The NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill is the longest and most difficult endurance race in the United States. Advertised by NASA, the National Auto Sport Association, as 'the most severe endurance race on the planet' , the 25 Hours of Thunderhill delivers on that promise. With the race being run in the month of December, the weather can and has wreaked havoc on the racing conditions. The large fields, nonstop action and prestige of the event attract top teams and drivers from across the country to compete in this race. Separated into six different classes by potential, there is racing from the green flag to the checkered everywhere on the track.
DivaSpeed, owned by Donna Gilio has shown that they are the team to
beat in E2, with wins in the last 2 WERC enduros, winning the 6 Hour
enduro at Button Willow by over 3 laps and this last weekend winning
the Infinion 4 hour enduro by over a lap. The winning car was built and
prepared by Ron Carroll who is also the team manager. For those of you
who don't know Ron, he works in SCCA Pro racing World Challenge and
Grand Am, last year he was the car chief for Jeff Altenberg at
Tri-Point Engineering, with Ron's help Jeff won the World Challenge
Touring Car championship and has said that without Ron's help it would
not have been possible. Ron has also had a lot of success locally
helping Donna Gilio win more races and set more track records then any
one, male or female in the western United states, it has been said that
when Ron and Donna team up they are very hard to beat.
Team owner Donna Gilio is well know for her uncanny
ability to get into just about any car and be one of the fastest
drivers in that car, she proved that last year by stepping out of the
Acura Integra in which she dominated the 2006 season in both SCCA and
NASA,. For the 2007 season she excepted a ride from Chuck Johnson and
MLC Motorsports to race one of their Formula E open wheel cars, she was
up to speed in no time and mid way through the season she was winning
races and again setting track records, even finishing 5th in the
National Championships against 39 other cars at Road Atlanta.
Joining Donna as drivers for DivaSpeed in the 25 will be Karen
Salvaggio and Glory Fernandez. Karen has been racing for 25 years in
every thing from NASCAR dirt track events to ALMS and NASA road racing,
she has placed on top of the podium over 150 times and brings a wealth
of knowledge to DivaSpeed. Karen has also been the co driver in the
last 2 enduros, teaming with Donna in their very dominating victories.
Glory is also a very accomplished racer, she lives in Puerto Rico, last
year she won the national Championship in the T-2 class and has raced
in the Grand Am series at Dayton International raceway.
DivaSpeed is proud to be the first all women team to
compete in the NASA 25 Hours of Thunder Hill and looks forward to the
extreme challenge that this race offers.
DivaSpeed would like to thank everyone that has help
them, AIM Tires and Ron Cortez, Rupert's Auto Body, Red Line Oil, Hinds
Custom Machine and Driving Ambition.
More drivers will be announced soon.
