It’s Time Attack, it’s NCM Motorsports Park, and it’s springtime – something great must have happened! For starters, the greatest thing possible was a return of the Tire Rack SCCA® Time Attack Challenge to the famed Bowling Green, KY, circuit on May 17-18, 2025.
With 68 cars turning laps on the same track that hosted Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals for the past several years, the competition was dialed in.
Friday was, well, challenging on and off the track. A severe Kentucky storm blew in that evening, and while those at the track were safe in the end, the same storm churned up tornadoes in other parts of Kentucky.
Once that cleared, however, it gave way to a windy but nice Saturday and an utterly gorgeous Sunday.
Major Track Records
NCM’s SCCA Time Attack history means that any track records were earned, not given.
At last year’s Time Trials Nationals, there was a lot of publicity around Steve Luca’s 2:01.983 lap time. That was the quickest lap ever turned by a production car at NCM Motorsports Park, and obviously a huge deal noticed by many.
James Rauck, it turns out, noticed. Despite being in the Unlimited 2 class (vs. Luca’s Unlimited 1), Rauck showed up this week with a goal in mind – and he beat it. Rauck’s heavily modified Honda Civic turned a best lap of 2:01.497 to reset the overall, Unlimited 2, and Front Wheel Drive records at the track.
While it was deeper on the overall time sheets, Richard Sawicki marched his way to a Tuner 5 lap record in his Mazda MX-5. Sawicki turned a best lap of 2:24.587 to best the previous class record held by John Allen of 2:25.360.
Class Winners
The Sport category featured some of the closest battles of the weekend, which is no surprise based on the mostly-stock nature of the classes. Chris Wheatley’s Chevrolet Camaro was just slightly better than Jeffrey Slater’s Camaro in Sport 2, as his overall win margin was just under three seconds. Yet Slater deserves a huge shoutout – he was running nearly four seconds slower than Wheatley on Saturday before flipping the script and running a second quicker than him on Sunday.
Richard Kenney and his Ford Focus was just about one second per lap quicker than Nathan Doyle and his Hyundai Elantra each day, leading to a two-second victory in Sport 3.
Speaking of similarly prepared cars, the Club Spec Mustang class saw a pair of drivers in the hunt for the lead. Trevor Kindlon was quickest each day, as Mark Pilson also lowered his times but couldn’t catch the leader.
In all, class winners were:
- Club Spec Mustang: Trevor Kindlon, Ford Mustang
- Max 1: Kyle McKiou, Toyota Supra
- Max 2: Sean Mcpike, Chevrolet Corvette
- Max 4: David Entz, Porsche 911
- Max 5: Dr. Lisa Keyes, Honda Civic
- Sport 1: Jason Hobbs, Chevrolet Corvette
- Sport 2: Chris Wheatley, Chevrolet Camaro
- Sport 3: Richard Kenney, Ford Focus
- Sport 5: Cameron Albea, Subaru BRZ
- Sport 6: Dave Melton, Mazda Miata
- Tuner 1: Ben Bulthuis, Toyota Supra
- Tuner 2: Matt Hugenschmidt, BMW M3
- Tuner 3: Derek Secord, Honda S2000
- Tuner 4: Nicholas Zelisko, Mazda RX-8
- Tuner 5: Richard Sawicki, Mazda Miata
- Unlimited 1: Ray Brake
- Unlimited 2: James Rauck
Superlatives
The Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack Challenge events also celebrate accomplishments through superlative awards. Some of the outstanding performances during this weekend included Tennessee Region member Steve Luca winning the Spirit of Time Trials awards, while Indiana Northwest Region member Matthew Leus claimed the Top Novice honors.
There was also the fastest of the different drive types to cheer for:
- Fastest Front-Wheel Drive: James Rauck (of course), Honda Civic
- Fastest Rear-Wheel Drive: Kyle McKiou, Toyota Supra
- Fastest All-Wheel Drive: Dallas Reed, Chevrolet Corvette
Next Lap
Up next for the Tire Rack Time Attack Challenge? A June 14-15, 2025, trip to Carolina Motorsports Park. The Time Attack Challenge has been to CMP a few times in the past, but not since 2022 – once again, all records will be earned, but how many will fall?
For an overall mark, competitors will be chasing a 1:33.131 time set by Andy Hollis in a McLaren 720S in 2022.
No matter whether you’re chasing the overall mark, your own personal best, or you just want a challenging new track to conquer, slots remain for the Time Attack Challenge at Carolina Motorsports Park. Get more info and register by clicking here!
Can’t make the CMP weekend? Check out the 2025 Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack Challenge calendar, which includes three more events after CMP.
Photo caption: James Rauck (left) celebrates his new overall NCM track record with Time Attack Challenge coach Brandon Anderson.
Photo courtesy NCM Motorsports Park
