."

At the start, Burgoon jumped out to an early lead he would never relinquish. Ramon Niebla and Jordon Butler attempted bold moves into Turn 1 from their starting positions, but couldn't make them stick and blended back in with the pack. Dust clouds billowed at track-out. Five laps in, Dave Varco overtook Barnes to claim the second spot.

"I didn't really have my head about me early enough in the race, it seemed, and it took me a couple of laps to get up to speed," Barnes said. "It was, unfortunately, after Dave went by me that I got into a rhythm in the race."

When the checkered flag flew, it was Burgoon crossing start-finish seven seconds ahead of Varco, who was just one tick ahead of Barnes.

]]> @font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: "Palatino"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Palatino; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

After Saturday night's enduro, the track got a much needed sweeping Sunday morning. Humidity had dropped from the day before, but the temperatures were already on their way to a triple-digit high, depending on which thermometer you checked.

Break out the salt tablets and electrolytes.

Burgoon again snared pole position with a fast lap of 2:07.711, followed closely behind by Barnes with a 2:07.983 and Varco with a 2:08.435.

Unlike Saturday's start, during which the flag man didn't wave green till the field was practically under him, Sunday's race was waved into action as soon as the first two rows rounded the turn onto the front straight. Moto IQ Pacific Tuner Car Challenge racers from first wave were already bearing down on Spec Miata and, in fact, were making their way through the back of the pack just after Turn 1.

"I didn't get a particularly great start. Rob got a good start and jumped ahead," Barnes said. "Scott Phillips came up next to me. I left him what I thought was plenty of room, a couple of car widths on my left to the edge of the track. Next thing I knew, he and I came together and I saw his car "wiggle" in my mirror, and then I saw a big cloud of dust in my mirror. What I didn't know, obviously, was that Dave Varco was over inside Scott."

Phillips was trying to squirt between Barnes and Varco when there was enough argy-bargy among them to bump Varco into the K wall along the front straight.

"We are just lucky that only one car was wrecked," Varco said, adding that the collision likely ruined two wheels and bent the rear subframe in addition to the sheetmetal damage. "Had I bounced off the wall into the pack it would have been a real mess."

That took Varco out of the race, leaving the rest of the front runners to battle it out till a Honda Challenge car blew an engine powering out of the Buttonhook. When the Honda drove off track into the dirt, the smoke and dust rendered zero-visibility conditions, a small grass fire and a lengthy double-yellow followed.

"I had the lead till the full-course caution despite some degrading tires," Burgoon said. "Then I had a bad restart and Jeremy Barnes got past."

Burgoon gave chase, but didn't catch Barnes, who went on to win. Burgoon did not finish due to contact in Cotton Corners in the waning minutes of the race.

"Ken Saward said he had traffic on the inside of him and he couldn't help but get into me, and spun me, and then I think I got hit gently by a Honda after I was already spinning," Burgoon said. "At that point, my alignment was buggered so I retired with one lap to go."

Barnes crossed the finish line five seconds ahead of second-place Phillips, who led Saward by two seconds.

When it isn't raining, the April event is usually marked by ideal spring weather for racing, but high temperatures at this year's races posed serious challenges for the drivers and their cars.

"From a car perspective, it's just knowing that as the race goes on, the track's going to get greasier and greasier as the tires start to go off toward the end," Barnes concluded. "The key is just not to use the car up in the first few laps, try to go easy on the tires and not lean too hard on that outside rear tire that tends to go off first."

SoCal 944 Spec Round 2- Buttonwillow Raceway

2012-05-07T23:24:37Z

April in Buttonwillow was hot. But 944 Spec Racing was even hotter. There was impressive competitiveness throughout the group, with tight racing for all. We were also joined by four 944s in HPDE who are eager to join the Spec race group in the near future.

Some of the weekend was "enjoyed" without power, due to a freak accident just outside the main gates involving a passing pickup truck taking out a power pole, causing explosions and a fire. Fortunately this occurred on the checkered lap of the enduro, so the NASA fire crew were able to race out themselves and save the driver in the burning pickup.

This weekend we were visited by two former regular racers, Charlie Buzzetti and Dave Hirsch. Charlie was in Tom Atteberry's car, #805, and Dave was there as a spectator and with his son who was experiencing the karting track.

The 944 Spec racers were grouped with Spec E30's, which had a strong showing with about a dozen cars, along with the BMWCCA cars, many of which were also there for the Saturday night enduro
]]> @font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

Saturday's race started with Tyler Palmer on Pole. He and Buzzetti had a tight race, and behind them DeLano, Richmond and Niedernhofer had numerous position changes, followed closely by Jimmy Hicks, who has joined the group fresh in 2012 at the last event. At the checker, Palmer took the top spot, Buzzetti came in second (in a borrowed car), and DeLano earned the third podium spot.

