SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT: MATT Million Joins Palomar Racing for NASA WERC E2 & ST5 Championships
Escondido, CA - January 2022
Matt Million will join Palomar Racing as a driver in their NASA ST5/E2 program which will see full-season competition in both NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship’s (WERC) E2 category and the NASA SoCal Super Touring 5 (ST5) series.
#25 Palomar Racing BMW E36 ST5/E2
The #25 BMW E36 we will run is being developed to the combined ST5/E2 ruleset. Sharing sprint and endurance driver duties with me is Nik Romano and Nico DeCuzzi. Palomar Racing is owned and operated by Andy Anderson, Mike Anderson, and Kevin Desirello with our crew chief being Blair Geil. The team is located in Escondido, California and is primarily supported by Palomar Solar and Roofing. This is Palomar Racing’s first championship outside vintage racing in VARA, SVRA, Rolex Reunion, CSRG, etc.
In addition to the NASA WERC and E2 campaigns will be entry into the 2022 NASA National Championships at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in September. The team is currently developing a second, identically prepared #24 BMW E36 with hopes to enter two cars in the ST5 championship events and possibly in Monday’s WERC 6.5 hour event. The crowning endurance event of our year will be the 2022 NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill which takes place at Thunderhill Raceway each December. All of the year’s lessons learned will be utilized and applied here!
To give context on how it came together; serendipity, timing, and fitment! It was during last October’s NASA WERC Buttonwillow 3 Hour when I met these gentlemen. Through mutual friend and crew chief Blair connecting us, they became the pit crew for GOneppo Racing in the race Peter Oneppo and I took 1st and secured our 2021 NASA WERC E2 championship. Unaware to me at the time, they were putting together a serious effort for next season and I happened to leave the right impression. Nik Romano, friend and teammate this season, had been working with them to put a 2022 ST5/E2 program in place and reached out to me about the opportunity.
This is my first opportunity as a truly ‘sponsored’ driver and it definitely raises the personal importance, along with yet another realization that my racing career journey is headed in an encouraging direction. It’s also special to represent a significant local business this season with the team’s headquarters located only a few miles away!
Our 2022 mission is a natural fit and progression for both my racing career and this awesome, motivated small team. I’m honored to contribute my abilities to Palomar Racing’s campaign. Thank you to Andy and Nik especially for entrusting me with the task of racing for you in 2022.
Quote from Matt Million
“To be included in Palomar Racing’s ambitious 2022 mission is an absolute privilege and I’ve immensely excited to get a season started. Our introduction was in the final NASA WERC round in last October. They helped conduct the pit stop that won GOneppo Racing and I the championship. As serendipity had it, they saw qualities in my performance they wanted in their 2022 mission and offered me the drive. I’m ready to use my passion and experience to contributing the best possible performances beginning at Willow Springs in February!
Quote from Andy Anderson
Coming soon….
You can follow Matt and Palomar Racing at the season-opening NASA Western Endurance Championship weekend at Willow Springs International Raceway from February 11-13th. The 3.5-hour race begins at 4:10 PM on Saturday, February 12th. Download the racehero.io App for live-timing and follow Matt Million and Palomar Racing’s social links to keep updated!