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Davidson Racing Leads NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill
presented by Hawk Performance at Six Hour Mark
Rain is in the forecast
WILLOWS, Calif. (Dec. 5, 2015) - Officially 58 cars took the green flag for the start of the 13th running of the 2015 NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill presented by Hawk Performance today at 11 a.m.
The
No. 17 Davidson Racing Norma, last year's overall winner, has led the
race from the start. They nearly gave up the lead four hours in when the
NASA officials called them to pit lane to serve a 10-minute penalty for
passing under yellow. This allowed the second place runner, ES Class
No. 45 Audi of Flying Lizards, to make up four laps and get on the same
lap as the 17. At six-hours it is the 17 out front with rain expected by
2 a.m.
"I
had a good start to the race," said Brian Frisselle. "It opened up for
me and I was able to take the lead. I then settled into a pace and was
able run pretty comfortably upfront. We had to take a 10-minute penalty
when Kyle Marcelli passed under yellow, which erased the few laps lead
we had, but we are back to running upfront. Everything is going great
with 17 car."
In ES the No. 45 Flying Lizard Audi is one lap behind the leading Davidson Norma.
"I
did a double stint, I was second in the car," said Tomonobu Fuji.
"There were three caution periods during my stint, so it was a little
crazy. The Toyo Tire is really good here. My stint was very consistent
thanks to a good car, good tire and good crew. There is always traffic
out there, so you have to really pay attention. We ran in the rain on Thursday and the car was good on the Toyo rain tire so we are ready."
In E0 the No. 61 RoadShagger Racing BMW leads the class.
"It
is going very well we are leading our class," Gavin Ernstone said. "We
had some issues yesterday. We were a little disappointed qualifying
fourth, but we have progressively moved into the lead. We have had good
driving and good pit work and everything is going according to plan. The
rain will add some excitement and bring out a different level of
driving talent."
 In the E1 Class, the No. 14 Technik HQ Autosport/Active PDF BMW is at the front.
"The
start was really, really good," said Peter Hopelain. "We picked up four
positions by Turn 1 on the first lap. We then settled into a pace and
were running good. On lap 10 I had a prototype come up on me and I had
to go off the track and that put us back about 30-seconds. We changed up
our strategy a little. We fell back to fifth, went back into the lead
and we are strategically placing our car forward. I want to thank our
sponsors Active PDF and Ocean Side Motorsports. They have done a stellar
job giving us a great driving car. Without those two companies we would
not be here."
 The E2 Class is being led by the No. 34 Mazda RX8 of RDR Racing.
"So
far so good, we really haven't had much drama," Robert Davis, team
owner said. "We are leading with the RX8 and the new Mazda Miata MX-5
Cup cars are a little over classed. We are fighting amongst ourselves
with those. This race is a whole season of the MX-5 Cup series. We have
about 900 miles on the cars so far with no issues. The rain keeps
getting pushed back, so we will see how it goes."
 In E3 it is the No. 13 SP Racing Miata in the lead.
"The
first stint was challenging with all of the traffic out there," Hernan
Palermo said. "I had a little issue and had to come in and do a fast
front end alignment. I hope to see some rain that can only help us."
In the new NP01 car, CLP Motorsports continues to lead.
"The start of the race was good," Tyler McQuarie said. "We didn't get
involved in anyone's mistakes. We have struggled with axles a little,
but I think we have it figured it out. The car is running pretty good
right now. We did a few laps in the rain during the test day. We made
some set-up changes anticipating the rain and I think they will put me
in to slide it around when it gets wet."
25 Hours of Thunderhill presented by Hawk Performance information:
Professional
drivers listed on the entry include: Al Unser Jr., Ryan Eversley, Kyle
Marcelli, Randy Pobst, Burt Frisselle, Brian Frisselle, Dion von Moltke,
Mike Skeen, Colin Braun, Kurt Busch, Johannes van Overbeek, Guy Cosmo,
Darren Law, Joel Miller, Tommy Sadler, Sean Rayhall, Darren Law, Tyler
McQuarie, Kelly Collins, Taz Harvey, Jeremy Croiset, Will Faules, etc.
The
NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill presented by Hawk Performance will see a
field of 63 cars racing in seven classes (ES, ESR, E0, E1, E2, E3, NP01)
going twice around the clock plus an hour over the 2.86-mile, 15-turn
track located 90-minutes north of Sacramento.
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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, 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, MAZDASPEED, Nissan, Jongbloed
Racing Wheels, Bimmerworld, Frozen Rotors, Optic Armor, Neo Motorsports,
Spec Clutches, Driven Racing Oil, Altronics Inc., ANZE Suspension, GT
Radial Tire, Tilton, Racefab Inc., Sampson Racing Communications and
Yokohama. NASA competitors can also get discounts from Mazda, Maxxis
Tires, Racing Fire Systems, Ford Performance Racing School,Fuel Safe,
Vehiport, APR Performance, Avis, Cruise America, Eibach Springs, Exedy,
Fastbrakes, Konig, The Mid-Ohio School, Konig, Molecule, Red Line Oil,
Winding Road Racing, Torco, TPIS, Porterfield and Monster Clutch.
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 16 regions.
* Key events include the NASA Western Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, July 31 - Aug. 2; the Eastern Championships at Virginia International Raceway Sept. 4-6 and the season culminating NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill, Dec. 5-6.
* The NASA National Championships will run 36 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, Will Faules, National Event
Manager.
Follow NASA
Facebook: National Auto Sport Association
Twitter: nasaproracing
Instagram: nasaproracing
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