Buzzetti and Richmond were determined to extract more speed from their cars so both made significant suspension adjustments overnight and arrived to grid with fresh determination Sunday morning. It was an interesting reminder that the 944 Spec allows considerable adjustment that should be explored. Qualifying showed fairly tight grouping of the times amongst the group, with Palmer, Buzzetti and Delano qualifying in that order. A late decision was made to run an inverted start, which led to Niedernhofer (DNQ with a shifter bolt somewhere other than needed) on pole, Hicks starting second, then Richmond, DeLano, Buzzetti and Palmer. The race again saw a large number of position changes - all without incident or post-race debate. At the end, Palmer won, Buzzetti was second and Niedernhofer third. The hard charger award was well earned by Tyler Palmer for methodically making his way through the group then driving away and finding other prey.

In the paddock afterward everyone commented on how much fun they had and how tight the racing was - everyone had their own races. It was another great weekend with steller racing and good friends.

SoCal Honda Challenge Round 2- Buttonwillow Raceway

2012-05-07T22:48:16Z

The second weekend of the SoCal HPD Honda Challenge series came with a gentlemen's agreement of the rules by using the national horsepower cap. With a diverse field of 8 entries for H2, and 7 entries in H4, it was some of the closest racing we've seen in a long time. Saturday's Qualifying had the top 3 drivers in H2 within .5/sec of each other: Sam Rothschild posted a 2.01.7, Jeremy Croiset secured a 2.02.1, with Manny Coats at 2.02.2. H4 was even closer with Patrick Heavy at 2.08.2, followed by Joeffrey Ngo at 2.08.433, and Tom "Big Money" Paule at 2.08.478.

The grid was set, and drivers were ready for battle. With a rolling start, Rothschild took the H2 lead from the get go. The race continued with Coats, Adelberg, and Pecqueur in hot pursuit. Final results for H2 were Ken Adelberg taking 3^rd place, Manny Coats - 2^nd place, and the win going to Sam Rothschild. H4 final results were David Kim - 3rd place, Jeoffrey Ngo - 2^nd place, and Joe Barile with the win.

]]> @font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

Sunday's race turned out to be equally exciting as the action from the day before and people were saying the race "was something else"! Qualifying in lead positions for H2 were: Jeremy Croiset posting a 2.01.0, Sam Rothschild at 2.02.3, and Manny Coats at 2.02.5. In H4, Patrick Heavy posted at 2.10.9, Angel Velasquez at 2.11.2, and Joe Barile at 2.11.8. The pack of HC cars formed up along the front straight in preparation for the standing start on this blistering hot 90-degree spring day! When the green flag dropped the drivers were neck to neck for what seemed to be the entire race which thrilled the crowd watching from the tower viewing deck. This event yielded super close racing and it was only the second weekend of the season. Rothschild and Croiset were both striving to maintain their lead all throughout the race. Croiset and Rothschild were constantly swapping places, back to Croiset, then Rothschild. Manny Coats, on the other hand was fast as usual until bad luck arrived and his race was abruptly ended with an expired motor in flames! Coats made it out without a scratch and the NASA safety team made quick work of the engine fire, but unfortunately his engine suffered some unintended "heat treatment". Race results in H2 were Marcel DeKerpel - 3^rd place, Benoit Pecqueur - 2^nd, and Sam Rothschild with the win. H4 final results were Angel Velasquez - 3^rd place, Joe Barile - 2^nd, and Jeoffrey Ngo taking the win.

Round 3 Honda Challenge takes place at Willow Springs on May 26/27^th which should be another hot round of racing and weather!

SoCal SE30 - Round 1

2012-03-17T15:17:09Z

After 4 long months of being away from the track, the Southern California NASA Region returns to California Speedway to being the 2012 racing season! 13 Teams arrived for the season opener and it was very clear that everyone was ready to get back behind the wheel. If this race is any indication of what the season will turn out like, Spec E30 promises to be one of the tightest race series NASA has to offer. All 13 Teams discovered a blustery wind that would welcome them to the track; one that would surely have some effect on everyone's weekend. However, warm weather and clear skies would prevail, regardless of what the wind would do. Like all race weekends, the track record of 2:03.216 which was set at this event last year and held by Rius Billing, would be under attack almost immediately. ]]>
After 4 long months of being away from the track, the Southern California NASA Region returns to California Speedway to being the 2012 racing season! 13 Teams arrived for the season opener and it was very clear that everyone was ready to get back behind the wheel. If this race is any indication of what the season will turn out like, Spec E30 promises to be one of the tightest race series NASA has to offer. All 13 Teams discovered a blustery wind that would welcome them to the track; one that would surely have some effect on everyone's weekend.   However, warm weather and clear skies would prevail, regardless of what the wind would do. Like all race weekends, the track record of 2:03.216 which was set at this event last year and held by Rius Billing, would be under attack almost immediately.

