422 replies to this topic

[powerss]

The only way to watch the replay of the race.

https://www.facebook...74011706439196/

[Cnj]

Great drive by the winner, but an epic race? It was a five car race then a four car race. Where was the 20 car freight train where anyone could win?

Yes epic. A scrambled grid and the 25th place starter wins in a race with probably the strongest SM racers in the country. And the race mid field had a train of cars with cars passing the group lead back and forth continuously. It’s clearly in the eye of the beholder, but yes, I call that epic and it was the best race I have been part of in more than a decade.

I know in some oddly strange way you appear to get off on being the forum contrarian, but it’s tiring when you downplay the perspective of others who had skin in the game.

CNJ

[LarryKing]

BEST RACE EVER!!!!

Better?

[LarryKing]

All I was trying to say is that for a championship event with big money on the line I thought there would be a few more dogs in the hunt. From a spectator's perspective I'm not sure a Miata race on a track designed for F1 is the best recipe for excitement.

[Steve Scheifler]

Maybe you bought too much into the hype? I thought CNJ hit the main points pretty well, and as for the track at least it wasn’t Indy. For sure not all of the usual suspects were there, but it was NASA and big money or not they just don’t draw as many (yet). They seemed to believe their own hype as well expecting 100+ cars, but the cost to compete was very steep and prize money means nothing to most.

Having paid attention to the last couple big races there I’d say it went exactly the way I expected given the unfortunate qualifying results, except the part about Chris being up front after 8 laps without a full course yellow. THAT was epic. But had qualifying gone to plan it was likey to be about eight cars with a shot early and three maybe four pulling away gradually while trying to figure out how to take it from Chris at the line. Turns out that wasn’t far off despite the mess. Think what a total cluster it very easily could have been!

[Danica Davison]

I was just sent picture of my car.  It is fully F'ing disassembled. All four corner off, transmission and engine full tear down.  Not one thing hasn't been removed and taken apart.  I hope that is good enough for you David.

 

Michael, this isn't even worth your time. It is always the same two or three people that are always trying to find something to complain about. You'll never win this argument because it will never end.

[OrangeCrush86]

Danny, are the shocks the only item which will be tested off site and shock results will keep race results provisional?

 

I'm confused. From some of the info I have seen on this site I was of the understanding you haven't raced in the last few years. Why so concerned about tech?

[Waterboy]

I'm confused. From some of the info I have seen on this site I was of the understanding you haven't raced in the last few DECADES. Why so concerned about tech?

 

fixed

[Tom Hampton]

I don't know why a race needs a 20car train to be "epic".  I'm admittedly biased since I've considered Chris a good friend for a long time now.  It was absolutely a nail biter from green to checker.  I don't know what else I'd want in a race.  Also, having just watched Danny's incar of the last 3 laps...that was an EPIC battle between Chris and Todd.  I think I counted 3 times that Todd got along-side / past Chris in the last lap, including the final turn. 

 

That race could have gone bad 100 different ways.  Lap 1, turn 1....8 wide?  Rain on the first half of the track for the last 3 laps?  25th to 1st?  Yep, checks all my boxes.  Epic. 

[Jim Drago]

I don't know why a race needs a 20car train to be "epic".  I'm admittedly biased since I've considered Chris a good friend for a long time now.  It was absolutely a nail biter from green to checker.  I don't know what else I'd want in a race.  Also, having just watched Danny's incar of the last 3 laps...that was an EPIC battle between Chris and Todd.  I think I counted 3 times that Todd got along-side / past Chris in the last lap, including the final turn. 

 

That race could have gone bad 100 different ways.  Lap 1, turn 1....8 wide?  Rain on the first half of the track for the last 3 laps?  25th to 1st?  Yep, checks all my boxes.  Epic. 

 

I don't think those stationary cameras do any race any justice...

I can say that driving the similar lap speeds as the leaders with no real pressure was exhausting.. Driving on the limit as they were with the title and the money on the line and not making mistakes, the lead changes etc was dam impressive to me.  Chris coming from 25th, not sure wtf else you can ask?  That's dam impressive. 

Sincere congrats to Chris, Todd and Danny on the podium, all were there all weekend and deserved to be there.  brian Henderson, Preston from 25th and Peter Ensor also all great drives. 

Jim

[MPR22]

All I was trying to say is that for a championship event with big money on the line I thought there would be a few more dogs in the hunt. From a spectator's perspective I'm not sure a Miata race on a track designed for F1 is the best recipe for excitement.

Watch Danny's video.  The live feed didn't do the racing justice at all. 

