By Kyle Chura

WILLOWS, Calif. (Dec. 4, 2011) - The United States Air Force (USAF) National Auto Sport Association (NASA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill has six-hours remaining with the No. 75 Mercer Motorsports Michelin Porsche still leading at Thunderhill Raceway Park.

The race experienced a red flag stoppage at 5:45 a.m. for a car fire in the No. 85 Bootman Racing FFR in Turn Two. Racing resumed at 25-minutes later.

The Mercer Porsche has covered 576 laps, that is 1,728 miles at an average speed of 101 mph. The team has had only one on track mishap, which was contact with the E1 Class leading Scion, resulting in an out of sequence pit stop to change the right rear tire.

“The only drama that we have had was the hit in the right rear,” No. 75 driver Rich Walton said. “Other than that we have run 19-hour trouble free. Traffic has not been too bad. The slower competitors are pointing us bye, so that makes our job a little easier with all of these cars. The Mercer Porsche is handling as good as it did in the first hour. We are just planning to keep cycling drivers and adding fuel and tires to the finish.”

The No. 102 Mazda Miata of Team Atlanta is leading in the E2 Class.

“My stint was uneventful this morning,” Guy Leidig said. “I had to get used to the brake zones because the markers have been knocked down during the race. My job is to keep the seat warm and keep it on the track. The car is running well. The brakes and tires are really good. We are going to put the fast guys in the car and push to the end.”

The No. 80 e36 BMW of Team Edge leads the E0 Class.

“It has been great,” Steve Ferrario said. “The e36 BMW is a dream to drive. It is smooth, put it on cruise control and go. We have a little sticky steering input, but other than that the car is running great. Not really any issues with traffic. Sometimes the Miatas are a little dicey to deal with. The fast guys are really courteous, so no real problems.”

In E3 Team Sector Purple has put their Mazda Miata into the lead.

“So far everything is smooth,” Lea Croteau said. “I am working traffic well. Sometimes it is hard to tell who is coming up on you. The car has been very reliable. In practice and qualifying we had a few issues. The team stayed up all night on Friday to get things right. We are going to keep going and stay out of the pits and on the track.”

The No. 71 Scion Racing Team is leading the E1 Class.

“Don Gardner has an amazing program here,” Craig Stanton said. “We have tested and practiced and leading the class is a result of a lot of hard work. The car has never missed a beat. We were running a little too hard on the brakes early on, so we adjusted our strategy. Tire wear is good and things are going to plan. We are only able to change on tire and put in 10 gallons of fuel. So there is always a mismatched set of tires. Mechanically, the car is perfect.”

Follow the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill action at GoRacingTV.com or via the live race web broadcast on the Internet at www.enduranceradio.net.

The NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill had 83 cars take the green flag, which is a record for endurance racing in North America. There are six classes (ES, ESR, E0, E1, E2, E3) competing on the three-mile, 15-turn track located 90-minutes north of Sacramento.

For additional information, please contact NASA Media Director, Kyle Chura at kyle@kcapr.com or (248) 821-0468. More detail on NASA and the Thunderhill 25 Hour can be found at www.nasaproracing.com or www.nasa25hour.com. To view the USAF NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill media guide go to www.nasa25hour.com/Thunderhill%20Media%20Guide_r3.pdf.