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NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill presented by Hawk Performance at 20 Hours

Author: NASA-GL/Sunday, December 4, 2016/Categories: National News

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NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill presented by Hawk Performance at 20 Hours

Ryno Ginettaleads with five to go

NAPA VALLEY, Calif., (Dec. 3, 2016) - The 14th edition of the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill presented by Hawk Performance has five hours remaining and the pole sitting No. 57 Ryno Racing Ginetta still heads the field. 

As the sun begins to rise over the 2.8-mile, 15-turn Thunderhill Raceway circuit the field is still full with 58 of 62 starters still running.  The No. 57 Ryno Racing Ginetta remains the overall leader. In hot pursuit is the No. 45 Audi R8 of the 2015 overall winning Flying Lizard team. IndyCar team owner Bryan Herta likes the way the Ginetta is running and the way the team is working. The 57 has covered 625 laps so far in the race.

"I am knocking the rust off after being out of a race car for a few years," Herta said. "The car is running great. We have cycled all of the drivers through from both cars. My son Colton has driven both cars a lot and he looks fresh, oh to be 16 again. We are waiting for the sun to come up and see what the last five hours brings to the finish. Hopefully we can keep it together to the checker."

The No. 45 Flying Lizard Audi R8 remains just seven laps down to the faster Ginetta and leads the ES Class. Faster competition at the 25 is no stranger to the team. They rely on consistency from the drivers and excellent pit work and strategy to stay at the front.

"The Toyo Audi is running great," driver, Darren Law said. "We are just focusing on clean pit stops and keeping the car on the track. The 57 car is fast and so far has held up. We don't have the pace to go and race them, we just have to hope they have a problem. We are running our program and the car is great on the Toyo tires."

The E0 pole sitter No. 11 Nissan 350Z leads the class.

"We have a few issues with the Nissan 350Z right now," driver, Andy Lee said. "My last stint was about maintaining. I couldn't push as hard as I wanted to. We are having some power steering problems, so not on the pace we would like. I had some contact with one of the Radicals coming inside of me into Turn 14 and we made contact. It didn't seem major, other than I had a flat tire." 

In E1 the No. 95 BMW of Grip Racing leads.

"The drivers have been keeping themselves out of trouble," crew chief, Brian Marsteller said. "We just want to keep it out of the pits and doing laps. That is kind of our motto, it has worked for us in the past. We are just going to keep on truckin' along. The drivers are keeping the car out of trouble. There have been a few scary moments, but all of the drivers talked and agreed to keep themselves out of trouble. You can't win it in the first 24 hours, but you certainly can lose it."

The No. 29 BMW of KD Motorsports leads the E2 Class.

"The race is going pretty smooth so far," crew chief, Andrew Wymore said. "We are maintaining our strategy of staying out the pits and keeping everyone calm and focused. We are a pit stop ahead of second place, so we are about a lap and half up on them. We really haven't had any big drama, just some light contact. The suns up and we are all happy and ready to go."

The No. 38 Mazda Miata of RAM Motorsports leads the E3 Class.

"The race is going pretty good and I am having a good time," driver, Ward Rose said.  "We are anxious for sun rise as our headlights have dimmed a little. I had some side-to-side contact with one guy during my stint, he deserved it. The 38 Miata is running great. We are not the fastest in our class, I got passed by a few cars in our category, but they are probably having more problems than we are at the moment."

In the ENP Class the No. 71 Diamond Level Motorsports NASA elan NP01 Prototype powered by Mazda continues to lead the class and running in the top six overall.

"We are looking forward to the sun coming here in a few minutes," driver, Jeremy Croiset said. "The team put me out in the NASA elan Prototype NP01 powered by Mazda for a double stint during the night. I was able to turn some quick laps and show the pace of this great car. This is really a proving ground for this great little platform. I was able to turn the fastest lap of our race in that stint at like 4 a.m. We are plugging away in hopes of an overall podium." 

Professional drivers listed on the entry include: Bryan Herta, Colton Herta, Ryan Eversley, Al Unser Jr., Sean Rayhall, Dion von Moltke, Colin Braun, Johannes van Overbeek, Darren Law, Tommy Sadler, Darren Law, Tyler McQuarrie, Kelly Collins and Taz Harvey with more expected.

