NASA Mid-Atlantic descended upon Virginia International Raceway on May 16–17 for the annual running of HyperFest. As one of the most heavily attended events on the calendar, the weekend drew massive crowds of over 20,000 fans who packed the hillsides to witness three days of high-octane competition. Spec3 brought a deep field of identically prepared BMWs ready to do battle on the challenging 3.270-mile full course.
The atmosphere at HyperFest provides an entirely different energy compared to a standard race weekend. “You come into VIR during HyperFest and there’s 10,000, 20,000 people around and all sorts of stuff going on,” driver Andreas Schmidt said. “It looks really cool. So, I get to be the cool Uncle Andy when my niece and nephew are watching.”
Setting the Grid: Friday’s Bimmer Parts Inverted Spectacle
The action kicked off on Friday with a special exhibition race sponsored by Bimmer Parts, featuring a $1,000 purse. Rather than keeping the money at the front, the Spec3 drivers collectively elected to award the prizes randomly to reward participation. The field also chose to run a fully inverted grid, throwing the fastest qualifiers to the absolute back of the 15-car pack.
Rookie driver Dheven Bulseco started on the pole and put on a stellar performance, maintaining his composure as the veteran drivers began carving through the field. The inverted grid allowed for chaotic, multi-car-wide racing, yet the drivers managed clean passes without a single incident of car-to-car contact. Taylor Johnson, who qualified on the pole, started at the rear and charged forward, though a late-race off-track excursion at Oak Tree dropped him back to fifth.
Race One: Clean Battles Under the Saturday Yellows
Saturday’s opening race saw Johnson bounce back to take the victory after an intense battle at the green flag. Johnson and Sean O’Hara launched hard from the front row. O’Hara attempted an aggressive move on the outside of Turn 1, but a missed downshift sent his rear end sliding, allowing Johnson to escape into a lead he would not relinquish.
“I went to downshift to second and flubbed that a bit,” O’Hara said. “My rear end stepped out and then that allowed [Taylor] to scamper on by.”
The error forced Schmidt to lift off the throttle directly behind O’Hara, shuffling him back to sixth place early on. Schmidt put on a fierce comeback drive to reclaim the final step on the podium, finishing just behind O’Hara. Ross Shull, who started a seventh on the grid, mounted his own steady drive through the field to claim fourth. The race ultimately finished under full-course caution.
Official Race One Results
• 1st: Taylor Johnson (No. 216) – 9 Laps, Best Time: 2:12.363
• 2nd: Sean O’Hara (No. 19) – 9 Laps, Gap: 0.789, Best Time: 2:12.040
• 3rd: Andreas Schmidt (No. 687) – 9 Laps, Gap: 0.277, Best Time: 2:12.862
• 4th: Ross Shull (No. 36) – 9 Laps, Gap: 0.634, Best Time: 2:13.060
• 5th: Colin Swanger (No. 55) – 9 Laps, Gap: 0.425, Best Time: 2:14.078
Race Two: Morning Speed and Door-to-Door Drama
Sunday morning brought optimal track conditions for the 8:55 session. Johnson took full advantage of the cool air, dipping into the 2:11s with a blazing 2:11.706 lap to secure another victory. Further back, the race turned into a pure driver’s showcase as Shull, Swanger, and Schmidt engaged in a high-speed drafting battle, running side by side at over 110 mph into Turn 10. Shull eventually made a bold move stick on the inside to capture fourth.
Deep in the field, Jake Thiewes and the rookie Bulseco put on the most entertaining battle of the morning. The two swapped positions five times over nine laps, side-drafting through the rollers and crossing the finish line just 0.108 seconds apart.
Official Race Two Results
• 1st: Taylor Johnson (No. 216) – 9 Laps, Best Time: 2:11.706
• 2nd: Sean O’Hara (No. 19) – 9 Laps, Gap: 7.841, Best Time: 2:12.690
• 3rd: Andreas Schmidt (No. 687) – 9 Laps, Gap: 1.934, Best Time: 2:12.539
• 4th: Ross Shull (No. 36) – 9 Laps, Gap: 0.231, Best Time: 2:12.284
• 5th: Colin Swanger (No. 55) – 9 Laps, Gap: 0.354, Best Time: 2:12.614
Race Three: Heat, Traffic, and a Complete Podium Sweep
By Sunday afternoon, ambient temperatures climbed into the 90s, making track conditions greasy and testing driver endurance. Race three featured a heavy dose of out-of-class traffic from the Honda Challenge 2 and Super Touring 5 groups, which dramatically impacted the closing laps.
Johnson jumped out to an early lead but found his mirrors full of Shull’s white BMW. A midrace full-course caution reset the field. On the final lap, an out-of-class backmarker aggressively forced its way between the leaders, cutting off Shull’s momentum and allowing Johnson to take another win. Meanwhile, O’Hara made a brilliant last-lap draft pass on Schmidt on the back straightaway to steal third place by the skin of his teeth.
Official Race Three Results
• 1st: Taylor Johnson (No. 216) – 10 Laps, Best Time: 2:13.158
• 2nd: Ross Shull (No. 36) – 10 Laps, Gap: 1.927, Best Time: 2:14.064
• 3rd: Sean O’Hara (No. 19) – 10 Laps, Gap: 0.666, Best Time: 2:13.749
• 4th: Andreas Schmidt (No. 687) – 10 Laps, Gap: 0.370, Best Time: 2:14.371
• 5th: Jake Thiewes (No. 202) – 10 Laps, Gap: 4.266, Best Time: 2:15.188
Culture of Camaraderie
The continuous growth of the Spec3 class shines in its open-source paddock culture. Despite the intense on-track action, drivers routinely share data, video, and suspension setups. “We bred a culture where people respect each other and we all hang out in the paddock afterward,” Johnson said.
With seven drivers now capable of winning on any given weekend, the Spec3 field heads out of HyperFest with tightened championship battles and immense momentum for the remainder of the 2026 season.
This was my first experience at HyperFest and I loved every single moment! My son did his first HPDE thanks to NASA Mid-Atlantic. He was driving an E46. Priceless.