If FOMO is a trigger for you, don’t read this recap of the May 18-19, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA® Time Trials National Tour at NCM Motorsports Park Powered by Hagerty. Instead, spare yourself the heartache and register now for the June Tire Rack SCCA® Time Trials National Tour at Pocono Raceway to correct your mistake.

For those still reading, the May Time Trials National Tour (TTNT) at NCM was fantastic in nearly every way, shape, and form.

A forerunner to the Oct. 24-27, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals at the same NCM venue in Bowling Green, KY, drivers this past weekend got plenty of track time to hone cars and skills. That will undoubtedly be important come October as Time Trials Nationals is also the 2024 NATA Championship finale as well as the setting for Grassroots Motorsports’ Ultimate Track Car Challenge.

As for last weekend’s event, rain stayed away most of the weekend, with only one group running in the wet on Saturday. Things then got steamy on Sunday, with high humidity and temperatures reaching the upper 80s. Those conditions kept lap times down from previous visits to NCM’s twisty and challenging 3.15-mile course — although that didn’t stop a few drivers from setting class records.

Special thanks go to SCCA’s Kentucky Region, which showed up with a cadre of people to help make the event a success. SCCA’s Washington DC Region also had folks on hand to help with driver coaching.

TTNT NCM Overall Results and New Lap Records

NCM is no stranger to TTNT competitors, and there’s an extensive list of logged lap times for the circuit that can be reviewed via the Time Trials Records and Personal Bests webpage.

The previously established overall lap record of 2:02.759, set by Unlimited 1 driver Steve Luca in a 2020 Ford Mustang, didn’t fall this past weekend. Unlimited 2 (U2) driver James Rauck, however, came close when he posted a time of 2:03.863 in a 1999 Honda Civic — that was good enough to set a new all-time best for the U2 class.

Below are the top five finishers overall from TTNT’s visit to NCM Motorsports Park with name, class, car, and total time produced from three scored segments during competition.

1. James Rauck, Unlimited 2, 1999 Honda Civic, 6:15.686
2. Michael Young, Max 1, 2024 Chevrolet Corvette, 6:43.221
3. David Entz, Max 3, 2015 Porsche 911, 6:51.941
4. Timothy Lonergan, Max 1, 2007 Chevrolet Corvette, 6:52.115
5. Jacob Glover, Sport 1, 2008 Chevrolet Corvette, 6:53.844

This past weekend also saw a Club Spec Mustang and Club Spec MX-5 make appearances at an NCM TTNT weekend, with those drivers establishing lap times for others to target. The new lap records below for NCM include class, time, driver name, and car.

– Unlimited 2 – 2:03.863, James Rauck, 1999 Honda Civic
– Club Spec Mustang – 2:24.471, Trevor Kindlon, 2006 Ford Mustang
– Club Spec MX-5 – 2:32.260, Daniel Lohan, 2012 Mazda MX-5

Classy Competition from NCM

Several hot contests matched the temperatures at NCM. One of the closest emerged in the six-driver Tuner 5 (T5) field. After three timed segments, Joe Baker came out victorious, but by only 2.056sec over Cameron Albea — with both drivers in 1994 Mazda Miatas. Drew Brenner finished third in a 2001 Mazda Miata.

The Tuner 3 (T3) and Tuner 4 (T4) fields were brimming with action. The nine-entrant T4 class, which was the largest of the weekend, was decided by 6.685sec. Peter Lauzon was fastest in a 2021 Mazda Miata, followed by Nicholas Zelisko in a 2007 Honda Civic, and Liam Parkes in a 2013 Scion FR-S.

The T3 field, which had seven entrants, was topped by Josiah Douglas in a 2014 Nissan 370Z. He was 8.022sec faster than runner-up Alan Kim in a 2009 Porsche Cayman, and Jim Bunch was third driving a 2015 Ford Mustang.

Sport 3 had eight entrants, and Nathan Doyle proved to be the quickest in a 2022 Hyundai Elantra. Some 8.091sec behind was James Nelson in a 2023 Honda Civic, followed by Dave Kunes, who drove a 1999 Chevrolet Corvette to third.

Six drivers made up the Sport 2 class, which was ultimately decided by 5.314sec. The victor was Michael Digiorgio in a 2004 Chevrolet Corvette. Sam Strano was second in a 2021 Ford Mustang, and Timothy Mason was third in a 2024 Ford Mustang.

There were a healthy number of contestants in Max 1 (M1). Of the seven drivers, Michael Young took top honors in a 2024 Chevrolet Corvette. The runner-up, only 8.894sec behind, was Timothy Lonergan in a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette. The third-place finisher was Maxim Livchak driving a 2006 Chevrolet Corvette.

Complete event results can be found via the button below.

 Event Results

NCM Superlative Awards

KONI Podium Celebrations cap every TTNT weekend, allowing an opportunity to laud top performers and those who earned special superlative awards.

Tuner 4 driver Marcin Jablonski was selected as the Top Novice at NCM. In a 2011 MINI Cooper, Jablonski showed fantastic on-track awareness en route to a fifth-place finish in class.

Most Improved honors went to another Tuner 4 driver, that being Jeremy Mitchell in a 2022 Volkswagen GTI. From Saturday morning’s practice session to the final timed segment Sunday afternoon, Jeremy managed to lop 10 seconds off his lap time.

