Mercer's win gives the team from Los Altos, Calif. their third USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill win in a row, getting the hat-trick.  Drivers Johannes van Overbeek, Jon Fogarty, Tommy Sadler, Rich Walton and Wolf Henzler had only one small incident in the 25 hours of running.  That was when they had contact with the E1 Class Scion at 4 p.m. on Saturday, resulting in a broken right rear wheel.  The Mercer Porsche covered 691 laps, 2,073-miles at an average speed of 101 mph, and, amazingly posted the fastest lap of the race on circuit 641 with a time 1:45.036 on their way to a 41 lap win.

"Three in a row for Scott Mercer and the team is great," Jon Fogarty, driver said.  "He puts together a great team for this event every year.  All of our stints were good, and we had great weather.  Most of the drivers out there were very heads-up, using their mirrors, which meant no drama for us.  We really had a clean run, except for that slight brush with the Scion early on."

"It is a wonderful day for us," Scott Mercer, team owner said.  "We have great drivers, great crew, and great teamwork all the way around.  It was a fun day.  We had one incident on the track.  We were so fortunate. We had that little accident at 4 p.m., but we fixed it and just kept on charging.  The drivers did a great job, not putting a wheel wrong for 25 hours.  The Porsche ran strong and fast for the full run.  A great win!"

Second place in the ES Class was the No. 29 Porsche of G22 Racing/Truspeed, with the No. 161 BMW M3 of Team Stammer Inc./Bavarian Performance finishing third.

In E3 the No. 23 Miata of RJ Racing took the win in the biggest class of the race, with 22 cars.  Second in E3 was the No. 96 Mazda Miata of Team Hooverspeed 2; third was the No. 3 Mazda Miata of Miatacage.com.

"It was interesting. The race seemed to thin out in the night time," John Gibson of RJ Racing said.  "The track was rough this year.  There were a lot of cars in the class.  Rob, my brother and partner, made great strategy calls all day.  We were changing tires just at the right time.  The car ran strong and we really had the brakes working great."

In the E0 Class, the No. 100 car of Team Atlanta Motorsports took the win.  In second was the No. 9 Miata of Team Edge Motorsports; third was the No. 30 Bimmerworld BMW.

"I want to thank team A & G in putting together a great car," Elivan Goulart of Team Atlanta said.  "I want to also thank Mazda for a great car.  Mike Cooper and Jesse Combs, my teammates, did a great job behind the wheel for 25 hours.  We had a few issues and the crew was able to sort it out, and we came up on top.  At the beginning we lost the transmission. This incredible crew changed it in 25-minutes."

The No. 38 CJ Wilson Mazda MX-5 won the E1 Class for the second year in a row.  In second was the No. 34 Robert Davis Racing Mazda RX-8; third was the No. 72 Scion Racing Scion.

"We started on pole and led a lot of laps," Tyler McQuarrie of CJ Wilson Racing said.  "The biggest thing in this race is not to make mistakes, and we had some.  But the CJ Wilson team didn't give up.  At the start of the night we were sixth in class, 30 laps down.  We pushed.  I think I did three doubles and one triple-stint. I think I was in the car for 11-hours.  This is my fourth win in the E1 Class."

The No. 99 949 Racing Mazda Miata took the win in the E2 Class.  Second in E2 was the No. 102 of Team Atlanta; third was the No. 051 Team Super Miata.

"It was great stints by all of our drivers," Dean Thomas of 949 Racing said.  "If it wasn't for mechanicals we could have won by like 14-laps.  We tore the front corner off of the car, but the team never gave up and just kept working.  We lost a brake caliper into Turn 14, and that was a 45-minute fix for that stop.  To have us win this race makes me so proud.  The competitors were really respectful, really good racing out there this weekend."

In ESR the No. 48 Factory 48 Motorsports Radical took the win.

"We ran as high as third overall in the race at one point," Jeff Shafer said.  "We had to change an engine around 8 p.m. and then came back in a few hours to change the clutch.  A tough weekend on the parts trailer, but we won."

