Matt Million’s Winter Update: 25 Hours of Thunderhill Retrospective
San Marcos, CA | December 2022
…And cut! My 2022 journey with Palomar Racing has officially come to a conclusion.
In this Winter Update, a comprehensive dive into my perspective of our NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill experience. If you are reading this through my email reports, click here to view the entire article on my website. Since these blogs tend to run long, I have to shorten the email versions.
Included here will be a lot of personal commentary, the storylines of our event, numerous fantastic images, and… the push! It was a unique position to help guide Palomar Racing’s first twice-around-the-clock endurance race as their most experienced driver in this event. A sense of confidence… while also a sense of responsibility to lead and assist wherever possible.
A quick ‘year-in-review’ section will also be included in a separate article. It will be a fun look backwards into what has been the busiest year of my racing career.
To be effectively ‘hired’ as a professional to help lead the Palomar Racing team into their first season of club racing has been a very meaningful time period in my life and I’m grateful. It has not only added to my motorsport resume, it has taught me skills in car development, people management, marketing and promotion, and lots more that any young professional racing driver would dream of.
Thank you for reading and supporting my journey!
MY STORY
A quick bio; my name is Matt Million, I’m a 22-year-old professional racing driver and recent college graduate San Marcos, California. I’ve been racing since the age of five spending the next eight years karting across the southwest. In 2014, I transitioned to sports cars in Spec Miata developing within the Mazda Motorsports ladder through Teen Mazda Challenge up to winning in Spec MX-5 Challenge in 2018. In 2019, I became a 25 Hours of Thunderhill class winner and in 2020 a long-held aspiration of racing touring cars in Germany was finally achieved. In 2021, I became E2 class champion in the NASA WERC series in a BMW Spec E46. For 2022, I am a full-time driver for Palomar Racing in their ‘NASA E2/ST5 Challenge’ which you can read about below and on mattmillionracing.com/home. Having recently finished my degree in Global Business at CSU San Marcos, I continue to make strides toward professional motorsport seeking the right opportunities and support.
I love sharing my racing career experiences with hopes that those who read them can find value in following my journey. Thank you for reading!
BACKGROUND
In an effort to keep this month’s update shorter, I encourage a visit to mattmillionracing.com to learn about my schedule and commitments.
2022 25 HOURS OF THUNDERHILL IN RETROSPECT
Willows, CA | December 2-4th, 2022
We’ll dive right into the update: 25 Hours of Thunderhill. One event that combines the preparation and intensity of an entire racing season. The amount of stories and memories it generates is always so incredible. My 2022 edition with Palomar Racing is no exception. Rewarding, memorable, humbling, and an honor to help guide this bunch through their first one.
Clinching the NASA SoCal ST5 title in November and ensuring both the cars ran smoothly after extensive maintenance, the logistics began at Palomar Racing’s home in Escondido. I forget the exact number but we had at least eight sets of tires prepared for both entries. As it turns out, 70+ tires and rims take up a lot of space. The racing hauler would have to be accompanied by a support trailer which also was to haul our ‘pit lane bridge’ structure.
Towing up the support trailer, we had a small mishap just after leaving. We left with four wheels on the trailer and about an hour in, there was three! Transferring all the contents into a U-Haul, we all made the remaining nine hours to the Northern California circuit with relative ease.
Arriving midday on Wednesday gave us the evening to prepare our canopy, our bridge, and the preliminary checks on both cars.
Expecting Thursday to be full of rain, it was a pleasant surprise to realize that all the day’s weather would pass in early morning. We got the #24 and #25 BMW E36’s on track a little past noon as seven of our eight drivers took their first laps of the week. Putting in quick laps in both E2 entered cars, the parity between them was strong. I was quite happy with the pace potential. We had a fantastic driver lineup, including my best friend and proper pro Elliott Skeer.
