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Socal News
By Greg G.
Published: July 22, 2006
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This season seems to be flying by as we approach the National Championships in just 7 weeks, and finish out the 2006 SoCal Championship Series with our August 5-6 event at Willow Springs, followed by back-to-back events at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in October and November. We have had 100 drivers/teams compete with us so far this year (including our February WSIR event), with the largest number (20) surprisingly in TTC. With 6 events and 600 points still at stake, we have seven of the eight classes with the top two drivers separated by 125 points or less. So, the top drivers are going to have to be consistent in all six of the remaining event days if they want to win a Championship.
Speaking of Championships, there are currently 17 SoCal TT drivers registered for the NASA Championships at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sept 14th-16th. That is 1/3 of all TT drivers registered. Hopefully, everyone that is registered will be able to make it so we can have an excellent showing at the event. I think we have a good shot at seeing our drivers win Championships or podium spots in TTR, TTU, TTA, TTC, TTE, and TTF. Currently, we don’t have any SoCal representation in TTB or TTD, although we may have our Region’s fearless leader, Ryan Flaherty, driving in TTD. It’s certainly not too late to register if you have changed your mind and decided to go. The registration deadline is September 1st. Nitto Tire North America has stepped up to provide one set of NT01 tires to the Champion in each class, and there are other contingency sponsors that are starting to come forward. But, ultimately, the reason to go is to have a great time, and do something that you have never done before (compete for a National Championship).
As I stated on the NASAforums in April, and at the track and in the WSIR news report in May, we sought to get at least 10 drivers to head out to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah in order to make the event an official SoCal crossover event. Well, we did succeed in getting our driver count, and the event results were added to our SoCal Regional Championship series point totals. Also, SoCal series drivers took home nine first place finishes in the two days, and now hold records at MMP in TTR (Raeder 3:21.13), TTA (Harris 3:23.96), TTC (Greenbaum 3:25.47), and TTF (Reed 3:46.22). For those that were unable to go (boy, did you miss out on a great venue), we added two additional drop days to the series. So, there are now a total of four event day scores (or absences) that may be dropped from the 18 possible event days. I expect that we may try to plan a Western States TT Championship at MMP in ’07 for everyone that missed the chance to drive the track in ’06. There were about 30 TT drivers at this year’s event, but we think we could increase that number to 60-80, with two TT run groups if we have enough interest from NorCal, SoCal, AZ, and Rocky Mountain.
There were a total of 31 drivers at our June SoCal-NorCal TT Crossover event. Six of the drivers were visitors from Northern California. It was great having them come down and visit, and we hope to see them and a lot more next year. Together, they took points back to the NorCal series for three second-place finishes and four third-place finishes. The big winners of the weekend were Cody Martin (TTR), Russell Warr (TTU), Team Track Graphic 2 and Team Robispec A (TTA), Dan Rose (TTB), Greg Greenbaum (TTC), Shawn Dolan (TTD), Mark Rodrigues (TTE), and Dan Gardner (TTF).
We had 32 TT drivers compete at Willow Springs in July, including a couple of visitors that came to the 100 degree weather to cool off (It was closer to 110+ in Arizona where they live). Surprisingly, we didn’t have a lot of overheating issues with the cars. The second session on Saturday was the coolest competition session, and the lap times showed it, with close to 2/3 of the weekends best times occurring during this session. However, the TT shootout on Saturday rewarded 10 of the 18 drivers that participated with their best lap time of the day, despite the 98-degree air temps. Winners included 2005 TT Champions Warr (TTU), Greenbaum (TTC), and Meze (TTE), as well as 2006 series leaders Rose (TTB), Martin (TTR), and Gardner (TTF). Karen Salvagio (TTA) took her first ever win in NASA TT. Sunday was hotter than Saturday, and most of the lap times were slower than Saturday, but there were a few standout performances by TT rookies. Cody Martin finally broke through the 1:29 barrier in his Radical SR3 with a 1:28.78. Vic Pizzino, on his first weekend of TT, edged out Dan Rose for the TTB win on Sunday. And Jerry Buza took his first TT win in TTD against stiff competition, not just once, but on both days. Also, Tasha Bigelow took her first win in TTA in her Factory Five Cobra. Congratulations to all of our first time winners. Track records have been hard to come by since the weather warmed up, and we were shutout this time.