 

 

COTA has had some of the best finishes in Spec Miata history, this one is right up there.    

[Steve Scheifler]

It occurs to me that in an effort to disagree with Walter politely it probably sounded more like I agreed. Barring a bunch of yellow I expected an excellent race and that’s what I saw. Some in-car would give us all a better perspective but it looked very fast, mostly clean and there were multiple cars in it to the checker. Indeed, what more could you ask? Well, maybe one of the favorites starting from way back in the BIG race and still winning, but that’s a bit much.

[Tom Hampton]

Watch Danny's video.  The live feed didn't do the racing justice at all. 
 
 
COTA has had some of the best finishes in Spec Miata history, this one is right up there.

Agreed.

 

I watched live while doing my run on the treadmill. The coverage was pretty good, but still I think they missed two of the three times Buras got even/ahead of Chris. I'm still not sure how Chris managed to get to the line first. Glad he did, though.

 

Steve-  If you haven't watched Danny's video...you must see it for the final 3 laps.  No better view than P3.  The only thing better might be Chris' video from the start (assuming it exists ;-)...but, that's probably reserved for those who visit the shop.

[Bench Racer]

I'm confused. From some of the info I have seen on this site I was of the understanding you haven't raced in the last few years. Why so concerned about tech?

My car was entered and driven in the 2018 June Sprints. Didn't view your car at the Sprints. Am I allowed to post here as a car owner while not driving. 

 

My original question was referencing Tech in as to, what's going on. This site was very quite, which is not normal.

[Samuel J]

Had to miss this for a funeral -- can someone recap what happened in qualifying? I was sitting there driving to Ohio watching Racehero, had no clue what was going on but it looked like it went full banana peel mario kart style.

[Cnj]

Had to miss this for a funeral -- can someone recap what happened in qualifying? I was sitting there driving to Ohio watching Racehero, had no clue what was going on but it looked like it went full banana peel mario kart style.

 

Yeah I can tell you.

 

30 minutes before quali, the track was wet, but no rain.  "Spies" were shuttling back and forth to see who was running what and pretty much the whole field was on dries when we formed up on grid.

Then it started raining.  I sat and watched Chris, Blake, Craig, Jim and others peel out of the grid to go get rains.  Like a lemming I followed.

Turns out this was VERY much the wrong decision as dries were able to set 3-4 seconds a lap faster pace than wets.  Hence the totally scrambled grid.

After quali i thought we might need to put a few of the top runners (who chose rains) on suicide watch   

 

CNJ

[Danny Steyn]

Here is the race video for those that aren't on social media - I had the best seat in the house for the last 3 laps for sure!

 

[Danny Steyn]

WOW – what a weekend! Thank you NASA - Thank you TOYO

 

Rain was forecast at 70-90% for all the days, and yet the infamous COTA Micro-climate showed its miraculous hand each day. And we had just a few showers for the Q3 session that set the final grid.

 

For Q3, as the rain came down on the false grid, I was one of those that rushed back to change to RA-1’s. Fowler was on the radio with me and this is what I heard each lap

• “you are on pole 7/10ths up”
• “You are 5/10ths up”
• “You are 4/10ths up”
• “You are 9^th”

OH SH!T I had to dig really deep on those rain tires and fortunately managed to pull out a decent lap that put me up to 4^th place. The track was just getting faster and faster for guys on RR’s and had the last lap not been rained out, I am sure all of us on rains would have been even further back

 

When one of the guys was moved off ahead of me I ended up starting in 3^rd spot behind Matthew Dirks who put his NA1.6 on the pole.

 

But I knew he would be a sitting duck on the start at that speed and with that hill ahead and I dived out immediately and past him, knocking his mirror back in the pass (neither of us was aware of it until we saw the video)

 

As you see I got to the early lead, but when Todd got ahead of me, it undermined our opportunity to break away as I as losing so much time in the braking zones, and that allowed Chris and Blake to catch up.

 

When Haldeman got past, he and Todd had a great run ahead of me, and I was hanging on by the skin on my teeth, helped by the battle up front and also by Henderson behind me, who was hanging on as well. I was making it up in the brakes, but not really able to challenge for the lead.

 

What Chris did this weekend was nothing short of legendary. Had at least 20 plus cars to take care of, was sick as a dog, and then qualified way back in the kill zone, and still made it to the front to win. And that big check could not have gone to a more deserving winner.

 

Lots of fast guys did not qualify well and that definitely affected their chances.

