For drivers at the 2024 NASA National Championships, making sure every minute of practice on the Utah Motorsports Campus track counts. Whether it’s learning the track or chasing the right setup, practice is a critical component to winning a NASA Championship on Sunday.
Speed News walked around the paddock and spoke to drivers in between practice sessions to find out how they use the shakeout day. With the Championship pressure building, the drivers know the adjustments they make on Thursday could be the difference of standing at the top of podium or wondering what went wrong.
Tage Evanson, GT
Tage Evanson was in the garage working on his Honda Civic getting ready for Time Trial and possibly racing in GT.
“The goal is simply to get the car to run for the entire time,” Evanson said. “Time Trial is one thing, but I’m a little concerned about the race group. Can it even last the entire time?”
Like many racers, Evanson decided to take his streetcar, make it faster and customize it. Evanson went with a different supercharger system on the Honda Civic, but has issues with the car overheating and keeping the belt on the supercharger. The car makes too much horsepower, which limits the classes in which he can compete.
Evanson admits he is seeing the same problems with the Honda Civic while racing in the Arizona Region, where he is Regional Director, but hopes to get some of the problems worked out before the racing matters. The Honda Civic runs in a class against Corvettes and Dodge Vipers. He will run up against multi-time champion Brian Faessler in his Ford Mustang.
“The goal coming in was to win a championship,” Evanson said. “Now it’s a matter of having as much fun as possible, because I know I can’t beat Brian Faessler.”
Andrew Clos, Spec Miata
Arguably one of, if not the, most competitive classes in NASA Racing, Spec Miata is a haven for a number of fast drivers. NASA Rocky Mountain racer Andrew Clos is using Thursday practice to nail down some lap times comparable to those of the leaders and run with them come Sunday.
Clos has one race at UMC this season and some laps in a street car a few years ago. He’s mostly using Thursday practice, known as test-and-tune to, well, test and tune his car.
“The goal for today is just make sure the car’s working. That’s a big one. And just kind of getting used to everything and how it’s working,” Close said. “We changed out a lot of parts, mostly because of shocks going bad, suspension parts kind of misaligning. So making sure all those work, and they stay consistent through the weekend.”
Clos ran the fourth fastest lap time in the second test session, but he expects his lap times — and those of his competitors — to continue to drop throughout the event. Come race day, strategy will play an outsize role in success or failure, but for now, Clos is focused on himself and the car.
“If the car’s right,” he added, “then I feel better and then I can drive it faster.”
Natalee Wiebe, Time Trial 3
Natalee Wiebe hauled her Mustang GT350 and a trailer full of tools from her home in the NASA SoCal Region and was using Thursday to get herself up to speed on track, but got sidelined with a torn outer CV boot on the right-side half shaft. She has about 250 laps on the UMC circuit, but won’t be able to put that experience to good use till the boot is repaired or replaced.
“I thought I would come up early. I like to stretch out my legs and I thought I would just run the car today, and I’ve got this boot issue. So today’s going to be about seeing if I need to replace the boot on this Mustang,” Wiebe said. “That’s mostly what it’s going to be about. My other objectives were basically just to come out and drive the car a little and just enjoy the day, and be out here for a little bit longer at Nationals.”
She is expecting her father Greg and her brother time to arrive soon and hopefully help her get the Mustang back to race ready. Spending time at the track with family and friends is as much a part of the draw as is the competition.
“My goal every year is to improve by a few more seconds,” she said. “My goal right now is to get with all the Utah guys who are running a 2:05, 2:06.”
Timothy Carel, Super Touring 2
NASA SoCal driver Timothy Carel is racing at Utah Motorsports Campus for the first time, but during an early morning practice session, he ran the equivalent of the track record for Super Touring 2, a 2:01.276, a remarkable time he set on old tires. Lap records must be set during a race, so that one won’t count, but it does show that Carel is a quick study.
“I’ve actually been to the kart track a couple of times, but it’s the first time on the car track. For now, we’re doing pretty well,” said Carel, who drives for S1M Motorsports. “I mean, both sessions that we had the car working, we ran P1. Second session we actually set a track record for SC2. So we’re on track to get some pretty good results this weekend.
Carel is such a quick study because he has been spending so much time this year learning new tracks in another series, the USF Juniors, an open-wheel series that runs on tracks all across the United States.
“I’ve been to tracks for the first time multiple times this year. So I guess I’ve gotten pretty good at just learning new tracks,” Carel said. “I’ve been on pace, around after five laps, so I guess it transfers over a little bit to the road cars here. So I just used my experience from there just to set fast times right away, just to be on pace, find the limit right away. I guess it works out.”
Carel is going to be one to watch on Sunday.
Jacques Rimokh, Spec E30
Jacques Rimokh brought his Spec E30 from his home region in Southern California. He has never raced at UMC before, never done any sim racing, but watching a few videos online have helped him improve his lap times. He is using Thursday test and tune for the primary purpose of familiarizing himself with the track.
“I hope to learn the track and get as fast as I can on it,” he said. “Key is to know what turns you need to brake for and what turns you don’t, which I’m learning. So just getting familiarity, getting faster and faster.”
Despite racing at an altitude 2,000 feet higher in elevation than any track in Southern California, his car is running well and Rimokh is hoping to be able to take advantage of some bump drafting to stay within sight of the front of the pack.
“We have five really fast guys and I am generally not that fast,” Rimokh. “So if I’ll even be able to be close to any of them to bump draft, it will be amazing.”
Dave Varco, Spec Miata
Dave Varco has never been to the Utah Motorsports Campus, so he spent four practice sessions Thursday learning the track.
“I’m slowly building up speed and trying different gears to see where I end up in different corners,” said Varco, who is running Spec Miata. “This is what I do when I go to a new track. I probably should do simulator work, but it’s not my thing.”
Varco said his Miata is down on power, so he expects to finish midpack in a crowded Spec Miata field. In addition to racing, Dave is there to support his son Austin who is also racing a Spec Miata.
“He’s got bigger designs than I do,” said Varco, who races in NASA’s SoCal Region. “I’d love to beat him but he’s 3 seconds a lap faster than me. Maybe another day.”
Gian Bowles, 944 Spec
Gian Bowles spent plenty of time thrashing on his 944 Porsche before showing up at Utah Motorsports Campus so he can focus learning the track.
“You can watch as many videos as possible and do all the SIMS you want, but when it comes down to it, the actual feel of the track is a little bit different,” Bowles said. “The SIMS really help you figure out where the turns are, but it doesn’t really tell you how it feels coming into the corners.”
On top of learning the track, the 944 Spec racer has been busy dialing in his Porsche looking for the ideal shock settings and tire pressure.
“With a Spec car there’s not a lot of adjustments, that’s the beauty of the class,” said Bowles, who runs NASA SoCal. “My goal is to get a better feel of the track so I’m ready to go on Sunday.”
