This weekend, June 7th, NASA will host the 6-Hours of Buttonwillow Presented by AEM. The inaugural six-hour endurance race will take place on Saturday at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in preparation of NASA's 25 Hours of Thunderhill event, which will be held on December 5th and 6th. The event will kick off at noon, complete with a live band, award presentation, and BBQ. Please join the festivities for a great day of racing and fun.
Josh Richards, a rising 20-year-old star from Shinnston, W.Va., followed veteran Chub Frank for most of the race, waiting for "Chubzilla" to make a mistake. The opportunity came on lap 44 of the 50-lap feature when Frank went to the bottom of the track to try and block Richards' advance. Richards drove around the outside exiting turn 4 to grab the lead and the win.
"That was one of the most fun I've had racing in awhile. My hat is off to the crew...they worked hard in the shop this week. They put a new rearend, new transmission and new engine in this car and it paid off," said Richards beside his Mark Richards Racing Enterprises/Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket No. 1.
"This was an awesome race track...it suits the way I like to drive," added Richards of the World of Outlaws first ever appearance at "Ohio's Finest Racing" speedplant.
Richards earned $10,150 for his eighth career triumph on the WoO LMS. He became the second repeat winner in 10 tour events this season, joining four-time victor Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark. The driver also completed a clean sweep of the night's action. Earlier in the program he set fast time in qualifying with a lap of 14.587 seconds and won his heat race.
"It was just a great night," said Richards, whose previous WoO LMS win this season came in the tour's opener on Feb. 14 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. "We worked hard all week - until midnight a couple nights - trying to get this car dialed in and ready to go. We've been experimenting the last couple weeks, and we decided to get back to just bone-stock, old stuff, and it worked out for us all night."
The FormulaD Round Two event at Road Atlanta marked the fifth time the series has competed on this track, and was the home of the first FormulaD event ever held. True to form, the action was intense and the results indicate that this will likely be the most exciting season in FD history. The Rockstar/AEM team fought hard, with Tanner notching the #1 Qualifier position and Steph qualifying for eliminations at the #10 spot in the unseeded field.
FOXY'S RESULTS
Tanner was third in points going into Atlanta after his finish in Long Beach, and with the level of competition seen at Round One it was evident to the team that every round will be critical to repeat a championship in 2008. The team changed gearing in the Z several times during practice rounds to ensure the car had the best combination of drivability and wheel speed. The work paid off with Tanner securing the #1 Qualifier position with a 94 MPH entry speed.
Tanner advanced past the 32-car round and faced Kenji Yamanaka and his Signal/Maziora S14 Silvia. Kenji put forth a good battle considering the power his car was making, but he was unable to hang with the Rockstar/AEM Z's 500+ ponies when following, giving Tanner the advantage in the first tandem round.
Tanner faced Ryan Tuerck and his Gardella/Mobil 1 Solstice In the Great 8 Round. After leading the first run Tanner had a 9-7 point advantage on Ryan, meaning he didn't need to push too hard when following to advance to the Final 4 Round. Commented Tanner, "I gave him space on the straight knowing that the sticky Toyo tires would allow me to catch up, but I actually underestimated the grip of the Z and ended up door-to-door with Ryan by the end of the first corner." Tanner backed off to avoid hitting him during the transition, but he put the back wheels of the Z onto the un-swept marbles at Road Atlanta and the car continued to float until the rear tires touched the grass. It was only for a moment and Tanner was able to reel Ryan back in, but according to FormulaD rules, if two tires go off the track it equates to a zero-point run. Although Tanner did not advance to the Final Four round, his efforts at Road Atlanta kept him in the third overall position in the series a mere 10 points off the lead.
"It was disappointing that we were unable to advance but we have to honor the rules. We are happy to maintain our position in the overall standings though, and we know we are going to have to work very hard to repeat," noted Tanner.
BIG PAPA'S RESULTS
Steph came out of the gates strong in un-seeded qualifying, notching a #10 qualifier with an 85-point run to advance to eliminations. Although he did not advance to tandem rounds, he finished 22nd overall in the event and his position in the series continues to improve.
"It was a smooth weekend overall," stated Steph. "It's always fun to compete on a racecourse, and we got a break when Chris (Forsberg) and Sam (Hubinette) went out early, which helped keep us atop the standings. It was also really good to see Rhys back out and we congratulate him on the win! We head to Englishtown, New Jersey for the next event and I have raced well there in the past, although it was on the drag strip. Hopefully some of that old E-Town magic will appear for me again this year."
FAST FACTS
Road Atlanta was where the first FormulaD event was held and this is the fifth time the series has competed there...both cars have qualified for eliminations in 2008...the team has three top 5 qualifiers (one seeded 1st & 4th, one unseeded 5th) and a third place finish this season...Tanner is 10 points off the current series leader and both Rockstar/AEM drivers are ranked in the top 30 series competitors...the next event is at the World-famous Englishtown Raceway on June 13-14 and is the first time FD has held an event there...
The Rockstar/AEM drift team is sponsored by Toyo Tires, Motegi Racing Wheels, Tokico Gas Shocks, Advanced Clutch Technology (ACT), Specialty Products Company (SPC), ChargeSpeed and C-West.
With a stellar start to the 2008 Championship Off Road Racing (CORR) season, Carl Renezeder heads to Las Vegas International Off Road Raceway in Primm, Nevada this weekend with a positive outlook. Wins in both Pro-4 rounds in Pomona just three weeks ago put him twenty points ahead of the class, and a runner-up and third place finish in Pro-2 has him just 18 points behind leader, Rob MacCachren, in second place.
"It's a 15-race series, so we know we have to make each one count," commented Renezeder after the opening weekend. "I take my competition very seriously. If we make even a small mistake, there are several guys right there that will capitalize on it."
Renezeder relies on a top-rate crew, led by crew chief, Mike Seat, to build and prep trucks that are not only fast, but durable. Seat has proven his worth over and over, helping lead the team to three championships in the past three years, 15 CORR wins in 2007 alone and, just as importantly, very few DNFs.
"My crew is amazing," continued Renezeder. "I love being able to get into my race trucks knowing that all I have to do is focus on my job of driving. They take all of the other factors out of the equation, and that's comforting."
RICHMOND, CA - April 22, 2008.
The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) is pleased to announce that AEM will offer a generous $12,000 in gift certificate rewards to the top finishers at the 3rd annual NASA Championship event at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course on September 11-14th, 2008.
"We really can't wait for the NASA Championships this year," said Greg Neuwirth, AEM President. "We will be participating in the Honda Challenge series at the Championship event this year and we wanted to come up with a program that would benefit the largest number of potential customers at the event. I think this program fits the bill and we hope to give away a large amount of gift certificate money in conjunction with this program. We'll see everyone at the championship event!"
The contingency program will award drivers with a gift certificate reward of $100 for first, $100 for fifth, and $100 for tenth. The award program will apply to all classes at the Championship event. Competitors must display the required AEM decals (available from AEM) on each side of their vehicle during competition and they must utilize one of the following items:
+ AEM EMS
+ AEM Intake System
+ AEM Digital Gauges (Must have at least any 2)
+ AEM Fuel / Ignition Controller (F/IC)
+ AEM Water/Methanol Injection System
Competitors are only eligible to collect 1 award for the Championship weekend. Each competitor will be required to complete and submit a contingency claim form to receive their award.