After the team settled into their roles on Thursday and enjoyed a lovely dinner together at the local Mexican cantina, Friday was the refinement day. The cars had to be thoroughly checked before the long race, the pit crew had to practice their roles, and the drivers would practice their choreography. We ran through the driver lineup until the team was satisfied.
The clocked ticked over to 4:15 PM signifying the start of qualifying for production classes (E0, E1, E2, and E3). With sunset at 4:30 PM, this has traditionally been one of my absolute favorite sessions of year. Beautiful orange-to-purple skies, cool air and calm winds, a brand new set of Toyo RR’s on the car, a very light fuel load, and one goal. Start tomorrow from the best position possible! I qualified the #24 searching for fastest lap whereas Nik in #25 would complete a few laps and hand off to Andrew for the remainder of the session.
Gradually I was bringing up the pace when the car wouldn’t engage 5th gear. Strange. It didn’t feel like a gearbox issue but instead something in the shifting mechanism. Then as I entered T14 about to box, a small explosion happened underneath the car and I lost all gears. “Well… hope that wasn’t the entire transmission”. Convinced something catastrophic failed, I hopped out and took off my gear. To my shock, the BIMMERSPEED crew knew what failed and repaired it within 10 minutes. Scrambling to get back on track, 20 minutes remained.
It was a nerve-wracking set of laps. The mental state to go from “the car is broken” to “set the fastest lap of the weekend” within a matter of minutes was tough. I had to forget anything happened. Lap one: “Car is healthy, quiet radio please”. Lap two: “Matt, that was pole by two tenths ahead over #72. Pit at your discretion.” Lap three: “Now four tenths ahead of #72. 1:56.9. Box this lap.” The car was healthy, the track was clean, and I found a second above any lap I managed in practice through a combination of all the factors I mentioned above. When the track state, fuel, and tires meet at an optimal point it can provide magic when you’re at the limit!
Starting order was pole for #24, 4th for the #25 car. We were split by the two extremely capable Moorewood Creative / Magic Developed #72 and #73 BMW E46 entries. The team run by Justin Ross, their program is one of immense quality in all aspects. They were the goal post when developing our program. We had 25 hours to prove who was the most capable in North America’s longest sports car race.
The weather took a turn for the worst on Saturday. Rain. And lots of it. The first wet laps of the event would be turned on the outlap! Unpredictable as this race always seems to be.
It was a tense and frantic morning getting the cars prepared, team organized, and the last touches before rolling to grid. I’d start the #24 as Nik would start the #25. The tentative strategy (if we could pull it off) was for #24 to jump ahead as the ‘hare’ as #25 would pace the two Magic Developed entries.
Another element was our tire choice. We brought fully treaded rain tires but learned late that we could use at-track tire services to ‘groove’ our Toyo RR slicks. For the intermediate conditions we would be in all day and chance of drying out into evening, this turned out to be a fantastic move.
After the usual on-grid antics, national anthem, and team photos, it was time to race. With completely new brake pads and cold tires, it was a herculean task to get everything up to temperature in the soggy wet and cold conditions. Two aggressive pace laps later, the green waved and I barreled into turn one with very limited visibility.
Writing this update a few weeks after the fact, the opening two stints were an intense blur. Our defogging system hardly worked, everything was soaked, and I was trying everything to get pace in the conditions.
Understanding my pace advantage early on as the class fell away behind, all I could think about was the plan. How far ahead could we realistically get in these conditions? I had to take full advantage of it as the rain was scheduled to subside into the evening. But for now, it was a lot of water!
It’s mentally fatiguing to push a limit in everchanging wet conditions. Unlike the dry when a driver can develop consistent flow, mastering the wet takes a different approach. One of trust and acceptance in your instincts while constantly ‘testing’ the grip and lines.
The gap to second opened to over a minute, and soon multiple minutes. I was in a very happy place. Even happier once I locked onto the tail of the E1 leading Honda TRW entry. It showed me a ‘wet line’ approach to a couple corners I hadn’t felt the need to try yet. Some of the lines were risky… but gave me a second or two better per lap! Still 20 seconds slower than dry laps however. A few laps of our AIM dash screen interfering with the rain had me nervous about electronics but luckily sorted itself out.
