NASA Arizona Night Event Recap
If there is one event of the season not to be missed, it’s the Annual NASA Arizona Night Event and Tuner Shootout presented by Modified Magazine. Each year NASA Arizona promises a full day from sunrise to well after sundown filled with racing, attractions, vendors, and family fun. This year certainly met expectations of all participants with a very smooth running event providing hours of wheel blistering racing. Modified Magazine also stops by each year to co-host the Modified Magazine Tuner Shootout competition presented by Continental Tires. In previous years unlimited race cars have been the car of choice; however this year the shootout would bring over a dozen of the fastest street cars.
Modified Magazine Tuner Shootout
Modified Magazine and Continental Tire were back one again to host the Modified Magazine Tuner Shootout. Each year the fastest cars in the country come to show their team has the fastest racecar competing in a number of events. This year, Modified Magazine decided to change it up a bit and bring street cars into the mix. Laced with catalytic converters, Continental DW Extreme Contact tires, and minimal interior modifications, drivers showed up to prove they have the fastest street car. Like previous years, drivers would compete in a Dynamometer testing, Autocross, Drag Race, and Time Attack Event. However, this year being a street class challenged, an emissions and sound test were thrown into the mix. NASA Arizona was proud to have three local drivers competing for street car glory. These drivers are Jeff Abrams in his Mazda Maniac Racing RX8, Russell Whelan in his R32 Skyline GT-R, and Taylor Wilson in the Forced Air Tech and Snail Performance Subaru WRX. Be sure to check out the August issue of Modified Magazine on stands in July to see how these drivers stood up to the competition.
Firebird West Small Bore Race Group
In true Nigh Event Fashion, the small bore race on Firebird West started quickly with a bang. Having qualified 4th, Tony Lisa was eager to work his way to the front. A mechanical failure would leave him in a different situation and coming off early. The new #72 Team Mike Browning Racing had a great showing in their qualifying finishing 2nd. Unfortunately contact with another driver and damage to the suspension would leave this team out early as well. Simon Pavlick qualified 1st in Honda Challenge and was working hard to hold this position. Eric Dayton would not make this easy as he continued to follow closely. In 944 Spec #7 Darren Griffith qualified 1st. When the green flag dropped he ran away and held his position for the entire race. In PT-E Shane Kniesel had a great showing putting huge gaps between the rest of his class. Despite Dayton working hard to gain position on Pavlick, traffic into turn 4 would give Pavlick the advantage to put some space between him and Dayton’s Integra. This also gave #510 Leland Forbes an opportunity to pressure Dayton for the 2nd place position. While competing in different classes, #56 Ford Spec Racer Elliot Freireich made Griffith in the 944 work to hold his overall position. In the end it was Simon Pavlick taking the checker flag in the number 1 position. Due to the tires used however, his efforts would bump him to the back leaving #21 Eric Dayton with a well-deserved overall win and 1st place HC2.
Honda Challenge HC2
1st – #21 Eric Dayton
2nd – #510 Leland Forbes
3rd – #67 Terry Denton
944 Spec
1st – #7 Darren Griffith
2nd – #55 Rob Giorgio
3rd – #47x Steve Marlow
Ford Racer Spec
1st – #56 Elliot Freireich
PT-E
1st – #20 Shane Kneisel
2nd – #166 Michael Babcock
3rd – #62 John Pacey
PT-F
1st – #98 Eric Jacobsen
Firebird West Big Bore Race Group
Paul Lynch in the Team ArizonaPain.com Radical SR3 and Mark Alger qualified 1 and 2 on Firebird West. The green flag dropped, and Alger jumper out to a quick lead with Clay Koevary and Paul Lynch following closely behind. Lynch wasted no time making his move on Koevary, aiming his sights on the red Viper of Mark Alger. Brian Turner jumped out and put a huge gap between him and the rest of the GTS3 pack. Matt McIntyre and Jeremy Renshaw were running very close until traffic would give McIntyre exactly what he needed to gap Renshaw. Lynch was working hard to take the lead, but Alger used the entire course making Lynch work for the pass. Within a few laps Lynch took his opportunity for the lead and began to gap the field. Clay Koevary maintained consistent lap times holding onto his 3rd place overall and 2nd place SU position where he would finish. Despite his best efforts, Mark Alger was unable to regain position on Paul Lynch but still took 1st place ST-1 and 2nd place overall with Lynch taking the podium and SU 1st place.