During the morning warm-up session, the guys were eager to get back out on track and get to work on figuring out how to maximize their qualifying runs. Drivers paired up to figure out the art of bump drafting on the long straight sections of the track. This practice would come in handy for some, as well as some Spec Miata drivers who got a welcomed push for their own qualifying session from the always willing to lend a hand, Spec E30 drivers!

Saturday Qualifying Results:

   •   21    Matthew Thiemann        2:04.133
   •   320    Allan Hauser                2:04.239
   •   111    Erick Strong                2:04.409
   •   28    Steven Stepanian        2:05.016
   •   67   Steffen Thompson        2:05.139
   •   75   Team Sykes Racing        2:05.323
   •   22    Rius Billing                2:06.051
   •   33    Sean Aron             2:06.765
   •   99    Mitchell Pepper                2:06.801
   •   59    Vogel Boys Racing        2:07.482
   •   24    Sean Trapp                2:07.905
   •   11    Frank Reed                2:08.849
   •   3        John Magnuson         No time

Matthew Thiemann would take the pole for the first race of the year. The cars lined up for the standing start, the green flag flew and all 13 drivers charged into the banked turns. Allan Hauser jumped out in front early and would take over the top spot with Theimann close behind him. Stepanian and Strong were neck and neck all the way into turn 3 as they went through almost side by side with the rest of the field right behind them. Sean Trapp, who started in the 11th position and making his debut at AAA Speedway, would get the best start and gain 5 positions before turn 1! Matthew Thiemann only got 6 turns into his race when he would have an ABS failure, which resulted in a severely flat-spotted tire that would eventually force him to retire. Ironically enough, Matthew Thiemann set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 2:03.262. That was a .046 difference from the lap record. Steven Stepanian battled with rookie Erick Strong for 2nd place for the next few laps before he would find himself defending his position from the fast approaching competitors. Stepanian then caught Hauser, but could not find a way around him before a full course yellow would come out. After 3 laps under yellow, the checkers flew with Allan Hauser taking the win. Steve Stepanian would take the number 2 spot while Erick Strong would take his very first podium position in only his 5th race!

As expected, after the race the guys would gather at impound and recount the race they had just completed. Then it was time for BBQ and bench racing. Overall, it was a great start to the 2012 race season and that spirit was carried into the night with nothing but good friends reliving the day's events.

Saturday Race Results:

   •   320    Allan Hauser               2:03.523
   •   28    Steven Stepanian       2:03.348
   •   111    Erick Strong        2:03.754
   •   24    Sean Trapp        2:03.326
   •   67    Steffen Thompson        2:03.883
   •   22    Rius Billing       2:04.015
   •   33    Sean Aron        2:04.620
   •   75    Team Sykes Racing       2:04.825
   •   59    Vogel Boys Racing        2:07.129
   •   11    Frank Reed               2:07.474
   •   99    Mitchell Pepper                 2:07.360
   •   21    Matthew Thiemann       2:03.262
   •   3        John Magnuson        2:18.255

Day 2 would arrive treating the drivers to a calm and cool sunrise. The morning warm-up session would provide some insight as to the track conditions. The absence of the headwinds the drivers faced Saturday while in turns 1 and 2 would show a surprising increase in speeds. The continuing bump drafting practice, coupled with the more agreeable weather conditions and tire pressure experimentation, would come into play for the qualifying session. Allan Hauser would claim his first pole of the season. Matthew Thiemann would show his consistency and qualify 2nd. Erick Strong figured out something in Saturday's race and improved his time by over 1.4 seconds to take the 3rd position on the grid. The top 8 drivers were within 1 second of each other!

Sunday qualifying Results:

   •   320    Allan Hauser        2:03.143
   •   21    Matthew Thiemann        2:03.254
   •   111    Erick Strong                2:03.291
   •   67    Steffen Thompson        2:03.583
   •   24    Sean Trapp                2:03.692
   •   28    Steven Stepanian        2:03.709
   •   75    Team Sykes Racing        2:03.780
   •   22    Rius Billing                2:04.096
   •   33    Sean Aron             2:05.138
   •   59    Vogel Boys Racing        2:05.282
   •   99    Mitchell Pepper         2:05.619
   •   11    Frank Reed                2:06.105
   •   3        John Magnuson                2:17.148

Once again, the field would gather up for their standing start. However, in Sunday's race, the capacity crowd would be in for a real treat; a double standing start! For Sunday's race, the Spec E30 field would start as a second wave behind the Honda Challenge cars on the grid. The spectators that gathered would not be disappointed with this race. The green flag dropped for the 2nd race of the season with all drivers getting away clean. Sean Trapp had a great start, but he wasn't able to find the grip he was looking for and was only able to pull up next to Erick Strong down on the apron as they headed into turn one. Meanwhile, Steven Stepanian, who started in the 6th position, would rocket up to the outside of Strong to take the 3rd position spot. As the cars came through turn 3, Vogel, Billing and Trapp were all shooting for the same real estate. Surprisingly, as the cars exited turn 4, Patrick Vogel had now gone from 10th place on the grid to a 3 way battle for 4th with Rius Billing and Erik Strong. Trapp fell back to 8th due to the crowd that had formed by this time. Steffen Thompson would go from 4th to 7th by this time and found himself under attack from behind and his left side by Trapp. By turn 5 there were 14 different position changes!

