Matt Million Racing

Matt's Winter Update: 25h Thunderhill Retrospective

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

Race Report: E2 Podium After Surviving 2022 25 Hours of Thunderhill

Race Report: E2 Podium After Surviving 2022 25 Hours of Thunderhill

Willows, CA | December 1-4th, 2022

It was a cold and rainy first weekend in December for the 19th annual NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill.

While Million was entering his 5th time racing the endurance classic, it was the first time for Palomar Racing.

Leading up to the event, Million and Palomar Racing put on a mighty season performance. Winning 5 of 6 races in the NASA WERC series to capture the E2 class title (and winning the E1 class in the one ‘losing’ race), a team effort between Million and Nik Romano to collect the NASA SoCal ST5 title honors, and Million winning the 2022 NASA ST5 National Championship at WeatherTech Raceway in September.

But this event was an entirely new challenge. It took more crew, more drivers, more resource, and more planning than anything faced so far. Million and team entered as prepared as they could to field the #24 and #25 BMW E36’s in the E2 class.

Arriving Wednesday for setup to be on-track Thursday, the team executed their plans. By the end of Thursday, the drivers all felt comfortable in the cars and crew working together well. The eight drivers making up the two lineups were Matt Million, Nik Romano, Ryan Keeley, Sonny Watanasirisuk, Ryan Bittner, Lucas Weisenberg, Elliott Skeer, and Andrew Gardner.

On Friday, the team executed a ‘mock race’ with very short driver stints to help train the pit stops, pit crew procedures like refueling and tire changes, and driver changes. The ‘competitive’ part of the event began at 4:00 PM on Friday evening for qualifying in the dusk light. The #25 with Nik Romano set a time strong enough for 4th in E2 before handing the car over to Andrew Gardner for futher night practice.

The #24 with Matt Million onboard suffered a connector rod failure between the gearbox and shifter on the first flying lap. Luckily, Million had the failure in T14 which allowed him to coast into the paddock and have BIMMERSPEED repair the car. The fix remarkably took less than 10 minutes and Million rejoined the session. With a second flying lap of 1:57.1, Million took pole position in class away from the Magic Developed #72 BMW E46 by two tenths. The third flying lap sealed the position with a 1:56.9.

The race would get underway at 11:00 AM on Saturday morning. The rain had returned and would soak the circuit with constant droplets from early morning until the evening.

Million started the #24 and jumped to a healthy lead in E2. Romano started the #25 and fought off the challenges of both #72 and #73 Magic Developed entries. At the end of his two stints (3 hours and 30 minutes), Million handed the car to Skeer with a three lap lead in class and running 2nd overall. Afterwards, Million stated “it was some of the most fun and ‘in the zone’ racing hours of my life! Once I figured out the proper rain line, I was going from track edge to edge finding every advantage possible. It was a video game type of feeling to put slingshot around our competition. A testament to the stability and predictability that Palomar Racing has found with this incredible #24 car!” Unfortunately, an issue that was noticed and seemingly repaired in the #24 came back in a big way. The car refused to be put into gear and thus had to be taken behind-the-wall. A full transmission and slave cylinder swap wasn’t enough to solve the issue and eventually the clutch was replaced. It was discovered that the clutch wasn’t able to engage all the way and thus the ‘stopper’ was taken out. Along with a fresh clutch, the #24 was back on track after an hour of repairs. All competitive hopes now rested with the #25 car.

The #24 would continue to turn laps into the night with the #25 running 2nd a few laps behind the the leading #72 Magic Developed entry throughout the night. The rain began subsiding by 7 to 8:00 PM and a dry racing line formed with lap times falling once again. Million was due in the #25 next at 11:00 PM as the conditions almost entirely dried.

The task was to claw back at a now 5 lap deficit to the leading car. With his double stint ending near 2:00 AM, Million’s mission was a success and now cut the lead down to 3 laps. A combination of pace, traffic management, and a couple assertive restarts after full-course yellows helped the cause. Unfortunately his second fuel stint was cut 15 minutes short. The left front tire failed at the apex of turn one as Million was hot on the heels of passing the leader once again. He limped the car back to the pits safely, swapped to Elliott Skeer, and debriefed with the team. With the mixed conditions, the team had gotten nearly 14 hours from the tire that finally let go. With that tire due to be changed in the stop regardless, the margins were thin! Meanwhile, the #24 continued to remain strong throughout the night and cycle through drivers uneventfully and consistenly. The team was pleased with the repairs.

Skeer took over the #25 right as the rain returned. Million had reported a moderate loss in power through the night (losing 3-4 seconds per lap) and Skeer reported similar, however the rain became an equalizer. After his two and a half stints before a 4-hour red flag for fog in early morning, Skeer closed the gap to now sit on the lead lap. The fog came in at 5:30 AM and cars didn’t return to racing until 9:30 AM, meaning the race was extended to 3 PM instead of usually finishing at noon.

Once back green, it was obvious the #25 was not healthy. Watanasirisuk reported his shift points dropped dramatically. Weisenberg, the next driver in the car, reported the car to be very slow. The team lost 3-4 laps on the leader again. At 11:00 AM, Million was called upon for a triple stint to help diagnose the car and take it safely to the finish… hopefully! It was immediately apparent how hurt the engine felt. The 1:57 pace from qualifying and 2:04 pace from his night stint were entirely impossible. At full push, a 2:15 was the fastest it would go and quickly got worse. By 1:00 PM, the car was struggling to hold 2:22’s.

When the red flag lifted, the trailing #73 Magic Developed entry was about ten laps behind. At the current rate of driving, they would catch and pass #25 in the final hour. By 2:00 PM, a solution was needed. Million struggled to keep the engine running during the final fuel stop but succeeded. The solution came in the form of the #24 car pushing her sister car along! First, Keeley trialed the idea and it seemed to work. Then in the last hour, Romano was told to commit to pushing #25 to the finish. A spectacular sight to the onlookers as the #24 pushed the #25 down every straightaway for the better part of 30 straight minutes. It brought the lap times down from 2:30’s to 2:22’s once again.

In the end, the pace of #25 became just too slow to hold on. The #73 passed for 2nd in the final 15 minutes of the race. It wasn’t for a lack of trying! From the flaggers, to the race control tower, to all the teams spectating on pit wall, Palomar Racing received a massive applause for the effort they put in to see the #25 finish 3rd place in E2. Without the push, it’s likely the car wouldn’t have made it.

As the final race of 2022, Million’s next race is unconfirmed. He is expecting to be announced as a primary driver in Palomar Racing’s 2023 plans which should be revealed by the end of December.

Matt Million wants to thank all the volunteers and corporate partners who supported Palomar Racing this season. The primary support of Palomar Solar and Roofing made this season possible. Additional support by Apex Race Parts, BimmerWorld, BIMMERSPEED, FastSideways, Enphase Energy, Panasonic Solar, Red Line Synthetic Oil, PFC Brakes, Race Magic, Swift Springs, Motion Control Suspension, AGA Tools, Rugged Radios, SignArt Graphix, TrackDayTire.com, Toyo Tires, and others.

Look for Matt Million’s ‘December Update’ to be published by the end of this month. Visit ‘Photos’ to view more pictures from the event.

Matt's September Update: A Month to Remember

Matt Million’s September Update: A Month to Remember

San Marcos, CA | September 2022

On paper, September was bound to be the busiest month of my racing year. In reality, it turned out to be true. But reality also proved to be more memorable than I could’ve imagined.

The month started at Virginia International Raceway as I unexpectedly joined team Chattanooga Tourenwagen for World Racing League (WRL) at VIR, to then head straight to Monterey’s Laguna Seca for US Touring Car Championship with Palomar Racing, followed immediately by our first major event of the year at Palomar Racing; NASA Championships at the same venue

The experience in Virginia didn’t go as hoped as mechanical issues kept us from our true potential. It was still a fantastic time meeting the team, qualifying their fast #348 BMW E46 on GP2 class pole, and running a long double stint in the lead on Saturday morning. A few days later and I was the support race for INDYCAR at Laguna Seca! I took the #24 (#07 for the event) to win both USTCC races in the 11-car Sportsman class. Next, we stayed in Monterey to take on the NASA Championships. Ultimately, I came away with the ST5 national championship in #24 after four days of relentless qualifiers and races. The day afterwards was the 6.5-hour Seaside Cup NASA WERC enduro, which I ended up driving over three hours combined in both our E1 (#25) and E2 (#24) entries and came away win the class win in E2 and podium in E1.

A full recap of each experience follows below, along with some incredible photography. This turned out to be longer than anticipated, so visit my website to read the shorter race reports from each event if desired! Thank you for reading and supporting my journey.

The ‘Palomar Racing E2/ST5 Challenge’ is in full song and I’m immensely grateful to play my role alongside Nik Romano as the team’s primary drivers. It’s a treat to help grow the organization behind-the-scenes too as its located near my home in San Marcos.

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.

STORY ONE: WORLD RACING LEAGUE AT VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Alton, Virginia | September 2-4, 2022

The month kicked off in a much more ‘green’ place than California. For the second year running, I’d be racing World Racing League’s double header round in the sweeping hills of Virginia International Raceway. While not originally planned on my calendar, I couldn’t be happier to revisit my favorite circuit (so far) in the United States.

The opportunity arose in late July. The team, Chattanooga Tourenwagen, was searching for a driver in their GP2-class BMW E46. Speaking to my best friend and racer Elliott Skeer about this, it didn’t take long for him to say “oh I know those guys, they’re awesome. You’d have a great time!” Fair to say Elliott sold the deal before a deal was even considered.

While I’m in the midst of an incredible opportunity with Palomar Racing this year, I felt it necessary to keep active in other championships. To grow my name in the sport, performing and showing potential in different cars/championships in front of new people is crucial. Never know where the next opportunity could stem from, or what you might learn from one like this!

Meeting the team on the morning of Friday testing, we got straight to business. A handful of morning laps in the #348 and I was immediately impressed. The development put into this car in the recent few years had shown.

In the couple of laps I turned toward the end of Friday, a 2:08:5 was enough to put our #348 on GP2 pole! Two tenths separated the top three positions on time. I had tons of confidence in our pace after seeing this. I left time in reserve as I learned the nuances of the car. I’d have many, many more laps to get comfortable.

I’d be starting Saturday’s race for the opening two stints. Part of becoming a true professional lies in holding serious amounts of responsibility. I’d be in the midst of 70 cars, tasked with delivering a clean and fast double stint with a team I’d not met before yesterday! It has come to feel more normal by now. I’ve learned to become more confident in my abilities.

‘Like clockwork’ is the best way to describe the opening two stints Saturday morning. The start was busy. I fell back a few spots avoiding games of aggression on lap one of the eight hour race. It took about 15 minutes to reclaim the GP2 lead and we maintained the position for the following two hours.

Truthfully one of the more ‘complete’ performances I’ve had. No close calls or contact, no off-track’s, nothing but maximizing lap time in the dance of thick endurance racing traffic. At the two hour thirty minute mark, I boxed with a minute lead and handed the car off to Jason Smith.

Such a fun double stint. Lots of ‘give and take’ is required with 70 entries across five classes and not much speed differential between them. Crucial to make certain you are seen, pass quickly and respectfully, and not place you and/or anyone else in a risky position. Avoiding the two or three wide moves up VIR’s world famous esses was essential! Although 30-40% of my stint was under Code 35 caution procedures for incidents and stricken cars often not cooperating with one another. Personally, I had little to no issue with the driving standards shown to me. It takes two to tango!

The good fortune of our event would soon end, however. Two laps into his stint, Jason reported the power had vanished as he sat stationary awaiting a tow. The engine was no more! Through analysis and discussions, we came to the conclusion that it was simply the engine’s time to go. No poor treatment, mistakes, or lack of preparation were to blame. The cruelness of endurance racing.

Miraculously, we spent the remainder of Saturday fitting another M54 engine into the car for an attempt to make Sunday’s race! These guys worked tirelessly from early afternoon until a few minutes before midnight ensuring we had a functioning race car again. Truly impressive.

Through achieving fasted lap on Saturday, we started Sunday’s eight hour on pole yet again with Justin Ford the starting driver. Justin is a fantastic personality and I was grateful to have met him! He gave us another strong start, keeping us at the top or within touching distance of the GP2 lead. Two hours in and pitting from the lead with a fast and clean stop, car owner Zach Mortimer got behind the wheel for effectively his first laps of the event.

An issue? Again? What did we do to deserve this! Deja Vu came over us as the gearbox appeared to failed underneath Zach within his opening two laps. Through analysis, it seemed to have just had enough living in it’s presumably multiple years as a gearbox. Racing is a cruel sport sometimes.

The crew did eventually get the car back running with a spare gearbox for the final two hours. Jason ran that stint with the mission of completing 50% of the class leader’s lap count in order to score points, which he accomplished! It turned into a soggy ending as rain increased and caused an issue for the series’ timing loops, resulting in a short red period. Luckily the rain dried up in time for the finish and podium celebration. We weren’t on it but made sure to support everyone who was nevertheless!

Thank you Chattanooga Tourenwagen for the opportunity to come race for you in this great series. It surely wasn’t the end result we wanted but continued to work hard and have a good time through it all. The #348 is a fantastic BMW E46 race car, one of the best I’ve yet to drive. I look forward to whenever the next event is for us to meet again!

STORY TWO: THE US TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE

Monterey, CA | September 9-11, 2022

Landing back in San Diego on Monday afternoon, the next journey began three days later as I drove through the Central Valley to Monterey.

The start to Palomar Racing’s tight September schedule had begun. We’d be on track at Laguna Seca for eight of the next eleven days starting on Friday for US Touring Car Championship.

The team’s idea to compete in this round of the championship had a few reasons. First, it would prepare us in the best way possible for the following week’s NASA Championships. Second, being included as an INDYCAR support race would be a fun, high visibility setting to promote Palomar Racing in. Our #24 and #25 fit into this championship’s regulations very well so minimal modifications were needed. Oh, we had to renumber my entry to #07! A significant number to the team.

Friday was a neat introduction to the INDYCAR paddock. We had two practice sessions and a qualifier at the end of the day. Driving down pit lane seeing the impressive INDYCAR setups was a surreal experience. We didn’t get a lot of on-track time however as frequent session stoppages kept us from getting any more than a few laps. At the end of the day, I’d qualified 2nd from 11 entries in the Sportsman class. Nik in our #25 was fighting an uphill battle in the ST class competing against far quicker cars but still managed a great 2nd place as well.

Saturday was another unique day. Our 35-minute race was preceded by a live grid at the start/finish line! Surely made the occasion feel a bit special. With the roughly 30 cars entered across four classes, two separate starts would occur. The first was GT and ST with the second being TC and SP (my class). US Touring Car Championship utilizes standing starts, a cherry on top of the atmosphere and tension. Of course, I’d need to remember how to perform one. The last time I did was back in 2020 at Germany’s Oschersleben circuit in a BMW 318ti Cup! Seeded in 1st next to me was friend Lucas Weisenberg, a driver for our endurance races at Palomar and a genuine young talent. My advantage was that he’d be driving the #24 alongside me in next weekend’s NASA WERC race. Fear is the best way to ensure a clean race (joking)!