25 Hours of Thunderhill Side Stories:

Record braking event (North America): the most cars to start a 24/25  event (83); Thunderhill Raceway Park is the longest track of all the 24/25 races at three-miles; the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill is the longest race at 25 hours; NASA race records include just five penalties served for body contact; the No. 75 Mercer Porsche completed more laps than any other 25 hour, which included a red flag period - the most laps under green.

A team of high school students from Porterville High School, located south of Fresno, Calif. made it to 9 p.m. last night with their No. 7 BMW. The team is an all student effort that prepared the car, after school, with the payoff being to compete at the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill race this weekend. The team wore blaze orange hoodies with the words "Kids at the Track Don't Do Crack."

The No. 80 Team Edge BMW crew began a motor change in their BMW at 8 a.m. this morning in an all-out effort to finish on the podium third in E0 Class.

Four of the five classes that took the checker were won by a Mazda Miata or MX-5.  Ten of the possible 18 podium positions were held by Mazda Miata or MX-5 competitors.

The No. 05 Mazda MX-5 of RDR ran over 19 hours of the race with no windshield or back glass.

No. 72 Scion Racing began an engine change at 9 a.m. Sunday morning and made it back out just in time to take third place in E1.

In both the E0 and E1 classes, two laps separated the first and second positions.

NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill media guide go to www.nasa25hour.com/Thunderhill%20Media%20Guide_r3.pdf.  

WILLOWS, Calif. (Dec. 4, 2011) - The United States Air Force (USAF) National Auto Sport Association (NASA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill has six-hours remaining with the No. 75 Mercer Motorsports Michelin Porsche still leading at Thunderhill Raceway Park.

The race experienced a red flag stoppage at 5:45 a.m. for a car fire in the No. 85 Bootman Racing FFR in Turn Two.  Racing resumed at 25-minutes later.

The Mercer Porsche has covered 576 laps, that is 1,728 miles at an average speed of 101 mph.  The team has had only one on track mishap, which was contact with the E1 Class leading Scion, resulting in an out of sequence pit stop to change the right rear tire.

"The only drama that we have had was the hit in the right rear," No. 75 driver Rich Walton said. "Other than that we have run 19-hour trouble free.  Traffic has not been too bad.  The slower competitors are pointing us bye, so that makes our job a little easier with all of these cars.  The Mercer Porsche is handling as good as it did in the first hour.  We are just planning to keep cycling drivers and adding fuel and tires to the finish."

The No. 102 Mazda Miata of Team Atlanta is leading in the E2 Class.

"My stint was uneventful this morning," Guy Leidig said.  "I had to get used to the brake zones because the markers have been knocked down during the race.  My job is to keep the seat warm and keep it on the track.  The car is running well. The brakes and tires are really good.  We are going to put the fast guys in the car and push to the end."

The No. 80 e36 BMW of Team Edge leads the E0 Class.

"It has been great," Steve Ferrario said.  "The e36 BMW is a dream to drive.  It is smooth, put it on cruise control and go.  We have a little sticky steering input, but other than that the car is running great.  Not really any issues with traffic.  Sometimes the Miatas are a little dicey to deal with.  The fast guys are really courteous, so no real problems."

In E3 Team Sector Purple has put their Mazda Miata into the lead.

"So far everything is smooth," Lea Croteau said.  "I am working traffic well.  Sometimes it is hard to tell who is coming up on you.  The car has been very reliable.  In practice and qualifying we had a few issues.  The team stayed up all night on Friday to get things right.  We are going to keep going and stay out of the pits and on the track."

The No. 71 Scion Racing Team is leading the E1 Class.

"Don Gardner has an amazing program here," Craig Stanton said.  "We have tested and practiced and leading the class is a result of a lot of hard work. The car has never missed a beat.  We were running a little too hard on the brakes early on, so we adjusted our strategy.  Tire wear is good and things are going to plan.  We are only able to change on tire and put in 10 gallons of fuel.  So there is always a mismatched set of tires.  Mechanically, the car is perfect."