On the second lap, while entering turn 2, Team Sykes Racing driver, Geoffrey Sykes would encounter some sort of brake issue while entering turn 3. He realized he was not going to make the turn and tried to "thread the needle" to avoid contact with Thompson. Geoffrey almost pulled it off, but as Thompson turned in for the corner, Sykes would barely clip the left front of Thompson's car and rip off the left side headlights and grill. Sykes would suffer minor damage to his tail lights and rear bumper. Both cars were able to continue.

There was considerable passing and re-passing all race long. The battles throughout the race were competitive in at least 3 separate groups of cars. Hauser would catch up to the H4 cars at the start and
draft them to a healthy lead ahead of the pack. He would turn in a blistering 2:03.041 to reset the SE30 track record in the race while cruising to an easy win. Matthew Thiemann kept Hauser in his sight, but couldn't close the gap and grabbed his first podium of the season. 3rd place would be a different beast. 3 drivers would battle and on the way to take the white flag, Steffen Thompson had worked his way from 8th up to 5th and was catching Sean Trapp. They both got a great run off the last corner and Thompson would bump draft Trapp past Steven Stepanian, moving him from 3rd to 5th. The last lap would find Trapp holding onto 3rd. Our hats are off to Steffen Thompson, who would claim 4th place after a difficult start. Nevertheless, he was able to get past a "challenging" 2nd lap. He was able to regain his focus after being hit and drive on to an excellent finish. It is worth mentioning that while Mitch Pepper finished 8th Sunday (his best finish to date) he was able to shave 2 ½ seconds off his time over the course of the weekend...Bravo Mitch! Furthermore, rookie driver Sean Aron also was able to shave 2 seconds off his qualifying time to finish 8th on Saturday. Both drivers finished better than their starting positions, too!

While this is only the 2nd season for SoCal Spec E30, it is crystal clear to me that this group is getting up to speed, very quickly!

Sunday Race Results:

   •   320    Allan Hauser            2:03.041
   •   21   Matthew Thiemann       2:03.923
   •   24    Sean Trapp        2:03.550
   •   67    Steffen Thompson       2:03.594
   •   28    Steven Stepanian       2:03.964
   •   22    Rius Billing        2:04.535
   •   111    Erick Strong        2:04.538
   •   99    Mitchell Pepper        2:04.352
   •   59    Vogel Boys Racing       2:04.672
   •   75    Team Sykes Racing        2:05.660
   •   11    Frank Reed                      2:05.839
   •   33    Sean Aron                             2:05.765
   •   3        John Magnuson                    DNS

The next event is April 21/22 at Buttonwillow. It can't get here soon enough! See you there!

Record 944 Spec Field at Season Opener

2012-03-09T18:02:50Z

Sometimes it all just comes together, and that's what happened at Auto Club Speedway in early March. The pros might be racing in Fontana later this month, but they are not likely to match the fun had by 944 Spec drivers this past weekend. The weekend started out well, with 18 entries from as far away as the Midwest Region lined up in their garages and ready to race. Saturday morning was so windy you could feel the wind pushing against your car on the front straight, yet times were still very competitive. By race time the wind had died down, and the large class was lined up and ready to take the green flag. The battles throughout the race were competitive. By the last lap, it was Tyler Palmer, last year's National champion, in first, Norm Hamden, visiting from Arizona region, in second, Eric Kuhns, National 944 Spec Director, in third, and Everett DeLano, So Cal's own 944 Spec Series Leader, in fourth place. As they approached turn 3, the sharp left hander at the end of the banked oval, both Norm and Eric went into it too hot. Eric spun out and Everett slipped into third place. Everett gave Norm a good run for his money and the two were in a tight race to the finish line, with Tyler finishing in first, Norm in second, and Everett in third. That night the bench racing was fierce and fun. Sunday's weather was warmer and expectations were high for another good day of racing. In practice, Tyler ran a lap time just over 2:00, very fast at this track. At race time, the top four qualifiers decided to add a little spice to the race, starting in the back of the pack. Once again, the battles on the track were fierce as those qualifiers made their way through the group of outstanding drivers. There was considerable passing and re-passing as the cars jockeyed for position throughout the event. At the checkered flag, it was Tyler in first, Norm in second, and Eric in third place. As the drivers packed up and headed on their ways, it was clear this had been one spectacular weekend and plans were already being made for more great racing in the months ahead.

Spec Miata 2012 Off to a Wild, Windy Start at Auto Club Speedway

2012-03-09T17:47:42Z

At Auto Club Speedway, it's draft or perish.

