Performance Tech Motorsports Marked as Favorite to Win at NASA Championships

Performance Tech Motorsports is headed into the NASA Championships with a fleet of Ligier machines.

The professional prototype racing team enters the NASA Championships Presented by Toyo Tires with four drivers, each piloting a Ligier prototype. The quartet will be competing in the Super Unlimited class, which each driver had to qualify into. The class features 18 cars in total, but the weekend itself boasts closer to 500 race vehicles.

Team Principal Brent O’Neill is looking forward to the event after a hiatus due to the pandemic, especially with all his drivers competing in the highest class.

“I think this weekend is going to be a blast,” O’Neill said. “We have a great group of guys who always manage to have fun on these weekends, no matter the outcome of the event. That being said, I think all four drivers are going to be super competitive which always makes the weekend a bit better for everyone. We’re ready to get out there and put on a show!”

The 2019 Spec E30 Champion Dan Goldburg is headed into the weekend in a new class: super Unlimited. After making his transition into the Motel 6 Ligier JSP320 in 2020 in IMSA competition Goldburg has continued to impress onlookers with his pace and racecraft. As he enters the event weekend he has been marked as the favorite to win, a less than shocking prediction based on his lengthy list of success in NASA thus far.

“After racing in IMSA Lites from 2010 to 2013 I took a few years off,” Goldburg said. “When I came back to racing in 2017, I raced in NASA Spec E30. I won the NASA National Championships in 2019 in Spec E30 and that caught the eye of Brent O’Neill who at the time was looking for a bronze driver for the Motel 6 program. NASA racing has helped me develop, and in this case, helped propel me into IMSA.”

“For this year’s championships, we plan to use the Thursday test day to try a few things on the setup of the car. While it will help us for this event, we are also testing for the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona. Starting Friday, my focus will shift to that weekend’s competition. There are races each of the three days and all of them add up to the final result. I’m racing in an open class which is quite different than LMP3 in IMSA. I’ll need to extract everything I can out of our Motel 6 Ligier JSP320 to compete with other cars with a lot more horsepower. Coming off a win at the last NASA National Championships my sights are now set on another win, but it will be a tough task with this year's field of Super Unlimited cars on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway. Performance Tech and I are ready to give it our best.”

Driver John DeAngelis is stepping into a new machine for the NASA Championships Presented by Toyo Tire: The No. 38 Ligier JSP320. DeAngelis has extensive seat time in his Elan DP02, a timeless open-cockpit prototype ideal for mastering technique and maneuvers. Based on his previous precision the team has no doubt he will excel in the Ligier JSP320 and have fun while doing so.   

“I’m really excited to drive the No. 38 Ligier at the NASA Nationals at Daytona,” DeAngelis said. “When we learned that the Nationals were going to be at Daytona, Brent suggested that driving the Elan DP02 would be ‘like bringing a knife to a gun fight’ because Daytona is a high-speed track with long straights. I need a lot of turns to be competitive in the Super Unlimited class in the DP02. I feel comfortable stepping up to the Ligier as I did a test day at Sebring in the Ligier a couple of years ago and it’s a great balance of power and aero, so Daytona will be a blast.”

“My goal is always the same when we go racing and that is to keep it clean, and hopefully be on the podium. With close to 20 of the fastest cars and great drivers from all over the country in the SU class, I know a podium finish is a lofty goal but that is what I’m aiming for. Regardless of where I finish, it’s a privilege to go racing and I consider myself blessed to drive with Performance Tech Motorsports.”

Performance Tech Motorsports veteran Dimitri Goliakov is a long-time member of the NASA community, normally seen competing in his Corvette. However, this weekend he’ll be joining in on the prototype trend as he climbs behind the wheel of a Ligier JSP320. The two cars are vastly different but Goliakov is up for the challenge.

“The Corvette and Ligier and two very different cars,” Goliakov said. “When someone asked me about the difference in racing a Corvette and a Liger the best way I could describe it was the Corvette was a walk in the park and the Ligier is a run through the ninja obstacle course. It took me a while to get used to the switch and I’m still learning. I’m super excited to drive the Ligier at Daytona, especially because I think any car at Daytona is fun.”

“Two or three years ago I told Brent that I would love to race the Ligier at Sebring and Daytona. I did a few races at Sebring this year and was leading the NASA Florida Championship in SU class. I want to thank Brent and Performance Tech for the support and opportunity to race this amazing car. Heading into the race weekend my goals and mentality are always the same; win!”

Finally, Frank Hindman rounds out the pack, trading in his TA2 Camaro for a Ligier JSP320. Hindman has the skill to fight for a podium position but needed a car with the power to do so. He’s hoping the muscle of the Ligier’s V8 will be the final piece he needs in his podium pursuit.

“When asked about switching from my TA2 to the Ligier I always start with the famous quote ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ which is exactly what I did,” Hindman said, “I joined Performance Tech and selected the Ligier JSP320. I got tired of seeing Brent’s drivers outbreak me in my TA2 Camaro and win. Now I am very excited to see what can be accomplished with these two proven winners. My goal for the weekend is obvious to racers; get back on the podium as fast and as often as possible.”

New to our NASA program? Learn more about this event and how the drivers qualified for it here https://community.drivenasa.com/topic/58467-2021-nasa-championships-faq/. The weekend featuring nearly 500 cars kicks off Thursday, September 16 with testing and runs through Sunday, September 19 with the championship race.

TO DO:

Friday, September 17

Qualifying: 11:10-11:30 a.m. ET

Qualifying Race 1: 2:40-3:10

Saturday, September 18

Qualifying Race 2: 12:25-1:10 p.m.

Sunday, September 19

Championship Race: 10:50-11:35