With the growth of 944 spec around the country you may wonder as what does it take to win?  Do you need some amazing car towed by a 40 ft motorhome and 5 man pit crew.   Well while a 40 ft motorhome certainly makes the experience nice, driver skill not the size of the tow rig is what works in 944 spec.

Case in point Mr Norman Hamden.   Norm hails from Sedona Arizona and is known as one of the fastest 944 spec drivers in the country.  The biggest race of the 2008 season for many west coast racers was held at Miler Motorsport Park just outside Salt Lake City Utah this June.  So in an era of $4 a gallon regulay unleaded and $5 a gallon diesel how does a grassroots racer make the biggest race of the year on a budget?

Well simply DRIVE THE RACE CAR!  The 20 mpg tow vehicle.

Norm drove his race car some 600+ miles each way to Miller from his Sedona home.  As for how this impacts on track performance.  Norm had 1 win, 1 track record and 1 second place finish vs 25 of the best 944 spec racers in the country.  Not too bad I guess.

944 Spec Drivers had a banner weekend at Road America, with 5 cars in the Sprint Race, and 3 cars in the 3 hour enduro, which all the cars finished! Once again, 944 Spec drivers showed speed and sportsmanship, with no car to car contact - making it a clean season with 4 rookie drivers.

Satuday started with our rookie drivers finding their lines around Autobahn's South Course in the wet. By race time, it mercifully dried up. Eric jumped out to an early lead, with Ray working hard on the cars in between, and Angel & Jeff making chase. BJ, lost the a bolt out of the linkage early on, but got it together for the enduro later the same day. Angel got close to Ray with some traffic, but couldn't quite get by. Eric stayed out front for his first win this year - ending Ray's streak.

BJ "assumes the position" (BJ's our transmission expert

For the 3 hour enduro, the 944 Spec crew welcomed Roy Lippen, who normally drives a GTS-2 M3. Eric joined Angel Blasquez in a friendly reunion with his old car. BJ & Rob drove their shared car for the final entry. Our 944's were able to post lap times faster than the winning E2 class cars, but need to work on our pit stops and consistancy a bit to improve our finishing positions, but watch out at Road America!

Sunday the overnight rain dried up a again, and Ray was back in winning form with Eric sidelined with mechanical issues. Angel pulled even closer, but Ray was able to turn it up enough to stay ahead. Jeff again got "into the money" with his second 3rd place finish for the weekend. Angel was also consistent with two second place finishes. BJ had some fueling issues that left him down on power, but able to finish  the race.

Everyone agreed the enduro was a blast - and help our drivers home their skills a great deal - lap times fell a bunch from Saturday (pre-enduro) and Sunday (post Enduro).

In a new development, Robyn Hillman of VFC has extended her hospitality to 944 Spec Drivers & family providing free lunch, drinks, and snacks - thanks VFC!

With another clean weekend in the bag, and more new drivers joining us for Road America next week, NASA's 944 Spec is rapidly growing into a premier driver's series.

Rounds 1 & 2 of NorCal 944-SPEC's 2008 CASH race series was held at Infineon raceway on June 28th and 29th.  The race weekend feature some real hard fought battles, a five position loss by one of the lead cars in the last lap, a terrible crash and the combined sigh of relief the driver was O.K.

The 2008 Summer Jam at Miller Motorsports Park marked the first multi-region crossover in NASA 944-SPEC. Drivers from five NASA regions came from as far as 1300 miles to participate in this first annual 944-SPEC super crossover event. The event was held at the amazing new Miller Motorsports Park and hosted by the Rocky Mountain NASA region. In attendance were racers from all five of the major 944-SPEC regions most new to the fast corners and long straights that make up the 4.5 miles super smooth racing surface. Friday was scheduled as a test day using the fast flowing 3.0 mile outer course. With four 30 minute practice session and 20 minute late day fun race there was plenty of time to get a feel for the course and used to new competition.