The race got underway and I had the best standing start of my life. Entering T2 on the outside, I passed Lucas and four of the seven Touring Car class entries (pictured above). By the end of lap one I’d made it through the remaining three TC entries and set sail full speed ahead. Lucas got through the class as well but I sustained a slightly better pace, ultimately having a pretty boring race. In the cockpit, I was working hard to extract everything #24 had as preparation for next week. Best way to simulate an outcome is by performing the intended performance ahead of time! We set best lap in class, took the checkered, and I exited the car in a pool of sweat. Mechanically, I couldn’t be more happy. It held steady temperatures and pressures as well as a half-hour at high pace. We did a neat celebration on the Indy Lights podium and were called to the media center for video interviews. I could get used to these…

Sunday was another fun day. Nik, Lucas, and I got to take place in the official series autograph session in the middle of the paddock pre-race! I’m not used to competing at large spectator events so chatting with fans was another surreal experience. After INDYCAR completed its season finale, it was time for our second and last race. Given lane choice as the polesitter, I decided the outside since it worked well yesterday. If anyone in the TC class stalled, the outside gave you more options than the inside!

Green flag flew and the slim margins for launch didn’t fall in my favor. For whatever reason, be it now-worn tires or INDYCAR rubber, I couldn’t find traction and ended up losing the lead early. Lucas and I juggled the TC class traffic for a few laps and finally pulled away. When I felt close enough, I focused on executing the best T11 of my life and late braking into T2. It worked and I was through, but not without a very friendly wave which was reciprocated. It’s good racing against friends… a bummer he’s so fast though (makes me have to give my best!) From that point it became a mirror image of Saturday. Pulling away to a nice lead, a quick full-course yellow nearly put a wrench into the winning plans. Ultimately it didn’t change much and went 2-for-2 on the weekend.

We celebrated with the longest podium celebration of my career. Lots of confetti, trophies, prizes, and champagne sprayed directly into my eyes.

Thank you to everyone at Palomar Racing who helped make this experience possible! Special thank you to our team owner Andy, with the help of past USTCC champion and my teammate Nik, who thought doing this event would be valuable to the program. Ultimately, it gave us plenty of data to work with headed into NASA Championships and was quite memorable. Getting to see Will Power take the post-championship photos of his new INDYCAR trophy directly next to us made it worthwhile!

STORY THREE: THE NASA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Monterey, CA | September 15-19, 2022

It was finally here. Ten months after being introduced to this program and our 2022 goals, it was time for the first major event together. NASA Championships, the most prestigious U.S. club racing event of the year (along with SCCA Runoffs), was making its return to the West Coast in the location of Monterey’s world famous facility. I’d be contending for the ST5 National Championship title in Palomar Racing’s #24 BMW E36 M3.

This week came full circle for me. The first NASA Championships I competed in was here back in 2015. My second year in Spec Miata at age 15, I was clawing on the door of a top 10 from 30 entries. I can honestly say I’ve come a long, long way in those seven years. A young driver fresh out of karts at the time frustrated and motivated to become a better all-around athlete. I worked at my abilities to reach 5th in the following year’s event and 3rd in 2017. It’s a ‘slow and steady’ approach to my development I feel is paramount to becoming the best driver I can be in the long term.

The NASA Championships week takes a marathon-minded mentality. Paddock setup on Wednesday, practice on Thursday, qualifying on Friday, qualifying race on Saturday, and the 45-minute title decider on Sunday. It takes immense stamina to reach Sunday in good shape.

Thursday was as close to ‘running like clockwork’ as could’ve hoped. The car had an excellent neutral balance from the jump. Setup wasn’t perfect so we made small sway bar adjustments in an effort to help turn-in but leave the balance mostly unaffected. A couple of subtle tweaks made #24 more compliant to the unique topography of Laguna Seca and nothing substantial to worry about in the engine or chassis. She was a sturdy piece of kit after small maintenance checks from the prior weekend. Our most pressing challenge was ensuring we made enough horsepower! The #24 has a higher minimum weight than we’d ideally like (around 2825lbs) so we worked to optimize our power allowance per the regulations.

Friday began with a conundrum over paperwork. 50% of the ST5 and ST4 entries had some issue with their papers and both of our entries were included. While it quickly became resolved, it meant that the time set in Q1 would only set the grid for Q2 and not count as a lap time for Saturday’s grid. With the morning warm-up setting the grid for Q1, it felt like time attack all day!

Friday also gave us the first true indication of our competitor’s pace. Two entries stood out; the #72 Moorewood Creative BMW E46 of Larry Moore and the #8 Honda S2000 of Tommy Lo. Both have had more development on their ST5 packages and were strong drivers. It was a motivation boost to go fastest in warm-up to grid for Q1 in the top spot. With 5 classes running together in our race group, I knew my lap had to be set on the opening flyer or risk catching slower traffic.

Ultimately, we ended up 1st in all three Friday sessions. Q1 was tight seeing how my 1:40:4 was only two tenths up on the #8. But saving our new Toyo Tires for a late-in-the-day Q2 worked well for us. A 1:39:7 set us on Saturday’s pole position by a number of tenths. It was a challenging lap to nail. Even on new tires, the track had faded later in the day and I risked quite a bit! Unfortunately for Nik in the #25 ST4 entry, the engine expired in morning warm-up and our team worked on sourcing a replacement S52 powerplant.

Saturday was a bright, sunny day on the Monterey peninsula. At 1:30 PM local, our race group got underway with the qualifying race for Sunday’s championship. Starting on class and overall pole for the group, traffic would become the uncontrolled factor. It was a clean start and I led from the #8 Honda S2000 who engagement me in a tight battle for the opening few laps. While my pace remained within tenths, he dropped back by a second per lap and I set up a decisive lead. I extended the lead little by little before reaching Honda Challenge and ST6 traffic after 15 minutes in the 35-minute session.

It felt like a high paced endurance race! I was having to smartly judge gaps and runs as I passed more than a dozen lower class entries. Honestly it was a lot of fun. By the end my margin-of-victory had grown to 25 seconds over 2nd in ST5, an increase of about 19 seconds once we hit traffic. My recent multi-class experience taught me well. It was neat to give a live broadcast interview in the tech area afterwards. In Nik’s ST4 race, he started last and gained over ten spots to finish 6th! Fantastic charge.

Sunday was not a bright, sunny day. A chance of scattered showers loomed overhead. We prepared our set of rain tires but ended up not needing them. My race group went green around 12:00 PM and it quickly became a similar situation to Saturday. I engaged in a short tussle with the #72 BMW E46 before steadily building a gap. With the full fuel load for a 45-minute race, the car felt more sluggish and I adjusted my driving style accordingly. It would’ve looked identical to the prior day’s race if the full course yellow didn’t come out! An ST6 car stuck in the gravel at Corkscrew bunch up the field. Upon the restart, an out-of-class pair of Legends entries became involved in the ST5 race! It brought the #72 BMW E46 entry of Moorewood Creative within a second of my bumper as I did everything possible to manage the traffic and keep ahead. But at the checkered flag, I took the #24 BMW E36 of Palomar Racing to the land of ST5 national champions!

It’s a wild thought to consider only nine months ago this whole program was an idea on paper. Being approached to join this yet-to-exist project last December, I said to myself “this is a crazy idea to go for winning the sprint, endurance, and national NASA championships with a pair of BMW E36’s yet to be built… where do I sign?”

To hoist the championship trophy up high, spray the crowd, be hoisted up by the team, to take various photos with the crew and my parents afterwards… all a blur now. I’m just happy that Larry, Tony, and myself on the podium agreed to not spray each other. We had to race the enduro in these suits tomorrow! So, so cool and I’m immensely grateful to have such an opportunity to keeping showcasing my abilities and become a more complete racing driver.

In an effort to spare words, I’ll say that Nik’s ST4 championship race in the afternoon was an outrageously impressive spectacle of his driving that met an unfortunate ending. He’d moved from 6th to podium contention before a late incident. That evening became a shining moment of our hardworking crew. They worked until around midnight ensuring the #25 was fit for the 6.5-hour endurance race in the morning as well as tidying up loose ends on the #24.

NASA WERC RD.5 - SEASIDE CUP 6.5 HOUR AT LAGUNA SECA

If you thought a 4-day national championship weekend is a lot of racing… there’s more! Round 5 of 6 in the NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship took place the following day on Monday. The 6.5-hour ‘Seaside Cup’ saw 35 entries split across six classes with the most populous being E1 and E2. Our #25 BMW E36 was entered in E1 with the #24 entered in E2. Our E2 entry was the priority in an effort to make our points lead stronger headed into the last race. The #25 lineup would be me starting, then Ryan Keeley, and Sonny Watanasirisuk to finish. The #24 lineup was Sonny Watanasirisuk, Lucas Weisenberg, and myself in that order. Sonny and I prepared for racing half the race across both team cars! Neat opportunity.

Starting in the #25, we ran into a number of setbacks. A tire pressure concern brought me to the pit box on lap one followed by a sound issue forcing a trip to the black-flag station. After another unscheduled stop in the opening hour to remedy our exhaust, I was sitting multiple laps behind.

The following two hours was, without question, the best personal performance I had during the month. To claw back any hope to finding the lead lap in E1, I had to put on a relentless drive through the field and hope for full course yellows to regain the laps. It nearly worked! With numerous FCY periods, I worked through the 35-car grid and 8-car E1 field at least twice. I was pleased to set the best E1 race lap somewhere in that charge and by the end of three total hours I was completely and entirely spent. Swapping to Ryan Keeley in the next fuel stop, I promptly set my gear aside and collapsed to the ground for a half hour. My calves had been cramping in the final half hour and I nearly tripped exiting the car. Our photographer Chance Hales was there to capture my moment of awful pain. Worth it!

After a hearty amount of liquid rejuvenation, I caught up on the story of our race. The #24 was leading E2 strongly after a few of our competitors went back laps due to mechanic issues with the #25 indeed now closer to the leader but still behind by a few laps. One thing I’ll note here that remained true to the end; the most impressive our Palomar Racing crew has been on pit stops yet. Little to no issues, no hesitation, simply getting the job done as quick as possible. So proud of the progress made in this area. Six hours with two cars is not easy!

I was fortunate to lead NASA WERC’s broadcast reporting crew to our tent for a quick interview. Explaining the program ambition, year we’ve had, and race so far was a great experience! Good interview practice as well. Before long, I was swapping out with Lucas to jump into the #24 for the final hour. The work that Sonny, Lucas, and the crew performed for the past five hours made my work simple. With over a lap lead, it was simply to ‘bring it home’. I found my groove and settled in.

As serendipity would have it, the #25 appeared in front of me with a half hour remaining. With #25 now firmly into 3rd place and no real chance of 2nd in E1, I requested to run in tandem and stage a team photo finish. After a final 30 minutes of running together, both Palomar Racing entries came to the checkered with flashers waving. Everyone came out to the pit wall and we got incredible photos and video of the occasion. Talk about a bucket list Le Mans-style finish! If that picture isn’t hanging on the wall at Palomar Racing headquarters soon… I’ll do it myself.

What the wrap-up to the month we had. With 194 laps complete, the #24 finished only one lap behind the E1 winner! A testament to the quality of drivers, crew, and preparation Palomar Racing has exhibited in such a short amount of time. With 191 laps complete, the #25 would have been in the E1 hunt without the early setbacks and ran a near flawless race to the end. We will continue to learn, grow, and refine our team before diving into the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill in December. Super fun day! Thank you Andy, Mike, Kevin, Blair, David, Dawson, Nik, Sonny, Ryan, Lucas, Grant, Kristen (with Vash, our spirit dog) and whoever I might be missing. The performance we exhibited this month isn’t possible without any one of you.

UP NEXT

By the time this update releases, my next event has already happened. Round 6 of 6 for NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship and Rounds 13 and 14 for NASA SoCal ST5 Championship will take place at Buttonwillow Raceway from October 8th to 9th. Nik Romano and I will race the #24 BMW E36 in the 4.5-hour finale aiming to bring home the E2 championship. On the ST5 front, we hope to extend our points lead into Chuckwalla next month. (Spoiler: The photo above indicates how the weekend went!)

At the end of October, I am excited to announce I’ll be rejoining team Chattanooga Tourenwagen for the two World Racing League (WRL) eight hour races at Sebring International Raceway! The team and their BMW E46 are serious contenders in the GP2 class. I’m very much looking forward to visiting (and racing) the iconic airfield circuit for the first time.

This year’s season wouldn’t be possible without our partners. Thank you Andy Anderson and the rest of Palomar Solar and Roofing. Partners in FastSideways, Apex Race Parts, BimmerWorld, Red Line Synthetic Oil, PFC Brakes, 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, Mike Anderson, and others. Please contact me if I used your photo without mention and wish to be included!

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 - 10/20/2022

Race Report: Million, Palomar Racing Win NASA WERC Rd.6 and E2 Championship at Buttonwillow

Race Report: Million, Palomar Racing Win NASA WERC Rd.6 and E2 Championship at Buttonwillow

Buttonwillow, CA | October 8-9th, 2022

After a tremendously busy month for team Palomar Racing, it was back to the track at Buttonwillow Raceway for NASA SoCal in early October.

Matt Million and Nik Romano would be the drivers in the #24 BMW E36 M3 configured for the ST5/E2 classification of NASA sprint/endurance racing. The team’s #25 BMW E36 would sit out this weekend as all focus was on ensuring a NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship (WERC) class title and continuation of their points lead in NASA SoCal ST5 Championship with the #24.

The priority for this weekend was the NASA WERC title in E2. It was Round 6 of 6 for the 2022 season, a 4.5-hour finale stretching from 3:30 to 8:00 PM in the evening.

Million qualified on pole position in E2 with a time of 1:59:2 around Buttonwillow’s CW25 configuration. Qualifying 1st was a secondary focus to trialing a new compound of endurance tires in the session. The team was pleased with their performance and elected to run them in the race for further evaluation.

Million started the race and was scheduled to run for the first two fuel stints, or about two and a half hours. Around sunset, Romano would take over and run for the remaining two hours until the finish.

Getting underway at 3:30 PM, Million leaped to a steady lead in E2. He trailed behind the E1 leaders and found a comfortable rhythm to slowly build a gap and save fuel. It was a relatively sparse race; only about 20 entries filled the circuit with four in E2.

Million got up to a 40-second lead over the #46 Lucas Racing and #28 HQ Autosport entries before the first stop. During the next stint, a red flag would be displayed for a refueling fire on pit lane. This halted the race for about 15 minutes, followed by a multiple lap full course yellow procedure. Back to green, Million continued the stint until his next refueling and driver swap to Romano.

Romano closed the final two hours into dark with relative ease. While the battle for class position widened to about one lap, the team realized they entered a battle for the overall podium! Remarkably after qualifying 9th overall from about 20, the #24 was running 3rd after a number of car and pit issues for higher classified entries.

Unfortunately for Palomar Racing, a late full course yellow bunched the field together including the ES-class BMW M2 CS that ran 4th overall. They’d fallen back with issues but now had the track position and obvious pace advantage to retake 3rd.

