Long before drivers ever load their cars on the trailer to set out for the NASA Championships, they begin preparing themselves and their cars. The NASA Championships takes place over the course of three days, not counting Thursday practice, and success depends on getting every last detail right.
We caught up with a couple of racers who have taken some extra measures to ensure they are prepared for this year’s NASA Championships.
NASA Southern California’s Andrew Lang, who will be racing his Norma M20 sports racer in Super Unlimited and competing in Time Trial Unlimited, has never been to Ozarks International Raceway in person, so he has been getting as much time in on his simulator as possible to help get up to speed before arriving at the track. He also has been keeping up his rigorous fitness regimen as the event draws near.
“It’s such a long track it’s hard to learn,” Lang said. “Also, as I would do anyway I’m running 25-30 miles per week, cycling, and swimming to make sure I’m in good physical condition. That has always helped tremendously since I do such long stints in endurance racing, but I have found that even in the 40 minute races at nationals that some of the competition tends to slow down as the race draws to a close. I’m sure a big part of that is tires, but I think driver fatigue is an issue. We always see some big mistakes at the end of those long sprint races at nationals, and while we are never the fastest, our car tends to make it through to Sunday afternoon and just being consistent is what allowed us to take second in Utah last year.”
Lang also has been hard at work on his car, which has had some engine issues over the summer. Two engine replacements later, the car now is ready for the NASA Championships.
“We got the car done with 10 minutes to spare and started the Utah Sunchaser 6 hour enduro from the back,” Lang said. “We finished without engine issues, but got a slow start as we broke in a new engine during the start of the race.”
Competing in his C6 Corvette in his first full season of Super Touring 1, NASA Arizona’s John Czarnecky made the trip to Ozarks International Raceway in July to get some track time before the NASA Championships. In addition to falling in love with the track, Czarnecky was able to come away with new knowledge that can only come from first-hand experience.
“Since my visit, we have made several suspension changes to the car to compensate for the tremendous suspension compression experienced on that track,” Czarnecky said. “In addition I have gone through the normal race prep of checking over the entire car, changing fluids, tightening everything, new tires, etc.”
Czarnecky also has been polishing his skills on the simulator and watching a lot of video footage from other drivers to see where he can improve. The 63-year-old hits the gym several times a week to maintain physical fitness.
“Since this is my first year running in ST1, I’m not going there expecting to win, but I want to be as competitive as I can be,” Czarnecky said. “I am really enjoying the additional challenges of running in race group as opposed to previously running in TT1.”
Time will tell if Lang’s and Czarnecky’s efforts will pay off. To succeed at a NASA Championships event, everything needs fall into place. Preparation certainly helps.