 

Proud to have been part of this race and to get my 3^rd NASA Champs podium. One day, hopefully before my 90^th birthday, I want to win one of these elusive damn things.

[Danny Steyn]

And I hope Preston posts his video as the 8 wide start lap is pretty impressive - both the front and rear facing cameras

[Johnny D]

All results are provisional pending the completion of tech inspection.

 

Chris Haldeman Takes the Toyo Tires Classic

 

 

Haldeman earned a big payday along with the title of NASA Spec Miata Champion; Peter Ensor wins Teen Mazda Challenge class

 

After all the anticipation and preparation of the Toyo Tires Classic at the NASA Championships presented by Toyo Tires, the Spec Miata race came down to speed, skill and little local knowledge as Chris Haldeman provisionally claimed the big prize and the title of NASA national champion.

 

Despite setting fast time on Friday, Haldeman qualified poorly Saturday morning and found himself starting 24th in a field of 60 cars. The poor starting position must have motivated Haldeman because he climbed up more than 15 spots on the first lap and set his sights on the leaders, Danny Steyn and Todd Buras.

 

“When that green flag came out, I just dropped the hammer,” Haldeman said. “I think we were like seventh or eighth on the first lap and then we closed in. All I had to do was keep from vomiting in my helmet and this race was going good – I’ve been sick all week. I’ve been battling a cold. I’m just glad to get it done.”

 

Danny Steyn led the early laps and even broke out to a one- or two-car lead for a while, but he couldn’t hold off Buras, who took over the lead on lap seven. Buras held the lead for another lap, but ran wide at the exit of Turn 12, and Haldeman pounced.

 

“It was a shootout – best racers in the country,” Buras said after the race. “By the exit of [Turn] 3, I was behind Danny Steyn and I was going to push him a little bit, and he slipped a little, so I took the lead and ran for a while in the lead. Then I looked in the mirror and here comes Chris.”

 

Haldeman may have taken the lead, but Buras wasn’t about to give up without a fight. Buras badgered Haldeman every chance he got, presenting for a pass and even getting a nose up on him several times in the second half of the race, but Haldeman was determined.

 

“Every battle with Todd, that man is an animal,” Haldeman said. “He’ll put it anywhere, anywhere! We never touched each other in everything you saw. We were off track together. We never touched each other. It was just clean and fast.”

 

Steyn slipped back to third, and with some help from fourth-place finisher Brian Henderson, managed to stay within striking distance, but was never able to recapture the lead and finished third.

 

“I had the better qualifying position, but [for Haldeman] to come from [24th] to first is the stuff of legend,” Steyn said. “That really will go down as one of the greatest drives in club racing for years. That’s how good it was, especially after how bad he’s been feeling. He’s been ill and everything. He put on a great show. I was kind of hoping that Todd and I would work together to get past Chris, but people choose the faster car and I wasn’t quite with them. I was just a little bit off.”

 

 

Nine Teen Mazda Challenge racers staged their own race within the Toyo Tires Classic to see who the standouts are among NASA’s youngest up-and-coming drivers. When the dust settled, Peter Ensor had finished first in Teen Mazda Challenge and sixth overall, a finish that netted him $2,500 in prize money.

 

“I was trying to stay clean at the start, but that didn’t work. That was out the window in Turn 1” Ensor said. “I was on the outside and somebody came into me in Turn 1. I lost a few spots, and then it was just a battle for 45 minutes to try to get back toward the front.”

 

Behind him, second-place finisher Hannah Grisham had struggled all weekend long, but found some speed in Saturday morning’s qualifying session. More time on the track helped Grisham navigate the 20-turn Circuit of the Americas, and her Morningstar Racing crew chief James Brown gave her the car she needed.

 

“I went into the first turn and my plan was to just stay on the outside and let everyone else do the chaos on the inside,” Grisham said. “So that worked out pretty well for me. I got around some people, and then in the Esses, I got hit a little bit, but it wasn’t bad.

 

“It was a good race, and I’d like to thank Mothers, Morningstar Racing, Dr. Hunt Chiropractic Health Center, my parents and my sister and, of course, Mazda and NASA and Toyo for this great event.”

 

Back in third, Ben Rail wasn’t even aware he had scored a podium finish in the Teen Mazda Challenge. Rail hadn’t raced since the beginning of the year, so he struggled to find speed early on, but found it when it mattered.

 

“I had a hard time on Friday. I thought I might not even make the big race. I was just slow,” Rail said. “But I picked up the pace today and I’m really excited to make the big race. My friends and family are here, and I had a great time.”

 

All results are provisional pending the completion of tech inspection.