Saturday's qualifying and race at the March event in Fontana were marked with high winds howling across the track, so when the field entered Turn 1, it was greeted with a punishing headwind. If you didn't have someone drafting right behind you, or blowing a hole in the air mass directly ahead, you were toast.

Ken Saward snared pole position with a smoking 2:03.878 lap time in qualifying, followed by David Varco and Jeremy Barnes. Spec Miata national director bested Rob Burgoon who qualified fifth.

The start revealed the field's butterflies and rust from the offseason, with a loose pack crossing start/finish at the green flag. Barnes, who qualified third, lost the exhaust pipe from his 1.6 liter engine and had to drop out of the race for a DNF. The only good news is that he reported back to his pits having found the derelict pipe.

Barnes' exit bumped Mueller and Burgoon forward in the order. Mueller locked up going into turn three and lost his position, leaving Burgoon open to lock on to Saward. Burgoon got close enough to Saward after the hairpin, and eventually made the pass only to lose it to the draft on the oval. Saward lost the position to Burgoon again in Turn 5, leaving Burgoon to focus his sights on Varco, whom he passes to take the lead.

Then the double yellow flew. View image

]]> At Auto Club Speedway, it's draft or perish.

Saturday's qualifying and race at the March event in Fontana were marked with high winds howling across the track, so when the field entered Turn 1, it was greeted with a punishing headwind. If you didn't have someone drafting right behind you, or blowing a hole in the air mass directly ahead, you were toast.

Ken Saward snared pole position with a smoking 2:03.878 lap time in qualifying, followed by David Varco and Jeremy Barnes. Spec Miata national director bested Rob Burgoon who qualified fifth.

The start revealed the field's butterflies and rust from the offseason, with a loose pack crossing start/finish at the green flag. Barnes, who qualified third, lost the exhaust pipe from his 1.6 liter engine and had to drop out of the race for a DNF. The only good news is that he reported back to his pits having found the derelict pipe.

Barnes' exit bumped Mueller and Burgoon forward in the order. Mueller locked up going into turn three and lost his position, leaving Burgoon open to lock on to Saward. Burgoon got close enough to Saward after the hairpin, and eventually made the pass only to lose it to the draft on the oval. Saward lost the position to Burgoon again in Turn 5, leaving Burgoon to focus his sights on Varco, whom he passes to take the lead.

Then the double yellow flew.

A Porsche 944 that had spun and stalled in the middle of Turn 3 brought on a full-course caution, bunching up the field for a restart. Former Miata Teen Challenge driver, Arizonan Scott Phillips and Mark Stenzel were up front for the green flag.

By Turn 4 Varco had retaken the lead, but Saward passes Varco after the second infield chicane. Up on the oval the draft plays a role again, with Burgoon drafting Varco and himself past Saward as they arrived at Turn 3 side by side. By the second infield chicane, Burgoon and Saward were dicing away. Scott Phillips entered the mix in the complex, attempting to run side by side with Burgoon, who was beginning to notice smoke coming from his car.

After Burgoon dropped out with a mechanical issue, Phillips, who started in eighth, passed Varco and goes on to win, followed by Varco and Mueller, validating the Mazda axiom, "Never Give Up."

By Sunday, the wind had died, but the temperatures were up and it showed in the qualifying times, which were a bit slower than those from Saturday. Like Saturday, Ken Saward got pole, followed by Varco, Burgoon, Phillips, with Mueller rounding out the top five.

At the green flag, Mueller pushed Burgoon into the lead, passing Saward down on the apron on the approach to Turn 1. Burgoon puts a gap on the field for most of the race, with Phillips, Barnes and Varco not far behind.

By about two thirds of the race, Phillips had gotten by Barnes and set his sights on Burgoon. He passed Burgoon, but Burgoon passed on the apron of Turn 2 only to lose the lead again in Turn 5. As the two sprinted toward the first infield chicane, neither driver lifted. Phillips ran wide and off track to the outside in the chicane and would later file a protest, which stewards deemed groundless. Burgoon carried the lead to the checkers, netting his first win in Spec Miata.

SoCal Supplemental Racing Regulations

2012-03-02T00:13:15Z

Effective immediately these rules will be enforced in SoCal region. These supersede the CCR when the rules conflict.

2012SoCalSuppsv1.pdf

New Sheriff for SoCal Honda Challenge

2012-02-25T18:19:58Z

February 25 2012 -- The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) is pleased to announce that Benoit Pecqueur will take over the responsibilities of Southern California HPD Honda Challenge Series Leader from Jeremy Croiset. Mr. Pecqueur, a long time NASA racer and Honda challenge participant will now utilize the experience he's gained competing in the HPD Honda Challenge series over the past 6 years, including 5 visits to the National Championships in the HPD Honda Challenge class to focus his attention and passion toward rules enforcement as well as increasing participation. Jeremy Croiset said "Mr. Pecqueur's passion for racing and "Joe de vivre" at each track event should provide a positive influence on the series." Mr. Croiset will remain the National Series director for the HPD Honda Challenge series.

