13 hours in...

Alright. So, Andrew is now out after a double and sammy is now in. We just did a right side tire rotation before sending Valafar out. Brakes and tire change is coming up soon. stay tuned.

We are about 9 laps down, but are making up good time.

- johnny k

8 hours

Well, I (Johnny) just got out of the car about 45 mins ago. Brought the car in with a 5 lap lead on 2nd place. We had one full course yellow for some cars that were off. Our tires were toast and the car was all over the place. We still were able to run 2:06's with the ill handling car. Matt got in the car after me with a new set of tires. Not 15 minutes in, he lost the left rear wheel. A hub had sheered off the car! After we eventuallly got him back to the pits, we went to work on the car. We replaced the left half shaft, upright, brake caliper and rotor. Bleed the brakes, make a small chasis adjustment and we were back off in 15 minutes. Unfortunatley that put us 16 laps down and in 7th place. Matt is still running and fast. We are trying to make up a bit of time. Andrew is getting ready to step in for what will be the first rounds of double-stints. We are currently in 6th place.

Pics to come shortly, super busy, gotta run.
- johnny

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update: 7:34

matt is out of the car now and ran a stellar stint. Andrew is in the car for his first double stint....
we are on our way back to the front

Ouch!

Six laps into Matt's first stint the left rear wheel hub broke, shattered the rotor and the wheel fell off. We were 5 laps up at the time. With the tow in and repairs we lost 51 minutes of track time - Jason Hoover and his crew guys are amazing!!

Matt went back out 16 laps down to the class leaders and around 33rd overall. Matt promptly threw down our fastest lap of the race - a 2:04.6 in the dark! He is running consistent 2:06-7 laps, faster than anyone else in E1. We are moving up, now 6th in class, 30th overall.

Andrew and Sammy on fresh(er) tires were running around 2:06-7's, Mark & Johnny on old(er) tires were around 2:10's.
Matt is out on fresh tires now and Andrew is getting ready to go in for his first double stint. We will double stint each driver through this cycle.

Weather is nice, the wind has died down some and it is warmer than the last few years. Thanks all for your comments, i will pass them on to the team.

Mark P.

5 Hours In, 20 to Go

We're leading the E1 class and in 8th overall, only 4 laps out of 3rd! 56 cars started the race. The car lost it's push as the tires wore in. Everything is going great. Two of the other MX-5 Miatas have had deferential problems and went in to the paddock for a swap (we had the lead before they went in). We've backed off a bit to keep from spinning the tires thru some corners and saving the diff.

Johnnny K. is in for his first stint, Matt goes in around 5pm.

Post a comment if you’re checking the blog, we’d love to know you’re out there.

Mark P.

Underway!

Andrew's is in, halfway through the first stint, 3rd in class. He is reporting that the car is pushing some exiting corners which restricts his ability to get on the gas early. We're running 1-2 seconds a lap slower than the cars ahead of us. Adjustments will be made at the first stop.

US Air Force and NASA (National Auto Sport Association) put on some great pre race activities. No internet access in our paddock, only in the tower building. Updates when we can.


Mark P.