Shed Racing joined
Miller Motorsports
for
NASA’s three
hour enduro at
Sears Point Raceway.
The car for this event was the new MM #98 Spec
Miata. The plan was to shake down the new car and get some
practice in for the upcoming
25
Hours of Thunderhill effort.
Marcus helps Tom strap in, while Ron
checks the car
Marcus Miller, Scott Miller, Tom Aiken and Ron Swett shared the
driving, with Scott Neville acting as crew chief. Scott Lipton,
Bob Wils, Jason Hammons, Robert and Mary Miller all showed up to
help out.
Looking on during practice.
(L-R)Bob Wils, Scott Lipton, Tom Aiken, Scott Neville
The enduro was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, with a lunchtime
practice session scheduled. Tom, Ron, and Jason arrived and
helped prep the car, and got ready for the practice session. The
practice session was only scheduled for 20 minutes, but the plan was to
try and cycle three drivers through in that short time to give all the
drivers some time to familiarize themselves with the car before the
race, and give the team a chance to practice driver changes.
Marcus went out first for practice, while the other drivers and crew
waited in the hot pits in front of the grandstand. After turning
two laps, Marcus hit pit road, and Tom got behind the wheel. Tom
also drove the car for two laps before turning the Miata over to Ron to
finish the session. Both driver changes took just over a minute.
Ron takes the checkered at the end of
practice
After the Driver’s meeting, the crew set up the pit box at the far end
of pit road. NASA took a very scientific approach to
setting the starting grid order, lining up the cars in order of their
pit stalls. The pit stall choice put the team near the tail
end of the grid for the green flag, starting 45th of 48 cars
entered.
Ron ready to go
The purpose of entering the race was to practice fuel stops and driver
changes for the 25 hour race, so driving stints were shortened.
The intent was not to minimize time in the pits, but to maximize seat
time in the new car for each driver, and work out the kinks in pit
procedures now, so things will run smoothly when it matters, in the 25
Hours of Thunderhill.
Tom straps Ron in while Jason
fuels. Marcus and Robert Miller look on.
Marcus started the race, and drove clean for the first stint. On
the 18th lap, Marcus hit pit road having moved the
team up to 41st place overall, 11th in class. The first pit stop
was a driver change only, with Tom taking over the driving duties after
a 1:19 delay.
Bob kept the lap time plot for the
entire 3 hour race.
Tom continued the teams advance up the leader board, moving the #98
Miata up to 30th overall, 10th in class when he hit pit road on lap
35. The mid-race pit stop involved a driver change to Scott
Miller, Robert Miller and Marcus checked the oil, Jason added 4.5
gallons of fuel, and Scott hit the track 1:52 later.
Jason ready for the last fuel stop,
in Tom's Helmet and Marcus's suit.
Scott continued to improve the team standings, advancing to 26th
overall, 8th in class when his stint was over on lap 56. Jason
again fueled the car while Ron took over the driving duties, leaving
the pits 2:18 later.
Ron Took the checkered flag on lap 75, finishing the race 26th overall,
8th in class, 18 Laps back from the overall winner. Best time of
the race was 2:08.402, turned in my Marcus in lap 11.