At 8:00 PM, the #24 BMW E36 took the checkered to win E2 by a margin of four laps. The team’s 4th place overall is an impressive milestone for an E2 entry. With 119 laps complete, Palomar Racing finished only one lap behind the E1 leader who ended up 2nd overall. Consistency and avoiding mistakes is key to nights like this!

On the NASA SoCal ST5 Championship side, it was a relatively undramatic pair of races for the team. With Million racing on Saturday and Romano racing on Sunday, they both took 1st place in ST5 setting a new CW25 record in the process. They pulled away from the ST5 competitors to the tune of multiple seconds and ran trouble-free. This extends Palomar Racing’s points lead in this sprint championship.

Million’s next race will be at Sebring International Raceway for World Racing League (WRL) competition from October 28th to 30th. He will excitedly rejoin team Chattanooga Tourenwagen in their GP2 class BMW 330i E46. It will mark Million’s first visit to the famed airfield circuit as he gains valuable seat time there and helps the team chase a GP2 title. Afterwards, Million will race at Chuckwalla Raceway in mid-November for Palomar Racing. There, they hope to secure an ST5 championship. In early December, the Palomar Racing team and Million will take on the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill.

Look for Matt Million’s ‘October Update’ to be published by the end of this month. Visit ‘Photos’ to view more pictures from the event.

Race Report: Palomar Racing Wins E2 in NASA WERC Seaside Cup 6.5h, Podium in E1

Race Report: Palomar Racing Wins E2 in NASA WERC Seaside Cup 6.5h, Podium in E1

Monterey, CA | September 19th, 2022

After the 2022 NASA Championships, the turnaround time was less than 24 hours before Palomar Racing’s next race.

On the Monday following NASA Championships, it was Round 5 of 6 for NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship; the 6.5 hour Seaside Cup at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Palomar Racing would enter the #24 BMW E36 into E2 with the #25 BMW E36 entered in E1. They entered the event as E2 points leaders with the E1 entry aimed at its own class victory.

The #24 driver team was Sonny Watanasirisuk, Lucas Weisenberg, and Matt Million to finish. The #25 team would be run as Matt Million, Ryan Keeley, and Sonny Watanasirisuk to finish. A late alteration in driver lineups meant Matt and Sonny would be pulling ‘double duty’.

Million qualified the #24 on class pole in E2 from 6 entries, while Keeley qualified the #25 in 5th from 8 entries in E1. Million swapped over to start the #25 for the opening two stints while Watanasirisuk started in the #24.

Million would remain in the car for three hours as numerous factors helped increase the stint lengths. The #25 was forced to pit at the green flag for a tire pressure issue and rejoined a lap down. In the midst of regaining the lap, a mechanical black was called on #25 for an apparent hood issue. Again, as Million was tasked to regain his laps by driving a strong pace, he was mechanical black flagged for a noise-related issue. The team worked swiftly to retrofit a quieter exhaust suppressant during the first fuel stop, but Million had already lost about 4 laps to the leader. Thankfully, the string of bad luck ended for #25 and the second fuel stint saw Million run a strong pace gaining one lap back on the leader. In the process, Million set the best race lap of E1 with a 1:38:5.

Ryan Keeley entered the car near the halfway mark and delivered two consistent stints thereafter. Sonny Watanasirisuk took the car to the finish for the final hour. While the #61 EVOQ Motorsport E36 entry remained three laps ahead, the #25 entered a battle with the #712 Jirafa E36 entry for the podium position. A late incident for #37 EDGE E36 entry meant that the #25 would settle into 3rd and eventually take the checkered flag.

For the #24, the race was a much smoother story. Watanasirisuk ran within the top three for his opening two stints which remained drama-free. Mechanical issues with both the #72 Moorewood E46 and #615 Mashore E46 entries in the opening three hours helped the #24 ensure a healthy lead over its nearest competition in E2. Palomar Racing performed stellar pit stops throughout the race as well as clean driver swaps between Watanasirisuk, Weisenberg, and Million. This eventually opened their lead to over three laps ahead of the #80 SRC and #28 HQ Autosport entries. Weisenberg performed another clean two stints and handed off to Million for the final hour.

Spotting the #25 ahead with thirty minutes remaining, Million and team decided to stage a side-by-side photo finish with both cars. They remained together until 5pm when they crossed the line to win the E2 class and finished 3rd in the E1 class.

The E2 victory keeps Palomar Racing well ahead in the championship finale at Buttonwillow in October. While Million and Watanasirisuk have won previously for the team, it is Weisenberg’s first endurance win for Palomar Racing. As for the E1 entry, it is unclear if the team will continue with the car in this class or move the entry to a second E2 car in preparation for the 25 Hours of Thunderhill in December.

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.

Race Report: Million Becomes 2022 NASA ST5 National Champion

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.

Race Report: Million Sweeps USTCC at Monterey in SP-class

Race Report: Million Sweeps USTCC at Monterey in SP-class

Monterey, CA | September 9-11th, 2022

For the second weekend of the month, Million made the trip north to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for US Touring Car Championship action. After sweeping the event in class, a weekend recap is below.

He would be competing in the US Touring Car Championship for his primary team Palomar Racing in the #07 BMW E36 M3 (renumbered from the #24 for this weekend). The team entered this event as a ‘warm-up’ for NASA Championships at the same circuit the following week. Thus, Million was entered into USTCC’s Sportsman class as this ruleset matched the closest to NASA Super Touring 5 (ST5), the class Million will compete for the championship in. Nik Romano, Million’s season-long teammate, would be racing the #25 BMW E36 in the ST class as this ruleset most closely resembled the ST4 regulations that he would compete in for NASA Championships.

On Friday, the Palomar Racing team worked through the early parts of testing with setup changes and ensuring rules compliance. Overall, both Million and Romano had a mostly straightforward practice day slowing building up pace. The end-of-day qualifying session was cut to only a couple laps after a competitor oiled the surface with Million and Romano ending up 2nd in each of their classes.

On Saturday, it was one early warmup and an end-of-day 35-minute race. It was a unique event to pair alongside INDYCAR, especially seeing the cars pass by the pit stalls during INDYCAR’s season finale. Unique to USTCC, the races would include standing starts. Million started on the outside of row one behind the TC class. The first standing start would be GT and ST while the second start was TC and SP. Million got a great jump off the line, entered 1st in class, and passed three of the six TC class entries into turn two. At around the third lap, both Million and SP competitor Weisenberg had passed all of TC and ran away from both classes. Ultimately, Million would continue to strengthen his lead and take Palomar Racing’s first USTCC victory.

On Sunday, Million had his choice of starting position after setting the fastest race lap in-class from the prior day. He choice the outside once again but failed to have the same strong start. He fell back to 2nd behind Weisenberg as they both steadily made their way past the TC field once again. Million made a respective move on Weisenberg, a fellow Palomar Racing endurance driver, and steadily built a lead yet again. A late full-course yellow bunched the entire 35-car field together but with numerous out-of-class cars seperating the two SP leaders, Million once again took the checkered flag.

As for Romano’s weekend in the ST class, it was a tough fight. The car was easily too low on horsepower for the class and he came away with a 4th and 3rd doing everything he could. He remained clean and upbeat throughout, ultimately happy with the data collection for next weekend.

During the celebrations, Palomar Racing had collectively won the ‘Best Team’ award between their two entries. It was a unique, long celebration atop the INDYCAR podium stand as numerous awards and prizes were handed out. Overall, it was an event that Million and the team had never experienced before. Romano and Million signed autographs for fans on Sunday afternoon and conducted various formal interviews throughout the weekend.

Million’s next event will be September 15-19th at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the NASA Championships. Million will compete for the ST5 class championship in the #24 BMW E36 M3. Monday, September 19th will be the fifth round of NASA WERC as the team will again enter #24 in E2 and #25 in E1.

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.

Race Report: GP2 Pole, Reliability Troubles at WRL VIR

Race Report: GP2 Pole, Reliability Troubles at WRL VIR

Alton, VA | September 2-4th, 2022

For the first weekend of the month, Million made a journey across the country to Virginia International Raceway.

He would be competing in the World Racing League series for team Chattanooga Tourenwagen in their BMW E46. The car was entered in GP2, slotted in-between the quickest and slowest cars in GTO and GP3.

This was Million’s second event in the series after competing in, and winning, this exact event one year ago in September 2021. The circuit, and series for that matter, captivated him to the point of seeking another opportunity at this event. Over 70 cars entered between five classes would provide a tight, multi-class experience.

Through the help of mutual friends, Million found home with the competitive Chattanooga Tourenwagen squad for the weekend. They had been coming off numerous podiums in previous events at Road Atlanta, Daytona, and Road America. Million would join team owner Zachary Mortimer and fellow team drivers Justin Ford and Jason Smith in the #348 on this occasion. With Million’s years of experience with the BMW E46 platform, it was a great pairing.

During combined Friday practice and qualifying, Million was able to record the fastest time of the day in GP2. The 2:08:5 lap was enough to secure pole in the 8-car class. “There was definitely more in it! I had a GTO-class car spin in the final corner directly in front of me on the hotlap and I backed off. Happy to have it be enough for pole! The car is a lot of fun, very stable and punchy. Looking forward to tomorrow!”.

On Saturday morning, Million would start the 8-hour race for the team. Gridded behind about 50 higher class cars, it was to be a busy start and stint. After briefly losing the lead, Million regained the position in the opening half hour and pulled away to about a minute lead. During the stint, Million boxed for a splash of fuel in order to carry the car deeper into the race. From the roughly two a half hours Million spent in the car, an hour was taken up by Code 35 and full-course yellow procedures for incidents and stationary vehicles. The #348 remained clean and consistent with no contact or faults. Only a few laps into Smith’s stint after a successful pit stop and driver change, the car lost power. An engine failure was suspected and realized. Believing their weekend was over, the Chattanooga Tourenwagen team located an engine at nearby Quantum Speed Works. The engine replacement was completed in nine hours and the crew left the circuit around 11:00 PM.

For Sunday, Ford started in the #348 from pole courtesy of Million’s fastest class race lap from the day prior. Ford executed a great stint, keeping on pace with the leaders and staying out of trouble. Through good strategy and fuel mileage, Ford found himself in the lead after over two hours in the car and pit to swap over to Mortimer. Within a lap, the car lost drive yet again with a suspected transmission problem. The crew again worked tirelessly to repair the car and successfully reentered the race with two hours remaining. Smith brought the car home within 50% of the leader’s lap total, crucial for their championship aspirations.

While it was a shame to not have their potential realized, the pace and comradery made the weekend an enjoyable experience nevertheless. Million wants to thank the team for their trust in his abilities and inclusion this weekend. He looks forward to competing for the team at some point in the future and making up on unfinished business.

Million’s next event will be September 9-11th at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the US Touring Car Championship. The team will use this event as the warm-up for their main focus; NASA Nationals in ST4 and ST5 from September 15-18th. Million will contest the ST5 championship in the #24. Monday, September 19th will be the fifth round of NASA WERC as the team will again enter #24 in E2 and #25 in E1.

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.

Matt's August Update: Promises Continued in Utah

Matt Million's August Update: Promises Continued in Utah

San Marcos, CA | August 2022

Yeehaw! This month’s update centers on the recent success driving for Palomar Racing as we became class winners of the NASA Utah 6 Hour while debuting as a 2-car operation for the first time. I cover the story of our exhaustive-yet-impressive weekend while also covering other racing experiences from the past month.

This team only about a year ago was a small vintage racing group led by Andy and Mike Anderson in Escondido, California. Along with the help of others, Palomar Racing is quickly becoming a whole lot more. The ‘Palomar Racing E2/ST5 Challenge’ is in full song and I’m immensely grateful to play my role as a primary driver alongside Nik Romano. It’s a treat to help grow the organization behind-the-scenes too as its located near my home in San Marcos.

I’ve had a sneaky feeling that this event at Utah Motorsports Campus would be a significant challenge. A 700 mile trip to compete in Round 5 of 6 in the 2022 NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship with two cars in two classes while also entering both cars into the ST4 and ST5 sprints on Saturday and Sunday. An impressive endeavor should we succeed, and at bare minimum we had a lot to learn!

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 and succeeding in 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, the highlight was becoming E2 class champion in NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship for GOneppo Racing in a BMW Spec E46. For 2022, I am a professional driver for Palomar Racing in their ‘NASA E2/ST5 Challenge’ which you can read about on my website. Having recently finished my global business degree 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.

WINNING THE NASA UTAH 6 HOUR & OUR MOST CHALLENGING EVENT YET

Tooele, UT | July 31st, 2022

Making the trip to Utah for this event is feeling routine. In 2020, I ran the event for the first time in a BMW E30. It was an eye-opening experience to a fantastic racing facility in Utah Motorsports Campus. It also taught me how uniquely difficult it can be to a newcomer. The combination of long straights, high midcorner speeds, and ruthless-but-required use of the kerbs makes it far more difficult to be ‘on the limit’ lap after lap than what appears.

In 2021, I returned with my friend Peter Oneppo and his BMW Spec E46. We won the E2 class that event on route to our E2 championship in the NASA WERC series. In that race, I spent most of my stints in wet conditions which thankfully weren’t on the forecast this time. Rain is a definite equalizer but I’d rather keep it simpler this year!

For 2022, Palomar Racing would arrive with serious intentions and two entries but many variables continue to get tested and developed. After a successful test at Willow Springs two weeks earlier, the team’s new #24 BMW E36 would become the E2/ST5 entry while the now proven #25 BMW E36 became the E1/ST4 entry. Based on power-to-weight calculations, this was the best route forward to succeed at NASA Nationals.

We entered both cars in the NASA Utah 6 Hour. Nik Romano and I would pilot both cars during the race while Ryan Keeley and Ryan Bittner joined the E1 #25 squad with Sonny Watanasirisuk and Lucas Weisenberg in the E2 #24. We had an utterly fantastic driver line up chock full of experience in these situations.

The long haul to Utah truly got started before we left Escondido. The first journey for the team’s black semi was delayed after an opossum (dead, to say the least) was found in the engine bay! Before too long, the convoy of two haulers and an RV was on the road. My friend Ryan Keeley, endurance driver for our team whose day job is a professional truck driver, was behind the wheel.

Friday was an intensely busy day for the team. We welcomed new drivers Bittner and Weisenberg as well as a handful of additional crew. Each car would be on track for four sprint sessions and two endurance sessions over an hour long. Well over 90 degrees, it was a challenging test facing the team with car, driver, and resource management of what was to come for Saturday.

Saturday was about as busy as a race day gets! I’d take the #25 out in ST4 practice, hop back in the #24 for ST5 qualifying soon after, have a lunch break before racing the #24 for a 30-minute sprint, have an hour break to then qualify the #24 in endurance qualifying for E2, and finally get some liquid and food before starting the first hour and a half in #24. If all went as planned, I’d change into the #25 for the final stint in darkness for E1.

The day started with ST5 qualifying and race which both went fine. I took the win in ST5 although a general lack of competition meant I battled out-of-class cars the whole time. Still, it was a blast to race and fine tune the #24 even more. A concern grew at the end of my race as the car had noticeably less power. We ran through a number of potential culprits in the engine bay, fixed what we could, and crossed our fingers.