Follow the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill action at GoRacingTV.com or via the live race web broadcast on the Internet at www.enduranceradio.net.

The NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill had 83 cars take the green flag, which is a record for endurance racing in North America.  There are six classes (ES, ESR, E0, E1, E2, E3) competing on the three-mile, 15-turn track located 90-minutes north of Sacramento. 

For additional information, please contact  NASA Media Director, Kyle Chura at kyle@kcapr.com or (248) 821-0468.  More detail on NASA and the Thunderhill 25 Hour can be found at www.nasaproracing.com  or  www.nasa25hour.com.  To view the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill media guide go to www.nasa25hour.com/Thunderhill%20Media%20Guide_r3.pdf.

WILLOWS, Calif. (Dec. 3, 2011) - The United States Air Force (USAF) National Auto Sport Association (NASA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill has reached the near halfway mark with the No. 75 Mercer Motorsports Michelin Porsche leading at Thunderhill Raceway Park.

The No. 75 ES Class Mercer Porsche took the point during the 7 p.m. hour and has amassed a commanding 19 lap lead on the second-place No. 20 Team World Speed BMW M3.  

"My stint was fun. I was racing with one of the trucks and the Trupeed Porsche," Tommy Sadler said of his run in the Mercer Porsche. "I didn't get a lot of laps in practice, so I was feeling my way around the car and the track. I was quickest at the end of my stint. The car is really strong and fast. We weren't able to get the handling just perfect, we are over working the front tires a little too much, so we have to be easy on them."

Team Edge is leading the E0 Class in their BMW.

"I had a great stint," Paul Blickman said. "We had a few problems at the beginning of the run, but we worked through those. The car is dependable and is doing well on fuel. The car handles great. We are having a little problem with our power steering, it is a little notchy. You have to unwind the wheel. It is a little different, but it is working. We need to preserve the car, preserve the brakes and log good times. Respect the car and we will do well."

In E2, the 051 of Team Super Mazda is winning the class in their Miata.

"I was focusing on being really steady for my stint," Emilio Cervantes said. "We got caught up by the guys who were in P2. We stayed cool and let them go bye. We caught them and are running our own race. We have Nitto tires and they seem to be out lasting our competitors, by twice the distance."

The No. 71 Scion Racing Team is leading the E1 Class.

"My stint was amazing. I had a great three hours," Scott Webb said. "The car is performing wonderfully. On my last lap I had some contact with the Mercer Porsche, and it damaged us both a little bit. The team went to work, put a new tire on it and bent the fender out a little and it went back out with a fresh driver. The amount of time you can lose in pit lane is tremendous. This team has practiced tire changes, fueling and driver changes. This team is really shines with the attention to details."

RJ Racing is leading the E3 Class in their Mazda Miata.

"We have been doing great so far," Rob Gibson said. "We have been dialing our tire pressures in and running our strategy. All of our stops have been great. The car is running perfectly, knock on wood. We have great brakes on the car. We need to keep it clean and make fast pit stops."

In ESR the No. 48 Radical is leading.

"We up in the top three overall early in the race," Jeff Shafer said. "Since then we broke an engine around 8 p.m. We changed that, and now we have to change the clutch. It was just slipping too much. Until the trailer is empty and there are no parts left to put on we will keep going."

Follow the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill action at GoRacingTV.com or via the live race web broadcast on the Internet at www.enduranceradio.net.

The NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill had 83 cars take the green flag, which is a record for endurance racing in North America. There are six classes (ES, ESR, E0, E1, E2, E3) competing on the three-mile, 15-turn track located 90-minutes north of Sacramento.

For additional information, please contact NASA Media Director, Kyle Chura at kyle@kcapr.com or (248) 821-0468. More detail on NASA and the Thunderhill 25 Hour can be found at www.nasaproracing.com or www.nasa25hour.com. To view the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill media guide go to www.nasa25hour.com/Thunderhill%20Media%20Guide_r3.pdf.

