The MCR77 Racing Team competed in the 2008 SCCA May Nationals Race at Summit Point Raceway in the GT Lite class with the #76 Honda CRX and DSR class with the #25 Radical.
May 15, 2008 - The team arrived at Summit Point Raceway, weather for the Friday test day did not look promising. Mark Connolly driving the #76 GTL Honda CRX had no prior experience at Summit Point and the test day would be a much needed shake down for the team.
May 16, 2008 - The skies had opened up and there was rain and lots of it. Mark chose to forego the test day and instead help Larry with setup on the Radical. The test day went very well for Larry as he re-familiarized himself with the track and the car after the long winter break.
May 17, 2008 - The skies had cleared and brought sunshine for the two qualifying sessions. The first session would be a shorter 20 minute session, while the second would be the longer 25 minute session. Session 1 for Mark in the GTL CRX would be a shakedown session to learn the track and gain experience. Both session went without hassle as Mark qualified for the race time of 1:28:84 that slotted him in third in GTL and 16th overall for the race. Both of Larry's sessions also went without hassle as he qualified for the race with a time of 1:22. Towards the evening the clouds opened up again, but thankfully all the sessions were over.
May 18, 2008 - Race day was here, with rain nearby the question was whether or not the track would have enough rubber to have a good race. Rain began falling at the end of the third race group, the Spec Miata group had a full wet race but the clouds cleared once more after lunch. The cooler weather and the clearing skies meant the racing would be close.
Larry was race group 7 and it went without hassle. Larry found extra pace in the race and dropped into the high 1:19s and finished on the podium. Mark's race would be race group 8 and the final race of the day. After a 23 lap race Mark finished 2nd in GTL and 9th overall with a fast time of 1;27:15 that was less than 2 seconds off the race winner's fast lap. The race was incident free, and the car ran flawlessly and it was a fun weekend of racing at Summit Point Raceway.
The team will be back racing again this weekend for the Nelson Ledges Double National Race.
