It was wet. We raced anyway. What was most likely the last ever NASA event at Auto Club Speedway turned out to be a wild one. There were Spec E30 11 racers who braved an ominous forecast in an attempt to conquer the Roval one last time.
Saturday had a dry warmup session, but then steady rains came down the rest of the day. Group A was the last run group of the day, and by race time, the entire infield of the track resembled a lake more than a road course. All but two racers had the new Maxxis rain tires, and they were indeed needed. Kurt Johnson and Marguerite Williams had the Maxxis slicks, but they went out in the treacherous conditions anyway. Despite the horrible conditions, Saturday’s race was clean and mostly uneventful other than the pace car not knowing the complete course configuration.
Sean Aron started from pole but dropped out after two laps. Michael Mihld took the win and scored the fast lap, with Michael Omelko finishing second and Allan Hauser in third.
Sunday brought a slightly better forecast, with the qualifying race being mostly dry, but the main race was again very wet. Sadly, we had a bit of carnage in the main race with Mihld and Mohamad Jomaa both having significant contact with the walls. Luckily, both drivers were unhurt.
Allan Hauser had pole and scored the fastest lap in the Sunday main, but ultimately Jerick Javier took the win, followed by Team Build My Wealth Racing and Sebastian Bacon in third.
I want to recognize and congratulate Jerick Javier for his first ever Spec E30 win. It was much deserved and well timed. I also want to welcome one brand new rookie racer, Mei Williams. She is from NorCal, but joined us for this event. It was a pleasure to have her out on track with us.
Finally, a big congratulations to our new champions who received their trophies at the awards banquet Saturday night. Once again, Spec E30 was well represented in many classes. Sean Aron, Ed Sukchai, Ryan Walton and Tom Paule for Spec E30. Chad Trower and Mike Omelko for ST6. Steve Stepanian, Andrew Clark, Sean Aron, Mike Omelko, John and Kerri Artz for E3S. Kurt Johnson for ES. JoJo McKenzie also received the Most Improved Driver award for SoCal NASA.
What a nasty section at the end with big puddles. Got some abrupt, hard to catch power oversteer when the power band hit. Surprisingly kept going after hitting the wall at around 20mph.