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Castellaccio’s Migliore Motorsports Prepares for the 25-Hours of Thunderhill

Californian Makes Fourth Start in North America’s Longest Endurance Road Race

Migliore Motorsports has begun preparations for the 25-Hours of Thunderhill, the longest endurance road race in North America. This year’s event is scheduled for December 3-4 at Thunderhill Raceway Park in the foothills of Northern California. Migliore founder Nico Castellaccio announced today that his program will be making its first start, but his fourth personally, in the late season classic. The Lathrop, California-based operation has entered the No. 15 Fantasy Junction Daytona Prototype Chevrolet in the ESR class challenging for an overall win in the twice around the clock plus one-hour race.

Four endurance racing champions are signed up to drive the No. 15. Spencer Trenery of Fantasy Junction (Berkeley, California) is the lead-off driver for the program giving Migliore a strong foundation. Trenery brings his established pedigree of professional sports car racing – including the American Le Mans Series and GRAND-AM – to the effort. Multi-time Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona starter Rob Gewirtz (Springfield, OH) joins the driving squad in the Gen. 1 Daytona Prototype. In addition, MX-5 Cup driver Mark Drennan Sponsored by Winding Road (San Jose, CA) will join the experienced endurance drivers. In 2015 Drennan won NASA’s Western and Eastern States Championship in Spec Miata and was chosen as a finalist for the MRT24 Shootout. To round out the team, we have veteran 25-Hour driver Darrel Anderson (Petaluma, CA), who took 2nd place overall in 2015 on board to once again to race into the sun. Additional opportunities do remain.

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(Pictured: Second from the left Team Owner Nico Castellaccio, Driver/Car Owner Spencer Trenery, Engine Builder Rick Fred, Car Chief Abel Jimenez).

As it readies itself for Thunderhill, Migliore is fresh off its first IMSA Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America win earlier this year. Castellaccio will be joined by Car Chief Abel Jimenez (Matador Motorsports Houston, Texas), Dennis Chizma (Napa, California), Loren Burgess (Pacifica, California) and Bill Margraf (Placerville, California) in the preparation and running of the No. 15 Fantasy Junction entry.

Castellaccio is a veteran of endurance racing and has won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003 and 2004, 24 Hours of Daytona in 2001 as well as the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2005. His past 25-Hours of Thunderhill wins include:

  • 2011, No. 75 Team Mercer Motorsports Porsche GT3 ES, 641 laps, fast lap 1:45.036
  • 2010, No. 75 Team Mercer Motorsports Porsche GT3 ES, 628 laps, fast lap 1:45.986
  • 2009, No. 75 Team Mercer Motorsports, 761 laps, fast lap 1:47.224 (holds record of most laps ever completed).
With a stellar crew intact and a group of seasoned drivers, the Fantasy Junction Riley Daytona Prototype is a triple threat in this marathon auto race. Trenery commissioned Rick Fred of RF Engines (Concord, NC) to build a solid engine specifically designed for the 25-Hour. Fred brings years of experience at the highest level of racing. Career highlights include: 1st Place SLMR Dirt Late Model Championship 2015, 1st in class (6th overall) Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2014, 1st place NCRA and SLMR Dirt Late Model Championship 2014, 1st place Grand Am Daytona Prototype Championship 2009 and 2007.
 RF Engines  was founded in July of 2015 by Rick Fred after the legendary Bob Cronin of CRD Engine Development passed away. Bob was Rick’s mentor for almost 10 years which allowed him to learn from one of the greatest engine builders in racing.

Fantasy Junction sells historically significant European classic and racing cars in Emeryville, California.

To learn more about the 25-Hours of Thunderhill, check out http://nasa25hour.com/.

May the Migliore Matador win!

Migliore Motorsports was founded in 2015 by veteran motorsports and road car technician Nico Castellaccio. Migliore, Italian for “The Best”, focuses on exacting preparation for racing and exotic cars. The facility, based in Lathrop, California, is currently preparing race-winning cars in IMSA’s Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series, Porsche Club of America and the 25-Hours of  Thunderhill. Castellaccio himself is a proven winner with over 20-years of experience tuning street and track cars with victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, 25 Hours of  Thunderhill, American Le Mans Series, Canadian IMSA Cup, Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Series, Grand-Am and IMSA championships.

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