A group of “the usual suspects” and other competitors took to the track on Father’s Day weekend at Sebring International Raceway for Time Trial competition, trading the relative comfort of air conditioning and a cold brew for a warm spot in the shade and SPF 50. With only a slight chance of rain lurking far in the distance, all Time Trial drivers were confident that they wouldn’t need to use their rain tires for a change, although the clear summer weather meant extra-smelly driving suits by the end of the weekend.
On Saturday, “Penske Scott” Knott, Bruce “The Boost” Bartos, “Divebomb Danny” Sanzera, and Eric “Antitheft” Armstrong were the lone gunmen in TTU, TT1, TT2, and TTB, respectively. They took this opportunity to build their leads in the points standings. Mark “FNG” Burt held off all challengers in TT3 and set a new track record on his first day of TT competition in a V8-swapped Mazda RX-7 on street tires. Ash “Mad Hatter” Rovecamp handily won TTC in his Pontiac GTO, while Eric “The Stuntman” Powell was victorious in TTD with his Craigslist-powered Mazda Miata. Rounding out the group was Chris “Mudflap” Wells, who won TTE and surprisingly credited the results to the removal of his signature fender protectors.
Unfortunately, mechanical issues on Saturday for Bruce The Boost, FNG Burt, and Mad Hatter Rovecamp relegated them to the cheap seats on Sunday. This allowed “Boss John” Strauss and his Ford Mustang Boss 302 to take the
top spot in TT3, while “Topless Charlie” Vedral stepped up in TTC and set a personal best lap time with his Honda S2000. All other class results were the same as on Saturday.
Congratulations go to our TT winners, as well as our thanks to all competitors for making NASA Florida their group of choice for fast, fair and safe on-track competition. After the typical summer break, NASA Florida resumes the 2013 Time Trial season at a shared event with NASA Southeast at Road Atlanta on September 13-15.
Official NASA Florida TT results can be found at: http://www.nasa-tt.com/Florida_Regional_Results
