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This year I did something most would not - entered my pristine Spec Miata in the E3 class of the 25 Hours of Thunderhill.
This year's 25 Hour was my fourth as a driver, but first as a car/team owner. This idea started with the support & encouragement of Bob Thornton with Race Engineering, and thus the name. We hoped to have Bob join us as a driver, but that didn't work out. So I had Phillip Holifield and Dan Cooper help me out with the driving duties, and they did great as I knew they would. Bob still supported us with a great engine.
We qualified P1, and the race started out according to plan, with me and Ken Sutherland (Miatacage) trading the lead as we seem to do in every race. But our race went south around the four hour mark, when we had to pit from the lead with a mis-fire. It took several hours to get this problem resolved. After that our goals were just to have fun, set the fastest lap time of our class, and finish. All of which we accomplished.
Because we were out of contention for a good finish, we abandoned the normal enduro conservative pace, went flat out & had fun. Despite the sprint pace & shift points, our RE engine had no issues, and powered our best lap times after approx. 19 hours of hard running (without a restrictor plate). Any concerns with the reliability of RE engines should be put to rest after this engine's performance, as well as the RE victory at this year's VIR 13 Hour.
We had several tire choices for this race, and decided to use the proven Hoosier SM6's. We were happy with the Hoosier tires because they provided enough grip for us to be the fastest E3 car in qual & the race, but still had great wear rates.
For those of you that have not experienced the 25 Hour, I highly recommend it. Even if you aren’t able to do it as a driver, do it as a crew member. It’s awesome!
Congratulations to the Miatacage team on the 1-2 finish. That is an extremely impressive result. We thought we had something for you guys, and someday, some day, we will put an end to your automatic NorCal trophy grab.
Although it’s a major disappointment to finish poorly in a race we thought we could win, it was inspiring to see our team rally and find ways to still have fun. This reminded me that trophies are not the best things we bring home from the race track, it’s the friendships with awesome people that are truly valuable. More than any other race, the 25 Hour creates bonding experiences due to the reliance on the contributions of every team member. Team Race Engineering West would be nothing without the following people:
Pit Boss/Crew Chief/Everything:
Ron Alan
Fuelers:
David “Kudo†Coduto, David Biggar, Chris LaBouff, Rob LaBouff
Mechanics:
Hank Butler & Duane Polsley
Executive Chefs (our heros):
Glen Porter & Darlene Ghanati
Science Geeks:
Juan Pineda & Tim Myrtle
Lighting Consultant:
Glenn Stasky - Clearwater Lights (it was like daytime out there)
General Assistance:
Ray Meister, Brian Doty, Max Cleveland, Rick Petty (that’s right, we had The King on our team), Braden, Steve Holifield, Martin Cooper, Bill Polsley
Meteorologist:
David Biggar
Live In-Car to Web Camera Technicians:
David Biggar & Kudo
Moral Support:
Terri, Maddie, Katelyn, Connie, Kyle, Andrew, Dean, Bob, all of our SM friends that stopped by & wished us well, and anyone else that I’ve forgotten.
We would be nothing without our team. Thanks again to all of them, from the drivers – Darin, Dan, & Phillip.
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