Barber Motorsports Park set the stage for intense competition during the NASA Mid South Time Trial event July 12-13, 2025. Competitors battled not only one another, but also brutally hot and humid conditions throughout the weekend. The challenging 2.38-mile track, known for its deceptive corners and blind crests, pushed drivers and machines to their limits.
Saturday saw drivers pushing hard from the outset. Heat quickly became a factor, impacting car performance and driver endurance. Mechanical setbacks, particularly fuel starvation issues in some cars, added an extra layer of challenge.
Sunday continued the with tight competition and formidable heat. Despite the rising temperatures, many drivers found extra pace, often thanks to overnight adjustments and a day’s practice. Cloud cover that rolled in later on Sunday provided a slight reprieve from the scorching sun, allowing for some faster lap times as the day progressed. The close battles and impressive driving made for a memorable weekend of Time Trial action.
Time Trial 1
Driving a 2022 Porsche Cayman GT4, John Crosby showcased consistent speed throughout the weekend. On Saturday, he clocked a best time of 1:31.563. Crosby maintained his strong performance into Sunday, recording a 1:32.071 and securing another top finish. Those were the fastest times in Time Trial all weekend.
Time Trial 3
Driving a Corvette C5 Z06, Chip Goetzinger dominated TT3, securing first place on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, his best time was 1:40.330, and Sunday a 1:40.659. Goetzinger noted that this was his first time at Barber Motorsports Park in his Corvette, having previously driven a Shelby GT350. He highlighted the challenge of getting up to speed as the day progressed and temperatures rose.
“My first session Saturday was just sort of getting acquainted with this car on the track,” he said. “As I got more comfortable, the day got hotter, so I didn’t exactly run my fastest in the morning when the conditions were better”.
Goetzinger emphasized the importance of carrying speed through deceptively fast corners like turns 1, 12 and 13, where drivers often feel the need to over-brake. “Turn 1 coming off the main straight, first time or early times you run at Barber, you really feel like you need to brake a lot for that. Turns out that’s not really correct. You can carry quite a lot of speed through Turn 1,” he said.
William Wright finished second both days in TT3, driving an atomic orange base C6 Chevrolet Corvette. He recorded a best time of 1:40.595 on Saturday and 1:41.288 on Sunday. This was Wright’s inaugural event at Barber in the Corvette, a significant change from his previous Mitsubishi Evo. “The Corvette, I kind of have to watch a little bit more how I carry it into turns and try to get on the power coming out,” Wright noted, highlighting the shift from the Evo’s aggressive cornering style to the Corvette’s need for more finesse. To combat the oppressive heat, Wright recently installed a new radiator, oil cooler, and hood vents, which proved effective.
Chris Evanco got involved with NASA through the GR program and has made incremental improvements to his 2021 Toyota Supra, including a downpipe, exhaust, conservative tune, suspension, control arms, and hood venting. Evanco secured third place in TT3 on both days. His best time on Saturday was 1:42.374, tightening to 1:41.629 on Sunday. He spent Saturday adjusting his aerodynamics after a recent event at Road Atlanta. “I got my aero dialed back in and was able to do quite a bit better on Sunday,” he explained. Evanco’s daughter, Isabella, also competes in TT6, showcasing a family passion for racing.
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Time Trial 4
The unique and interesting thing about the TT4 podium is that the top three drivers all were competing in a Nissan 350Z.
In his No. 99 2007 Nissan 350Z, Jonas Hannah took first place on Saturday with a best time of 1:38.817 and third on Sunday with a 1:38.700. Hannah noted that much of his speed comes from the deceptively high-speed sections, but he struggles in the carousels, like turns 2 and 3, and the 13-14A area. He acknowledged the unnerving nature of Turn 13 due to the high speed carried out of Turn 11 and Turn 12, coupled with limited visibility due to trees. The TT4 class provided incredibly close competition, with the top three drivers often within .500 seconds of one another.
Karl Hertel, driving the No. 000 Nissan 350Z, finished second in TT4 on Saturday with a time of 1:39.511 and ascended to first place on Sunday with an impressive 1:38.516. Hertel’s journey with his 350Z is a compelling one. He acquired it after it sat for five years post-crash at Road Atlanta, the previous owner having passed away from cancer. He has since honored the former owner with a tribute on the car. Hertel discovered a fuel starvation issue at Barber when the tank was less than half full, impacting his Saturday sessions. “Unfortunately, that burned me on two sessions on Saturday,” he said. Living only 30 minutes from Barber, Hertel frequently visits the track and even got married on the start/finish line in December 2023.
Eric Ahlgren, driving the No. 011x Nissan 350Z, secured third place on Saturday with a time of 1:39.981 and climbed to second on Sunday with a 1:38.677. Ahlgren attributed his improved Sunday performance partly to cloud cover, which dropped temperatures by about 5 degrees. The lack of traffic in a later session also allowed him to push harder. “I was fighting, getting flyer after flyer. Couldn’t do it with the heat,” Ahlgren said. “But I came around to a very empty TT session and pretty much got a couple cool-down laps in a row and then got right back on it and pulled one out of my butt.” The TT4 class, with Ahlgren, Hertel, and Hannah, consistently provides “the most exciting battle to watch every weekend,” according to fellow competitor Tony Martin.