2012 Tech Procedure

2012-02-14T19:37:21Z

This process applies to competition vehicles

AnnualTechProcedure2012.pdf

Great New Promotion

2012-02-13T23:10:25Z

Driveforfive2012.pdf

NASA SoCal Region Taps Rookie for Spec Miata Series Leader Position

2012-01-27T22:16:36Z

January 27, 2012 -- National Auto Sport Association Regional Director Ryan Flaherty is pleased to introduce the Spec Miata series leader for the Southern California region. Rookie Brett Becker is taking on the responsibility in his first full season of racing.

"New racers have a passion and perspective that is unmatched. Brett has a solid background in business and marketing and my desire is to keep our drivers happy and grow the business. Brett and I share mutual goals, and I believe he will be an asset to the SoCal NASA team, said Flaherty."

Becker has been a NASA SoCal member since the 2007 season when he began in HPDE1. He advanced through HPDE4 and attended two racing schools, one with NASA via Driving Concepts and the second with Alpha Romeo club before earning his provisional license in December 2011.

"Truth be told, I'm probably out of my mind for taking on the challenge of being Spec Miata series leader in my first season, but I have a great affinity for the car, the class and Mazdaspeed's support program," Becker said. "Most important, it has been great to hang out with and learn from Spec Miata racers. As I was coming up through the HPDE program, they were generous and encouraging, and I hope to represent the group well."

A lifelong car guy, Becker built his car to the spec of the class as he progressed up the HPDE ladder, doing everything but installing the cage. He holds an undgraduate degree in journalism and a master's in mass communication from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He lives in Ventura, Calif., with his wife and two children. Active in his community, Becker said he looks forward to the challenges of being series leader and playing a greater role in the Spec Miata family.

"I have been involved in local politics and volunteer committees with the city of Ventura, but to be honest, some of the subject matter can be pretty dry," he said. "Helping Spec Miata drivers get the most out of their racing experience, and helping NASA attract full fields, to me, is a whole lot more exciting than arguing about parking meters or ballot initiatives. Should be fun."

2012 SoCal Schedule

2011-12-07T18:17:43Z

Warmup Event- Feb 4/5- Chuckwalla Raceway- *No SoCal Points* http://www.nasaaz.com/schedule/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
March 3/4- -Auto Club Speedway (NASA AZ Crossover)
April 21/22- Buttonwillow
May- 26/27- Willow Springs
June 23/24- Buttonwillow
July- 28/29th- Auto Club Speedway
Sept 6-9th- Mid Ohio *National Championship*
Oct 13/14- Buttonwillow
Nov- 10/11- Buttonwillow

To register please visit: http://www.nasaproracing.com/event

Please note that all events will award season points unless noted otherwise by class rules. All race groups will be able to drop the 3 lowest scores (including "0's"), which allows a competitor to skip a weekend without penalty. Individual race series such as AI, CMC, HC, etc my have class rules that supersede this format.

*Note- National Championship does not award SoCal Regional Points.

** Competition License School hosted by http://www.drivingconcepts.com
Dates - TBD

Western Endurance Regional Championship
March 11- Infineon (4hr Day)
April 21- Buttonwillow (3hr day/night)
May 20- Thunderhill (4hr Day)
June 23- Buttonwillow (3hr day/night)
Sept 30- Infineon (3hr Day)
Oct 13- Buttonwillow (3hr day/night)

2012 TENTATIVE NOR CAL CALENDAR

February 11-12, Infineon Raceway
March 10-11, Infineon Raceway
April 14-15, Thunderhill Raceway
May 19-20, Thunderhill Raceway
June 16-17, Infineon Raceway
August 18-19, Thunderhill Raceway
September 29-30, Infineon Raceway
October 27-28, Infineon Raceway
November 9-11, Infineon Raceway
December 8-9, Thunderhill Raceway

Spec E30 Finale at Buttonwillow

2011-11-19T00:48:05Z

Round 7 and the season finale at Buttonwillow where a Spec E30
Champion would be crowned for the 2011 SoCal season.

Something new to the mix, Spec E30 Series director Shawn Meze led the
way friday after the track closed to do a course walk with a handful
of drives. Very few drivers have actually laid foot to the asphalt and
a better understanding of the track was had by many. I know one driver
would walk the course again on saturday and figure out something in
sundays race to move up in the pack. Could this be the next ritual for
the E30 drivers for the 2012 season? We will see!

13 drivers showed up to a soggy track as the rains returned to add to
the mix. No matter, the morning sun dried out the track and the
morning warm up would be a dry session, as would the entire day. The
sun gods would shine upon us all day and clear sunny skies would rule
the day.

]]> Champion would be crowned for the 2011 SoCal season.

