NHMS South Oval contains not only the highest g-force corner, but also the only banked corner on our schedule making it a great season finale.
Paddock Heroes:
Would like to mention the COM Instructors who were giving out ride-alongs to students, spectators, and licensed drivers all weekend. Two that came to mind were Bob Steenson and Dan Baldwin who gave numerous rides each, on top of their own sessions, student instructing, and both still managed to podium! It makes for a fun, but exhausting day!
Summary of Event:
Super A – The entire class ran sub 1:09s with the Superlites taking the top 2 spots. Tom Greer ran a 1:08.0, which was good enough for a second place finish as well as a potential track record. However, not to be outdone, Jon Harris ran a 1:07.5 to take the top spot, track record, and FTD! Gotta love LS power and aero!
Super B – Dan DiMatteo claimed the top position with his 1:13.4, nicely done! Looking forward to see Ken Story’s 350ZLS next year with some aero!
Super C – Jon Cowen ran away with this one by running multiple 1:11’s to earn him the top spot, which would have been a track record, but in true baller fashion, Jon didn’t even go through tech to make it official. Seth Allen had a great drive for second place, as did Gordon Andrade in his extremely shiny NC MX-5.
Super D – Jake Wile, 1st Place, Fast Times. Freshly licensed Jesus Montoya in his beautiful RX7 came in second place with some very consistent laps!
Super E – A great battle to watch in this class even without class perennials Matt Daniels and Jeff Wasilko. Jeff Baker in his Miata Miata came in 4th and took the Most Consistent trophy with 1:18.2, 1:18.1, 1:18.2…he also puts on a great show in T4. Mark Swinehart was 3rd with a 1:17.2, Will Martins 2nd with a 1:15.7, and Chris Parsons in 1st with a blistering 1:15.0 and track record!
Touring 100 – An all Corvette podium with David Reddington starting it off in 3rd place with his Z06 which ran a 1:11.1. Second place goes to Steve Amanti debuting his Z06 ran a 1:09.78, which I would say was a successful maiden voyage. First place goes to the Corvette guy himself Bob Cairns in shockingly a Z06 where he ran a 1:09.70.
Touring 90 – Preston Peabbles ran a 1:10.5 where he is getting closer and closer to Brandon Travassos who claimed first place with a 1:09.7.
Touring 80 – Another fun class to watch with some great competition right across the board. Greg Barber in his Solo Cup Red Camaro ran a 1:12.4, which got him the 3rd step on the podium. Abdias Garcia in his stock Supra put down a 1:11.3 which was a very close second place finish to Chris Taylor’s 1:11.2 first place. Hmmm didn’t somebody say that Supras were going to be the new TT track weapons???
Touring 70 – A class with their share of triumphs and heartbreaks this year continued that trend with some mechanicals putting some key competitors on the sidelines. However, it opened the door for others like freshly licensed Brandon Callison to pilot his 350Z to a 1:14.9 which got him his first COM podium. Hopefully we can see another Brandon out there chasing down that Eric Breckner guy. Speaking of the Bus Stop Romeo, he took first place with a blistering 1:13.3. Congratulations on not just the win, but for proposing to his now fiancé Despina at the WGI bus stop this year!
Touring 60 – Largest and coolest class of the event with 10 competitors. A shout out to Rachel Montoya on her first TT appearance in her WRX STi! And a special mention to Brian Lucas who’s Corvette decided it didn’t want to race that weekend, (and still managed to get us the ribs) so instead brings out his Chevrolet SS for the TT. He managed a 5th place finish, now that is dedication! With a 1:16.0, the 4th place trophy goes to our very own Bob Steenson who also had a very successful day as an Uber driver. Peter McParland aka Dude, Where’s my Keys ran a 1:15.7 in his BRZ. I got my first ever second place with a 1:15.2. Dave Wittmer showed why he is a serious contender for the Overall Driver’s Championship with his 1st place worthy 1:13.5.
Touring 50 – We started doing a Safe to Solo Cup Award this year, which goes to the safe to solo/licensed at the event driver who ran the lap closest to that of the track record. Well this event’s award goes to none other than Doug Flematti who ran a 1:19.6 and he did not even have his timing equipment working during the TT! Nice driving!! Two potential track records, two rival drivers, two rival cars…one winner. Dan Baldwin gave it his all in his daily driven BRZ and managed a 1:14.4 to earn him the second place spot. However, it just wasn’t enough as Dave has been on a tear all year putting up fast times in the shared MX-5. Not only did he win first place, set a track record, run a 1:13.1, but also ran all 1:13s!
Touring 40 – Another great turnout for T40 and the competitiveness of this class continued
right through the season finale. The third place step on the podium goes to Hector Ruiz in his
superbly clean BRZ. Hector took a short hiatus from the schedule this year to become a father,
so congratulations on your baby girl and good to see you back at the track my friend! Second
place was none other than our Head of Tech, Rodney Carriere with a 1:17.6. First place went to
Charles Nano who ran a 1:17.2, which capped off a great year for him in T40!
Touring 30 – Best turn out of the year for T30 with a full podium. PJ Aspesi had a string of 1:24s with a 1:24.3 earning him that third place slot. Following PJ was Derek Tangard with a again a very consistent group of 1:20s with a 1:20 flat getting him that 2nd place spot. What can I say? First place goes to Andrew Grigg with a ridiculous 1:18.0, which was ridiculous enough to earn him another track record!