First pit stop was undramatic after an hour and a half. Left the box full of fuel and back into a happy place. My best laps of the opening stints soon followed. Immense flow and confidence. Lots of fun.
…Until the car began to say otherwise. The gearbox was getting progressively more difficult to shift. Not overly concerning yet, but very notable. Luckily the track was still soaked enough for shifting to ultimately not matter much. I was pulling similar times leaving it in 4th and 5th, and eventually just 5th for the majority of the lap. But I had to keep pace and moving forward, which we did.
At 3:00pm, four hours since I started the race, the #24 developed over a three lap lead over the Magic Developed entries and our sister car. The plan was working and I couldn’t be happier!
Swapping with Elliott at that pit stop, I told him about the gear difficulties but thought once he got to 4th and 5th gear, he’d be okay. What I couldn’t know was that 1st and 2nd became far worse and couldn’t engage. In a stroke a poor luck, we had to take #24 behind the wall.
The BimmerSpeed crew thrashed as fast as they could. After replacing an entire gearbox and subsequent components in a matter of minutes, the shifting issue remained. It wasn’t the gearbox. More time spent diagnosing items related to the driveline and clutch eventually located the problem area and an entire clutch had to go in. It was an issue that the car had been developing in the recent few months but we couldn’t locate it until it was too late.
It was a bummer. 40 laps down once Elliott got back on circuit. The highs and lows of motorsport. Some of which are in your control, others which are not.
The #25 was still very much in the fight however. After the #24 was essentially knocked out of contention, a small team meeting took place. We’d be shuffling the driver orders to ensure #25 had the best chance for success in the remaining 18 hours.
Into the evening we went. Rain subsided, the race found its flow, and E2 was a hotly contested battle. The #25 and the two Magic Developed cars battled within two laps of one another. Nik, Ryan Bittner, Sonny, and Ryan Keeley all did a nice job while Elliott completed a double stint in #24 with the issue solved.
Some of the best photography came from this time of night as well. Thank you Chance Hales and Tom Leigh for the incredible shots seen throughout this update!
Into the night we went! This race has a unique distinction in the world of endurance motorsport in that over half of its duration is under darkness. With sunset at 4:45 PM and sunrise at 7:15 AM, 14 hours are spent in it. It puts a premium on those drivers who excel in the night, especially mixed conditions.
The #25 continued to run strongly as the #24 appearing to be remain competitive on times with Elliott and eventually Andrew.
I had a sudden realization when Andy (Anderson) asked me “have you been resting recently?”. Running around, chatting, solving problems, and general excitement meant I hadn’t actually sat down the entire day. I wasn’t particularly tired but it was the smart choice forcing myself to sit and relax with a crucial double stint coming up around 11:00 PM in the #25.
As we neared 7PM, the rain was tapering off. Of course with no sunlight and only about 25 cars circulating, the track wasn’t going to dry quickly. But a real possibility existed that my double stint would be in dry conditions. I love rain racing, but I was hungry for a bit of dry fast laps. It’s less exhausting.
Ryan Keeley turned out a great double stint to start the evening in #25, and along with zero mistakes from our crew, we were matching the leading #72 Magic Developed entry. But ‘matching’ wasn’t cutting it when we now found ourselves 5 laps behind (and 2 laps behind the #58 Legacy entry) as we struggled to match pace.
My task was to run flyers chipping away at the gap from 11PM-2AM and hand the car off to Elliott for the 2-5AM shift. Clean driver change, fuel stop, one new tire at the front, and away I went.
Like most ‘in the zone’ night racing moments, I don’t recall everything from those three hours. A lot of open, green flag laps as fast and as consistent as I could manage. It seemed to making a difference as I asked frequently for times on the leaders. Usually 2-3 seconds per lap. Put a lot of focus into my traffic management ability; a secret weapon in closing the gap. Efficient as possible, no wasted seconds!
