Napa Valley, CA - (February 5, 2016)
NASA competitor and Regional Director Dave
Balingit, has been appointed as the National Series Leader for NASA's Prototype
series. Balingit will concentrate on
growing the series from the twenty-three cars currently purchased to several
hundred, and will assist Jeremy Croiset, NASA director of Business Development, with management of the NASA Prototype series.
"My first task to ensure a smooth and
growing program is to keep gathering feedback from competitors.” Balingit said.
“I’ve always had good relationships with fellow racers and I look forward to
being the main line of communication between the teams and the NASA National
Leadership."
The NASA Prototype is a new classification to NASA,
expanding their history of affordable local racing into purpose built prototype
style race cars. The NASA Prototype class is built around the new Élan NP01
designed from the ground up to be quick and great looking - but more
importantly, safe, reliable and inexpensive to race. Beginning in 2016, the
NASA Prototype Series will visit many of the country’s greatest racing venues
with an innovative rules package focused on affordability, equal competition,
and driving ability.
As with the other NASA Series Leaders,
Balingit will be an active racer in the class. Balingit and his wife Revkah
purchased a new Élan NP01 last September after test driving the Élan NP01
demonstration car. They took delivery of the kit in mid January and opted to go
the route of building the car from the ground up to gain a deep understanding
of the vehicle. They are nearly complete with the build and plan to race it at
NASA Texas in mid March.
Balingit has been
involved in road racing his entire life and joined NASA in 1994. He has raced
and also has been an HPDE instructor and a Race Director for the blossoming
organization. After moving from California to Colorado, Balingit and his wife
launched the Rocky Mountain Region in 2005 and have grown the program from 40
cars on its first competition weekend to several hundred at current events.
Balingit also served as the Event Director for the NASA National Championships
in 2009 and 2010 when the event was held at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. Many
in the Texas area may also recognize Balingit as the interim Regional Director
for Texas from 2011 to 2014.
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.
About the NASA
Prototype Élan NP01
The Élan
NP01 is unlike anything currently available in motor racing. With a complete
kit price of just $72,500, the affordable new racecar features a closed cockpit
design for increased driver protection. The Élan
NP01 has an estimated dry weight of just 1,450 lbs. and boasts an estimated top
track speed of 155 mph. The Élan NP01 is
powered by a sealed 185-horsepower, two-liter Mazda power plant mated to a
six-speed Sadev sequential gearbox. More information about NASA's new NASA
Prototype Series and the Élan NP01 is
available at www.NasaPrototype.com
and ElanMotorsports.com.