Every weekend across the United States, individuals are taking their Steeda equipped vehicles out to the dragstrip, race track, or participate in local club or organization sponsored autocross events. The primary reason that they do this is for the love of the drive, the competitive spirit - and not to be overlooked - just having some plain fun driving everyone's favorite muscle car - the Ford Mustang.
Two such individuals are Jim Edwards and James Ray, who recently campaigned a 2007 Steeda Certified Shelby GT Mustang - nicknamed "Thor" in the NASA (National Auto Sport Association) race series at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Jim, James, and "Thor" participate in the NASA Southeast Region and just last weekend competed in the one-day NASA-SE event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was blistering hot with ambient air temperatures over 100 and track temperatures in the near-140 degree range, the conditions took major tolls on cars and drivers alike. Thor had his work cut out for him in this heat, however, with team drivers James Ray and Jim Edwards at the wheel, Thor pulled down a 1.27 time to eclipse anyone seeking to take away the coveted first place trophy!
Charlotte Motor Speedway's venue for NASA track events includes NASCAR turns two, three and four and the very tight, flat and slick 8-turn infield roadcourse. Charlotte is a very fast venue for roadcourse racing due to the utilization of the 3, high-banked NASCAR turns so combined with the infield course, this track presents challenges related to vehicle set-up, tire pressures and race strategies. Nonetheless, with 9 races under Thor's proverbial belt this year, he stands first in points with 3 firsts, 5 seconds and only 1 third. And hasn't been off the podium all year long so far! Not bad for some weekend fun !
Two other great competitors that are in the NASA race series Great Lakes Division are the "Steeda North" duo of Robin Burnett and Anders Sjoblom. Both Robin and Anders have been campaigning their Steeda equipped cars and have been raising hell with their competitors for many years - and this year is no exception as they compete in the American Iron (AI) and Camaro Mustang Challenge (CMC) series.
Over weekend of June 30th at the famed Mid Ohio Sports Car Course, both Robin and Anders were there having more fun than one should legally have. While this particular race weekend was not kind to them as they had hoped, they still managed to have some serious fun at the track. With full fields in each class the Steeda teammates knew they had their work cut out for them. Robins race on Saturday was cut short by a back marker on the first lap when contact in the first corner bent a tie rod. Anders race was better with a solid drive that saw him battle the entire race and earn a 4th place finish.
Sundays qualifying was one of the closest fields either class has ever seen, with the top 7 cars within a single second away from each other. Robin had a better day, after repairs from Saturday, where he had a great race with 2 other competitors in Mustangs. The battle lasted long enough to let the front 3 get away leaving Robin with a satisfying 4th place finish. Anders continued his up hill battle on Sunday, as the lone S197 Mustang in his class, managing his class rules mandated skinny tires to a 2nd place finish.
A good start and battles between his competitors left Anders to run the race with little if any challenge. The skill level, preparation level and rules packages in American Iron (AI) and Camaro Mustang Challenge (CMC) has created a unbelievably competitive field of cars. With the National Championships just a few months away the Steeda teammates are looking forward to the challenge and are confident that they will continue to represent the Steeda brand as best as they can do. With the season at it's mid-point, Anders is leading in series points in the Camaro Mustang Challenge Series and Robin is running a close second in the American Iron Race Series.
Steeda - Speed Matters!