Something new to the mix, Spec E30 Series director Shawn Meze led the
way friday after the track closed to do a course walk with a handful
of drives. Very few drivers have actually laid foot to the asphalt and
a better understanding of the track was had by many. I know one driver
would walk the course again on saturday and figure out something in
sundays race to move up in the pack. Could this be the next ritual for
the E30 drivers for the 2012 season? We will see!

13 drivers showed up to a soggy track as the rains returned to add to
the mix. No matter, the morning sun dried out the track and the
morning warm up would be a dry session, as would the entire day. The
sun gods would shine upon us all day and clear sunny skies would rule
the day.

Cool air temps would make great power and a sun soaked track would
allow for great traction on the track on this day. The current track
records would not hold out as no less than 5 drivers would run faster
in the qualifying session. The current record, 2:17.345 set by
Geoffrey Sykes in June, wouldn't last the day. Allan Hauser would lead
the way with a 2:15.543.

Our newest drivers, Sean Trapp would make his first debut at
Buttonwillow, but not with SE30 racing and qualify in the 10th spot.
Sean Aaron's first race with us and finish up the pack in a car he
just picked up and raced for the first time.

Saturday Qualifying Results:
1.     320    Allan Hauser           2:15.543
2.    21    Matthew Thiemann    2:16.322
3.    67    steffen thompson    2:16.651
4.    343    David Reed            2:16.706
5.    28    Steven Stepanian    2:17.102
6.    55    Team Road Runner    2:17.574
7.    59    Patrick Vogel            2:18.859
8.    11    Frank Reed            2:18.874
9.    25    Chris Donnelly    2:19.199
10.    24    Sean Trapp    2:20.315
11.    111    Erick Strong    2:20.737
12.    99    Mitchell Pepper    2:22.587
13.    33    Sean Aaron    2:26.922

A good start by most while others struggled to get away mixed up the
field a they entered turn one together. Even with some 3 wide racing
into the first turn, there was some light contact with the front
runners but that didn't matter as everyone made it out of the first
turn together. Heading into the Riverside turn, Steffen Thompson would
not have enough heat in the rear tires and a slow left hand spin would
put him off to the inside where he would stand on the throttle and
roost up the fresh muddy stuff all over the windshields of Allan
Hauser, David Reed and Steven Stepanian. This would have a dramatic
effect on their races. Matthew Thiemann was able to get past the
incident without issue and drive off to a commanding lead.

Mid pack Kevin Nichols in the Team Road Runner entry was having a
great battle for position with Steven Stepanian until he finally got
around Steve to take over the 4th spot. Sean Trapp was moving up thru
the field and quickly got to the back bumper of Steven Stepanian who
gave Sean a great battle to the very end. "One more lap and I would
have got him"! Trapp was heard saying after the race.

Nichols continued his charge and went after the 3rd place holder,
David Reed. Reed was suffering from a mud covered windshield but
didn't give up the fight. Nichols got around David Reed cleanly and
held onto the 3rd place finish.

Allan Hauser closed the gap on Matthew Thiemann for the lead but was
too far behind to make a move when the checkered flag came out. This
would be Matthew Thiemann's first ever Spec E30 race win but he was
not able to set the fastest lap of the race. Allan Hauser's 2:16.476
would reset the track lap record in Spec E30 and be one more step
closer to the championship. Matthew Thiemann was awarded the Midnight
Oil hard charger award!

Patrick Vogel would have an electrical issue on the first lap and the
car would be stranded on the track but would be towed in and repairs
were made. Patrick was able to get back out as the checkered flag
flew.

Matthew Thiemann was unavailable for post race commentary as it was
rumored that Roger Penske was speaking to him on the phone. We were
not able to contact Roger Penske for a comment on the rumor.

Unfortunately the #28 car of Steven Stepanian failed the post race
tech inspection and was DQ'd for the race. An error in setting the
right fuel level before the race is a hard lesson to learn.

And though the race might have ended, the party was just getting
started. Hanging out, watching some great race video, a nice Tri Tip
dinner and adult beverages were had by all that were camping out at
the track. It was a fitting end to a great day!

Saturday Race Results:
1. 21    Matthew Thiemann    2:16.966
2. 320    Allan Hauser    2:16.476
3. 55    Team Road Runner    2:16.756
4. 343    David Reed    2:17.287
5. 24    Sean Trapp    2:18.590
6. 11    Frank Reed    2:19.536
7. 25    Chris Donnelly    2:20.021
8. 111    Erick Strong    2:20.700
9. 99    Mitchell Pepper    2:21.556
10. 33    Sean Aaron    2:24.319
11. 67    steffen thompson    2:20.388
12. 59    Patrick Vogel
DQ. 28      Steven Stepanian    2:17.364

The rain gods were at it again as a downpour would drench the track at
3am and not stop until well after sunrise. The weather forecast was
for clear skies until 3pm, then it was to rain yet again. Our race was
at 12:45, so we thought we would be fine. The morning warm up went off
without a hitch and the guys were ready for the qualifying session.

