From Bullet Holes to a Podium at the NASA Championships in TT1
Each year NASA hosts their Time Trial Nationals as part of their NASA Championships weekend. In 2024, it visited Utah Motorsports Campus which happened to be a nearby track for Team Autosolve who are based out of Arizona.
John Pearson and Eric Kennel are two friends who love going fast. The two met through their love of Chevy’s. “About 2021 I came to Arizona so that I could have more track time than twice a year and more competition,” said John. “This is when I met Eric Kennel. He had a Blue 6th Gen SS 1LE Camaro, and I had a white 6th Gen ZL1. We always chatted and were friends on social media. I don't remember the exact conversation or how his butt ended up in the driver's seat of my car.” They’ve been close friends ever since and have now created Team Autosolve.
John and Eric have been sharing a C6 Z06 Corvette developing it for the NASA TT1 competition. “I bought the car about 10 years ago,” John said. “Growing up Dad was always a Corvette guy, but on a house painter's salary chose family over a toy. When he was diagnosed with cancer I bought this car. I eventually brought it to Alaska where I was living at the time and used it as a summer car. About a year later I bought the Vette I really wanted. A 2011 Z06 Carbon edition. I planned to list the 2008 for sale, but one day I arrived at my shop and found it littered with bullet holes. I still don't know who I pissed off or why but the plan was simple. It’s no longer for sale, it's now a race car named Bulletmagnet.”
John took it to a road course a few times, and like most people, once he started running some good lap times, he wanted to go faster and faster. “That’s when I broke the piggy bank and started ordering parts.”
John and Eric both feel driver experience has helped them both go faster over time. “It’s the most important mod you can make. That and tires,” Eric says. “The car has evolved from its first iteration of being built using good but not great parts to now amazing parts. Using quality equipment from places that have tested their product and win with it is reassuring and justifies the expense,” John says.
The car is a 2008 Z06, it has been through a few different engine and aero revisions but currently is as follows:
478 Peak HP
2800lbs without driver.
Full safety gear with seats, cage, belts, Chillout system, and automated fire suppression system
CT525 engine with a dailey dry sump
9 Lives carbon wing
Gspeed front aero and cooling
AP Radical calipers
Cobalt pads
Gspeed Penskes
AMT drop spindles, and camber kit.
The duo spent the year preparing for the NASA Championships all season winning multiple TT events in Arizona and setting lap records. When September came around they even brought Lou Gigliotti out to help engineer their effort. Utah Motorsports Campus was a new track for Eric and John to get up to speed at. After multiple days of testing and qualifying, they sat P1. After two days of competition runs, Eric finished 2nd in TT1 by less than two tenths of a second! “I don't feel like I left much out there, which was a big goal of mine. We probably could have had 1st in TT1 if we kept the same setup from Saturday, but shoulda woulda coulda.” Still a fantastic result for their team at a new track.
From here John and Eric plan to continue optimizing the car for TT1. “We want to set more track records and continue dialing in the car. Louis helped us get the car set up in a really good place that we will take into next season,” Eric says.
Both of them love the sense of community within the paddock. Which is what keeps them coming back just as much as the competition does. “Nearly everyone there is willing to lend a hand, a part, or tips. It's been a lot of fun to be fairly new to these groups and be brought into the community so quickly. I only hope that I can add value to their programs and other participants,” John says. “Sharing that passion with a bunch of other enthusiasts just adds to the experience, we’re all a big family striving to be better drivers and help each other go faster,” according to Eric.
The duo just wants to continue having fun at the track with their friends. “Between my buddies that come down from Alaska to race and myself, we have two C6s and two C5s in various states of build. Once we have three driveable cars they will go in the trailer and we will start to wander around the US to various track days. I have as much fun supporting the cars and friends as I do driving,” John tells us.
And if you’re on the fence about getting involved in Time Trials, Eric says you won’t regret it! “Seriously though, TT is a great way to get open laps and push yourself as a driver to find every tenth, and setting a record or several is a great feeling. TT is a nice lower-risk option to competition with very little passing involved.”
The pairing is excited for the 2025 season and they are in the process of having another car built. “Once it is driveable we will leapfrog each car through different modifications. This will allow us to make changes but not be down a car and miss an event,” John says. They also have tentative plans to enter a race group at some point this year to try their hand at wheel-to-wheel racing.
We look forward to watching them chase more TT1 records, some race wins, and hopefully a Championship soon. But a 2nd place finish by less than a tenth is still a pretty great result for the team’s debut at the NASA Championships!
Follow the team at: @team_autosolve