NASA WERC

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.

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!

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