Qualifying time for the six hour! Since I’d start in the #24, I’d determine my own starting position. The same Toyo RR tires remained that I drove on two hours prior to save a new set for the race. Even with a 34 car field, the speed disparity between the fastest and slowest cars meant finding open track wasn’t too difficult. Especially on a circuit of this size.

I found my quickest flow of the entire weekend. First flying lap, 2:13:018. A single hundredth from breaking a 2:12! Really quick considering the sunbaked circuit and heat soaked engine. Next lap, 2:13:032. My consistency is right on target but I need one more tenth! Third lap? 2:13:028. It’s been a while since I’ve set three laps within three hundredths. The radio message to the team was “literally gave it all she had”. I’d start 1st from 7 in the class and a few tenths above 2nd place.

The six hour got underway at 6:00pm local time. I was feeling rejuvenated after a small snack of chicken and pasta. Easy to forget nutrition on a day with zero time for a normal meal. It was impressive how muscle memory became a factor in my stint. My fifth competitive session of the day, I was on autopilot!

I slotted into 2nd early in the stint as a Porsche Boxster in our class suddenly found a ton of pace. But with six hours, I ran to a pushing-but-conservative pace target and kept sight of the leader as I set 2:13’s to 2:15’s The car didn’t take long after to suffer from power loss again as it reached high temperatures. I did everything I could to keep the #24 in 2nd as a few in-class BMW E46’s charged from behind. The pit wall stressed to me that it’s a long race and all I could do was what it gave me. An hour and a half later, I fended off the competition to box and hand over to Lucas Weisenberg, the 19-year-old points leader in NASA SoCal Spec E46 and future talent, to keep us in the fight.

And he did what was tasked for more than an hour and remained competitive. Though a little over an hour into his stint, the shifter mount had failed and Lucas effectively lost the ability to shift quickly. The team eventually boxed him and Sonny took over. Four laps into his stint, the ability to shift any gear was gone and the #24 was behind-the-wall. Our superstar mechanic Kevin went straight to work and… succeeded! Within about 20 minutes, Sonny was back racing. But there was still issues. He came in, more work happened, and he went back out. This trend effectively continued until Sonny was happy enough with 3rd and 4th gear to make the finish. But sadly, we were over 20 laps down and 4th was the result we could scrap in E2.

In the E1 car, things were extremely different. Romano started in the #25, ran a very nice opening stint and boxed from 2nd in class. Bittner ran two stints afterwards and kept us well in contention of a podium. Keeley then completed a double stint doing exactly what we needed by fuel saving when needed, and pouncing when needed to enter the top two. He was called to pit after some very strong stints, keeping us in the fight with the top three all on the same lap. It was 10:40pm as I leaped off the wall, dropped the net, slotted in, and synched the belts. Team made a crucial decision in changing the left front tire which was effectively unusable. The extra time it took to change would pay off as my stint played out.

I left the box in a hurry and got the radio call about 2nd being about 7 seconds up the road and 1st about 15 seconds. Wasting no time, I needed to gain control of the E1 race as soon as possible. Impressively with the new front left tire, I had all the grip needed to load the front end with efficiency but having to manage a slick set of nearly corded rears. Within a few laps, I was past the #37 EDGE Motorworks BMW E36 who appeared to be conserving fuel slightly. Another few laps and I was into 1st passing the #8 Rearden Racing Nissan 370Z through Witchcraft and into The Attitude corners.

To make it another hour without forcing a late fuel stop, I’d need to start conserving now. I began a 20-25% conserve and clarified with my car chief on the task. Confusion set in when I was effectively told to ‘push as hard as reasonably possible given the tire life’. That’s when I was briefly told ‘we’re currently fighting a potential penalty, keep pushing at pace’.

Tough not to be your own strategist in this scenario. If I pushed, we were surely forcing a late stop that we wanted to avoid (but would’ve likely had to take anyways given our fuel mileage). If we were indeed hit with a single (or multiple) lap penalty, we’d want to push for a podium regardless. So I didn’t argue, reduced my fuel save to 10-15%, and clicked off fast laps.

The stint was an intensely fun experience. Back in full night conditions, seeing an equal amount of passes and passing as an E1 class entry (middle of the grid), listening to our unrestricted S52 engine. 2:10’s, 2:11’s the range at an 85-90% push. Night racing is an experience I hope any aspiring racing driver gets to have. With no surrounding visibility, you are locked to the task of what’s directly in front of you on circuit and in your dash. This stint was easily the most satisfying and rewarding of the entire weekend.

Knowing the consequences of the team’s plead for me to push, I was on fumes with 15 minutes remaining. Assured the 1+ minute gap I’d built up in my push would keep me leading after the stop, it was a quick splash-and-go to be put back in the race. The team knew best as I crossed the timing line to be shown about 20 seconds up the road from the #37 EDGE Motorworks entry. Within the final 10 minutes, I heard a quick update on our penalty situation. The race director overruled the decision on an earlier fuel spill as not drastic enough to warrant the penalty. We led the race on track and now led on paper as well!

Checkered flew at midnight. Weaving back-and-forth with the lights flashing for the team. The #25 squad pulled off the improbable. First E1 entry, first E1 win. We beat 7 other in-class entries and finished a hugely impressive 6th overall from 34 only behind GT3 Cup and GT4 cars. After the absolute grind of a weekend the team had endured, it was a much needed reminder of what all the work could lead to. My second win in this event, but a first for Romano, Keeley, Bittner, and the rest of our team.

It didn’t come without a fight. The EDGE and Strom teams (both with BMW E36’s) pushed us to the bitter end and weren’t far; within a single lap. They have multiple years of experience and expertise in their cars and teams and it is an honor to compete against them at a high level in our first year of NASA competition! Memorable races come often from memorable competitors.

On Sunday, a rather tired Nik and I swapped cars for the NASA Utah sprint races. Nik put valuable miles on the #24 after Kevin worked to repair our shifter with the final report of ‘it feels like it used to!’ I was able to set the ST4 pole in #25 at a 2:07:0 during the most ‘on edge’ session of my weekend. It was hot, the Hoosier tires were grippy but past their peak, and I experienced what Nik was talking about with the balance. The car was on a knife’s edge on fast entries. Something we know to work on for future races. After setting three laps within two tenths of a second, it was truly ‘all she had’ yet again. My race was anticlimactic as a part of the shifter broke on lap three and I was forced to retire. A failure I’d much rather have here to learn from, repair, and replace before NASA Nationals in September! We’ve already sourced a solution to ensure it doesn’t occur again.

Overall, what an incredible challenge for the Palomar Racing group. It gave us a lot to think about as we make the necessary improvements throughout August. We certainly exceeded my own expectation of what I thought was feasible! The potential had been proven all season up to this point, but this one proved to me that it didn’t matter how new this program was. We have all the factors needed; the cars, the crew, the processes, the spirit. It’s finally coming together. Grateful to be included as a young racing driver with a massively grateful outlook for these opportunities and bigger ones yet to be realized.

FIRST EXPERIENCE AT WATKINS GLEN & ALLEN BERG COACHING

Watkins Glen | July 22-24th, 2022

Outside of my ‘day-to-day’ work at Palomar Racing this year, I’m constantly seeking out differentiated experiences inside of varying race teams, paddocks, and championships.

One such opportunity came in visiting Watkins Glen International for the first time. The SRO GT4 America championship (along with their other championships) was headed to the circuit on the third weekend of July. It was an open date on my calendar and decided no better to integrate with the Premier Racing team whose drivers, Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer, are great friends and mentors of mine.

In an ideal situation, it’s a benefit for me to visit race circuits before eventually driving them at later dates. Getting an understanding of the area, the paddock, the magnitude of the facility, and track nuances will expedite the learning process for when I revisit to race. This was a fantastic chance to learn Watkins Glen. I felt fortunate to be involved in the golf cart track laps, driver debrief sessions, and generally surrounded by circuit-specific setup chatter.

Being able to experience this during an SRO weekend is tremendously helpful too. The SRO and IMSA organizations of professional sports car racing in the U.S. are places I want to race in. These experiences of being in their paddocks only benefits my knowledge of how the professional racing world operates!

Adam and Elliott took the #120 Premier Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport to a 2nd place in Pro-Am on Saturday and a 5th in the class on Sunday. This wasn’t the best suited circuit for their Cayman but managed the variables well and ultimately came out of the weekend in a three-way tie for the points lead.

Grateful for any opportunity to learn with a professional team like Premier Racing. Hope to support them at a future race soon.

Whenever possible, I’m continuing to assist Allen Berg Racing Schools as an instructor/coach for their various programs. I’m immensely grateful to help the students in their Formula Car program at WeatherTech Raceway every few months.

Working with multiple students of varying backgrounds and learning styles has helped me adapt as a teacher of the sport. This past school in August, I got to work alongside my friends (and talented drivers in their own right) in Matt Cresci, Paul Whiting, Spencer Bucknum, Collin Mullan, Kyle Loh, and Lloyd Read.

A quick thank you to Allen Berg whose programs have built the foundation of my coaching!

ONBOARD: Palomar Racing Wins E1 in the 2022 NASA Utah 6 Hour

Utah Motorsports Campus | July 2022

Here is the complete onboard from Palomar Racing’s #25 BMW E36 on route to winning the NASA Utah 6 Hour in E1. My stint in this car begins around the 4:45:00 mark. Click here for the link.

UP NEXT

My racing calendar for September is looking like the busiest of my year.

From September 2-4th, I will race in the World Racing League series at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) for Chattanooga Tourenwagen in their GP2-class BMW E46. The race’s 8 + 8 Hour format in the humid Virginia climate will certainly be a challenge. Having won this same event last year, I’m thrilled to join this Tennessee-based group and aid their ambitions of taking the top podium step.

From September 9-11th, I will reconvene with Palomar Racing as we compete in the US Touring Car Championship event alongside INDYCAR at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Nik Romano and I will pilot the #25 and #24 BMW E36’s (respectively) as this event serves as the ‘warm-up’ before NASA National Championships.

From September 15-18th, I will contend for the ST5 national championship during NASA Championships at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in the #24 Palomar Racing BMW E36 M3. On Monday September 19th, Palomar Racing will enter both #24 and #25 in the 6.5 hour Round 5 of the NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship. I’m expecting to pilot both cars during the enduro as we bid for E2 and E1 victories.

Expect all major sessions of the US Touring Car Championship and NASA National Championship weekends to be livestreamed onto the ‘Palomar Racing’ channel on YouTube. Subscribe and click the bell icon to be notified when we go live.

This year’s season wouldn’t be possible without our partners. Thank you Andy Anderson and the rest of Palomar Solar and Roofing. Partners in FastSideways, Apex Race Parts, BimmerWorld, AGA Tools, Toyo Tires, Motion Control Suspension, Swift Springs, DG Spec, Red Line Oil, Frozen Rotors, Enphase, Panasonic Solar, and others help make the ‘Palomar Racing 2022 Challenge’ possible.

Photography in this update by Chances Hales, Mike Anderson.

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 - 08/23/2022

Matt's Summer Update: Delivering on a Promise

Matt Million's Summer Update: Delivering on a Promise

San Marcos, CA | July 2022

A busy stretch it has been from late May to late June! Racing at Willow Springs, Auto Club Speedway and Sonoma Raceway for Palomar Racing in a month’s span has delivered personal stories of victory, loss, and learning.

We’re settling into a productive flow at Palomar Racing as we enter summer. What started the year as a small vintage racing group wanting to make waves in the Southern California club racing scene has become something rare and special. A group committed to succeeding in the biggest club racing prizes on the West Coast and establishing us as a notable entity for professional series’ yet to come. The ‘Palomar Racing E2/ST5 Challenge’ is in full song and I’m immensely grateful to play a role in it, and become part of the family. I’m in the midst of delivering a promise. Again, thank you Andy Anderson, Nik Romano, and the rest of our crew.

It’s incredibly neat to represent a local business and racing team just 15 minutes from my home in San Marcos. Being so integrated in the team has allowed my understanding of race team management, finances, and performance considerations to grow significantly. With discussions about our future, I know this group wants to move into professional motorsport. While I must keep my options open, it would be unbelievably fitting to make the transition with Palomar. But first, we have two championships, a national title, and a 25-hour race to win!

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 and succeeding in 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, the highlight was becoming E2 class champion in NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship for GOneppo Racing in a BMW Spec E46. For 2022, I am a professional driver for Palomar Racing in their ‘NASA E2/ST5 Challenge’ which you can read about on my website. Having now finished my global business degree 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 short, I encourage a visit to mattmillionracing.com to learn about my 2022 schedule and commitments.

college graduation atop the podium at willow springs

Rosamond, CA | May 22nd, 2022

Shortly after my Spring Update, I was back competing for Palomar Racing at the Willow Springs circuit for the second time this year. The 9th and 10th rounds for NASA SoCal ST5 Championship with the team’s #25 BMW E36 E2/ST5-class competitor. My teammate Nik Romano would race Saturday and I’d be racing Sunday. We had a championship lead to extend for our entry.

Notably, it would be my first race as a college graduate. Four years pursuing a global business degree at California State University San Marcos has concluded. I’d left my ‘senior experience business trade show’ on the Thursday evening to drive straight to the circuit. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the College of Business Administration program, and don’t expect to feel graduated until at least this fall! I transition into a full commitment to Palomar Racing as their driver and on the backend development. I’ll be continuing to coach for personal clients as well as work for companies like Allen Berg Racing Schools. Ready to use my time now toward becoming a true professional in the sport.

Multi-class touring car racing never fails to excite. The ST5 grid would start directly behind the ST4 grid while taking the same green flag this weekend. The top ST5 runners were faster than about half of the nine ST4 class entries. My ‘strategy’ is to put those cars behind me as a buffer!

The NASA SoCal region runs 20-minute qualifying races on Sunday rather than traditional qualifying. I started pole but quickly shuffled to second as the inside lane into T1 didn’t move quite like the outside! I pushed my way through a traffic jam from T2 to T5, made the move back into first for ST5, then set my sights on two ST4 cars to pass in order to create a buffer. Nearly made a pass in every corner Willow has to offer! A full-course yellow came out for a stalled car and the restart bunched up the field for an excited dash. Ultimately, we took the class win to start pole for the main race. Kevin and the team’s car prep helped make the difference!

Strong winds came for the 4:00pm race, resulting in slower times and brake zone instability. I maintained the lead after lap one while passing three ST4 cars although with my closest competition directly behind. An electrical issue we’ve dealt with on the #25 has been intermittent ABS which decided to fail a few laps into the race. The car is drivable without ABS, but braking instability occurs stronger than other cars I’ve raced and I had to give up a few seconds in order to remedy it. I recycled the ignition down T4 which put me behind the #721 car I was battling. Knowing I had the better long run pace, I remained patient for about two laps before making the move into T1. Two corners later, I made an outside move on two ST4 cars in T3 which sealed my lead. Checkered flag. Palomar Racing wins both days (after Nik won on Saturday) and extend the championship lead.

