NASA Northeast had its 2024 opening race weekend April 19-21 at Watkins Glen, a bucket list track for many. The air was chilly — some people claimed to see snow flurries! — and no sun for three days, but the cars ran great and the track was fast! New changes in the bus stop curbing kept everyone on their toes.
Spec Miata led the class counts, with 19 taking the green on Saturday. Robert Casella No. 36 was back after not running in 2023, but he missed qualifying and started at the back. That did not stop him from slicing through the pack to second place, breathing down the neck of No. 13 Peter McIntosh who took first by 3.6 seconds. Chris Graham also put up a good fight and landed on the podium in third.
On Saturday, German Touring Series also had a strong showing for this event with 14 starters. Barry Smith No. 567 took the win in GTS2 in a new-to-him BMW M3. Two DQs at scales landed No. 527 Leo Zick on top of the podium in GTS3 with a best lap of 2:07.9, followed by No. 421 Michael Berry in second and No. 900 Anthony Valente in third. GTS4 had four starters, with David DeJesus No. 738 taking the top spot, followed by No. 864 Nicholas Grizey only .53 behind and No. 161 Michael Gershanok in third.
Super Touring 4 saw the battles from last season continuing between Jose Suero’s No. 738 S2000, Frank Millan’s No. 311 M3, and Brian Casella’s No. 37 350Z. They finished in that order, with Suero pulling out a 2:04.49. In Super Unlimited, No. 49 David Moore in his Viper took the podium and fastest time of the day Saturday with a 1:54.23.
Saturday’s Time Trial had 23 entries, with the return of No. 392 WayTooFast in their newly redone white M3 taking the podium in TT3 with a 2:02.18 followed closely by Chris Keeley in his No. 724 Camaro with 2:02.64. In TT4, No. 738 Suero again stood on top of the podium with a 2:04.89, followed by No. 37 Brian Casella and Kyung Oh’s No. 923 M3. The largest TT class of the weekend TTU saw Steven Williams’ No. 717 Camaro take top spot with a 1:58.1, followed by No. 201 Billy Abold in his GT3 Cup car at 1:58.9, and Anthony Cappello’s No. 999 GT4 car at 2:01.0.
For the new Time Trial Target class, No. 724 Chris Keeley took top spot with a 1.735 differential, followed by Sarah Jane LaBouseur at 1.823 and Morgan Carey at 3.339.
We return to the Glen October 4-6 for a first ever crossover weekend with NASA Southeast. It will be a real North vs. South battle, and we can’t wait. It’s going to be awesome! An early hint to all Southeast drivers: Bring jackets and hats!
