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