The 2018 National Auto Sport Association Championships presented by Toyo Tires is shaping up to be our biggest championships event yet. NASA drivers from across the country are preparing for the trip to Circuit of The Americas Sept. 12-16. The fields are getting big, so we thought we’d share some of the more interesting and notable numbers from the 2018 NASA Championships presented by Toyo Tires.
$75,000 — That’s how much the winner of the Toyo Tires Classic will take home. The Toyo Tires Classic is the Spec Miata championship race and it’s attracted some 90 cars. There’s an additional $25,000 in prize money for runners up, the hard charger and others drawn at random. Spec Miata is going to be a barn-burner!
37 Spec E30 Entries — Spec E30 is one of NASA’s most popular classes and it all starts with the 1984 to 1991 BMW 3-series sedan. Competitors from all of NASA’s 14 regions in the United States are registered, including past champions Sandro Espinosa, Robert Grace and Larry Fraser. The Spec E30 races will be some of the most competitive of the event.
28 American Iron Entries — NASA’s ground-pounding American Iron class features the thunder of American V8s in the classic Ford vs. Chevrolet battle. Although the class is dominated by Ford Mustangs, there are four Chevrolet Camaros and one Buick Grand National with transplanted V8 power. They’ll hear the roar in downtown Austin when the green flag waves!
78 Super Touring Entries — NASA’s Super Touring rules are devised to accommodate practically any car you care to bring, and NASA competitors are bringing them. From the Corvettes and Vipers and M4’s in Super Touring 1 — the fastest ST class — to momentum-oriented cars such as Mazda Miatas, Mini Coopers in Super Touring 4 and 5, Super Touring brings a variety of cars to the track like no other NASA class. It’ll be great fun to see which chassis and powertrains reign superior at Circuit of The Americas in September.
1,850 collective horsepower in NASA Prototype — Ten NP01 drivers are registered so far for the NASA Championships. At 185 horsepower apiece, the NASA Prototype delivers more speed per horsepower than practically any other car that will be in Austin. Developed for NASA by Élan Motorsports Technologies, the NP01 is a closed-cockpit prototype racecar that sells as a kit for $76,125 for competition in the dedicated NASA Prototype class.
72 Time Trial Entries — NASA pioneered the Time Trial format at its events and Championships, and it’s become a big draw on its own. Many racers will “double dip” in Time Trial to get more track experience. Most TT drivers, however, sign up to battle their competitors for the fastest lap time of the event. The competition is as intense as it gets and the hardware the drivers bring is pretty spectacular.
There are plenty of interesting stories waiting to be told at the 2018 NASA Championships presented by Toyo Tires!
