Race Report: Million Becomes 2022 NASA ST5 National Champion
Monterey, CA | September 15-18th, 2022
In his third straight race weekend of September, Million was ready for the first of two major events on his 2022 calendar; the NASA Championships at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Palomar Racing prepared for their first national championship weekend in a big way. After a successful weekend in the US Touring Car Championship, the team stayed at the circuit and prepared the #24 BMW E36 for Matt Million to contest ST5 (Super Touring 5) and the #25 BMW E36 for Nik Romano to compete for ST4 honors.
The NASA Championships returned to the West Coast for the first time since 2017, the same event that Million competed in his last NASA Championships when he took 3rd in Spec Miata.
Starting on Thursday, Million and team started off on the right foot. Testing was successful, ultimately ending the day with minor setup changes and a reliable car.
Friday was qualifying day. Million put in the best lap of morning warm-up to set him 1st on the grid of 5 entries for qualifying session one. The series and competitors suffered paperwork complications resulting in 4 of the 5 entries being unable to set their official qualifying time in the first session. This forced Million to run the first session, set his spot for the second qualifier, and go for his best lap in that session. He succeeded; a lap of 1:39:7 put him on pole by multiple tenths over the #8 Honda S2000 of Tommy Lo and #72x BMW E46 of Larry Moore.
Saturday was the qualifying race for each race group in attendance. At around 1pm, the ST5 class was on track for their 35-minute race. They would be on track together with Spec Z, Legends, Honda Challenge 2 & 4, and Super Touring 6. Million delivered a strong jump on the 5-car class and fought off an early challenge from the #8 entry. The race ran entirely green and developed into a short endurance race with ST5 making their way through the numerous slower classes beginning at around lap four. Million closed the race with a 25-second lead over 2nd, a gap which expanded 20 seconds in traffic. “It really did feel like an endurance race at a sprint pace! Very cool to deliver the Saturday win for Palomar Racing and can’t say enough about the consistency we’ve shown. Pulling away and clicking off laps through traffic at a 90% pace was truly a lot of fun. Looking forward to the championship race tomorrow!” Million set the fastest class race lap of a 1:39:6.
On Sunday, rain was on the forecast throughout the day. The team prepared by sourcing a set of Hoosier rain tires however they would not get used. At the time of the ST5 championship race, the track was dry and only light sprinkles were expected. Million once again led the 5-car ST5 grid from pole, set a rapid pace to build about a 5-second gap, and found a rhythm. The 45-minute length of the race meant conservation of tires, the car, and energy was important. As the lead gradually extended and Million found himself passing traffic, a full-course yellow was displayed for a stricken car. The restart occurred with about 15 minutes remaining. With the tires now past their peak, Million could do little to defend against the Legends class vehicles and fell to 2nd overall with a few second gap ahead of the #72 BMW E46 of Moore. Eventually, the leading two Legends class cars passed both leading ST5 entries. Million was quicker in some parts of the track, but would become held up from the Corkscrew to start finish. This allowed Moore to maintain a very close gap and built an exciting finish. Though, Million remained disciplined and found a compromised pace to stay behind the quick out-of-class cars and stay ahead of the #72. Million crossed the line to become 2022 NASA ST5 National Champion, a first national championship for himself and Palomar Racing. Million set the fastest race lap of a 1:40:2.
It was an extraordinary occasion. Having set their sights on this goal since last December, Palomar Racing had achieved a major milestone with Million. The podium celebrations ensued with Million atop the podium in between both Magic Develop BMW E46 drivers of #72 Larry Moore and #73 Tony Domenici. The Magic Developed team had pushed Palomar Racing to be on their A-game for the recent months. A well admired team, Million and his crew share a lot of respect for Magic Developed and the competition they brought.
Matt Million wants to thank the entire Palomar Racing team and their partners for the utmost commitment to himself this season. He dedicates this championship to team personnel Andy, Nik, Blair, Kevin, Mike, David, Dawson, Manny, Sonny, Ryan, and others who have helped along the way. This achievement would not be possible without the backing of Palomar Solar and Roofing.
The ‘Palomar Racing 2022 Challenge’ is supported by BimmerWorld, Apex Race Parts, Red Line Synthetic Oil, PFC Brakes, Rugged Radios, AGA Tools, FastSideways, Swift Springs, Motion Control Suspension, KinematicSpeed, Enphase Energy, Toyo Tires, StopTech, Panasonic Solar US, and Frozen Rotors.
Million’s next race will be at Buttonwillow Raceway for NASA SoCal ST5 and NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship on October 8-9th. Priority will be on Round 6 of 6 in the NASA WERC season, a 4.5 hour race into the darkness. Palomar Racing enters the event with a healthy lead in E2 and hopes to secure their first title there.
Look for Matt Million’s ‘September Update’ to be published by the end of this month. Visit ‘Photos’ to view more pictures from the event.