NorCal SpecE30 March Race Wrap Up Infineon Raceway
written by Scott Neville
April 2010
Another great weekend of racing. 17 SE30 starters on Saturday and 15 on Sunday. Plus a new Infineon track record for SE30 (and it wasn't you-know-who with the initials D.E.!) We were not incident free but all-in-all body contact was kept to a minimum within our class and everyone came home safe. We did have a significant incident with an out-of-class GTS car that was late to pregrid and tried to work through our standing start on Sunday. The GTS car collected the B&W Racing #68 SE30 just before Turn 1. The offending driver was suspended from racing in NASA until next season. Pretty serious stuff and we're glad that Jim Bucha walked away unhurt. The #68 car will be with us at Thunderhill according to Dean Walker the other half of B&W.
Saturday's pole (1:58. 544) was set by Kevin Nichols who really improved his performance since the last time he raced here. Second was Steve Ferrario with a 1:58.629 and third was Scott Neville with a 1:58.727. The standing start saw Steve Ferrario get the jump on Kevin. Steve led the race flag to flag with Kevin in close pursuit. Kevin finished 3 seconds behind Steve and Scott Neville took third 7 seconds behind the leader. Tony Zwain had managed to pass Scott for third position mid-way during the race but spun his car on the exit to turn 2 giving back the third podium spot to Scott. Scott was chased hard by Scott Clough and Brad McClure.
Sunday saw Tony Zwain setting pole with a bilstering (at least for a SE30) 1:58.329. Steve Ferrario took 2nd place in qualifying with a 1:57.683 and Greg Peterson third with a 1:57.771. Sixteen E30s qualified on Sunday and only 3.3 seconds seperated pole position to sixteeth postion. Sunday's race finish mirrored the qualyfing line up with Tony taking first, Steve in second and Greg third. Steve set a new track for Infineon (regular Turn 7 configuration) with a 1:57.641 chasing Tony.
The Evil Genius Hard Charger $100 Cash Award for NorCal SpecE30 went to Kevin Nichols of Team Roadrunner Racing. Kevin earned the award with his performance over the weekend capturing Saturday's pole in a 17-car field and finishing in 2nd place only 3 seconds behind the winner Steve Ferrario (the 2009 SE30 National Runner up Champion). Kevin qualified 7th on Sunday in a 15-car field with a personal best time of 1:58.284 nearly 2 seconds faster than his previous outing at Infineon in February 2010. He maintained his qualifying position and finished 7th in Sunday's race. Kevin is one of NorCal SpecE30's best ambassadors and his company, Nichols Wealth Management, is a NorCal SpecE30 contributor. Congratulations Kevin!
The Exedy Clutch Gift Card went to Greg Peterson in a random draw of car numbers The Dr. Injector Free Injector Cleaning (worth $140) went to Gary Rieger (we picked before the race the 6th place finisher for Saturday's race for this award) The two Dr. Injector $50 off certificates went to Greg Peterson and Team BTM Motorwerks based on random draw finishing postions for Sunday. The fine Central Coast wine, donated by Nichols Wealth Management, went to the driver on Saturday who had the best gain between qualifying postion and finishing postion. That bottle went to Greg Peterson (17th to 9th). For Sunday a random finishing position draw (9th place) had Bennett McMicking taking home the second bottle of wine. The AIM Tire $100 gift certificate went the driver or team finishing in 13th position in Sunday's race. The recipient of the AIM Tire award was Derek Welch.
MyLaps event results can be found here.
In-car videos of the event can be found here.
Saturday's Race Pregrid Line Up 17 SE30 Starters Lined Up to Race
Scott Neville Photo
Saturday's Pole Sitter Kevin Nichols Team Road Runner Racing
HeadOnPhotos
Saturday's Sprint Race Winner and New Infineon Lap Record Holder Steve Ferrario
HeadOnPhotos
Sunday's Pole Sitter and Sprint Race Winner Tony Zwain of Team SpeedTrapp Racing
HeadOnPhotos
The Evil Genius Hard Charger Winner Kevin Nichols accepts a fistfull of Andy J's from NorCal SpecE30 Regional Coordinator Scott Neville
Scott Neville Photo
Greg Peterson won the Exedy Clutch Gift Certificate in a random draw of car numbers
Scott Neville Photo
Gary Rieger won the Dr. Injector $140 Gift Certificate for Injector Cleaning (random draw car numbers)
Scott Neville Photo
Scott Neville (L) presents a Dr Injector gift certificate to Greg Peterson (R) (random draw car numbers)
Scott Neville Photo
Team BTM Motorwerks (Andy Chittum and Brad McClure) won a Dr. Injector gift certificate (random draw car numbers)
Scott Neville Photo
Kevin Nichols (Nichols Wealth Management) presents a bottle of fine Central Coast wine to Bennett McMicking (random draw win)
Scott Neville Photo
Kevin Nichols (Nichols Wealth Management) presents a bottle of fine Central Coast wine to Greg Peterson who had the biggest gain between qual and race finishing positions.
Scott Neville Photo
Saturday's SE30 Winners (L to R) , Kevin Nichols, Steve Ferrario and Scott Neville
NASA Norcal Photo
Sunday's SE30 Winners (L to R) , Steve Ferrario, Tony Zwain, Greg Peterson
NASA Norcal Photo
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