TRIPLE WIN FOR PALOMAR RACING AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

Fontana, CA | June 11-12th, 2022

A short few weeks following Willow Springs, we arrived at the next stop on our 2022 calendar. Auto Club Speedway’s ‘roval' in Fontana, California would play host to NASA SoCal’s June event. Both of our major championships were in action; the sprint ST5 championship and NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship in the E2 class.

Our garage was a sight to behold entering the paddock Saturday morning. Both the current #25 and new #24 together at a track for the first time! For the #25, sustaining the points lead in E2 and ST5 was priority. The #24 was a different story. To even be race-ready this weekend was a huge achievement as it was a bare E36 M3 shell only three weeks prior. Our lead mechanic Kevin had help from the rest of us but he deserves a massive applause for the grueling hours he put in to make the debut feasible.

I had the honor of driving the #24 on track for its first run. Shifting the brain into development mode and being keenly aware of the small details. The car unfortunately suffered a power steering failure, and along with other pieces to solve, we made the decision to park it and remedy its issues at the next test. Still, awesome to start its development so early! It is an extremely well-built car and I’m confident in its potential.

My duties shifted to the #25 for ST5 qualifying. Fresh Toyo RR’s and it felt immediately phenomenal. Air wasn’t hot yet, track temp low. Unfortunately an out-of-class car ran deep into the T9 hairpin and destroyed enough barriers to end the session. I was halfway through my flyer as I approached. The lap would’ve been fantastic to complete!

I took on the ST5 race a few hours later. Starting P3 of 6 in class due to the short qualifying, I knew we had pace and consistency. Starting behind a large ST4 field, I slotted to 2nd on the opening lap. The race was on between myself and championship rival Ryan Bittner in his #88 BMW E46. Our #25 car has a disadvantage here being lower power than the #88 as we use our classification points for aerodynamics and less weight.

Long straights meant I’d lose carlengths although gained the time back under braking. Doing my best to stay tucked tight in his draft, I spotted my chance in traffic as we approached the T12 chicane past halfway. Made the move stick as we ran side-by-side to the oval portion of the lap. Gave Palomar Racing their first weekend win a few laps later!

Next, the 3rd of 6 for the NASA WERC series was a four hour race from 3:00pm to 7:00pm. About 30 cars entered with six in the E2 class. Nik Romano took the opening stint in our #25 and built a lead from the second placed #28 HQ Autosport BMW 135i. After the first complete fuel stint at the 1 hour 30 minute mark, it was Sonny Watanasirisuk’s chance to debut for the team in competition. Sonny is a great driver with years of experience in these types of cars and events. We’re stoked to have him join Nik and I for the endurance races this season!

Sonny ran to a calculated pace which allowed us to complete the race on only one more fuel stop if needed. My stint came at the 2 hour 45 minute mark with another perfectly clean driver change and fuel stop. We had edged about a lap on our nearest competitor through the pace management and excellent stops. My job was straightforward. Hold the pace and bring it home! I did this for a dozen laps saving would’ve been enough fuel to make the finish. Finally I came across a lap without traffic. Decided to go for a quick one and set the fastest race lap of E2 then quickly return back to a conservative pace. I gave an entertaining apology on the radio and got a roar of laughter and ‘no worries, keep going!’ Our lead was enough to warrant a 5-gallon splash-and-dash to ensure we weren’t on fumes. I ran for another 20 minutes out front to take our third consecutive NASA WERC win in E2! We placed 5th overall from 28 entries. Punching above our weight in the 4th fastest class of the 6 total. Speaks to the level we are performing at.

The drivers worked as professionals to deliver what was asked and the pit crew nailed their calls, timing, and cleanliness avoiding any penalties. The overall preparation kept us running strong for all four hours without a single full-course yellow intervention. Team effort!

For brevity sake, I will cover the Sunday ST5 race quickly. While Nik was scheduled to race, an injury had him decide to use me as a stand-in. The race was looking similar to Saturday with a hard fight against the #88 BMW E46 until about the fourth lap. A small error on his part gave me the lead and I wasn’t looking back. From there, I made rapid pace and each every lap within 0.8 of a second until the finish. Easily one of the most consistent runs I’ve put together! I know Nik would’ve rather been in the seat and I hope he heals up quickly, but in the end Palomar Racing continues the charge to lead both the NASA WERC E2 and NASA SoCal ST5 championships.

CRUCIAL LEARNING WEEKEND at SONOMA

Sonoma, CA | June 25-26th, 2022

Two weeks following Fontana, we arrived at Sonoma Raceway. This would be an entirely different set of goals and expectations.

While I’d previously raced in the NASA NorCal region at Sonoma, Palomar Racing had not. Winning is always the main objective, but this trip was entirely focused on the development of our cars and learning a new circuit, region, set of procedures, and so forth. Plus, both of our BMW E36’s, #24 in ST4 and #25 in ST5, would race together for the first time. Priority was to leave Sunday afternoon with both cars intact, develop thick notebooks of data, and gain a grasp on the competition level up north.

The #24 E36 M3 ran laps at speed for the first time only seven days prior at Willow Springs. The car was built nearly all in-house at Palomar Racing, slightly different than the #25 E36 325i we inherited and have steadily improved. My codriver Nik Romano ironed out numerous early race car quirks which enabled the confidence I carried into Friday at Sonoma. I’d handle the majority of testing in the #24 while my endurance teammate Sonny Watanasirisuk got comfortable in the #25 as Nik couldn’t make the event. Immediately apparent the #24 had come a long way since Fontana! The positives; the power was smoother and stronger. The ability to influence direction change into and throughout corners was better than the #25. It finally received a professional alignment job and felt ‘square’. Best of all, it went the entire day with zero major issues (or minor for that matter). All you can truly ask out of a fresh race car!

Though, the overall balance needed work. A suboptimal differential made putting power down a big challenge along with suboptimal gear ratios for the circuit. We also found the car to be lacking a sizable amount of power from its potential for ST4 meaning we’d be fighting an uphill battle. However, neither of those items could be fixed here so we focused on platform! Checking off a laundry list of items like ride height, rebound and compression, sway bar configuration, and even different rear springs. Ultimately, each small change contributed to the car becoming more stable and consistent lap-after-lap by the end of the weekend. Mission success there!

The races were quite challenging. Competing in the #24 in ST4 on Saturday, I’d contend the 22-car class as best as it gave me. Qualifying 11th without an full clean lap with traffic felt fantastic given the drawbacks. With the 30-minute racing four hours later, I took pride in setting a lap within hundredths of my qualifying time on a much hotter circuit with more fuel. We maintained the same pace while most others dropped seconds. Still, lacking sufficient drive off the corners made it a game of maintaining position instead of gaining. I was drenched in sweat by the end trying to wrestle every drop of pace. We now had our baseline of the car in competition and can begin the path forward for the ST4 challenger! Sonny would race the #24 on Sunday and continue to positively influence the car’s development.

On Sunday, Sonny and I swapped in order to provide the team with a variety of feedback. I was back in the #25 for ST5 which felt like home after the season we’d run so far. The 20-minute qualifying race was overcast and perfect for flying laps. Starting 2nd in class (based on Saturday’s results) behind the very quick #72 Moorewood Creative BMW 46, I made an early jump to the lead and didn’t look back. Efficient use of passing traffic meant I had buffer to set quick laps; the best times recorded during the weekend in ST5 altogether! For the main race, I started pole but fell to 2nd. Turns out the inside lane entering turns one and two isn’t the best place to be! Circumstances being as they were, the #72 was quick on its new tires and I could only maintain the distance. The car behind made a late dive on me as I managed a lack of high-speed corner understeer. We battled a hard back-and-forth for the remainder of the race and ultimately I could only pull off the bottom podium step.

It was a shame. I was frustrated but took it as a learning moment. There was circumstances out of my control that contributed and some which might have. I drove a clean, consistent race but couldn’t maximize the car’s pace behind a few extremely defensive (but clean) competitors. Wouldn’t have the result any other way, as the tools learned for my toolbox come September for NASA Nationals will be stronger.

And that was the reason we came to Sonoma in the first place! Each team member was faced with new challenges being forced out of their comfort zone. Tall order for a young team of eight crew to operate two cars with professional-guided expectations. Super proud of how we came together. Sonny and I facing new on-track challenges, the crew facing double the maintenance and new setup challenges, team management dealing with new faces in the series and venue.

Overall, the weekend was an eye-opening experience for our team with development, competition levels, and organized cohesiveness across Palomar Racing with the two cars. Massive learning moments which will better prepare us for NASA Nationals at Laguna Seca in September!

ONBOARD: HOTLAP OF THUNDERHILL IN AN ‘81 SPEC 911

Thunderhill Raceway | September 2021

Here is a neat onboard hotlap of myself at Thunderhill Raceway last year in the #46 1981 Porsche 911 configured to race in PCA Spec 911. Click here for the link.

I spend six weekends last year coaching my friend Sean Neel contend for (and win) the PCA West Coast Series title in Spec 911. Having the privilege to set data reference laps during the year taught me so much about driving old race cars, and specifically old 911’s. With 240 horsepower and about 2400lbs, it requires the fundamentals of a momentum car while also reminding you of the rear engine pendulum bite if not careful!

Thunderhill can be tricky in a ‘point-and-shoot’ Porsche such as this one. Once you apply throttle, all the weight shifts rearward and the front becomes extremely light. This circuit requires very early throttle in most corners, which means you’re managing the front axle quite a bit on a hotlap as you’ll see in the video. Again, such a fun and rewarding car that’s taught me a ton about platform dynamics. Thank you Sean and Marco Gerace at TLG Auto for their enthusiasm to have me assisting them last year! Hope we can get the band back together soon.

UP NEXT

All focus is on the next Palomar Racing ‘E2/ST5 Challenge’ event at beautiful Utah Motorsports Campus for Rd.4 of 6 in NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship. The NASA Utah 6 Hour will see our #25 E36 in E1 and the #24 E36 in E2. The race starts at 6:00pm MST on Saturday, July 30th and will be livestreamed via Sentinel to YouTube from onboard the #24. Follow my social media to be notified!

This year’s season wouldn’t be possible without our partners. Thank you Andy and the rest of Palomar Solar and Roofing as our primary support. Partners in FastSideways, Toyo Tires, Motion Control Suspension, Swift Springs, DG Spec, BimmerWorld, Apex Race Parts, Hawk Performance, Frozen Rotors, and others help make the 2022 season possible.

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 - 07/12/2022

Matt's Spring Update: A Dinner, A Winner, & A Very Special Ginetta

Matt's Spring Update: A Dinner, A Winner, & A Very Special Ginetta

San Marcos, CA | May 2022

It’s been a busy spring for racing and college! This update will quickly cover the highlights of April and May. Numerous circuits, cars, and experience add to what has been a special start to 2022. Visit mattmillionracing.com for the complete stories.

I cover my attendance at the RRDC Dinner during the Long Beach Grand Prix weekend thanks to the formidable Jeremy Shaw. Also covered is taking a win for Palomar Racing in April’s NASA ST5 event at Buttonwillow Raceway. Lastly, a hugely impactful SVRA SpeedTour weekend at Laguna Seca in data collection as well as the story behind piloting their sensational 1968 Ginetta G16.

MY STORY

A quick bio; my name is Matt Million, I’m a 22-year-old aspiring professional racing driver and full-time university student from 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 and succeeding in 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, the highlight was becoming E2 class champion in NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship for GOneppo Racing in a BMW Spec E46. For 2022, I am a Palomar Racing driver in their ‘NASA E2/ST5 Challenge’. Having now finished my Global Business degree 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 short, I encourage a visit to MattMillionRacing.com to learn about my 2022 schedule and commitment for Palomar Racing!

RRDC Dinner in Long Beach

Long Beach, CA | April 7th, 2022

I felt it necessary to begin this update with a truly unique experience. I received a call from Jeremy Shaw about helping behind-the-scenes at the annual Road Racing Drivers Club dinner at Long Beach. It’s the traditional get-together of motorsport’s most influential people ahead of the Long Beach Grand Prix weekend. All the proceeds this event generates goes to supporting the incredible young driver initiatives of Team USA Scholarship and SafeisFast.com.

So when Mr. Shaw generously offered me the chance to put on the event and meet motorsport legends, there is only one answer! The guest of honor for 2022 was Rick Mears.

It was absolutely worthwhile evening. I worked alongside fellow San Diego-based driver Dakota Dickerson on some special tasks. One was delivering the Porsche 934.5 that Rick Mears finished on the podium with in the 1979 24 Hours of Daytona!

After assisting check-in during the cocktail hour in The Hilton’s courtyard, it was time for the reception. One easy highlight was sitting next to American racing legend Peter Cunningham and discussing our stories! The second was watching the reception honoring Rick Mears and all the special people who filled the room. Dakota and I accidently dropped all of host Bobby Rahal’s speaking papers as we attempted to move the podium which was a good laugh!

Overall, what a special night. There are numerous interactions I didn’t cover in an effort to save words. Thank you Jeremy and Tamy especially for the opportunity! There was no better way to spend my 22nd birthday.

Palomar Racing ‘Challenge’ Win at Buttonwillow

Buttonwillow, CA | April 15-17th, 2022

The next stop in Palomar Racing’s ‘E2/ST5 Challenge’ was in Buttonwillow for Round 7 & 8 of the NASA SoCal ST5 Championship. I would take the Saturday race and my teammate Nik Romano took Sunday.

Our objective was to ‘work as little as possible’. The #25 would be taken up to Laguna Seca only two days after the weekend for a data gathering weekend. We wanted to collect all the points possible and leave unscathed. Though, racing is inherently unpredictable so we performed our best… hoping it would be smooth!

The #25 BMW E36 E2/ST5 felt great in the opening laps of our one-and-only morning practice session. It was a combined session with all the groups running together so I decided to save the #25 a couple laps and box early.

Qualifying at here is always a treat. By the end of the session, I was able to run a 1:57:5 which was enough for ST5 pole position! Click here to watch the onboard of the lap. Critiquing the lap, there was certainly opportunities in a couple areas to find time. Though, I couldn’t be too critical of myself having never driven the #25 on this circuit configuration and only having five practice laps. Setup, pressures, comfortability all felt on-par with with our goals!

There’s a reason I chose to include a video of my qualifying lap instead of the race. The race was… straightforward. The start was well controlled and I maintained the lead early from the 6-car ST5 field.

Since my closest rival Bittner in the #88 E46 was on fresh rubber, I knew my opening laps had to be fairly spectacular. If I could outlast his tire advantage in the starting minutes, the cards went dramatically in my favor. We raced close for those opening laps until his advantage faded. With my love and experience of Buttonwillow combined with our ‘light-on-the-tires’ #25 BMW E36, the gap grew significantly.

Soon it was upwards of two seconds per lap. I averaged between 1:58:1 and 1:58:5 on the hot afternoon track surface which felt magical. The 1:58:1 was a new ST5 track record for the layout which is icing-on-the-cake for Palomar Racing’s mission! The gap went into double digits and I was having a fantastic time running a high pace seeking the small gains. A radio message from the team midrace partially ended the fun (justifiably) and I backed off slightly. It was still enough to secure another win for the team!

