Six hours, 21 cars, and one gorgeous Utah sunset—that’s the Tooele Storage Sunchaser Enduro. NASA Utah’s annual night race kicked off at 6:05 p.m., on August 2nd, with wind, dust, and drama, but the field got through the opening laps relatively clean. Once the gusts died down, it was all about endurance.

With six different car classes on Burt Brothers Motorpark’s outer loop, the race was unlikely to be incident-free. Early on, a full-course yellow (caution) flag flew after minor contact and an off-track excursion scattered gravel across “The Attitudes”—a tricky blind chicane that often punishes mistakes.

There were also some minor track departures and spinouts that raised an occasional dust cloud or slowed things down on part of the track. They seemed especially common on Turn 6.

The previous turn—Blackrock Hairpin—is an obviously tight turn requiring a controlled entry. Turn 6—Right Hook/Knockout—is perhaps more challenging, but less obviously so. Some drivers, including locals, struggled to navigate it consistently, at least early in the race. 

Finally, some fuel venting problems on a Lamborghini made things interesting in the pits on a couple of occasions. 

Nightfall

One of the Sunchaser’s real human-factors tests comes after sunset. Even many experienced racers have only competed during daylight hours. In talking to drivers who were night racing for the first time, such as NASA instructor Rod Sturgis, some themes emerged. 

Drivers hadn’t realized how totally dependent they were on multiple visual references like turn apexes and corner exits. Track drivers are also taught to look beyond the current turn to what’s coming next, so it’s obviously a very visual sport. At night, headlights shrink that world, forcing racers to drive more by timing and rhythm than by sight. Lap times often slowed by up to ten seconds until drivers adapted.

The Goal

As always, endurance racing comes down to who can log the most laps in the allotted time—with penalties and pit strategy often as decisive as outright speed. Entries were down slightly (21 this year vs. 28 the last two years), but competition remained fierce.

Results

Mazda Miatas—probably the most raced car in America—were conspicuously missing from this year’s Sunchaser. Only two Miatas competed in the E3S class—essentially Spec Miata—and both the #3 and #4 cars were from Team Fast Garage. Both had to spend extra repair time in the pits, but #4 eventually proved to be the most reliable that night. It ran 104 laps over six hours and earned first place. 

The class winner for the faster E2 class, populated by BMW 330s and one Acura TSX, was Team MRG’s #58. They put down 152 laps, compared to Team Exiled Motorworks’s second place #369 car, with 150 laps.

BMW M3s made up the entire E1 class. The winner was Team TC design’s #256, with 154 laps. That was four more laps than Team AARB Racing’s #84, in second place. 

Team Singler Racing dominated the E0 competition, with their #3 BMW M4 GT4 completing 153 laps. Their competitor, Team Steyn Motorsports, brought their highly-modified #19 BMW M3 all the way from Carson City, Nevada to test a new engine setup. However, it was transmission problems—the DCT not downshifting correctly—that ended their night early. 

The ESR—essentially prototypes—and GT classes often run neck-and-neck. That was the case this year as the winners of both classes were credited with 175 laps. 

In ESR, Team Go Dog Go Motorsports’ #52 Duqueine D08 was dominant, since Team Lang Racing Development’s #03 Norma M20 FC needed some work in the pits.

Last year’s GT (and overall) Sunchaser winner also won the GT class this year. Team Larkins’s/Air Power Racing’s #711 Porsche GT3 R edged out Team Rearden Racing’s #29 Lamborghini Super Trofeo by a single lap. 

With #711 and #52 both getting 175 laps, the overall winner for the night came down to who did it faster. Car #52 crossed the finish line on that lap 1:42 faster, so took overall honors. 

Closing Note

Congratulations to the class and overall winners, and to all of the race teams who put forth a brilliant effort and put on a great show. And thanks to the many NASA volunteers who, once again, made this unique event such a success. 

© 2025, R Bairett