Had gained at least a lap back during my first hour in the night which was great. There was a full course yellow and restart toward the end of the stint. With the overall race leading prototype just behind us at the time of yellow, we effectively gained a minute to then line up behind the two cars leaders in E2.
I believe it’s the moments like a chaotic, late night endurance restart that separate the good racers from the best. To have the ability, awareness, and hunger to make the most of one can make or break a race. It’s a fantastic opportunity to capitalize on. Multiple cars from all different classes sat between us as I was at the tail-end of the line upon green.
Green flag and I was slicing through cars in turns one and two to be late on the brakes entering turn three. An assertive-yet-successful move, we now retook 2nd place in E2! Through a couple more slower cars over bypass and into turn six, a hesitation from the E2 race leader entering turn eight opened the opportunity to fly up the inside. We now sat three laps down!
I drove off and back into a rather undramatic rhythm for the half hour. A very long full course yellow followed again bunching us to the rear of the E2 leading #72. Back to green and only another half hour into my 2AM pit stop, I clung to their bumper. The car wasn’t making the same power as it did in the recent few days and my straight lines were compromised. The tires were gone too and I couldn’t find any grip at all. It soon made sense…
BANG! A miniature explosion went in the middle of turn one at speed. I didn’t realize it was me until I entered turn two. Almost no ability to turn in. The tire had officially wore itself to nothing and let go! I hobbled back to the pits as safely as possible and swapped with Elliott. The popped front left was now changed (with the same rears as the ones we started with) and the team, seeing what happened, made the decision to bring Elliott back in and change a rear tire. It wasn’t worth the risk of another failure.
We miraculously pushed the Toyo’s over 14 hours with the damp conditions but it was time for them to change. I gave my debrief to the crew, found a small bit of food, and forced myself to the RV for a nap (which is not easy in the middle of this race).
When I awoke, there wasn’t much to hear. Engine noise was no more. I knew what had happened. The fog arrived! Only hoped all was fine with our cars. The briefing was given to me as I returned to the deck. Red flag for fog at 5:30 AM, with the race set to go green at 9:30 AM. Once the rain started at 2 AM, Elliott spent the next three hours gaining back the distance. We now sat on the same lap as #72 for the lead of E2.
There is a small rule in the fine print of this race related to time. If there is a red flag for weather, the race will be extended up to three hours. Thus, we had a 24 hour on our hands today with the finish now at 3PM.
Keeley was in the #24 now with no issues to report. Sonny in the #25 was a different story it seemed. The car seemed to be slowing down even more. Speaking to Elliott, he mentioned that the rain truly helped his ability to make up time as the car apparently lost a significant amount of pace.
After Sonny, Lucas was in the #25 for a stint. It became painfully obvious something was wrong. I prepared myself to take over control around 11 AM. When Lucas and I were conducting the final driver change, I caught a glimpse of the laptimes. 2:11’s. Well over ten seconds off per lap. This was going to be an excruciatingly long run to the finish. We had four hours to control the damage and secure 2nd place. The only issue was the #73 was only a few laps behind. Our pace couldn’t drop any more.
Fears on the pit wall mounted when I reported the even worse news. I couldn’t get below a 2:14, and then a 2:16, and a 2:18 after an hour. Whatever was happening in the engine or ECU or something, the power was fleeting. All winning hopes were over as all focus went to keeping the car alive in order to stand on the E2 podium.
The conversations over radio had gotten quite entertaining to mask the obvious pain of the situation. “Matt, you know you can go faster right?” I was trying! I’d get to four thousand on the tachometer and the engine would produce nothing. Our ten lap buffer over 3rd was dwindling fast. It became five or six laps by 1 PM. The car died on me as I entered the pit lane for the penultimate fuel stop. After 20 seconds of turning over the engine, it finally gave me enough to leave the pit lane.
