MotoIQ’s Project Scion tC Wins NASA PTC National Title!

The Scion held its own even against PT cars in faster classes

Unfortunately Gardner wouldn’t get the same great start as he did at the beginning of the race. This allowed the second-place MINI to glue itself to the Scion’s bumper. Gardner had a mild edge on the straight sections, but the MINI was getting through the turns faster, and the Scion’s front tires were going away. It was a serious fight as Gardner defended hard to keep the MINI behind.

Before the restart, the Scion had come from behind to lead and build up a comfortable cushion

On the last lap, the RX-8 would be beating on the back bumper of the MINI. As they fought Gardner gained a bit of ground, but in Turn 6, the Mazda would get around the Cooper S on the inside. One of Gardner’s crew came of the radio to report that the Mazda was really pushing; giving it everything he had to hunt down the Scion and get in front. In the final complex of turns the Mazda was close, but it was going to be hard to pass Gardner and the Scion with the time that was left. As the two cars pulled onto the straightaway, Gardner and the tC held onto the lead, crossing the finish line less than a second ahead of the second place car, securing a repeat national championship win.

Mini Cooper S models and the Mazda RX-8 are a dominate cars in PTC. The Scion broke the Mini/Mazda gauntlet to win

“Two national road racing championships in two years! It doesn’t get much better than that,” said Steve Hatanaka, Scion auto shows and special events manager. “Overcoming that much adversity, and still pulling out the big win…that’s a great feeling.To go from last place to first on the start of the race, and to hold onto the lead with pressure coming at all times…what can I say? Scion is a brand that does things differently. I suppose winning this way just makes sense!”

Some guys race there whole lives without getting a trophy, now Gardner has two National Championship big guys to put on his shelf. Congratulations Team JD Scion for your second NASA PTC Championship in a row, sorry we missed the first one!

Stay tuned as MotoIQ continues to document the construction of the car. Check out Project Scion Here

Sources

•Scion-supplied OE parts

•TRD-supplied supercharger and intercooler, front big brake kit

•Pilot Automotive HID driving lamps

•Nitto 235/40R17 NT-01 tires

•Enkei RPF1 17×8 wheels

• OS Giken Super Lock Limited Slip Differential (LSD)

•Dezod-supplied AEM standalone engine management, plug-and-play harness, injectors, end links, and stainless clutch line

•Church Automotive Testing dyno tuning

•Moton Suspension remote reservoir coilover shocks

•Vogtland springs