The National Auto Sport Association held its 3rd Annual National Competition at Mid-Ohio Raceway on September 11-14, 2008. The NASA event includes both Wheel to Wheel racing and Time Trials. Corvettes showed up in force and were prominent on the podium, beating competitive Vipers, Porsches, and Panozs. The race classes are determined by a power-to-weight ratio, allowing competitors to control overall chassis setup.

The weekend began with rain, but the final ST1 wheel-to-wheel race was under sunny skies. Gridded third in class, the Pfadt C5 Corvette driven by Aaron Pfadt got off to a clean start as the green flag flew on the back straight. Things became exciting quickly when the silver Panoz car gridded in second began to spin right next to Pfadt. The Panoz luckily missed Pfadt but hit two other cars and sat disabled in the middle of the track. Course workers quickly went to a full-course yellow, and then stopped the racers on the track while the safety crews pulled the Panoz off the track and cleaned up the spilled fluids.

After five minutes of sitting stopped under the full course red, the race finally got back under way. With cold Hoosiers, Pfadt remained in second place after the restart behind the reigning ’07 champ Danny Popp in his C5 Corvette. The race settled in, and Pfadt turned clean laps, keeping an eye on Popp, who maintained the lead. As the fastest cars in the group, the Corvettes quickly caught up to traffic, picking their way through the back of the pack. With Popp still firmly in the lead, Pfadt made a tactical error as he went into the Carousel turn too hot and spun. He quickly got the car back on track, losing valuable time to the leader and several positions.

For the next several laps, Pfadt ran clean and consistent, slowly making up ground on Popp and keeping an eye on Bob Mayer whose Corvette was in 3rd and not far behind. With time running out, Pfadt headed into turn 10 to find Popp and an off-pace Panoz spinning into the grass. Pfadt took the lead as he passed Popp and drove to the checkered flag only four turns later. Popp quickly got his Corvette back on track and beat Bob Mayer to the finish, taking Second. It was an impressive finish for the Corvettes, with Aaron Pfadt taking the championship, Danny Popp in his C5 Corvette in Second, and Bob Mayer in his C5 Corvette taking Third in the ST1 final.
Pfadt Race Engineering Team Members also finished strong in the Time Trial competitions. In Time Trial “S,” Corvettes took the podium, with Danny Popp finishing First, Jarred McGillicuddy finishing Second, and Geff Sawtelle finishing Third. All three racers run Pfadt products and will receive Pfadt contingency awards. In Time Trial “U,” Danny Popp finished First, Aaron Pfadt finished Second, and Tom Glenn finished Third in his Viper. In Time Trial “A,” Jesse White finished Second, also taking home Pfadt contingency awards.

Congratulations to all who came out and raced. The sportsmanship and talent of the Corvette racers and Pfadt Team Members will keep the Bow Tie on the podium for years to come. For more information about the Corvette suspension products of Pfadt Race Engineering visit www.pfadtracing.com or call (888) 972-2464.