The fastest rear-wheel-drive competitor, who turned a best lap of 2:13.435 in a 2024 Chevrolet Corvette, was M1 driver Michael Young. The fastest all-wheel-drive performer, with a lap of 2:35.908 in a 2013 Subaru Impreza, was S3’s Jeremy Hensley. Recognition for being fastest in a front-wheel-drive car went to U2’s James Rauck with the screamer of a 2:03.863 lap we mentioned earlier.

That brings us to Sarin Kodappully. Because of his extensive involvement with indoor karting, he was selected as the Crossover Award winner. He was also one of nine people at NCM who shared the Spirit of Time Trials award.

During his very first session on track Saturday, on his very first lap, Kodappully’s clutch blew up in the very first corner. A less-than-optimal beginning, Kodappully headed into town to grab parts needed to get back on track.

Saturday night, the transmission was being extracted from Kodappully’s 2014 Subaru BRZ thanks to heaps of help from others in the paddock, including: Nicholas Zelisko, Marcin Jablonski, Liam Parkes, Justin Vandergriff, Andrew Jackson, Daniel Lohan, Sean McPike, and Gavin Lam.

Come Sunday morning, Kodappully’s car was back on track, where he managed a lap of 2:26.699 on his way to victory in the Sport 5 class. Because of their teamwork in the face of adversity, Kodappully and his eight impromptu teammates all shared the Spirit of Time Trials honor.

Stay tuned to SCCA.com, the SCCA Time Trials webpage, and the SCCA National Time Trials page on Facebook for the latest Time Trials news.

When the Tire Rack SCCA® Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty began to take shape, there were questions that needed answering. Who wanted to participate in Time Trials? Was it current SCCA members who wouldn’t or couldn’t, for a variety of reasons, go road racing? Was it autocrossers hunting for an additional motorsports challenge? Was it former drag racers who wanted to see what the road racing side of the sport was about? Mechanics who wanted to be able to test their own cars at the limits?

For Michael Bard, the answer was: All of the above.

Bard grew up around motorsports. He went dirt track go-karting as a kid, did some drag racing and, in 2019, began autocrossing.

“My wife was like, you’ve got to do something,” he laughs. “I was being mopey. So I bought a Miata, and six days later I was at my first autocross.”

He did that pretty well, trying out Solo Spec Coupe and then last year finishing just outside the trophies in a B Street Corvette at the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships. But the racetrack was calling to him.

“Time Trials was just another one of those things that I’d put my mind to that I was going to do,” Bard says. “I’d done some track sprints with another group at my home track of Summit Point. I’d done some stuff with my FR-S when I was in SSC, but I was reluctant to put that car on track.”

So how to make it work? The Club Spec announcement was fortuitous for Bard.

“I was looking around at different cars, and the S197 was on my list of potential budget track cars and the Club Spec Mustang came about,” he explains. “I was like, that’s what I’m going to do. I went out and bought one, got the package as soon as Sam [Strano] started marketing the KONIs, and did my first SCCA Time Trials at VIR in the spring. It was great, I had a lot of fun. I was planning on autocrossing the car, and I still haven’t done that yet. I already did another track event at Pitt Race, and then I signed up [for the Pocono Time Trials National Tour].”

When he participates in the June 15-16, 2024, Time Trials National Tour at Pocono Raceway, it won’t be his first visit to the track — but it will be the first time he’s driven it.

“I’ve been to the track a few times, I’ve never actually been on the track,” he says. “I’m looking forward to the two different [course] configurations — it’s almost like a grand sized [Solo] National Tour with a different course each day. I’ll probably get on iRacing and run the track a few times to familiarize myself. That’s what I did for VIR.”

His experience with his family shop, Bard’s Auto Sales in Needmore, PA, and his background in motorsports working for teams, has been a big help with his Club Spec project. Now, he gets to continue his childhood dream, taking his Forza or Gran Turismo experience to the track for real life.

Join the Fun at Pocono

Michael continues his motorsports adventure on June 15-16, 2024, at Pocono Raceway, and you can too.

Drivers at the mid-June Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty at Pocono Raceway will get to experience four 20-minute sessions per day, with the competition taking place over two days. Event results will be based on the fastest lap from three pairs of sessions: two on Saturday afternoon, two on Sunday morning, and two on Sunday afternoon. The podium highlights the three lowest combined times per class.

And, as Michael hinted at earlier in this story, Saturday and Sunday will see drivers rocketing around different course configurations.

The weekend also features a Track Day component, meaning those who may not want to compete for time can still challenge themselves on track at Pocono.

 Join the Fun: Register Today!

You’ve undoubtedly heard that SCCA®’s official publication, SportsCar® magazine, was discontinued earlier this year — but did you know that just about all of the magazine’s content now lives on SCCA.com? And, with a few clicks, it can also find its way to your email inbox every week via SCCA’s Up to Speed e-newsletter.

From interviews with Workers of the Year, stand-out drivers, and award winners to monthly program board columns, member anniversary listings, and more, everything you loved to read in SportsCar is now on SCCA.com. This comes in addition to the content that has always appeared on SCCA.com, like event previews, recaps, and the latest news. The Up to Speed e-newsletter gathers those links into one place for easy access when you’re ready to read them.

Best of all, when you sign up for SCCA’s Up to Speed e-newsletter, that’s all you’re signing up for — we despise spam just as much as you do. By clicking the link below, you’ll receive our weekly e-newsletter that comes out every Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. CT — and that’s it!

What else appears in Up to Speed? You’ll also find links to SCCA’s latest videos, deals from some of SCCA’s most trusted partners, and important program announcements, to name a few.

Once you’re subscribed, unsubscribing is always a click away — but we know you won’t want to.

 Subscribe to Up to Speed