NASA Champions Crowned at Miller Motorsports Park

Group D ST1, ST2, ST3 STR1, SU

The fastest group of the day took the green under near perfect 75 degree temperatures. Jon Van Caneghem, No. 7 Elan DP02 SU, had a near 30 second lead when a full course yellow came out on lap six. Local racer George Smith led STR1 early in his No. 73 Corvette. In ST2 Chuck Matthews led to the caution in his Corvette, until he was passed on the last lap by local racer James Burke in his Corvette. In ST1 Pratt Cole drove his No. 88 Dodge Viper to the win. In STR1 Smith came from 20^th on the grid to win the class in his Corvette. Ken Smith added another Cuvette to the top podium in his No. 557 ST3 car. Van Caneghem won the class by a margin of 23 seconds.

Jon Van Caneghem, No. 7 Elan DP02 SU, “it was great. I had a lot of fun out there. My car has an amazing amount of grip through turns one, two and three. It is really fun to go through those turns in this car. After my competition broke a couple of laps in, I was able to take it a little easy. My fast time of the weekend was a 1:49 which we put down earlier in the week.”

James Burke, No. 240 Corvette ST2 winner, “it was pretty tough. There were other cars that were faster in my class today. We decided to sacrifice horsepower for slicks and it hurt us early on. They would pull away from us on the front stretch, but we had a more consistent tire throughout the race. On the last lap we pulled up on the inside of the Attitudes, made the pass and took the win.”

George Smith, No. 73 Corvette STR1, “I had a little infraction on Friday which sent me back to 20^th at the start. I had some fast cars in front of me. People were good sports during the start keeping their line. Once I got ahead of the ST field, I went from 20^th to third. I had nothing for the next two cars. It was good clean racing today. NASA does a great job with this event. I had a lot of fun. This is my second NASA Championships trophy, the first was here in 2009. I want to thank Jordan Priestly and JD Motorsports for doing a wonderful job with the car.”

Ken Smith, No. 557 Corvette ST3, “the double yellow really helped me. We are running sticky tires, so the caution helped me to cool them down. It was a great weekend. We really ran consistent the whole week. The car was handling and hooking well out of the corners. I want to thank Greg Dansbury and Power Grid for their help. It was a great run, everyone ran clean, I am really excited.”

NASA Championships presented by Toyo Tires 2013 Champions:

Group A:      
American Iron, Alec Udell, No. 16 Ford Mustang
American Iron Xtreme, John Miksula, No.42 Ford Mustang
CMC, Aaron McSpadden, No. 75 Ford Mustang

Group B:
Spec Miata, Matt Schultz, No. 11 Mazda Miata

Group E:
944 Spec, Tyler Palmer, No. 4 Porsche 944

Group F:
GTS2, Dick Hunter, No. 58 BMW 325
GTS3,Tony Colicchio, No. 331 BMW M3
GTS4, Michael McAleenan, No. 3 BMW M3
GTS5, Peter Spencer, No. 89 Porsche GT3 Cup

Group G:
PTB, David Shotz, No. 34 Pontiac Formula
PTC, Dennis Holloway, No. 5 Mazda RX8
PTD, John Matthews, No 117 BMW M3
PTE, Jason Kohler, No. 848 Mazda Miata
PTF, Walter Carlos, No. 81 Mazda Miata

Group D:
SU, Jon Van Caneghem, Elan DP02
STR1, George Smith, No. 73 Chevrolet Corvette
ST2, James Burke, No. 240 Chevrolet Corvette
ST3, Ken Smith, No. 557 Chevrolet Corvette
ST1, Pratt Cole, 88 Dodge Viper

Group C – Time Trials:
TTB, David Schotz, No. 34 Pontiac Formula
TTC, David Schotz, No. 34 Pontiac Formula
TTD, Sonny Watanasirisuk, No. 18 Mazda Miata
TTE, Jason Kohler, No. 848 Mazda Miata

Group H – Time Trials:
TT1, Shawn Murphy, No. 667 Subaru STi
TTU, Kyle Schick, No. 23, Nissan GT-R
TT2, James Burke, No. 240 Chevrolet Corvette
TT3, Christopher Mayfield, No 194 BMW 325

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