TC Motorsports finished in the top ten at the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill, Presented by the U.S. Air Force, on December 6-7 at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, CA.With support from Ford Racing, TC Motorsports started the Friday test day with a well sorted car, well prepared team, and lap times competitive with the rest of the ES class and overall entries. TC Motorsports was the team to beat and was poised to have a great finishing result for the overnight race event. Unfortunately, the race did not go entirely to plan. During the pace lap prior to the start of the race, a problem occurred with Ford Racing development power plant on the #8 FR500S and the team was forced to make a pit stop for repairs on the first green flag lap.
"Something went wrong inside the engine and caused enough damage to
force us to replace the engine with less than one lap of the race
completed. We are not sure what happened because the engine ran
perfect during dyno and track testing," commented team Principal, and
driver of the sidelined Mustang, Carlo Sparacio.
The team did not have a spare engine, but they did have a spare racecar in the transporter. With a never give up spirit, the team removed the spare car from the transporter, removed the engines from both the racecar and spare car, and installed the engine from the spare car into the racecar. The team worked incredibly hard. Every crew person had a specific job and was practiced in the procedure, which accounts for the fact that the operation only took four hours to complete. While it was quick work, it still gave the entire race field a four hour head start.
Once the engine replacement was complete, the car was off and running and the team had no other option but to run as hard as possible and try to chase down the rest of the pack, already well over 100 laps ahead. The team just needed time on track to make the chase work, as it had one of the fastest cars on track.
Time is something that the race would be a little short on because a little before 7:00 PM the race was red flagged, and racing came to a stop due to heavy fog. The race was started again at 5:00 AM the next morning, cutting ten hours from the total race time of 25 hours.
Back on track, drivers Carlo Sparacio, Rick Edwards, Steve Miller, Jeff Van Lierop, and Ted Anthony, Jr. made good time and fast, consistent laps, moving closer to the front with every lap. At the checkered flag, the #8 TC Motorsports/Ford Racing Mustang FR500S was solidly mid pack, 10th place in class, and 45th overall.
"Our crew is phenomenal! The engine swap was fast and efficient, pit stops for tires, fuel, and brake pads went exactly as practiced, were lightning fast, and error free. I would put our guys up against the best in the world when it comes to getting the job done before, during, and after a race. I am lucky to be surrounded by such a talented team. While we did not have the best on-track result, we showed everyone what we are made of when it comes to teamwork, technical knowledge, practical skills, and execution of a professional endurance racing operation. Thanks to Jeff Feit at Ford Racing for his engineering support, Lynda Randall and Candice Bailey for the excellent hospitality chalet at the track, and Ford Racing Mustang Challenge and BF Goodrich for providing parts and tire support at the track. Ford Racing Mustang Challenge is the place to race and we are really looking forward to returning to the scheduled season in 2009," commented Sparacio.
TC Motorsports updated a live blog during the event at www.tcm25thunderhill2008.blogspot.com/ and you can log in to see images and stories about the race event and get more information about the team of crew and drivers.
TC Motorsports, LLC is a client-based motorsports company that provides racecar preparation, maintenance, and transportation, as well as full arrive and drive support, driver coaching, and racecar rentals for amateur and professional racing series. To find out more about opportunities to drive with TC Motorsports please visit the company website at www.tcmotorsports.net.
Source: TC Motorsports press release
The team did not have a spare engine, but they did have a spare racecar in the transporter. With a never give up spirit, the team removed the spare car from the transporter, removed the engines from both the racecar and spare car, and installed the engine from the spare car into the racecar. The team worked incredibly hard. Every crew person had a specific job and was practiced in the procedure, which accounts for the fact that the operation only took four hours to complete. While it was quick work, it still gave the entire race field a four hour head start.
Once the engine replacement was complete, the car was off and running and the team had no other option but to run as hard as possible and try to chase down the rest of the pack, already well over 100 laps ahead. The team just needed time on track to make the chase work, as it had one of the fastest cars on track.
Time is something that the race would be a little short on because a little before 7:00 PM the race was red flagged, and racing came to a stop due to heavy fog. The race was started again at 5:00 AM the next morning, cutting ten hours from the total race time of 25 hours.
Back on track, drivers Carlo Sparacio, Rick Edwards, Steve Miller, Jeff Van Lierop, and Ted Anthony, Jr. made good time and fast, consistent laps, moving closer to the front with every lap. At the checkered flag, the #8 TC Motorsports/Ford Racing Mustang FR500S was solidly mid pack, 10th place in class, and 45th overall.
"Our crew is phenomenal! The engine swap was fast and efficient, pit stops for tires, fuel, and brake pads went exactly as practiced, were lightning fast, and error free. I would put our guys up against the best in the world when it comes to getting the job done before, during, and after a race. I am lucky to be surrounded by such a talented team. While we did not have the best on-track result, we showed everyone what we are made of when it comes to teamwork, technical knowledge, practical skills, and execution of a professional endurance racing operation. Thanks to Jeff Feit at Ford Racing for his engineering support, Lynda Randall and Candice Bailey for the excellent hospitality chalet at the track, and Ford Racing Mustang Challenge and BF Goodrich for providing parts and tire support at the track. Ford Racing Mustang Challenge is the place to race and we are really looking forward to returning to the scheduled season in 2009," commented Sparacio.
TC Motorsports updated a live blog during the event at www.tcm25thunderhill2008.blogspot.com/ and you can log in to see images and stories about the race event and get more information about the team of crew and drivers.
TC Motorsports, LLC is a client-based motorsports company that provides racecar preparation, maintenance, and transportation, as well as full arrive and drive support, driver coaching, and racecar rentals for amateur and professional racing series. To find out more about opportunities to drive with TC Motorsports please visit the company website at www.tcmotorsports.net.
Source: TC Motorsports press release