Overall, another milestone in Palomar Racing’s challenge. Grateful to be their driver for the season alongside Nik Romano and want to do everything possible for their success. Each weekend we learn and build to put us in an increasingly competitive spot for NASA National Championships in September. Thank you as always Andy, Nik, Kevin, Mike, Blair, David, Dawson, and everyone at Palomar Solar and Roofing along with our racing partners.

SVRA SpeedTour at Laguna Seca

Monterey, CA | April 21-24th, 2022

From Buttonwillow we essentially headed straight to Laguna Seca. While there was some parts to repair and check-over on the #25 E36, all turned out okay. The SVRA SpeedTour event in April is one of the team’s important vintage racing dates.

On this occasion, I’d be included in the four-car lineup from Palomar Racing. My primary focus was on developing a notebook for the #25 BMW E36 E2/ST5 throughout the weekend. My teammate Nik Romano was back piloting the gorgeous 1968 Ginetta G16, team owner Andy Anderson was having a blast in his 1969 BMW 2002 B-Sedan, and his brother Mike was racing the beautiful 1968 Rock Vest Datsun Roadster. A tireless task for mechanic Kevin although he had three additional helping hands with crew chief Blair and our ‘newcomers’ David and Dawson. Check out palomarracing.com for a profile on each machine!

There was plenty to discuss from the event but I’ll keep to the highlights.

First, our mission to gather a notebook of data for the #25 E36 before we return for NASA National Championships in September was successful. The car was run in multiple configurations from Thursday to Sunday adapting well to changes. An impressive change was made possible by Swift Springs, who expedited us the springs we needed overnight to conduct part of our research! Incredible to have them as partners. It was a true pleasure to pilot the car in multiple qualifying and race trims while offer my suggestions for improvement. I even got to have quite the battle with a jaw-dropping BMW 3.0 CSL in the Saturday race!

The most unexpected moment now ranks in the top three ‘most impactful learning experiences’ of my racing journey.

Somehow an idea came around the team to put me in the Ginetta G16 for a session. The stunning blue-and-yellow historic racer has been a centerpiece of Palomar Racing since the team acquired it in 2020. Nik Romano has been its primary driver in the time since and has been instrumental in making the car playful, raceable, and a whole lot of fun.

With only one session for each the BMW and Ginetta on Sunday, Nik and I car-swapped for the feature races. Thus, I’d be piloting the G16 with absolutely no practice for the 30-minute race. To say I was apprehensive would be an understatement! Although the team had more faith in my abilities than I had in myself this day. "Just go learn it. Have fun. Do whatever feels comfortable!”

I took one lap around the Laguna Seca public road to shift a dog box transmission and straight cut gears for the first time ever. I found the confidence needed to get out there, ‘drink from a firehose’, and learn!

After starting in the back behind the other sports prototypes of various eras, I passed three on the opening lap! Maybe the car was more intuitive than I thought. My pace increased quickly. It was hard to fathom the situation. Flying around Laguna Seca in a vintage sports racer. Surreal and an honor. Although I definitely would’ve benefited from practice laps. I’ll have to get Nik to coach me!

The brake feel was heavy but entirely predictable. Steering was delicate, crisp, and a total joy. The gearbox configuration I adapted to… about 80% of the time. The rapid aggression needed and tight confines made it a struggle at times, especially down Corkscrew. As frustrating as it was to not nail every single lap like a seasoned pro, it’s an incredibly tall order in a car like this. An entirely foreign experience to me.

Still, I have to be proud of myself. I had fun, pushed to new limits, and learned a tremendous amount about piloting these race cars. Felt I drove it quite competently all things considered! Thank you Andy and Nik especially for allowing this to occur. These are the moments young drivers live for.

Watch my onboard from the Ginetta by clicking here or viewing the thumbnail above! The video includes the opening lap along with some of my most fun laps.

UP NEXT

My next race in the Palomar Racing ‘E2/ST5 Challenge’ is at Willow Springs for the NASA SoCal ST5 Championship this weekend (May 21-22nd). After this, we head to Auto Club Speedway for NASA SoCal ST5 and the four-hour NASA WERC Round 3. There’s a high chance our #24 BMW E36 debuts during the weekend.

Next, Sonoma Raceway in late June is on the cards for our new #24 E1/ST4 BMW E36. Then it’s the NASA Utah 6 Hour in July before all effort goes to NASA Nationals at Laguna Seca in September.

This year’s challenge wouldn’t be possible without our partners. Thank you to Andy and the rest of Palomar Solar and Roofing as our primary sponsor. Supporting partners Toyo Tires, Motion Control Suspension, Swift Springs, DG Spec, BimmerWorld, Apex Race Parts, Frozen Rotors, FastSideways, Massive Brakes and others make the 2022 season happen.

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 - 05/19/2022

Matt's March Update: Second Endurance Win & Steady Team Progress

Matt's March Update: SECOND ENDURANCE WIN AND STEADY PROGRESS FOR PALOMAR RACING’S AMBITIOUS SEASON

San Marcos, CA | April 5th, 2022

After Ernest Shackleton’s 1915 polar expedition vessel was discovered this month in Antarctica, I’ve been pondering lessons from him and his team’s incredible journey. “Through endurance we conquer”, and through endurance we continue our momentum!

The month of March has come and gone with a plethora of positive steps in Palomar Racing’s 2022 E2/ST5 Challenge. Our target this month was NASA SoCal at Auto Club Speedway for another pair of ST5 sprint races combined with the Saturday evening three-hour NASA WERC series Round 2 of 6. We succeeded in securing a second-consecutive E2 class win in the WERC event along with one win and one second place for the ST5 sprints. Even with an early points lead in both championships, there is no big celebration yet. The priority at this point in 2022 has been entirely focused on development of the car, team, and drivers as we hope to secure the ultimate challenges of winning the NASA National Championships in September and NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill triumph along with the two season titles. Still, the results from this month are encouraging for our direction!

This is a short, simple newsletter from me this month as I battle a 19-unit final college semester workload nearing ‘crunch time’. There will be a few fantastic experiences worth covering in more detail for my April Update so stay on the lookout for that!

MY STORY

A quick catch-up; my name is Matt Million, I’m a 21-year-old aspiring professional racing driver and full-time university student from 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 and succeeding in 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, the highlight was becoming E2 class champion in NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship where I drove for GOneppo Racing in a BMW Spec E46. For 2022, I am a Palomar Racing driver in their ‘NASA E2/ST5 Challenge’. I’m in my final semester studying Global Business at CSU San Marcos with an aim to use these skills to enter professional motorsport given the right opportunity 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

I’ve taken this section from my most recent update for context on my 2022 racing season with Palomar Racing. The ‘challenge’ is in reference to the team’s ambitious goals and schedule. The E2/ST5 Challenge is a project designed to compete and succeed in the competitive E2 endurance class of NASA WERC as well as the NASA ST5 sprint championship with the same platform; the BMW E36. The team decided on the E36 for its durability, performance potential, and link to the team’s historic racing background. The ruleset is the same for both sprint and endurance allowing us to contest both championships with the same car.

While we race and develop our #25 BMW E36 325i chassis currently, there is a second car (an E36 M3) which will run alongside as the #24 when it debuts in select events. The four targets: the year-long NASA SoCal ST5 sprint championship and 6-round NASA WERC endurance series in E2, the national NASA Championships at Laguna Seca in September, and the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill in December.

Palomar Racing’s three-part philosophy for the project: develop the best car for the class, build the most well-rounded and quickest crew, and run the best drivers for the task.

It’s still quite unbelievable to be included in that last piece alongside my teammate Nik Romano. The year of racing I had pieced together in 2021 and the successes within in directly led to the phone call received last December asking if I’d be interesting to join this high-level club racing project. The call-up means as much today as it did five months ago and I’m committed to deliver for this group. It’s extremely coincidental to be located only a 10-minute drive from the Palomar Racing base in Escondido, California which means I’m spending a lot of time there, only to increase as my college journey concludes!

WELCOME TO AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

Fontana, CA | March 26-27th, 2022

For as relatively close as Auto Club Speedway is to my home in San Marcos, it has been a while since I’ve raced here. In 2017, I took part in Spec Miata races here and have been back in recent years for driver coaching. With plans swirling around NASCAR’s demolition of the circuit to convert the 2-mile oval into a half-mile short track (which seems to not be happening now), I’m glad I get to return!

With no pre-event testing allowed on the Friday, we decided to test two weeks before to gather a baseline of our package around the fast-and-tight 2.8-mile roval. While trialing our aero options and brake pad compounds was useful to test alongside collecting a baseline, the biggest revelation was in the failures. In the day’s final session, the right-front damper collapsed (luckily I made it back perfectly fine) and thus forced a scramble to locate and install an entire suspension package in 10 days. The previous suspension was on its final legs and was scheduled to be replaced by shiny 2-way Motion Control Suspension dampers after the race weekend. Well, the change came early and we’d be heading into the race with an excellent MCS and Swift Springs package courtesy of friends at BIMMERSPEED and Swift. Thank you to our head mechanic Kevin for sorting this out quickly and confidently!

The race weekend began two weeks later on Saturday morning. The atmosphere was frantic and the paddock jam-packed as well over a hundred race cars took to the circuit for morning warm-up. My codriver Nik Romano was the ‘guinea pig’ in making certain the suspension was properly assembled. He was ecstatic at the improvements he felt already! We now had much more suspension travel and adjustability to tune mechanical grip, as well as ensuring a more even tire wear pattern. The hot pressures and temperatures affirmed this.

My first session of the day was immediately into ST5 sprint qualifying on a set of lightly used Toyo RR’s. I had to find a groove early in the session with did with laps 3 and 4 at a blistering 1:53:0 which was a half-second better than any lap I’d done in any E2/ST5 car and multiple tenths faster than we’d go the rest of the weekend (due to hotter surface temperatures and tire wear). As a racing driver there’s always nit-picking and I felt there was a few tenths left on the table as I was somewhat hesitant in attacking kerbs (based on my experience of the former, much more unpredictable suspension package). But still, I had to be pleased with my first taste of the setup and track for the day.

On paper, this circuit was going be our biggest struggle. We take regulatory penalties for the aerodynamic bits and other modifiers which means our horsepower is down 15-20 on the competitive BMW E46s in our class. With long straights and short corners, Fontana is the furthest circuit from our development target of flowing Laguna Seca. As good as I felt my laptime was, P2 was the best starting spot we could hope for. A small taste of what ‘Balance of Performance’ is like when I enter professional sports car racing! To watch my onboard of the qualifying lap, click here or search for ‘Matt Million Racing’ on YouTube.

The ST5 sprint race itself was, well, both eventful and uneventful. To save space in this report for more exciting paragraphs, here’s a brief recap. The series officials had confusion regarding the qualifying grid order and most of us started out-of-order. I was able to take the lead early in ST5 and hold onto it for the duration of the 25-minute race. In the process we set a new race lap record for NASA ST5 at a 1:54:2 which is neat!

NASA WERC Round 2

The three-hour NASA WERC event was due to start at 4:00 PM local. Nik would pilot the opening stint rolling off the grid 1st of 6 in E2 and 22nd of 37 entries overall. Our strategy could look one of two ways: attempt to run a one-stop race with moderate-to-heavy fuel saving or push a two-stop race to gain track position and possibly force competitors into the same sequence. We decided on the one-stop strategy for two a few reasons: a high likelihood of one or multiple full-course yellows given the increased number of higher class cars and our confidence in maintaining a lead E2 pace with a bit of fuel saving.

Although, we lacked the firm confidence to know if this was possible without a full-course yellow. We don’t yet have an abundance of prior calculations (given it was only the second endurance race for the car). We were confident enough we could run 1-hour-30-minutes on the opening 17-gallon tank with a touch of conservation, although only being allowed to refill 10-12 gallons on pit stops per the regulation meant the worst case scenario could mean I’d have a second stop.

Nik took the green as we watched from the Palomar Racing tent on pit lane. With our engineering philosophy in opting for more aerodynamics instead of power, Nik had to fend off attacks from multiple cars early and did so brilliantly, slowly gaining the edge as he could maintain more consistent tire temperatures. We knew Auto Club Speedway’s circuit was the least suited to this philosophy but the game in winning a relatively short three-hour (which blends sprint and endurance tactics) was strategy and not raw pace.

I’d be remiss to not mention my mother’s fantastic invention which she prepared to keep the crew happy in the pits! The ‘SnackleBox’ received rave reviews and I’m sure it will return. Being my ‘home’ event, it was nice to have my uncle, aunt, and nephews take in the sights of their first race!

On track, we noticed a hood clamp had come undone and made a small opening. A car spun near T12 and Nik took avoiding action over a kerb which popped the latch. Good to know our safety mechanisms worked and the hood remained down! 30 minutes in, we had our first full-course yellow. This immediately meant a one-stop was becoming our sole option as Nik could now stretch the first stint beyond 1-hour-30-minutes and put me into the right window.

The race continued with Nik now solidly out front in E2 caught in an occasion battle as he wrestled to hit his fuel target. We received another full-course yellow at the end of hour one which solidified our approach and bunched the field together once again.

In the pits for Palomar Racing, we had our primary mechanic Kevin Desirello paired with fantastic crew members David and Dawson Morton ready to deliver the fuel stop as Blair Geil handled radio communication with team leader Andy and Mike Anderson eagerly watching.

I put up my suit and strapped on the silver Stilo helmet at the 1-hour-30-minute mark preparing for Nik. The more time spent with a race team refining processes truly takes the nervous anticipation out of these moments! I’ve cultivated a tremendous respect for the Palomar Racing team and witnessed all the preparation applied to make these pit stops top quality. I knew they’d excel, now it was on our driver change and doing my job in the cockpit!

If one moment in the weekend stood out to say “this team has serious potential”, it was this pit stop. Faster and cleaner than any practice run. Nearly 1-minute with tweaks still to iron out to be comfortably under that mark. I launched away from the box with our AIM SOLO2 in GPS Speed mode and carried 25 MPH as I synched the belts ever tighter. Judging by where we eventually ended up overall, I dare say it was fastest production class (E0, E1, E2, E3) pit stop of race.

News of our nearest competitor #80 Team SRC BMW E46 receiving a pit lane penalty was relayed to me as I settled into the race. An unusual rate of attrition in the E2 class saw our nearest three competitors face mechanical setbacks or penalties. We effectively had a one-lap lead and I decided to channel my inner-Scott Dixon and continue saving fuel. In hindsight, we likely could’ve made the finish pushing a 95% pace by now but I maintained focus on simply securing the result to our crew rather than selfish heroics. I kept up a competitive pace range of within two or three tenths while attuning to the suspension dynamics making a mental logbook of where the adjustments should occur.

Running an endurance race on this circuit is quite different than other championship locations like Buttonwillow or Laguna Seca. The long straights give opportunity for the top class ES/ESR entries to stretch their legs and often remain invisible as the time spend negotiating track position is done quickly here, apart from the occasional last-second late braking maneuver. Even the E0 and E1 classes separate from us more often getting to use their additional horsepower to full effective whereas a circuit like Laguna Seca or Buttonwillow isn’t as noticeable with the pace difference with many more medium-to-high speed corners reliant on mechanical and aero grip. So apart from the realization my new helmet visor wasn’t nearly as dark as I needed it to be in the fading daylight, it was calm stint clicking off laps.

