The third and fourth rounds of the Super Touring Series for NASA Arizona were held at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway in February. With warm desert weather, clear skies, and a light friendly breeze, the stage was set for some fast times and great battles. Big fields filled the grid with well over 40 Super Touring racers signing up, including visitors from Spec Corvette and Spec Miata taking advantage of the ST6 supersize option! Super Unlimited and Super Touring 1-3 were paired with ST6, then Super Touring 4 and 5 were paired with Spec Miata for separate races, keeping the car counts reasonable for the 2.66-mile track.
Saturday’s races featured some great battles, with the Super Unlimited folk trading positions right off the bat, and the rest of the field ensuring no position change came easily. In SU, Tom Haacker came out on top for both the class and overall win. Not satisfied with just a second podium spot, Dan Aspesi set a new Super Unlimited Track record with a 1:47.605 in his Porsche 997 Cup car.
In ST1 veteran racer Drew Wadolny returned to pilot his Ford Mustang to a class victory and sixth overall. In ST2 Rob Capetz’s Audi took the class honors and top spot on the podium, followed by Tage Evanson and Greg Laube. ST3 featured some great battles, but Matt McIntyre emerged as the victor with his BMW. ST6 featured Michael Kasdorf’s triumphant return with a class victory and a new track record with a 2:06.813 in his Mazda Miata. Other returning racers included Thomas Johnson’s familiar Datsun 240Z, and some unfortunate engine issues sidelined Kevin Kirkwood’s BRZ. Chris Wynne found himself in the ire of the officials with a mystery T7 black flag, sidelining his ST2 Mustang at the end of the race.
In the small-bore race: Erik Davis returned from Hawaii as competitive as ever, taking his BMW to the overall and class win, resetting the ST4 track record as well. ST5 featured another returning Arizona veteran racer Jim Richard’s BMW taking the top honors over Tim Bidwill’s Mini Cooper.
Sunday’s race mixed things up a bit, with some of the Super Unlimited field starting from the back – having to work through the ST6 crowd on their race to the front of the pack. This time Dan Aspesi came out up top in his 997 Cup car in an epic battle with Martin Daszkal who’s GT3 cup car had to retire four laps from the finish. Tage Evanson put on a dominant performance with a victory in ST2 — and some jabs for the overall lead — in his Honda Civic with Rob Capetz and Greg Laube’s Audis right behind him. Drew Wadolny again found the ST1 Victory in his boss 302 having the lead over Kenneth Cross’ Pontiac Solstice.
In ST3 Bjorn Laukenmann found victory after battling with Team Moneyshift Racing, and closely chasing the ST2 field, with Brian Turner’s familiar Porsche 911 and Jeremy Renshaw’s BMW filling out the podium. ST6 was again claimed by Michael Kasdorf’s Miata, with Joshua Lambeth and Graham Davies in close pursuit.
For the small bore race, Ricky Johnson again clicked off another victory in ST4 with Jake Cooper’s civic and Dennis Tucker’s BMW behind him, and Jim Richard went 2 for 2 with another victory over Timothy Bidwill’s Mini.