Allan Hauser let it be known he still has it by posting a smoking
2:15.501 for the pole! Steven Stepanian found some time and laid down
a personal best lap of 2:16.318 claiming his first outside pole
position. Kevin Nichols and Sean Trapp would not be able to
participate in Sundays race but Joe Powers would return to do some
racing to finish out the season with SOCal! Erick Strong found 3 full
seconds out of nowhere and moved up the chart to start in the 5th
position!

Sunday Qualifying Results:
1. 320    Allan Hauser    2:15.501
2. 28    Steven Stepanian    2:16.318
3. 21    Matthew Thiemann    2:16.788
4. 343    David Reed    2:17.024
5. 111    Erick Strong    2:17.716
6. 59    Patrick Vogel    2:18.208
7. 67    steffen thompson    2:18.335
8. 11    Frank Reed    2:20.134
9. 25    Chris Donnelly    2:20.407
10. 33    Sean Aaron    2:22.344
11. 15    Joe Powers    2:21.098
12. 99    Mitchell Pepper    2:21.428

Sure enough, the rains come early and it didn't let up. As the guys
roll off the grid, orders are given to the the pace car driver to take
an additional lap to give the drivers some much needed recon regarding
what the grip levels are on the track. This season has only seen one
standing start in the rain, which was back at CA Speedway. Not knowing
for sure what RPM to launch at, and even what gear to use for the
start, the drivers made their last minute choices and the grid was
set.

As the green flag dropped for the last time this season, the guys got
away cleanly and all but one made it thru turn one without issue. The
crowd would ooh and aah as Steffen Thompson would find the limits of
the tires on the wet asphalt and spin to a stop going into turn 1. The
guys behind him would do a great job to avoid his car. Thompson would
get it going and rejoin the race.

While all of the lap times were not fast for this race, the battles on
track were non stop! With 2 laps to go Mitch Pepper would lose control
going into Riverside and would spin off track to the inside and get
firmly stuck in the ankle deep mud. Full course caution would slow the
field while his car was extracted. Unfortunately, Dave Reed made a
pass under yellow and it cost him. While he gave the position back,
he suffered for it. However he was not the only one because by this
time, Stepanian had gapped the field by a good distance. Fortunately
for the rest of the pack, the full course yellow allowed most of them
to all catch up due to a slower moving PT car in front of Stepanian.

When the track finally went green, there was a pack of 4 cars
(Stepanian, Thiemann, Hauser and Vogel) all bumper to bumper for what
would be the remaining 2 laps. Thiemann went on the attack immediately
by trying to force the issue on the inside of turn 1 on Stepanian
while Hauser followed Thiemann's lead and decided to take the outside.
Stepanian wisely drove mid track, where most of the grip was, and
pulled away from both of them going into the esses. Thiemann would
again challenge Stepanian in Star Mazda by trying the outside line
against Stepanian's mid-track line. Once again, Stepanian was able to
stay in front all the way to the Cotton Corners where Thiemann would
give one last try. However, Thiemann fond himself under attack by
Hauser. Just to make things difficult for them both Patrick Vogel was
trying to challenge Hauser for 3rd place. The three of them would
battle through every turn for the remainder of the race. When the
checkered flag came out, Steven Stepanian had redeem himself. After a
poor start, he battled his way to the front about half way through the
race and drove on to collect his first win in Spec E30! Stepanian
would also be awarded the Midnight Oil hard charger award for Sunday's
race!

Matthew Thiemann showed that Saturdays win was no fluke and finished a
solid second place.

Allan Hauser took the 3rd spot and secured his bid for the SoCal Spec
E30 Championship!

Patrick Vogel in the Vogel Boys entry, claimed the 4th place finish in
the race to secure their teams 2nd place in the Championship points!
David Reed would have visability issues and would fall all the way
back to 10th after being as high as 2nd in the race. Hos brother Frank
Reed was too far back in the points to dethrone his brother and they
would finish 4th and 5th respectively in the championship series
points.

It was a great race and an exciting finish to a great season of
racing! The field has grown, the drivers are getting faster; which is
evidenced by us having two first time winners on the final racing
weekend of the season. I just can't wait for the 2012 race season to
start again!

Sunday Race Results:
1. 28    Steven Stepanian    2:43.618
2. 21    Matthew Thiemann    2:43.786
3. 320    Allan Hauser        2:43.632
4. 59    Patrick Vogel        2:43.174
5. 11    Frank Reed        2:49.738
6. 111    Erick Strong        2:49.095
7. 67    steffen thompson    2:46.921
8. 33    Sean Aaron        2:52.870
9. 15    Joe Powers        2:53.933
10. 343    David Reed        2:46.145
11. 25    Chris Donnelly        2:57.507
12. 99    Mitchell Pepper      2:55.928