A half-hour or so had passed in my stint with all going well. By this point I was confident our fuel would go the distance and eager I was to see what the #25 was capable of. “Am I cleared to start pushing?” “Yes, give it what you’ve got!” I caught a significant amount of traffic during this radio relay and prepared to set the quickest laps of the stint when I got to the start/finish line. However as racing is naturally unpredictable, a final full-course yellow was deployed as I crossed the line. I did not see any incidents or reason for the safety car and remained hopeful it would be a fast recovery. The time dwindled and after about four slow laps of pacing, the checkered flag waved with race officials ending the three-hour about 20 minutes before the scheduled end time.

Somewhat anticlimactic as it was for everyone, the reason we later learned was for the circuit’s ambulance to leave the facility transporting a seriously injured spectator in the paddock and thus no racing can take place without safety on stand-by. Absolutely the correct call and a noble decision!

We thus won E2 having stretched our gap to 2nd in class to well over two laps. Notable was that we finished only one lap behind the winning E1 class entry and ahead of the remaining 8 cars in E1, as well as only one E0 entry finishing ahead of us too! P13 overall from 22nd. A strong statement of intent by the Palomar Racing team no doubt and I’m unequivocally grateful to be their driver alongside Nik. It’s becoming tradition for Andy to collect up our ‘NASA Winner’ stickers, write the circuit name and month, and line them down the roll cage bars which is a fun moment to witness.

Whether it’s captured in a small sticker or not, the steady progress this team keeps making is encouraging and a joy to be included in. Playing my role to utmost of my abilities to contribute toward Andy’s 2022 racing vision coming to fruition is the best gift I can give back for an owner, a teammate, and a motivated crew who took me into their racing family. Thank you guys so much! There’s much, much more in store for us…

To quickly recap our Sunday ST5 sprint race, Nik did an excellent job! We worked together on setup tweaks in alignment and suspension and found great results. A tricky midcorner understeer issue plagued us on Saturday especially as the tires fell away in the heat which was remedied quite a lot by the changes, Nik reported. He faced an all out 25-minute battle with our main ST5 rival Ryan Bittner going back-and-forth lap after lap, seriously awesome to watch.

Reflections

To be drafted into Palomar Racing’s E2/ST5 Challenge this season continues to grow in personal significance to me. I look back to just last April not knowing where my next race, season, or day in a cockpit would come from. I did my best to seek chances and extract value from the uncertainty culminating in the performances which led to unexpected phone call from Palomar Racing. The effort put in never goes to waste.

Another positive month for this program speaks to the potential and caliber we can become. An atmosphere of constantly locating our weak points and maximizing our strengths has made me very happy as a competitive racing driver! It’s an honor to compete for a team with a similar mindset of competition. Our next event is April 15-16th at Buttonwillow Raceway for NASA SoCal ST5 before heading back to Auto Club Speedway for NASA WERC Round 3 in June.

Lastly, this year’s challenge wouldn’t be possible without our partners. Thank you to Palomar Solar and Roofing as our primary sponsor along with partners Toyo Tires, Motion Control Suspension, Swift Springs, DG Spec, BimmerWorld, Apex Race Parts, Frozen Rotors, FastSideways, Massive Brakes as well as NASA SoCal and the NASA WERC series organizers.

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 - 04/05/2022

Matt's February Update: The 2022 Challenge Begins on the Top Podium Step

Matt's February Update: The 2022 Challenge with Palomar Racing Begins on the Top Podium Step

San Marcos, CA | March 2nd, 2022

This month is one I will look back fondly on as the beginning of a special racing project I get to call home this year.

Together with Palomar Racing, we’ve taken a flying start to our 2022 challenge. We left Willow Springs winning the season-opening NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship round in E2 as well as sweeping the NASA SoCal ST5 sprint races. The program is built on contending for both championships this season with the addition of the national NASA Championships at Laguna Seca and NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill later this year. The first chapter toward these four goals has been written in the record books!

‘Luck is when preparation meets opportunity’. This could be reference to how my performances at the end of last season caught the attention of Palomar Racing to the tune of offering this opportunity. Very serendipitous to meet them last October as my current program was winding down and theirs just beginning. This could also be reference to how we managed to narrowly win the 3.5-hour night race by virtue of all three fundamental components the project is built on; developing the strongest crew, drivers, and car. While it was by no means a perfect race, we needed every one of the factors to pull through on Saturday night!

Grateful only begins to describe my feelings for Palomar Racing’s faith to bring me into their expansive NASA-focused challenge for 2022. We’re off to a strong start and I’d want nothing else but to keep the momentum going! Before we get going, a big thank you to team leader Andy and my teammate Nik for everything thus far.

MY STORY

A quick catch-up; my name is Matt Million, I’m a 21-year-old aspiring professional racing driver and full-time university student from 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 and succeeding in 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, the main highlight was becoming E2 class champion in NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship where I drove for GOneppo Racing in a BMW Spec E46. I’m in my final year of studying Global Business at CSU San Marcos with a goal to use these skills to enter professional motorsport given the right opportunity 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

For additional context on my season with Palomar Racing, the ‘challenge’ is in reference to the team’s mission. The E2/ST5 Challenge is a project designed to compete and succeed in the competitive E2 endurance class of NASA WERC as well as the NASA ST5 sprint championship with the same platform; the BMW E36. The team decided on the E36 for its durability, performance potential, and link to the team’s historic racing background. The ruleset is the same for both sprint and endurance allowing us to contest with the same car.

While we are racing our #25 BMW E36 325i chassis currently, there is an E36 M3 chassis in development which will run as the #24 with hopes for its debut by the middle of 2022. The four targets: the season-long NASA SoCal ST5 sprint championship and 6-round NASA WERC endurance series in E2, the national NASA Championships at Laguna Seca in September, and the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill in December.

Palomar Racing’s three-part philosophy for the project: develop the best car for the class, build the most well-rounded and quickest crew, and run the best drivers for the task. It’s flattering to be included in that last piece alongside Nik Romano! It’s extremely unique to be located only a 10-minute drive from their base in Escondido, California as well.

WELCOME TO WILLOW SPRINGS

Rosamond, CA | February 11-13, 2022

I’ve never been quite so relieved to see a race car as I was pulling into the paddock on the sunny Friday morning. After multiple delays in trying to receive essential parts we needed, and generally being pressed on time through January, the Palomar crew pulled together in the 11th hour.

She was ready! The buzz radiated off our core crew of Andy, Mike, and Kevin. Not only was the #25 finally in one piece with all the necessary parts, it was performing above expectation. Without divulging too deep into the class regulations, the horsepower and torque numbers were balanced quite close to where we needed it with our current aero and modifiers. If we had more time to tune, we could’ve run about 100lbs lighter per the regulations but we’d work around it. I was ecstatic to feel the difference about 25 horsepower and 50 torque made with the new S52 M3 powerplant compared to the prior original engine.

With no buffer time between installation and race weekend, I had cautious expectations everything would hold up during testing. Full confidence in Palomar Racing’s work but you can’t be certain until the data is collected! And after dozens and dozens of laps testing everything from qualifying runs, endurance fuel calculating runs, and setup adjustments, I found myself more tired than the car itself! It drove fantastically well all things considered, albeit with some quirks still, with each positive step made in the workshop noticeable.

It was a massive difference. A revitalized machine from the one I put through its paces testing at Buttonwillow three weeks prior. The torque curve was super strong and power was impressively smooth. The added MSW Kinematic shifter setup made rowing gears much more precise and nimble. Small changes to driver ergonomics and switch placement meant she was beginning to feel like a more developed prospect. We had a strong understeer issue which worried us on tire wear but as 85% of everything ran better than expected, it was a factor we could manage.

We spent the evening practicing the refueling and tire change procedures, adjusting headlight direction, and enjoying incredible steak around a fire. I’d be pulling double-duty tomorrow running both the ST5 sprint qualifying and race as well as the final two stints of the 3.5-hour. Excited to get started!

SATURDAY

As I use these updates to document my journey with accuracy, it means being honest at times. Excited to finally get our program started, I was quite tired. Running around in the sun for five days straight between work and here caught up to me and I’d have to manage my energy wisely. Though, a renewed sense of confidence knowing the success of the day relied on everyone. If the car performed, the crew executed on their objectives, and the group energy flowed positively, the Palomar Racing team would get what they deserved regardless of how I felt. Yes, the racing driver is a crucial component and I was going to provide the best performance possible. But overall success in these endurance races especially relies on everyone. That reenergized me a bit. And it turns out your fatigue goes away when you strap into a race car. Who knew?

The plan for Saturday was as follows: Nik to run warm-up, I would qualify and race in ST5, Nik would qualify for WERC, and he would run the first fuel stint of the 3.5-hour while I raced the final two.

Something extraordinary was realized during my ST5 qualifying. While there was lots of traffic to navigate hampering my ability to set a quick lap until late in the session, the car felt… a whole lot better. New Toyo RR’s made a large difference but the dynamics of how the #25 now rotated through T2, T3-T5, and T9 was extraordinary. The difference? Switching to our primary APEX EC-7R Forged rims. Slightly wider and a whole lot more rigid than our testing rim set. Shocking can only begin to describe the difference. On average 1+ second per lap faster the rest of the weekend. An unexpected learning moment!

I qualified at a 1:30:5 which broke the previous NASA ST5 record and subsequently put us pole. I knew immediately there was a couple tenths left on the table for Nik to find in WERC qualifying if he had less traffic than me. I relayed the exciting news and we broke down where to find that pace. Getting out in front early was key for Nik who found the difference and put it on pole for E2 with another record!

By midafternoon it was time for the ST5 sprint. The series broke up the field into two packs and I sat pole for the second group. Having not started pole in a competitive sprint for a few years (and underestimated the potency of our torque), my getaway was fantastic… too good. My leap off the line was judged a false start and we saw the restart flags. My mind had gone back to ultra-competitive Spec Miata mode. Whoops, my bad! After some confusion by the first group, we eventually got underway and not much changed. I was averaging heaps of time over the 13-car ST5 field per lap setting the race lap record and taking the checkered by a sizable margin. I felt great about my performance and consistency to run within two tenths each lap even with a small ABS issue. It all clicked. The first sprint victory of this project is a testament to every improvement Palomar Racing made in the last few weeks. But now my focus was squarely on the primary challenge; the 3.5-hour WERC opener. Although I don’t cover it in this update, Nik went on to win the Sunday ST5 sprint with an excellent performance as well to complete the weekend!

NASA WERC Round 1

The Palomar Racing group was swiftly finalizing car preparations and setting up our pit stall as I sat in the motorhome resting with Nik and his partner Kristen a half hour before the race. I realized how foreign it felt to just be the ‘racing driver’ for once and Nik felt similarly. The value of having a motivated, trusted group who handle the many auxiliary duties of racing cannot be overstated. Although this was our first true test as combined Palomar Racing, what I’d witnessed in the build-up to the season told me this wasn’t an ordinary club racing program. They wanted to ensure success at any sacrifice this year. The atmosphere was right.

Nik took the green flag from pole out of 6 in E2 and 10th of 25 overall in the receding daylight at 4:30 PM. He was locked in a battle with our main rival; the #72 MooreWood Creative BMW E46. Of the unknowns we had entering the race, knowing this team would be a serious threat was very well understood! They’ve been competing in the category for multiple years and run an extremely competitive car and drivers with lightning pit stops. They would be our main competition not only tonight, but likely at all the major events this season. This was going to be formidable test of our group. Eventually, Nik got the better of the fight and slowly crept away to a lead of 5 to 10 seconds.

Just over an hour into the race Nik reported the fuel light was on. This was concerning. If he only stretched the full 17-gallon tank this far, how far could I stretch the roughly 12-gallons (per regulations) I would have after the stop? We definitely could not make a third stop if we wanted to win. I’d need to channel my inner Scott Dixon to stay in command of the race while saving lots of fuel.

Just past sunset and Nik hit his marks in the pit lane and our driver swap was without issue. The strategy of changing our front-left tire after the refueling finished (per regulation) meant our driver change didn’t need to be perfect in a 30 second window but we acted as clinical as possible. Nik relayed one crucial piece of information as he strapped me in; “the headlights failed, be careful out there”.

I heard him but the it wasn’t comprehendible. Three laps into the stint and I was still in disbelief. Was I about to be tasked with two hours at the darkest circuit in California with only the small apex lights? Cherry on top between managing the #72 car, a fuel deficit and rapid tire degradation!

The use of our new Dry Break fueling system was excellent. A Dry Break system effectively locks the fuel can into the mount providing a much safer and faster system than traditional refueling. While common in most major professional racing series, it was forbidden in the E2 category until this year.

My stints went by in a flash. The #25 Palomar Racing E36 felt much better than anticipated. I had the confidence to push a higher pace for the opening 30 minutes or so. It’s important in my internal strategy to gather a well-informed baseline of the car’s potential early in a long stint. That way I’m able to make efficient decisions in managing laps with dense traffic versus desolate ones in an effort to find pace at times, save the equipment at times, or blend the two into hitting a particular lap time or fuel number given the status of our race. I was being held up by an out-of-class Porsche 911 Cup car until I realized his pace was actually what I needed to be setting… and his headlights allowed me to spot my way around Turn 9!

Eventually, I ran up to the #72 MooreWood Creative BMW. After incessantly asking the team if this pass was for the lead, “this pass will put you back onto the lead lap”. Wait, I am down a lap? It turns out they ran a tire strategy we didn’t think was possible; no planned tire changes even with the same Toyo RR compound. They leapfrogged us during our change and I’d now worked for an hour to claw back around a half-lap. This told us we had work to do on our suspension setup for tire wear. Must’ve been pushing a hefty fuel save by this point as I had no opposition making the move to put us on the same lap.

Soon after the only full-course yellow of the race was displayed for a car off in Turn 1. The pit lane does not close under yellow in NASA WERC and I was adamant now was the time for my one and only fuel stop. The team assured me the strategy would work better by stretching a little longer to burn off more fuel in order to avoid any potential overflow. The green flag was flown soon after and I narrowly scythed my way past multiple cars in the busy restart. Watch this restart onboard with me on YouTube by clicking the link here!

About five laps later and I was called to box as I tailed multiple E1 class cars and passed the #72. The splash-and-go stop was excellent. Kevin and David nailed both fuel cans and I was gone in under a minute. As fate would have it, I reentered directly behind the #72 MooreWood Creative entry with no other cars in sight. Obvious their second driver had taken over as the tendencies and driving style had changed. Clarifying with my team that we still remained one lap behind them shifted my internal game plan.

If it had been for position, the pass would happen quick. But it wasn’t for position. With the #72 holding a strong pace and concerns still surrounding our fuel/tires to make the finish, I held back and pressured from behind. It was an opportunity to keep in the draft and save as much fuel (and save the car) as needed. There wasn’t any benefit to forcing a pass and getting 10 to 20 seconds ahead only to be at risk of an additional fuel stop while still being over a minute from the lead. I doubled down on the rearward pressure and tucked in as close as possible for about 12 laps. His pace was fading.

