NASA members now can get an exclusive discount of up to 25 percent off Hertz rental cars for either business or leisure travel! NASA Members will also receive complimentary membership in the award-winning loyalty program, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, which allows you to earn points toward free rental days. Skip the counter and go straight to your car, and enjoy many more benefits. To make a reservation Visit Hertz.com and enter CDP# 2181835 during checkout. You can also call 800-654-2200.

Auto Club Speedway is an interesting racetrack. A roval, it has two personalities and if you want to win there, you need to have a drafting partner. Short of that, you can partner up with whoever is around you and hope it works out for you in the end. Justin Crickenberger tried to work with Ryan Pond in Saturday’s race, and even though they tried to work together, they didn’t get the order of operations right. Crickenberger’s 1999 Miata has the torque and horsepower to push Pond’s 1.6 car on the high banks, but Crickenberger was ahead, so the two [...]

NASA SoCal Spec Miata racer Colin Lucas was kind enough to put together a highlight reel from the May race at Auto Club Speedway. Lots of good racing, recoveries, starts, passes and close calls. This one has it all.

Super Touring and Time Trial National Director Greg Greenbaum released in late April an update for Super Touring and Time Trial class rules. There are also a number of reminders listed below. Please be sure your ST and TT cars are in compliance with these new rules, especially at the upcoming NASA Championships at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. All Electric Vehicles are only eligible to compete in SU/TTU.  NASA testing and research is ongoing, with the expectation that eligibility and rules regarding EVs for ST1-6 will occur in 2020. All Hybrid internal combustion/electric vehicles must be approved by the National [...]

Several things happen when you stand on the brakes hard. Foremost, the system takes the energy of momentum and transduces it into heat, and it slows the car. That’s obvious. What’s not so obvious are other things that happen. For example, under hard braking the firewall flexes and the entire brake booster and master cylinder push forward in the engine compartment. If you’re using regular old brake fluid, it can boil and introduce air into the system. In addition, the flexible rubber brake hoses that extend from the chassis to the calipers also expand with increased pedal pressure, taking the [...]

SoCal Spec Miata racer Ryan Pond got punted in Turn 1 during Sunday’s race in May and shuffled way back in the order after starting from fourth. It looked like game over, but consistently fast laps and an incident involving the front three moved him from seventh to fourth. Some more fast laps here, some bump-drafting there and a mistake by a competitor moved him into second, right on the tail of Steve Champlin, who held Pond off till the exit of the last turn onto the front straight, where Pond pulled ahead for the win.

Over the last several years I’ve been going to an event in Monterey, Calif., called “Miatas at Mazda Raceway.” The name originated before it became WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The event was basically a track day for nothing but Miatas. It’s like Rennsport, but for Miata geeks like me. People come from all across the United States to be part of it, and even from other countries, such as Canada, Japan and New Zealand. Back in 2014, the new 2016 ND Mazda MX-5 made its first public appearance in the United States at the event. It was so new at [...]

It has been a long time coming, but the movie based on the book by the same name, “The Art of Racing in the Rain” will be coming out in the summer of 2019. Speed News interviewed author Garth Stein about the book and his background in cars and Spec Miata racing back in September 2012. You can find that interview HERE. In the movie, the main character, Enzo the dog is voiced by Kevin Costner.  Enzo’s owner Denny Swift is played by Milo Ventimiglia, and his wife Eve played by Amanda Seyfried. The story follows Denny’s life on and [...]

The NASA Teen Mazda Challenge is under way for 2019, so it’s time to check in on the competition around the country. TMC drivers have a unique racing season, essentially two seasons in one. They compete with other TMC drivers within their regions for TMC points, but they are also part of the broader Spec Miata class, so they have another venue in which to make their mark. In terms of sheer numbers, NASA NorCal has the greatest number of TMC drivers, with nine young drivers competing. By late May, Roy Fulmer IV was firmly in control of the points [...]

BMW is one of the most popular car brands in all of NASA, and the folks at Condor Speed Shop know that, which is why they signed on as a provider to NASA’s Member Benefits program. NASA members get 10 percent off all of Condor Speed Shop Products. Condor Speed Shop is a leading manufacturer of track-tested and street-approved performance parts for BMWs. Visit the company’s website for suspension bushings, engine mounts, shift knobs, brake lines and more. All parts are made in the USA. https://www.condorspeedshop.com/