Michael Jantz, in his first time competing in a GTA / SLB finale, drove the Kato Racing 2007 Subaru STI to a 2:03.895 securing third place in Enthusiast AWD. Goals for the Shift S3ctor instructor in 2014 include getting a new daily driver to give him freedom to upgrade the STI. Less weight and more power are in this STI's future!

Rounding out Enthusiast AWD is Michael Cruz in the Massimo Power / GF Suspension / CD Motorsports / Siuperben Racing 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X with a time of 2:09.503. Cruz is already planning for 2014 with goals of competing in Redline Time Attack's Enthusiast class, Targa Trohpy's LA to Vegas Road Rally and improving for next year's GTA / SLB finale.

After making the trek from the Great White North, Chris Boersma and his Honda Civic SiR charged the CW13 configuration of Buttonwillow like a crackhead running for office. Boersma knocked the competition over like the elderly and set a 2:01.695 lap, which was more than enough to secure his place as mayor of the Street FWD class. The victory wasn’t without substantial effort though, with a last minute transmission swap being required before Chris was able to light up the track and crack the standing lap record. Dubious government jokes aside, Chris and his crack team are planning to make major modifications to the aerodynamics and suspension to best their already impressive efforts for next year.

Although built for Enthusiast class, Jason Lee saw an opportunity to go for a Street FWD class victory in the Godspeed Project / Sportcar Motion 2007 Honda Civic Si. Unfortunately for Lee, he fought brake and handling issues throughout the day, slowing him down from what he felt he could accomplish. Lee finished with a time of 2:03.654, shaving a second off of his personal best time and ending up in second place in class. Lee is unsure if he will stick in Street class or head back to Enthusiast in 2014, though he will likely upgrade to a Sportcar Motion K24 engine if he decides to stay in Street.

Ken Suen brought out his daily driver, the Godspeed / Sportcar Motion 2013 Honda Civic Si due to his race Civic, affectionately known as “BigRed”, being sidelined with fire damage. With a time of 2:06.271, Suen secured, an unusual for him, third place finish in Street FWD. Work has already started on getting “BigRed” ready for 2014 with the goal of improving upon the record he already holds.

They say that necessity is the mother of all invention and due to a failing clutch master cylinder, Will Wattanawongkiri (the most fun name in time attack) and his team were forced to channel their inner MacGyver, using a bungee cord and presumably paperclips, chewing gum, and duct tape, to help the clutch pedal return. Even with the ailing clutch, Will was able to drive his 240SX to a 1:54:969 time and secure the Street RWD victory. For next year, Will and his team plan to run in the Limited class, promising more tire, more power, more aero, and faster times. The bungee cord clutch may or may not make a return.

When I grow up I hope to have a family member as cool as Uncle Big. Uncle Big is the owner of the R’s Tuning 2011 BMW E92 M3 and driver Ricky Kwan pushed the car hard for a second place finish with a time of 1:58.181. A last minute destruction of a Hankook RS-3 on a tire machine relegated the team to running Toyo R1R front tires with the Hankooks on the rear. Even with the mismatched rubber, Kwan set a blistering time. Uncle Big and R’s Tuning place a heavy importance on the balance between street and track and future plans involve keeping the car completely streetable while blasting fast laps whenever the opportunity presents itself.