Hello,

There was a lot of high expectations going into the NASA National
Championships this past weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but it
all went up in smoke...literally.

I piloted Phil Phillips Acura Integra GSR in Performance Touring-B.
We were looking like the car to beat in a field of 9 total cars. The
weekends format consisted of a practice day on Thursday, qualifying
and qualifying races on both Friday and Saturday, and the main finale
on Sunday.

On Thursday's practice day, the weather was beautiful. Sunny skies
with mild temps in the 80's. Perfect weather for becoming acclimated
to the Integra on this track. We only had three sessions, but we were
always at the top of the time sheets. The real bad weather then swept
through the region bringing massive amounts of rain. We put the
Hoosier wets on the car for Friday's qualifying session and was able
to capture the pole position by a 6 second margin! Things were
looking good for that afternoon's qualifying race which would turn out
to be completely chaotic!

The rain was really coming down as we took the rolling start down the
back straight. I fell back to third trying to work through traffic in
the other classes that were gridded in front of PTB. Lots of cars
going off the track with multiple yellow flags flying throughout the
track. Fog then started to cover the inside of the windshield and it
was getting extremely difficult to see. I managed to pic off the two
other front running PTB cars. One of them was a Mazda RX-8 driven by
Eric Meyer and the other one was a Pontiac Firebird driven by Dave
Shotz. After that, I made sure I kept the car on track and drove to
an easy first place finish.

The format would be the same for Saturday with a qualifying session
mid-day followed by a qualifying race that afternoon. The qualifying
session was again very damp. The rain was still coming down. I went
out and ran a couple laps with fellow PTB competitor Dave Shotz. Dave
was running in a couple of different classes over the course of the
weekend and was able to acquire a lot of wet weather track time. It
showed. He was right on my bumper for a few laps and our times were
almost identical with Dave clicking off just a tad of a faster lap
time with a 1:59.0 beating out my 1:59.5. But unfortunately during
the wet session, I had slight car contact with another driver during
the session. This unfortunately resulted in my times being disallowed
and I would have to start from the back of the PTB field.

The weather was looking great for that afternoon's race. Sunny skies
and the track was completely dry. I started from the back of the
field as we took the green down the back straight and was actually
able to move up to second in PTB before we got to T5! I stayed in
that position for the remainder of the race. I didn't try to push the
issue to try and catch Dave knowing that a second place finish for
this race would place me on the pole for the finale the next day. I
kept the car out of trouble and brought the car home in second.

For the finale, the weather again was looking great. No weather was
predicted for our race. I would start on pole for PTB when we took
the rolling start. Dave with his V8 power was able to kill me down
the back straight going into T5. He was able to place a couple of
back markers from the PTA field between us. This would make it
extremely difficult to fight through, but as we came down into T7, we
encounter a vigorously waving yellow flag with a completely dismantled
car laying in the middle of the track. We get around the wreck, but
it's immediately followed by a full course caution. Another lap
around the wreckage results in a red flag to clean the debris. We sit
on track for about 10 minutes before the pace car leads us around
again. We restart the race on the next lap and I drop the hammer
trying to catch Dave, but issues start to plague the Integra. The
"Check Engine" light illuminates and VTEC stops working. Because of
this, the car loses some power. I then notice that the oil catch can
under the hood is starting to over flow and spew oil all over the
engine bay. It then starts to get on the tires and actually manages
to find a way inside the car. It then finds its way into the footwell
area and I transfer some oil onto the pedals. Not good! Smoke is
billowing inside the car and I assumed that I was going to get a black
flag. I keep an eye on the oil temp and water temp and start to see
it slowly rise. I try my best to nurse it home in second at that
point, but as I'm coming down the front straight, the motor starts to
bind and tighten up severely. I knew it was over. I dipped the
clutch in and it locked right up. I pull the car off an access road
and sit there for the remainder of the race. Unfortunately, this
resulted in a mechanical DNF.

These things happen in racing. It's unfortunate, but it's part of
it. We were one of the cars to beat during the weekend, but it didn't
end in our favor. The season is officially over for the PTB Acura
Integra, but we can rebuild it and it will be back out on a track near
you next season.

The next event on the schedule will be the final MARRS championship
event at Summit Point Raceway in two weeks. Maybe I'll see you there!

Until next time, take care!

As always, these weekends wouldn't be a success if I didn't have the
help from the following:

Phil's Tire Service - He's teamed up with me this year and I hope he
sees a return on his investment! Seriously, if you attend any NASA
events in the Mid-Atlantic region, Ohio/Indiana region, or Mid-West
region, you'll see him at the track. Not only does he take care of
all of your race tire needs including mounting, balancing, and
shaving, but he is also a dealer for a wide array of performance
wheels and other race related parts. He can either bring your items
to the track of have them shipped! Check out his site here:
http://www.philstireservice.com

Hondamans Auto Service - We are here for all of your Honda and Acura
needs. Located in Pasadena, MD. Check out our site here:
http://www.hondamans.com

Signs By Tomorrow - These guys are also located in Pasadena, MD and
can accommodate all of your graphics needs. Check out their site
here: http://www.signsbytomorrow.com/pasadena

FastTech Limited - If you are at all interested in purchasing any type
of data acquisition for your race car, Jeremy Lucas at FastTech
Limited is your guy. Check out his site: http://www.fasttechlimited.com

Brake Horse Power Incorporated - Talk to Matt Nicholson, he is your
guy when it comes to the stopping department - Visit them here:
http://bhpbrakes.com

Hondaworks - If you want to make your Honda or Acura go faster...talk
to Kevin Helms. He is the most dedicated person when it comes to
this. Extremely hard worker and a hell of a nice guy. They are
located in Charlotte, NC. Give him a ring at 704-527-9433.

Lee Grimes at Koni North America - Need to improve the handling of
your ride? Lee can help you out. Give him a ring at 859-586-4100


AJ Nealey
aj_nealey@...
http://www.ajnealeyracing.com
http://www.philstireservice.com
http://www.hondamans.com

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