The 87 car has been swapping the lead during pit stops with the No. 75 Mercer Motorsports Michelin Porsche all race. The cars have been running flawlessly at the front, making it an exciting opening six hours as night falls on the Thunderhill circuit. The 87 Norma also leads the ESR Class.

"We got squeezed one time, I got pushed off of the track and it took off my left side mirror off the car," Steve Zadig, driver, said. "I just had to go faster so I didn't have to use that mirror. The car is great. Everyone is driving really well out there. It is hard for our competitors because we are so low profile, but mostly we get pointed by the slower cars, which is great sportsmanship."

The No. 75 Mercer Porsche is battling for the overall lead as well as winning the ES Class.

"I competed here in 2009," Wolf Henzler, driver, said. "I like the circuit, there is a lot of runoff, so the track is very safe and forgiving. The Porsche Cup is one of the fastest cars here. There are a lot of slow cars, but our speed down the straight really helps us get through traffic. We have to be very careful in traffic. You have to know that they see you before you pass to avoid contact. We have a good race going on with the 87 Radical. They are slower down the straight, but they are lighter, so faster in the turns. It is an interesting fight for the race lead."

The 051 Team Super Mazda Miata is leading the E2 Class.

"The car has good pace, and we are leading the race," Sean Johnston said. "Our strategy is to get out front and lead the race. We are confident that we can run hard and have people chase us. If we are having people pushing to keep up with us, hopefully their equipment will fail. We are confident with our team and package."

Achilles Motorsports is leading the E0 Class in their BMW e36 M3.

"We won this race in 2008,"Billy Johnson said. "The guys at Achilles do a great job with this BMW. We are leading the class. This is an awesome event that I look forward to every year. The car is running really good. It really handles. The team did a great job with the set-up. We are ahead of the field. We need to maintain a steady pace and not push things too hard."

The No. 25 Honda Research Acura RSX is leading the E1 Class.

"The car is handling perfectly," Lee Niffenegge said. "Our strategy is to keep it on the track and don't mess-up. I had a really clean stint, except for losing our ABS early in the race, so we have to be careful under braking. Other than that it is really going well."

The E3 Class leaders are RJ Racing and their Miata.

"My stint was solid," Jaime Florence said. "I kind of laid-back and turned some laps. I focused on good lap times, while not fighting traffic, and stayed clean. We want to just keep on running clean and stay out of trouble. We will make it to 6 a.m. and then talk about a new strategy."

Consonus Racing Wins Six-Hour

A race within a race, the six-hours of Thunderhill was won by the Fogg brothers in the No. 1 Consonus Racing Norma. The team had an anxious moment when the car would not start on the grid. The officials gave them a push start to join the rest of the field.

"We had a great time," Steve Fogg said. "We were due. We have been coming here for four years and have had a collective 50 laps on the track in those four years. So to win the six-hour race is quite an accomplishment. We are really excited. We lost the battery at the start. So we went a lap and a half after coming in and changing the battery. We fought our way back to win it."

"It was great," Phil Fogg said. "When Steve was stalled on the grid, I thought, here we go again. We have had some big disappointments here. Once we got off of the grid, the car ran like a top the rest of the race. I think we were the fastest car out there at the end of the six hours. We had a little racing luck go our way this year. Our competition had some tough luck, so we were able to take the win."

Winning the E0 Class six-hour was Team Thunder Valley Racing; E1 Team Scion Racing; E3 Team Biggs B Racing; ES Team C-Performance; ESR Team Consonus.

Follow the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill action at GoRacingTV.com or via the live race web broadcast on the Internet at

The NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill had 83 cars take the green flag, which is a record for endurance racing in North America. There are six classes (ES, ESR, E0, E1, E2, E3) competing on the three-mile, 15-turn track located 90-minutes north of Sacramento.