SU
1st – #777 Team ArizonaPain.com
2nd – #36 Clay Koevary
ST-1
1st – #4 Mark Alger
STR-1
1st – #727 Bryan McCormick
GTS3
1st – #524 Brian Turner
2nd – #63 Timothy Bidwill
3rd – #167 Erik Davis
PT-A
1st – #31 Matt McIntyre
2nd – #11 Jeremy Renshaw
3rd – #46 John Dowling
STR-2
1st – #19 Steve Lisa
Firebird Main Small Bore Race Group
Small Bore drivers enjoyed some great racing under the moon on Saturday. Qualifying first overall, #56 Elliot Freireich lead the beginning of the race along with #47x Steve Marlow. The two drivers quickly spacing the rest of the pack turning some great times. #55 Rob Giorgio also followed closely behind the leaders finishing second in class. In Honda Challenge, Ryan Denton was off to a great start instantly putting space on the drivers and working through the pack. While Leland looked very fast coming around the tower turn, Team Mike Browning Racing had other plans and made the pass for 2nd place. With Leland now falling to 3rd, Eric Dayton began to put pressure on the freshly painted #510 Integra. After 4 laps Dayton forced the pass on Leland now setting his sights on the #72 car of Team Mike Browning Racing. Unfortunately, Dayton would get a little too close making contact forcing #72 off track coming around the tower. Ryan Denton continued to dominate Honda Challenge while Steve Marlow took the Spec 944 win.
Honda Challenge HC2
1st – #66 Ryan Denton
2nd – #510 Leland Forbes
3rd – #469 Team LBR
944 Spec
1st – #47x Steve Marlow
2nd – #55 Rob Giorgio
3rd – #28 Dean Schaefer
Ford Racer Spec
1st – #56 Elliot Freireich
PT-E
1st – #62 John Pacey
PT-F
1st – #98 Eric Jacobsen
Firebird Main Big Bore Race Group
Team ArizonaPain.com’s Paul Lynch and Mark Alger once again led the group to the green flag. As the race started, racers barreled down the drag strip looking to take position early in the race. Coming around the tower in lap 1, it was Mark Alger leading with Paul Lynch and Bryan McCormick following closely behind. In PT-A, Jeremy Renshaw made his move in lap 2 and passed Matt McIntyre for the class lead. Timothy Bidwill was out leading the GTS3 class running very consistently during each lap. Back at the front, Paul Lynch was doing his best to set up a pass on Mark Alger. Bryan McCormick, who was hard to miss with his amazingly bright LED light bar, would not make Lynch’s job easy as he made numerous attempts to make the pass on the Radical SR3. Tony Lisa, Martin Saltzman, and Erik Davis were having a great race each trying to gain position on one another. Eventually it was Lisa and Davis making the pass. With 10 minutes left, Lynch made the pass on Alger for the lead and began to spread the gap. With Alger in his sight, McCormick worked hard to gain track position and make a pass with no success. In the end, Paul Lynch would take the podium with Mark Alger in 2nd and Bryan McCormick in 3rd overall and each taking 1st in their respective classes.
Firebird West Time Trial
With the first stop at Firebird West in the 2012 season, drivers were eager to set a fast lap early in the day as the afternoon heat was inevitable. With beautiful morning weather, Robert Rose jumped out in the Team Arizona Pain Radical SR3 running a 1:02.9 good for a TT-R 2nd place finish. The very next session Paul Lynch stomped a .59.285 for 1st place TT-R with Richard Koevary taking 3rd with a 1:04.5. The always fast Mark Alger was especially confident Saturday and for good reason. He took 1st place TT-U with a time of 1:01.2. Nicholas Wirski came out swinging in TT-S placing 1st with a time of 1:05.8, a solid 2 seconds faster than the competition. Matt McIntyre ran an impressive 1:04.3 for 1st place TT-A. David Schotz was out in his 2001 Pontiac Firebird taking the TT-B win running a 1:04.9. Robert Rose was back once again in the third session of the day running TT-D. With a time of 1:07.3 he took 1st place, only a tenth of a second faster than 2nd place Dave McCombs time of 1:07.4. Keeping the class as close as possible, Jeff Abrams was just behind Rose and McCombs with a 1:07.6 for 3rd place TT-D. Brad Lundahl took TT-E with a 1:08.9 and Eric Jacobsen won TT-F with a 1:12.8.
Firebird West Time Trial Results
TT-R
1st – Team ArizonaPain.com – .59.285
2nd – Robert Rose – 1:02.9
3rd – Richard Koevary – 1:04.5
TT-U
1st – Mark Alger – 1:01.2
2nd – Chip Romer – 1:02.7
3rd – Timothy Schoeppner – 1:03.3
TT-S
1st – Nicholas Wirski – 1:05.8
2nd – Gabriel Ortega – 1:07.8
3rd – Albert Borboa – 1:08.2
TT-A
1st – Matt McIntyre – 1:04.3
2nd – Erik Davis – 1:05.01
3rd – Dave Evans – 1:06.4
TT-B
1st – David Schotz – 1:04.9
2nd – Mervin Tan – 1:05.7
3rd – Chris Wilson – 1:06.9
TT-D
1st – Robert Rose – 1:07.3
2nd – Dave McCombs – 1:07.4
3rd – Jeff Abrams – 1:07.6
TT-E
1st – Brad Lundahl – 1:08.9
TT-F
1st – Eric Jacobsen – 1:12.8
Firebird Main Fast Time Trial
In anticipation of preparing for the sprint race later in the night, Paul Lynch wanted to get out early on Firebird Main and set his fast lap. In his first session he did just that with a TT-R 1st place time of 1:01.4. Mark Alger was out once again taking the TT-U win with a 1:02.3, but Tim Schoeppner in is newly revamped Mitsubishi Evolution was only a second behind taking 2nd place TT-U. Albert Borboa, relatively new to Time Trial, set a fast time of 1:08.2 for 1st place TT-S! TT-A driver Matt McIntyre took 1st place TT-A once again with a time of 1:04.6. David Schotz was 3 seconds faster than the TT-B competition taking 1st place with a 1:05.0 in his first and only session on Main! Mervin Tan and Justin Markiewicz each ran a 1:08.0, but based on Time Trial tie breaker rules, 2nd place went to Tan and Markiewicz took 3rd place TT-B. David Snyder took TT-C with a 1:12.1. Robert Rose again narrowly edged out Dave McCombs for the TT-D win running a 1:10.2. McCombs ran a 1:10.4 for a 2nd place finish. Brad Lundahl again won TT-E and Eric Jacobsen won TT-F.