2:18’s became 2:21 became 2:25’s. I wasn’t lifting from turn one to turn ten. Radio chatter to ease the bordem of my painfully slow laps became more in-depth. I commentated an entire lap. The team enjoyed the distraction.
At some point in this stint, the #24 with Keeley was tasked to give me a push to see what would happen. He locked bumpers for a straightaway and… it seemed to help! He continued on his merry way until Nik was plugged into #24 for its final stint.
With the risk of losing 2nd (and losing the engine altogether) now very serious, the team gave the ultimatum for what would become a truly sensational story. After determining nothing in the rulebook prohibited sustained bumping, Nik was told to push me every straightaway for a lap to see what the effect would be.
The effect? About eight seconds a lap. And an effective guarantee I wouldn’t get stranded before the finish. The only issue was the 30 minutes of racing left. As insane as it initially seemed, Nik and I locked our minds (and bumpers) to the new task. Lap after lap we put on quite the spectacle. Born out of sheer necessity, the spirit of teamwork shined. ‘Two cars, one team’. Fairly sure we pushed for over 12 consecutive laps.
At 3 PM, we crossed the finish in synchrony. Much to our disappointment, the #73 Magic Developed entry passed us in the final 15 minutes to claim 2nd. Fair play to them! But the story of what we enacted to deliver the team a podium outshined that podium step in our minds.
Congratulations to the Magic Developed squad for their 1-2 finish. They proved their experience and power in this event. Until we meet again!
I was sprayed all over my helmet and suit still strapped into the car when I pulled into our box. We didn’t accomplish the dream of winning this race but we finished with both entries in the team’s first attempt. I felt like I was the only one not in a particularly celebratory mood! Understandable having spent four hours doing nothing but system managing and being slow. I was quite hungry too.
Some really awesome photography came out of the team’s celebration that I’m sure to include. We pushed the cars to the podium area, took our obligatory photos, got our 3rd place plaques, and came back to the trailer to finish up.
Lots of people to thank for this one so I’ll go through it briefly! First to Andy and Mike Anderson for their unrelenting commitment to me as a driver this season. The first year of my racing career as a fully sponsored professional wouldn’t be possible without them. To Nik, whose introduction to this group made it all possible this year. To the rest of our driver team in Keeley, Bittner, Sonny, Andrew, Lucas, and especially my best friend Elliott. To the crew of Blair, David, Dawson, Grant, Manny, David H., Craig, and others. To the BimmerSpeed support team of Ryan, Pete, and Mark. Photographers Chance, Tom, and Carter. Food by Brad and Megan. And anyone else who joined us (like my awesome parents!)
UP NEXT
Again, I am immensely proud of the motorsport year I was able to put together with this group.
To be better explained in next month’s update, I can announce my first full-time program for 2023.
I will continue to work with and drive for Palomar Racing in 2023 with a new challenge; World Racing League! The team will enter its two revised BMW E36’s into the GP1 category competing for the MidWest and National Championships. More news to follow soon on this opportunity.
This year’s season wouldn’t be possible without our partners. Thank you Andy Anderson and the rest of Palomar Solar and Roofing. Team partners in Apex Race Parts, BimmerWorld, Red Line Synthetic Oil, PFC Brakes, FastSideways, AGA Tools, StopTech, KinematicSpeed, Toyo Tires, Motion Control Suspension, Swift Springs, Frozen Rotors, Enphase, Panasonic Solar, SignArtGraphix, and others help make the Palomar Racing 2022 Challenge possible.
Photography in this update by Chances Hales, Tom Leigh, and NASA.
In Closing
Thank you for reading and supporting my motorsport journey. Whether it be through these updates, social channels, or in-person, the small interactions truly make a difference. Using my motorsport path as a means to create value for others is very important for me. If you enjoy these reports or are interested in supporting steps toward professional racing, please get in touch! Stay up-to-date on mattmillionracing.com and my social media. Until next time…
Matt Million
San Marcos, CA - 01/11/2023