For additional information, please contact NASA Media Director, Kyle Chura at kyle@kcapr.com or (248) 821-0468. More detail on NASA and the Thunderhill 25 Hour can be found at www.nasaproracing.com or www.nasa25hour.com. To view the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill media guide go to www.nasa25hour.com/Thunderhill%20Media%20Guide_r3.pdf.

www.enduranceradio.net.

The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) is pleased to announce that Toyo Tires® will continue as the Official Tire of the NASA through 2015. The Toyo® Proxes RA1™ has long been NASA’s tire of choice for many classes and Toyo Tires has offered generous cash prizes...

"We are delighted to renew our partnership with Toyo Tires for four more years. They have been an incredible partner for more than a decade and we have found their product to be a perfect fit for many of our most popular classes,” said Ryan Flaherty, National Chairman of NASA.  “We have worked very hard to deliver the most lucrative contingency program available to grassroots racers and with more than $2,000,000.00 up for grabs, Toyo Tires has again proven that they are 100% committed to NASA racers."

“Toyo Tires is proud to support NASA and the amateur racers who put their cars through the paces every weekend,” said Stan Chen, Manager of Events and Motorsports, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.  “NASA provides a great platform which offers everything from High Performance Driving Events, to Time Trial and wheel-to-wheel competition with a wide variety of car classes.  With our extensive tire line-up, we have the products to match.”

NASA is pleased to announce that Toyo Tires will also return as the Title Sponsor for the NASA Championships for 2012-2015. Toyo Tires will continue to offer large cash prizes to Toyo Spec classes along with contingency prizes for both Time Trial and non-Toyo Spec racing classes. For more information on the Toyo Tires programs, please visit http://www.nasaproracing.com/contingency

The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) was formed in 1991 with the premise of delivering high-quality motorsports events to enthusiasts at major racing venues throughout the nation. NASA has created programs that allow owners of both racecars and high-performance street-driven vehicles to enjoy the full performance capabilities of their cars in a controlled professionally managed environment. NASA offers many different programs that will allow you to enjoy motorsports on a number of different levels, including our High Performance Driving Events (HPDE), Rally Sport, Time Trial, NASA-X and Competition Racing programs.

"Miller Motorsports Park has played host to many of the world's most significant racing series," said Dan McKeever, Miller Motorsports Park Director of Track Operations and 2010 NASA Spec Miata National Champion. "With the creation of the NASA Utah Region, owners of both racecars and high-performance street-driven vehicles will have even more opportunity to enjoy the full performance capabilities of their cars in a safe and controlled environment."

The new region will be headed up by Aaron "Biggie" Brown, NASA Utah Region Director. Biggie commented, "With the introduction of this new region, NASA will continue the tradition of delivering high quality motorsports events to enthusiasts at major racing venues throughout the nation. And, Miller Motorsports Park in Utah is hands-down the most advanced, safest and best-equipped road racing facility in North America. It’s a perfect match."

Official details including the racing schedule, contingency, registration and more will be made available by the beginning of the New Year.

More information on NASA can be found at www.NASAProRacing.com. 

More information on Miller Motorsports Park Motorsports Park can be found at www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com. 

NAPA VALLEY, CA (November 28, 2011) -NASA is pleased to announce the NASA Championship’s return to the world famous Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex in Lexington, Ohio for 2012...

The 2012 NASA Championships at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car is scheduled for September 6th- 9th, 2012. The 2012 Championships promise to be another great racing weekend, with over $1,000,000.00 in contingency available for the taking during the 2011 NASA Championships, television coverage, as well as streaming live broadcast already being planned.

For more information regarding the NASA Championships contact Will Faules at will@drivenasa.com.

New Florida Region Director Jon Felton added "I am very excited to get working on building up the grids in Florida. This is an amazing opportunity and I can’t wait to get to know all of our Florida drivers in the next few months."

For more information on the NASA Florida region, please visit www.drivenasafl.com.  Jon Felton can be reached at jfelton@drivenasa.com