So, here’s how the SoCal Championship Series is shaping up:
In TTR, we have Cody Martin (490) taking the points lead at our last event, with Steve Raeder (400) and Terry Free (375) still very much alive with Championship potential. In fact, Mike Borders (190), Don Lindsey (190), Craig Dabbs (175), and Team Gilliam (170) all have a serious shot at a podium finish depending on who is going to be consistent with 600 points still up for grabs.
Russell Warr (770) took the lead in TTU from Jon Stokes (645) and Keith Parker (670) at the June Buttonwillow event, and he extended his lead with his two wins at Willow Springs. Jon’s mechanical problems on Saturday at Willow Springs, and his inability to run on Sunday knocked him into third place. However, there is a rumor that Parker may not be coming to the Aug 5-6 WSIR event, which will open the door back up for Stokes to try to reel in Warr for the Championship. Warr is seeking his third consecutive NASA SoCal TT Championship.
Our TTA class this year is really a battle of persistence and consistency. Karen Salvagio (625) took the lead at our last event from Team Track Graphic 2 (545) with their no-show. And Thomas Silbaugh (514) has dropped to third after leading the series mid-season. Bud Harris (360), Team Robispec A (290), Tasha Bigelow (270), and Marty Fabrick (213) all have chances at a Championship podium spot depending on who can be consistent for the rest of the season.
Dan Rose (800) has dominated TTB all season long, and barring any unforeseen issues, it will be very difficult for John Wheeler (705) or Jay Hale (610) to catch him at this point. However, John better be careful, because Jay has been getting faster all year long. It looks like it’s too late for Vic Pizzino (190) to catch the leaders with his late season start at the last event, but his is shaping up to be a real contender in ’07. As well, if Hale isn’t careful in his attendance, Pizzino could still potentially knock him out of his podium spot.
TTC is our largest and most hotly contested class in 2006. After Buttonwillow in June, 1st and 2nd place were only 10 points apart, with third place 70 points behind them. Well, Greg Greenbaum’s (790) current winning streak at the last four events has given him a slight cushion from Team Fronti (755). Arthur Weber (685) has been consistent all year, and getting faster and more competitive at every event. Despite the size of the TTC roster, there is nobody that will be able to catch our three leaders, so they will fight it out in our last 6 event days, and end up on the podium together—congrats and good luck to all three of them. Like Warr in TTU, Greenbaum is our other driver seeking his third consecutive NASA SoCal TT Championship.
2005 TTD Champion Shawn Dolan (775) has been a force of one in ’06, but his opposition showed some real strength at our last event at Willow Springs. Aaron Schwartsbart (650) continues with his strategy of consistency, while Jerry Buza (625) showed his stuff with his two wins at Willow Springs, and certainly has a good shot at moving up the ladder if he continues his streak. Ricardo Gomez (535) has been hurt by missing six event days, but if the others don’t compete at all six remaining days, and he does, then Gomez definitely has a podium shot.
TTE has had the mechanical gremlins plaguing the top drivers all year, but Mark Rodrigues (800) has not been one of them. He took the lead in TTE at our first event, and hasn’t looked back since then. 2005 TTE Champion Shawn Meze (695) finally got into a reliable car at our last event (no, not his), and managed to split the wins with Mark on Saturday and Sunday. However, Mark would have to fail to compete in three out of the six upcoming competition days for Meze to have a real shot at defending his title. Fulton Haight (405), owner of Royalty Auto Body, which is one of our generous SoCal TT sponsors, has been struggling for the second year in a row with mechanical issues. Robert Symonds (365) has shown us some fast lap times, but his multiple missed events have hurt him in the series. It looks like he and Fulton can fight it out for the third place podium spot, although with 600 points still in play, we could easily see a new name pop into the picture.
Dan Gardner (800) has had minimum competition in TTF this season, and essentially has won the Championship for 2006. The door is open for the second and third place podium spots, with Dave Rowsey (270), John Reed (200), and Michael Chiappetta (190), needing to compete in three, four, and four of the remaining event days, respectively, to qualify and take the second place spot. As well, we could see one or more new drivers come into TTF, compete in all 6 events, and take the second and/or third place positions. Congrats to Dan on his ’06 win.
That’s how the season has shaped up so far. As you can see, there is definitely room for some exciting finishes. As well, the inaugural NASA National TT Championships will be a very exciting competition.
So, we’ll see you at Willow Springs on August 5-6.
Greg Greenbaum
NASA National and SoCal TT & PT Director
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