The early September weekend at Motorsport Park Hastings kicked off with TTU driver Phil Verhaeghe setting a new lap record of 1:32.034 in his Lotus Elise on the second lap of the first timed session Saturday. Verhaeghe was on it right out of the box, laying down a time that would not be beat. John Slinkard finished second Saturday, followed by Gary Pennington. Sunday saw Verhaeghe take the win over Pennington, with Ron Nolan in third in his Nissan GTR. With just four events left, Pennington leads the championship by 14 points over Verhaeghe.
In his second event, Todd Wayman took both TTS wins and set a new lap record of 1:38.572. That is two events, four wins and two lap records for Mr. Wayman!
TTA saw Chris Mayfield take the win in his BMW M3 both days and set a new lap record of 1:33.448. Team “STi Guys” set the pace in its TTB Subaru STi and won both days over newcomer Mark Melchior. They also set a new lap record of 1:37.002.
Jan Gerber took the win Saturday and set a new lap record of 1:44.959 in TTD. With five new lap records set that weekend, it was clear the TT gang was on it!
Spec Miata and 944 Spec were the largest classes of the weekend, and Spec Miata is close to hitting its mark for full Toyo payout at season’s end.
Warren Dexter was unstoppable both days, dominating qualifying and winning both races. His brother Dillon Dexter, Joel Karns, Doug Low, Lael Cleland and Pat Weber duked it out for second through fifth, with Dillon taking second and Karns third. Sunday saw Low come alive and drive a great race only to lose it in impound for being underweight. This promoted Weber to second and Dillon to third.
John Walsh swept 944 Spec both days over Dan Williams, with James Keagy in third Saturday and Mike Thul in third Sunday. Sunday saw Walsh reset his own lap record at 1:44.090.
Zane Dexter wheeled his Mazda RX-8 to win PTC both days and replaced his own lap record with a solid 1:39.365.
Heartland Vintage Racing joined NASA Central for the weekend and brought some beautiful vintage racing cars out. From Tony Shores’ Gulf liveried Mustang to NASA regular Steve Myers’ Mini, the stunning Brabham BT16 of William Taylor and the squadron of Formula Vees owned by local Bob Beirow, NASA TT driver Randy Habitzel and guest driver Shawn Alberts, they put on a great show.
Saturday night saw a huge blowout party hosted by MPH at the Guardrail Club. Special thanks to George Anderson for being a gracious host!