To my amazement, the game plan of pressure worked. One misjudged line on fading tires in Turn 9 and the #72 was off in the dirt at speed. He’d lost about 15 seconds and I was gone up the road. It didn’t make a difference in our plan since stretching fuel another 20 minutes was the priority. Ultimately, we had to accept coming 2nd to the well-proven #72 crew. They’ve had years of development whereas this was our first race in the series. To be on the same lap to finish was going to be an achievement. Then I received the radio call.

“MooreWood is in the pits!” In the off-track at Turn 9, they cut down the right-front tire and had an emergency stop in the final 15 minutes. I took the lead with full priority on nursing our #25 home as gently as possible. There was a three lap deficit to the next closest E2 competitor and I was finally confident we had enough fuel to last, but the left-front tire was down to nothing once again and my pace fell off a cliff. But it didn’t matter. We managed our variables the best and impressively so for a new team. The drivers, the strategy and fuel/tire crew, and the car’s pace and reliability all worked to give Palomar Racing the first E2 class win in the 2022 NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship season.

“Get on the other doorsill and we’re getting a photo!” It came unbelievably down-to-the-wire with MooreWood and that made it worthwhile. We both finished on lap 118 in the end. Also down to wires was our left-front tire. It wasn’t lasting much longer after taking a closer look. People were coming by to say how they watched the tire ‘spark’ as I came down the straight. In a sprint race, you only have a few variables to manage with pure pace a priority. In an endurance race, it can be 10x. Putting together the arithmetic of all the factors is what delivers results. If I had dropped that tire in off a kerb a couple laps before the end, our win could’ve been lost. Also too if we hadn’t gotten all the fuel in during the last stop. Or if I was unable to drive at speed without the main headlight beams. Those are the margins that make endurance race so intriguing and satisfying.

Reflections

Reiterating much of what I’ve already said, I cannot be thankful enough to the Palomar Racing team. It brings me such joy to watch an idea which started on paper late last year transform into a formidable program with high potential to succeed in our ‘challenge’ together.

First, to Andy Anderson. How serendipitous it was for Mike, Kevin, Blair, and yourself to contribute toward GOneppo Racing’s title-clinching pit stop in October last year. Your guidance and vision for this year’s challenge keeps us all motivated and eager to push ourselves. You’ve been nothing but generous to me and shown a hunger to deliver us the tools we need to be winning. I cannot wait to see what this year develops into!

Next to Nik Romano. Without your push to have me integrated in this mission to share driving duties with you, the results of this weekend wouldn’t have been the same. You’re a fantastic driver whose already taught me plenty about car setup, dynamics, and components and I look forward to furthering our relationship and making our teamwork unbeatable. It ‘takes two to tango’ and your abilities inside and out of the car are pushing me to keep learning!

To the rest of Palomar Racing, your commitment to this challenge will be the reason it works. Kevin, your tireless hours of building the #25 and eventually #24 to the performance potential we seek is paramount to the team’s success. Without the car, we wouldn’t be racing! Mike, your enthusiasm, stories, and expertise has rippled through the atmosphere of our group and made it lots of fun to be included in. Thank you for all your hardwork to make the program function! To Blair, your relaxed personality and sense of humor is similar to mine and developing our relationship has translated into your role as crew chief. I’m always at ease knowing you’re on the other end of the radio and am grateful for your commitment. To everyone else, thank you just the same!

Lastly, this year’s challenge wouldn’t be possible without our partners. Thank you to Palomar Solar and Roofing as our primary sponsor along with partners Toyo Tires, BimmerWorld, Apex Race Parts, Frozen Rotors, FastSideways, Massive Brakes as well as NASA SoCal and the NASA WERC series organizers.

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 - 03/02/2022

Matt's January Update: 2022 Season with Palomar Racing & Report from Laguna Seca

Matt's January Update: 2022 Season with Palomar Racing & Report from Laguna Seca

San Marcos, CA / February 1st, 2022

The first month of the year has been a jam-packed introduction to a number of 2022 racing projects. With over 200 circuit laps and four race cars driven before the end of the first month, I’m beginning to feel what the professionals do!

In this update, I’ll discuss three stories from the month: announcing my season for Palomar Racing and car development progress, being called-in to a Lucky Dog endurance team to win at Laguna Seca, and supporting Palomar Racing for VARA University at Buttonwillow.

I’ve been working to have these updates easily readable, engaging, and shorter. I’d appreciate any feedback. Thank you for the support!

MY STORY

A quick catch-up; my name is Matt Million, I’m a 21-year-old aspiring professional racing driver and full-time university student from 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 and succeeding in 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, the main highlight was becoming E2 class champion in NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship where I drove for GOneppo Racing in a BMW Spec E46. I’m in my final year of studying Global Business at CSU San Marcos with a goal to use these skills to enter professional motorsport given the right opportunity 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!

story #1: JOINING PALOMAR RACING FOR 2022 + CAR DEVELOPMENT

BUTTONWILLOW, CA / Jan 7-9th

My first laps on-track in 2022 came with a strong relevance and commitment for the next 12 months! Here’s the announcement and background first, then I’ll give a bit of commentary about what it means to me.

I’m immensely excited to announce a major component to my year. I 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. 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 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 ST5/E2 program in place and reached out to me about the opportunity.

This is my first opportunity as a truly ‘sponsor supported’ 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.

Development Race Debut at Buttonwillow

Our debut weekend came in early January at Buttonwillow Raceway for NASA SoCal ST5. This event was primarily a data-gathering exercise for the car before the season truly began in February. Nik was scheduled to guide the weekend’s races with Nico and I supporting. On the Wednesday before, Nik gave us the news he was suddenly unavailable and couldn’t make the trip. It was now, under poor circumstances, up to Nico and I to collect data!

We acclimated ourselves to the #25 in Friday testing. Immediately it was obvious how much potential this package has. The concept was to combine the BMW E36’s lightness with aerodynamic prowess, reliability, and power. While the ‘power’ aspect is forthcoming with our improved engine scheduled to be ready for NASA WERC Rd.1 in February, the lightness and aerodynamic potential made the car insanely nimble and capable of impressive mid-corner speed.

An unexpected treat to Friday was being able to sample the team’s 1969 BMW 2002 built to B-Sedan regulations. It weighs about 2000lbs, makes around 180hp, and never wants to be below 6000rpm! Honestly, when the Palomar guys told me to shift around 8000rpm I truly believed they were joking. No joking indeed. I’ve never driven any car remotely similar; a raw, uncorked, visceral experience wrapped in a bite-size package. Yet, it’s shockingly intuitive. The dynamics, gearbox, characteristics all encourage a particular on-the-limit driving style that she responds well to. Essentially, if you’re not partially sliding at all times, you’re not going fast enough! What a joy. Please check out this onboard video I’ve published from the experience by clicking here!

I’d race on Saturday with Nico on Sunday. A satisfying qualifying performance, able to secure pole in ST5 from 7 cars with the power deficit and time left on the table as I worked to adjust my driving style to the downforce.

The 25-minute sprint race proved how important it was to be here collecting data. While it was incredible in most corners, all the high-horsepower traffic would heavily compromise this advantage with little to be done in defense on the next straight! I took 2nd battling an unpredictable braking sensation which compromised the speeds further. We learned afterwards the ABS had failed and I was thankful to get to the end safely. In all, it’s exactly what we wanted to find out: create a list of all the ‘must fix’ areas, understand how to maximize our advantages, and put the development work in early.

It was a great first weekend to work with Palomar Racing learning team dynamic, performance expectations, and potential. I’m immensely encouraged by the planned preparation for February and cannot wait to get the season started!

STORY #2: WINNING AT LUCKY DOG LAGUNA SECA

Great run! P1 in class, P3 of 45 overall on Saturday

MONTEREY, CA / January 15-16th

When I received a message from longtime friend Francis Hu that he needed a driver for his Lucky Dog endurance team, it was a quick reply back!

His daughter, who normally took this spot, was unavailable for the January event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. I was honored to be offered the drive. It was a 6.5 hour race on Saturday and 7.5 hour race on Sunday. I’d be behind-the-wheel of his team’s BMW E46. Although I’ve driven numerous E46’s in recent years, none have been at the incredible Laguna Seca. Knowing I’d return here for the NASA National Championships in September, this would be a wonderful preview and chance to accumulate plenty of lap data. Even with the Lucky Dog series focused on ‘fun’ rather than outright performance, it was a great opportunity.

The team is ‘Ambi-Turners’ and includes co-drivers Myan Spaccarelli and Kimball Williams. For Saturday’s race, our objective was to be classified in B-class and go for the class win. Since the three Lucky Dog categories (A, B, and C) are determined by general lap time range, we’d be on the cusp between A and B. Being the resident ‘pro’, I needed to make sure my pace was dialed back within range of my teammates for the day which was a surprisingly fun challenge.

Kimball took the start and ran consistently between 9th and 12th place overall from 45. One-and-a-half hours later, Francis was strapped in as we excellently met our 5-minute pit stop minimum. Now solidly classified as in B-class, I assessed the fastest in-class time and made sure I’d run as close to that number as possible (about a 1:47:0). Just past noon and we executed my stop cleanly. On a quick lap, our E46 on these series-mandated Hankook RS4’s was capable of high 1:44’s and thus I was involved in lots of mental arithmetic meeting my number through both heavy and sparse laps of traffic! Myan took the final stint of the day by which point we ran 1st in B-class and top five overall. Maintaining consistency, we won the class and climbed to a rather impressive 3rd overall from 45 entries. A unique moment of the finish was I wasn’t able to celebrate on the pit wall with my teammates… because I was right behind the Myan!

Long story made short, my friends at Team Black Swan Search needed a 4th driver to finish in the #62 BMW E30 to maintain stint compliance. Therefore, I took the final half-hour behind the wheel of the car which gave us 2nd in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill just last month! One more ‘bucket list’ item checked off… drive two cars in the same race. To make it even better, I was having so much fun in the #62 after being told to ‘drive as fast as possible’ that I came within tenths of the fastest C-class race lap. It was radioed in on the penultimate lap so I pushed a bit more. Crossing the checkered, it was enough for the fastest lap in class. Great moment!

I’ll keep the story of Sunday’s 7.5 hour brief. It was another fun, well-executed race made even better by taking the restriction off my lap times. The 1:47’s now could become 1:45’s and it was an enjoyable challenge wrestling the well-used Hankook RS4 DOT tires into more speed. With this tire compound giving out and snapping the car around with aggressive inputs, the game of delicacy through dozens of slower race cars was a nice challenge.

My favorite passing zone was the entry of T9 as you could capitalize on traffic running wide and hold a tight, swooping move which was far more efficient than most braking zones to pass in. It’s a delicate balance for a pro caliber driver in Lucky Dog which is an amateur-supported series. In the end, you can have fun going quickly during a stint but need to be mindful of the beginners and remember to just do the job you’ve been told and hand the car off clean!

We finished 6th overall on Sunday after another clean run. Ultimately, it was a skill-sharpening exercise to clock over 100 laps of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in dense, often unpredictable traffic. But all my efforts were second to making sure Francis and the Ambi-Turners team had a fun, productive weekend. Considering it was their first ever Lucky Dog class win and best set of results, I’d say mission accomplished.

Thank you Francis, Myan, Kimball, Eugene, Vivian, and the rest for providing a wonderful weekend.

STORY #3: DEVELOPMENT STRIDES & SUPPORTING AT VARA UNIVERSITY

BUTTONWILLOW, CA / January 21 - 23rd

The final story this month returns to Buttonwillow Raceway, this time for the season-opening VARA vintage club racing weekend. However, there’s no racing to speak about. Each January VARA organizes an entire event dedicated to driver training and their ‘VARA University’ high-performance driving and racing schools.

The Palomar Racing team are seasoned VARA competitors and the plan was to help our fantastic crew chief Blair receive his racing license. While I planned on attending to support and offer advice, the team handed me an important role; to test and develop changes on our #25 BMW E36 ST5/E2 competitor during open Friday testing.

Since our opening event two weeks prior, a number of changes were made to the car. A different front-end geometry, aerodynamic adjustments, brake improvements, and others minor details meant data needed to be collected. In total, I clicked off about 60 laps of Buttonwillow CW13 at pace with various adjustments and notes logged. The most effort I’ve put into high quality, fast laps in a test day for a good while! And again, the strengths of this package shined even brighter as I got my second taste. Even with the engine 30-40 horsepower down from what’s allowed in the category, I could run consistently faster laps than any other E2 category I’ve raced here. In short, great progress on the #25.

Everything in that test elevated my excitement for the season. Immensely grateful to be included in Palomar Racing’s lineup and hope to make it a special season.

We transitioned into Saturday’s VARA University experience. Our crew chief Blair would get his racing license in the team’s #007 BMW E36 while our mechanic Kevin got to live the fruits of his labors; running the #07 BMW 2002 in the school after fixing a lingering engine issue on Friday night!

As I spent the day listening to a wonderful array of vintage race cars and happily supporting Blair and Kevin, our paddock friends who brought their BMW E30 M3 wanted my assistance to coach their young driver Sara and get my feedback on the platform setup. She was already a very competent driver but was ready to move up from basic instruction.

First time driving an E30 M3!

It was very helpful to understand where small improvements could be made and even more helpful to show it from the driver’s seat. When teaching, it’s important to drive the car in a manner your student can tangibly replicate while exemplifying the one to three aspects discussed beforehand. In this scenario, my example was primarily on lessening steering input to maintain a more comfortable balance (allowing for more safe speed with practice) with a secondary focus on firm-yet-smooth brake applications and finally on adjusting car position in certain corners. Undoubtedly the most rewarding part was watching her confidence rise in knowing what she needed to work on instead of generic instruction and applying it!

Thank you Andy, Mike, Kevin, and Blair for the allowing me to support. Thank you also Carl, Mark, and Sara especially for allowing me to practice my driver coaching and sample a wonderful BMW E30 M3! An overall lovely weekend.

REFLECTIONS

Although I didn’t send out a December Update, please click here to visit the article on my website. It covers my experience with Team Black Swan Search at the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill. It was my fourth start in the event as I led a driver team of ‘25 Hour’ rookies. We finished 2nd in class after a fierce battle over the entire (fog-shortened) 17 hour race. Plenty of stories to read!

It was a busy January full of good experiences and people. Headed into February, my sole focus is the NASA WERC Rd.1 for 3.5 Hours of Willow Springs and accompanying ST5 sprint races on the weekend of February 11-13th. I’m excited to deliver my best for Palomar Racing and start our working relationship in front of the competition! I cannot stress enough how these opportunities aren’t common and it’s an honor to be included in this one.

Beyond this, I’ll be putting the headphones on and getting to work on my final semester at university. I’m on target to complete my Global Business Management degree at CSU San Marcos this May and it feels awfully strange yet rewarding. Four years of learning about aspects of my business-related passion and I’m ready to pair it with my racing career!

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 - 02/01/2022

Announcement: Million Joins Palomar Racing for NASA WERC & ST5 Championships

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!

For Inquiries…