More information can be found on the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill website, http://nasa25hour.com/.





For additional information, please contact NASA Championships Media Director, Kyle Chura at kyle@kcapr.com or (248) 821-0468.  More detail can be found at nasaproracing.com or nasachampionships.com.




About Hawk Performance
Hawk Performance is a leading supplier of severe duty and high-performance friction products manufactured in ISO-certified facilities for the motorsports and performance automotive aftermarket. Hawk Performance products are engineered to allow users to control, command, and conquer the terrain for which their vehicles are designed. Decades of experience in developing friction materials for aerospace, industrial, military, automotive and motorsports applications give Hawk Performance an advantage over the competition. In the past decade, Hawk Performance friction products have won more motorsports championships than any other friction manufacturer. More information at www.hawkperformance.com.
About NASA
The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) was formed in 1991 with the premise of delivering high-quality motorsports events to enthusiasts at major racing venues throughout the nation. NASA has created programs that allow owners of both racecars and high-performance street-driven vehicles to enjoy the full performance capabilities of their cars in a controlled professionally managed environment. NASA offers many different programs that will allow you to enjoy motorsports on a number of different levels, including our High Performance Driving Events (HPDE), Rally Sport, Time Trial, NASA-X and Competition Racing programs.
 
NASA Membership
NASA members are entitled to enter and participate in any NASA event across the country, and membership includes an array of benefits, including vendor discounts and a subscription to the organizations online newsletter the NASA Speed News. Members will also receive a colorful membership hard card that will identify them as part of the organization and a welcome packet that includes more information on the many benefits and programs available to NASA members. While participating at events, all NASA members are covered by an extensive insurance policy, which includes General Liability, Accidental Death and Dismemberment, and Excess Medical coverage. Best of all, membership is only $45. Refer to www.nasaproracing.com for member information.

NASA Thanks Our Partners
NASA would like to thank its National sponsors for their continued support:  Toyo Tires, Mazda, Hawk Performance, Winding Road Racing, Millers Oils, and GoPro.  We also want to thank MAZDASPEED, Honda Performance Development (HPD), Nissan, and Ford Motor Company for supporting our members.  We greatly appreciate those companies that offer our racers contingency support, including Toyo Tires, AIM Sports, AST Suspension, BFGoodrich, Ford Racing, Maxxis Tires, Traqmate, Hawk Performance, Honda Performance Development (HPD), Hoosier Racing Tire, Injector Pulse, MAZDASPEED, Nissan, Frozen Rotors, Rossini Race Engines, Spec Clutches, Sampson Racing Communications, Winding Road Racing, and Yokohama.  NASA competitors can also get discounts from Millers Oils, Mazda, Honda Performance Development, FR.Sport, Jongbloed Racing Wheels, Promotive, Racing Fire Systems, Ford Performance Racing School, Tire Stickers, Fuel Safe, Avis, Konig, Winding Road Racing.
 
NASA at a Glance
* NASA was founded in 1991 on the premise of providing motorsport competition programs that allow owners of both racecars and high-performance street-driven vehicles to enjoy the full-performance capabilities of their cars in a safe and controlled environment.
 
* NASA has over 14,000 members in 15 regions.
 
* Key events include the Eastern States Championships at Watkins Glen International Sept. 23-25;  NASA Western States Championships at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Oct. 13-16, 2016 and the season culminating NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill, Dec. 3-4 presented by Hawk Performance.
 
* The NASA National Championships will run 31 race classes and nine Time-Trial classes during the event.
 
* NASA runs over 150 events each year encompassing over 250 races, including the association's Rally Sport and Time-Trial program.
 
* Manufacturer partners include MAZDASPEED, Honda Performance Development (HPD), Nissan and Ford Racing.
 
* NASA Management: Jerry Kunzman, Executive Director; Ryan Flaherty, National Chairman; Jeremy Croiset, Director of Business Development; Dave Ho, Business Operations Manager.
 
Follow NASA
Internet:         nasaproracing.com
Facebook:     National Auto Sport Association
Twitter:          nasaproracing
Instagram:     nasaracing

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