The 1st ever 944 Spec National Championship unfolded over four beautiful
days at the scenic and challenging Mid - Ohio Raceway.

While there were only two cars by racetime, Bill & I were determined to make a good showing, and also double stint with the 944 Cup classes as well.
Eric Kuhns set the pace initially in his VFC Engineering sponsored
car, with Bill Comat in the beautiful blue Mantis Sport built car literally following closely.

The 1st qualifying race was somewhat of a bust with Eric still filling out the body contact form he earned in the Cup race, and Bill missing the start entirely.

Eric got in his car while the field was on it's pace lap, and entered at the end of the pace lap, looking to slot in behind Bill, who was nowehere to be found on the track. Eric ended up starting dead last in the GTS field, but gained some good passing experience working his way through slower traffic at the end of the GTS grid before the short sprint race was over.

Saturday brought another nice day, and sprint race. This time Bill worked his magic through traffic. Eric was left left struggling with a suddenly tail-happy 944, and eventually went off in turn 1 on the last lap. BIll then cruised to an easy victory. In an interesting twist, Bill also went off on the last lap, on the second to last turn, unbeknownst to Eric, who just motored around in cool - down mode after his spin earlier that lap. Another rookie error - never assume the race is lost!

Sunday's main event also dawned to cool, racing-friendly weather with blue skies.

Both cars were gridded at the end of the GTS field. Eric got a great start and was able to pass a half dozen cars on the 1st lap, with his oversteering issues successsfully quelled by some heroic work by VFC Engineering.

Bill soon caught up, however, and the chase was on. After many laps of close racing, a 944 spun in front of Eric in the Carousel, making for a near miss, and a very light collision betweeen Bill and Eric. The next events proved controversial, as Bill went off immediately following this, having attempted an outside pass in the next turn. Showing some great car control, he rejoined the pavement only losing about about 3-4 car lengths. However, Bill did spin at the next corner, and Eric finished the remainder of the race unthreated. Bill did turn in the fastest time of the weekend on the Toyo tires at a 1:42.7, which appears to be a new track record for a 944 Spec car.

Both Bill and Eric placed respectably, with Eric pressuring the 2nd place
944 before eventually finishing 4th, with Bill 5th.