Firebird Main Fast Time Trial Results
TT-R
1st – Team ArizonaPain.com – 1:01.4
2nd – Richard Koevary – 1:06.1
TT-U
1st – Mark Alger – 1:02.3
2nd – Timothy Schoeppner – 1:03.3
3rd – Chip Romer – 1:04.1
TT-S
1st – Albert Borboa – 1:08.2
2nd – Gabriel Ortega – 1:10.0
3rd – David Montgomery – 1:11.3
TT-A
1st – Matt McIntyre – 1:04.6
2nd – Erik Davis – 1:06.0
3rd – Robert Smithson – 1:08.6
TT-B
1st – David Schotz – 1:05.0
2nd – Mervin Tan – 1:08.0
3rd – Justin Markiewicz – 1:08.0
TT-C
1st – David Snyder – 1:12.1
TT-D
1st – Robert Rose – 1:10.2
2nd – Dave McCombs – 1:10.4
3rd – Stenos Wijaya – 1:11.4
TT-E
1st – Brad Lundahl – 1:13.3
TT-F
1st – Eric Jacobsen – 1:16.4
UMS Tuning Time Attack Series
Firebird West
40 drivers registered to participate in time attack on Firebird West. With 35 minutes on the clock, officials grouped the drivers strategically and sent four groups onto the track for a quick four laps. Great job goes to both officials and drivers for helping to keep this event running smoothly. It certainly takes cooperation by all parties to make each session a success.
TA-C
1st – Tim Schoeppner – 1:04.019 – New Track Record!
2nd – Russell Whelan – 1:04.984
3rd – Jim Cozzolino – 1:06.468
TA-B
1st – Robert Smithson – 1:06.428
2nd – Ravi Tomerlin – 1:07.014
3rd – Markos Mylonas – 1:07.270
TA-A
1st – Dave McCombs – 1:08.002
2nd – Jeff Abrams – 1:08.413
3rd – Melanie Bedrin – 1:09.613
Firebird Main Fast
As the rest of the drivers were packing up their paddocks for the night, the UMS Tuning Time Attack Series drivers were waiting on grid to be released for their last sessions of the night. The time was after midnight and the air was crisp, making for perfect conditions to set down some fast laps.
TA-C
1st – Tim Schoeppner – 1:04.056 – New Track Record!
2nd – Travis Barnes – 1:04.916
3rd – Russell Whelan – 1:06.492
TA-B
1st – Markos Mylonas – 1:06.033
2nd – Robert Smithson – 1:08.222
3rd – Ravi Tomerlin – 1:08.936
TA-A
1st – Stenos Wijaya – 1:11.711
2nd – Victor Malchesky – 1:11.953
3rd – Aaron Hiar – 1:12.892
Trial by Fire
Trial by Fire was out to put on a drift exhibition. Drifters came out to show they have the car control to make it count. Sliding their cars to the limits of grip, these drivers put on a great show every year. Whether it’s the smoke, the smell of burning tires, or the sparks flying as belts fly from the rubber, spectators flock to the drift event every year to see both rookies and experienced drivers show what they can do.
HPDE
The NASA Arizona Night Event is easily the largest event of each year. Each year a session known as Hyper Drive is offered to give new participants a small taste of what it’s like to push their cars to limits impossible in any other atmosphere. Great job goes to all of our HPDE drivers new and seasoned, for keeping it clean, and following all the rules of the track. Please join NASA AZ in welcoming each of our new members. The talent shown was incredible with some drivers skipping from Hyper Drive in the morning to maintaining speed in classes as advanced and HPDE3 by the end of the day.
Next Event Info
INDE Motorsports Ranch
Event details:
HPDE1 hosted by BMWCCA
HPDE2-4
NASA Time Trial
NASA Race Groups
UMS Tuning Time Attack (Sunday Only)
Saturday night BBQ/happy hour.
May 5-6 Registration is open click here to sign up!
NASA-AZ Info
Join the NASA-AZ forms to check out the latest info on upcoming events, questions and answers, Etc.
Also check out our Facebook page.
Credits
Written By: Taylor “Dr. Koby D” Wilson
Editing By: Travis Barnes
Photos by Don from www.twoperspectivesphoto.com
Marked Photo By John McKenzie from JM Photography
Burnout Photo by Continental Tire