Time Trial 5
Ben Saye, driving a 2002 Honda S2000, took first place in TT5 on Saturday with a time of 1:43.350 and maintained his top position on Sunday with a 1:42.343. Saye, in his third visit to Barber, found a full second of improvement between Saturday and Sunday by adjusting his approach to Turn 11 and Turn 12. Drawing confidence from a recent event at “the fastest road in the West,” Willow Springs International Raceway (shown above) where he could take Turn 8 flat at 112 mph, he decided to carry more speed through the downhill section at Barber.
“I was braking at the one (marker) in the brake zone. So I decided to just keep it flat, turn in, carry all that speed down the hill and then brake at the bottom of the hill,” Saye explained. This strategy shaved off a crucial second from his lap time.
Saye also finished first on Saturday in Time Trial Target, with a delta of .584 seconds.
In his 2000 Acura Integra with a K24A4 swap and RSX 6-speed transmission, Ian Carrillo finished second in TT5 on both days. He recorded a 1:43.949 on Saturday and a 1:43.441 on Sunday. This was Carrillo’s first time competing in Time Trial, as he typically races in Honda Challenge. He attributed his improved Sunday performance to advice from Ben Saye, particularly about carrying more speed through Turn 11 and Turn 12 without braking.
“I didn’t know he was going flat till just now. I thought he was lifting like me. I need to keep it into it, I guess,” Carrillo quipped, noting Saye had kept the full extent of his strategy to himself. Carrillo also experienced fuel starvation issues, particularly in the downhill hairpin of Turn 5, suggesting it was due to fuel sloshing.
Carrillo also took second in TTT on Saturday and first in TTT on Sunday. Kyle Ray Smith finished in third in TTT on Saturday.
Finishing just off the podium, Michael Breen, driving the No. 77 BMW E36, was fourth in TT5 on Saturday with a best time of 1:48.603. Unfortunately, his Sunday session was cut short due to two snapped studs on his back left wheel. This was Breen’s first time at Barber, and he quickly declared it his favorite track. Breen focused on improving his lap times throughout Saturday. His goal was a 1:50, which he surpassed with a 1:48.6.
Breen received valuable coaching, particularly from Kim Coffey, who advised him to “aim at the tower” through Turn 3, a blind carousel, for optimal line. “You don’t know where you’re going, it feels like you’re going to die, just drive toward the tower and you’ll be fine,” Coffey told him.
Coffey finished sixth in TT5 on Saturday with a time of 1:54.793 and fifth on Sunday with a 1:55.744. Driving a 2006 Mazda MX-5, Coffey was making her second appearance at Barber. She originally entered NASA through the GR Experience program, but quickly transitioned to a Miata, finding it a more suitable platform for track use without over-stressing her Supra. She acknowledged that her car is “basically a stock NC Miata” and “not competitive,” but expressed optimism about its potential with modifications.
Time Trial 6
Luke Tape, driving a Mazda Miata, secured first place on Saturday with a best time of 1:48.879 and first place on Sunday with a 1:47.678. Tape’s consistent performance throughout the weekend showcased his ability to extract speed from his Miata, navigating the challenging Barber Motorsports Park with precision. His significant improvement on Sunday highlights the value of experience and fine-tuning over the course of an event. Tape was not available for comment, but his results speak volumes about his strong performance and understanding of the track.
Piloting a 1999 Mazda Miata, Tony Martin finished second on Saturday with a time of 1:48.947 and second on Sunday with a 1:48.720. Martin recently equipped his Miata with a new set of Toyo Proxes R tires, making him a “guinea pig” in the Mid South Region. He praised the tires for their consistency and ability to withstand high track temperatures.
“They heat up really quick and then they kind of plateau with their temperature and just the grip never really goes away,” Martin observed. Running 205/50/15 tires on 7-inch wheels, Martin finds this narrower setup more effective for his underpowered car, especially on tracks with long straights.
No. 08 Josh Flayhart finished third in TT6 on Saturday. Martin took second place in TTT on Sunday with Tanner Powell in third in his BMW 128i.
Johnathon Ward, driving a 2001 Mazda Miata, finished fourth in TT6 on Saturday with a best time of 1:54.173 and third on Sunday with a 1:54.402. This was Ward’s first weekend on Toyo RRs, having previously used VR-1 Maxxis tires. He quickly realized that the 24-year-old bushings on his car were worn, indicating a necessary off-season upgrade to poly bushings. Ward noted that in a Miata, Barber Motorsports Park involves “a lot of wide open throttle through a very large portion of the track.” Ward, who serves as the Mid South HPDE2 group leader, also had to contend with his battery shifting and shorting out against the hold-down, shutting off the car as he was coming over the tunnel hill.
Conclusion
The pervasive heat and humidity were a significant challenge for all competitors. Chip Goetzinger remarked, “The theme of the weekend was heat. It was just absolutely brutally hot and humid the entire weekend. And we got thunderstorms at the end of both days a little earlier on Sunday, but just, you know, if the cars could hold up to the heat, sometimes the drivers couldn’t.”
Fuel starvation emerged as a common technical challenge. Ian Carrillo noted, “It’s crazy because I’ve always had some fuel starve issues at other tracks, but there’s no other corner that I race on that’s like 5, that downhill hard braking hairpin. Like I think it’s all the fuel sloshing out of the bowl and it’s not picking anything up.”
The event highlighted ongoing rivalries and the strong sense of community within the NASA Mid-South region. Competitors have a long break until next event on the calendar at National Corvette Museum in October with the NASA Great Lakes Region. Several drivers already are planning upgrades to improve their performance and continue the thrilling battles at Nashville Superspeedway.
Some images were not available from the Barber event. Some images shown were taken at other tracks. — Ed.
