Million, Palomar Racing Win NASA SoCal ST5 Rd.10 at Willow Springs
Rosamond, CA | May 22nd, 2022
Palomar Racing driver Matt Million took the qualifying race and main race win in the Super Touring 5 (ST5) category during the Round 10 of the 2022 NASA SoCal ST5 Championship at Willow Springs. The 30-minute race ran on Sunday, May 22nd while a 20-minute qualifying race preceded in the morning. Million’s teammate Nik Romano took a commanding ST5 win as well in the #25 BMW E36 during the Saturday race one day prior. This was the 6th win of the season between Million and Romano in 10 rounds.
Million started the Sunday qualifying race on ST5 pole from six entries courtesy of Romano’s Saturday win. The 20-minute race was frantic as the ST5 class started directly behind the large ST4 field, with Million and others battling through the ST4 competitors. Million quickly regained his lead after a brief stint in second and built up a gap. A full-course yellow was deployed for a stalled car and a busy restart ensued. Million maintained the lead and would start pole for the main race
The 30-minute main race took place at 4:00pm local with high winds. Million took an early lead and rapidly passed 4-5 ST4 class cars ahead. Soon, a small electrical malfunction with the ABS unit caused the pace to temporary drop and Million fell to second. After remedying the issue, Million regained ABS performance and quickly regained the ST5 lead. Swift moves in passing two more ST4 cars built the gap Million needed to bring home the win.
Million’s next event with the team will be June 11-12th at Auto Club Speedway for the next rounds of NASA SoCal ST5 as well as the 3rd round of NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship. The 4-hour endurance race is scheduled for the evening of June 11th.
The ‘Palomar Racing E2/ST5 Challenge’ would not be possible without the following partners; Palomar Solar, Swift Springs, Motion Control Suspension, Toyo Tires, BimmerWorld, ApexRaceParts.com, FastSideways, Hawk Performance, Frozen Rotors, Enphase, and others.
Look for Matt Million’s ‘June Update’ to be published soon.