Don’t Miss ’24 Time Trials Nats at NCM – It’s Around the Bend
Don’t Miss ’24 Time Trials Nats at NCM – It’s Around the Bend
This month’s Tire Rack SCCA® Time Trials Nationals Powered by Hagerty, which runs Oct. 24-27, 2024, is the last Time Trials Nationals to be held at NCM Motorsports Park before the event heads to Pittsburgh International Race Complex (Pitt Race) in Wampum, PA, next fall. What does that mean for this year’s event? One incredible sendoff party, that’s what!
The celebration begins Oct. 24 with Thursday’s Holley Day celebration, which this year includes practice sessions as well as timed sessions on NCM’s 3.15-mile, 23-turn Grand Full Course. Thursday afternoon’s sessions combine with Friday’s sessions to determine the first score of the weekend, which will be incredibly helpful for those looking to really dial in their first score.
Saturday’s sessions include TrackSprint and TrackAttack for two additional portions of your overall score. Then drivers will lay a time down once more on NCM’s Grand Full Course during Sunday. All told, that’s four times that’ll add together for your final score.
More than 190 competitors are currently on the entry list, but don’t be fooled – run groups sorted by both driver skill and experience means that you’ll have plenty of open track for an opportunity to set your best times.
Looking for Tops
We’ve typically got a good idea who the quickest overall car will be before we get to NCM. That’s not the case this year.
James Rauck’s U2-class Honda Civic continues to improve. If you saw him last year but missed the spring event at NCM, he’s turned the boost up a bit. If you’ve ever met Rauck, you can bet, among the other changes, that the boost knob will go to 11 for this event.
Steve Luca was tops a year ago and earned a trip to Super Lap Battle because of it. He’s entered and likely ready to make waves at the event, so we wouldn’t be shocked to see that Ford Mustang at the top of the charts.
Mike Dusold’s 1967 Camaro is a gas, and it’s crazy quick. He’s in the U1 class and always guns for FTD, no matter where he’s at. The bummer? We’ve heard there was an incident at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca a couple of weeks back, but we’re confident anything that needs to be repaired will be.
Looking for a wild card? This year, Justin Peachey is in Unlimited 1. He’s been in Max 1 in year’s past, which dictates 200 treadwear tires – which, for the purposes of building FTD drama, we’ll call a “disadvantage.” On those 200 TW tires, Peachey was second last year, just a smidge more than two seconds from Luca’s full lap time. This year, Peachey has made a tire change to something we’ll call a little more “purple” for his Unlimited 1 performance. That said, Peachey is equally as likely to show up in a completely different Facebook Marketplace purchase, which would be a lot of fun to watch, but possibly not the quickest car available.
For the rest of us, we’ll be chasing class records and personal bests. Discover more about those contenders by clicking here.
Eat Food, Help Others
This year’s Hagerty All-Participant party will be held Thursday night as part of the Expo, and everyone is welcome to check out the competition on display while chowing down on free (and awesome) backyard BBQ.
There will also be a Saturday evening meal, and that one comes with a twist – a twist that ultimately aids others.
For Saturday night’s gathering, the SCCA Time Trials community has teamed with Racing for ALS. Those who want to taste the Saturday evening deliciousness are being asked to purchase a ticket for food, with proceeds being donated to Racing for ALS.
Register and purchase Saturday meal tickets in advance by clicking here.
...Or Just Come Along Yourself!
It’s not too late to enter the Oct. 24-27, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals Powered by Hagerty at NCM Motorsports Park. For those who’ve never run with the Time Trials National Tour before, discover your car’s class, then click the big red button below to enter and prove our predictions wrong.
Even if you don’t set a new class record, maybe you’ll drop a bomb with a new personal best. And even if that doesn’t happen, there’s still the at-track parties to hang out at. In other words, no matter what happens, you’ll be set for a great time.
Photo by Philip Royle
