AR Auto Takes NASA’s 25 Hours of Thunderhill by Storm

AR Auto Service owner Eddie Nakato, accompanied by Dan Zimmerman and Francisco Alvarado, made the trek to Willows, California for one of the most challenging events in the motorsports world. The NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill event, held over December 3 and 4, is a grueling test of driver skill and endurance and mechanical reliability.



Eddie took part in a five-driver team piloting the Stammer Inc./Yokohama Motorsports/Bavarian Performance E46 M3. Gunning for overall bragging rights in the top ES class, they faced stiff competition -- the notable Mercer Motorsports 911 (looking to take the hat trick three in a row victory at the 25) and the G22 Racing/Truspeed 911.



In addition to Eddie, the Stammer Inc. M3’s track time was distributed among four other drivers - Jeff Stammer, Derek Welch, Ken Kurtz, and Dean Mansour. Drivers took turns with one- to three-hour stints behind the wheel.



Race weekend got underway as teams arrived onsite on December 3 for the qualifying sessions. Eddie was selected to be the team’s qualifying driver, but the evening session was cut short due to an on-track wreck by a competitor. Despite only five laps under speed and in dark track conditions, Eddie turned in a solid qualifying time that seeded the team into 20th on grid for Saturday morning.



Saturday’s strategy consisted of maintaining fuel economy in favor of outright speed. Nakato’s first stint began at 12:30 p.m., and he methodically gained positions in the Stammer M3 while setting the team’s fastest lap time of the race -- 1:55.158. Despite a disadvantage in the horsepower department compared to the Mercer and G22 Racing 911’s, the team continued to work the M3 through the field as attrition rates soared and poor strategy got the best of competitors.



With just two hours to go on Sunday morning, the M3 was comfortably in 4th place overall while steadily reeling in the 3rd place car. An unexpected ruptured oil cooler by the 3rd place team allowed the Stammer M3 to slip ahead and gain some breathing room. At this point, the team was grateful for the gift because they were nursing the BMW to the finish with ignition problems. Claiming 3rd overall and falling short only to professional caliber teams with top-notch 911 GT3 Cup cars, the Stammer Inc. BMW M3 team was ecstatic with the weekend’s results.

When the checkered flag flew, the team had lapped Thunderhill Raceway an amazing 682 times, besting 83 other teams in the process. The 25 hours is all about driver patience and top notch technical development, and the Stammer team knows what it will take to be on top in 2012. “Next time, for sure!” Eddie says.