User:Bbenthin/TC Motorsports

TC Motorsports History


TC Motorsports was formed as an amateur road racing team in 2000 by Team Principals Carlo and Taryn Sparacio. Both Carlo and Taryn were successful competitors in autocross, time trials, and open road racing before moving to road racing. In 2002, TC Motorsports, LLC was established and quickly became one of the premier arrive and drive race car rental companies in the Pacific Northwest, offering a highly competitive Mazda RX-7 Pro-7 to rent for club and endurance races.

In 2004, TC Motorsports built and developed two Mazda Spec Miatas with new team member Jon Ament. Running the two new Spec Miatas, as well as the PRO-7, TC Motorsports competed in the 12-race International Conference of Sports Car Clubs (ICSCC; Conference) Spec Miata, Radial Sedan, and PRO-7 championships. TC Motorsports was the most successful team in the Spec Miata series. Team Principal Carlo Sparacio won six of the 12 races, earned seven pole positions, set three lap records, and finished 2nd in the Spec Miata driver’s championship, missing 1st by only one point. The team also finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the in PRO-7, Radial Sedan, and Spec Miata championships, respectively.

In the 2004 endurance racing segment, TC Motorsports fielded two Spec Miatas in the 8-Hours of the Cascades Endurance Race at Portland International Raceway and finished 1st and 3rd in class. Later in the year, the team entered one car in the National Auto Sports Association (NASA) 25-Hours of Thunderhill, one of the longest and most grueling sports car endurance races in the world. TC Motorsports finished 3rd out of 23 in class and 11th overall in a field of 59 cars. Of the other 14 Spec Miata competitors in class, many of which were nationally recognized teams, TC Motorsports finished ahead of all but one. TC Motorsports continued to grow in 2005 by building and developing another Spec Miata (for a total of three) and competing in its first professional racing series, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Pro Mazdaspeed Miata Cup, in which the team entered three cars. TC Motorsports Team Principle Carlo Sparacio finished 3rd in the Pacific Tour Championship, with two podium finishes, two top five finishes, two Sunoco Hard Charger Awards for advancing the most positions in a race, and was the top-ranked rookie of the series.

TC Motorsports also competed in the 12-race Conference Spec Miata championship in 2005, where the team was again the most successful Spec Miata team, finishing 1st and 2nd in the championship. Team Principal Taryn Sparacio became the first woman to win a Spec Miata championship. She won four races, earned five pole positions, and set one track qualifying record. She also finished 1st in the Improved Touring-A championship with one win, two pole positions, and six podium finishes, was named Driver of the Year by International Race Drivers Club (IRDC), and was nominated as Conference Driver of the Year.

In the 2005 endurance racing segment, the team again fielded two cars in the 8-Hours of the Cascades and came home with their second consecutive win in the ultra competitive P3 class, while finishing 7th overall, and on the same lap as the P2 class winner. The team also entered one car in the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill for the second year, finishing 2nd of 20 in the E2 class and 7th overall in a field 58 entries. TC Motorsports brought home the honors of being not only the top finishing Miata, but also the top finishing Mazda, beating even the factory-supported Mazdaspeed Motorsports team that fielded two 2006 MX-5 Cup cars.

In 2006, Team Principals Carlo and Taryn Sparacio moved away from racing full time to focus their efforts on building TC Motorsports’ race car build, management, and arrive and drive rental program. The team competed in its second professional racing series, the inaugural season of the SCCA Pro Mazda MX-5 Cup. TC Motorsports built two MX-5 Cup cars for the series and campaigned one client car in the eight race series, which was televised on SPEED Channel. The team also finished first in the competitive P3 class and was the top-finishing Mazda at the innaugural 4 Hours of Pacific Raceways endurance race. The company continued to offer three Spec Miatas for arrive and drive programs at club races in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California (e.g, Thunderhill and Laguna Seca). TC Motorsports continued to grow in January 2007 by opening a race car preparation center in Auburn, Washington (just 8 minutes from Pacific Raceways). The new Service Center gave TC Motorsports the opportunity to apply its experience in building, racing, testing, and maintaining its own multi-car racing team to customers’ race cars and high performance track cars. In 2007, TC Motorsports became a marketing partner and the official arrive and drive race car provider for ProFormance Racing School in Kent, Washington. The team also expanded its arrive and drive race car rental fleet (of three Spec Miatas) to include a BMW Pro-3 race car. For the third time, the team fielded an entry in the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill. Racing a Pro-3 in the E1 class, TC Motorsports finished 9th in class and 21st overall.

In 2008, TC Motorsports returned to professional racing. The team campaigned three Ford Mustang FR500S race cars in the inaugural season of the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge and proved itself the most successful multi-car team in the 2008 Mustang Challenge series. In fact, TC Motorsports was the only arrive and drive company to have customer drivers win races in this competitive series. During the season, the TC Motorsports team and drivers netted three wins, three podium finishes, 11 top ten finishes, five front row starts, including two pole positions, and set the fastest race lap in two races. Both Carlo Sparacio and Rick Edwards finished in the top ten for series points (7th and 10th, respectively) and Andrew Caddell, who raced with TC Motorsports for the first three races of the season, went on to win the championship. The team also earned every award available in the series, including the BF Goodrich Take Control Award, the Barbasol Closest Shave Award, the Zantrex-3 Insta-Shot Award, and the Sunoco Setting the Standard Award.

Recent Activity
In the 2008 NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill, TC Motorsports fielded an FR500S with support from Ford Racing. Unfortunately, the car suffered an engine failure on the very first lap of the 25 hour race that required an engine change. However, the team overcame almost insurmountable odds and, with a never give up spirit, removed the engines from both the race car and spare car, and installed the engine from the spare car into the race car. Even with the 4-hour engine change, TC Motorsports finished 10th in the ES class and 45th overall.

TC Motorsports continues to provide winning opportunities for talented drivers. After watching Ted Anthony, Jr. win his third straight race in the 2009 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge series, Ford Racing Performance Group Manager Jamie Allison asked TC Motorsports Team Principal Carlo Sparacio, “How does TC Motorsports keep finding these fast young drivers from Washington—is it in the water?”

Although “it” may be something in the water, what continually produces such fast and successful drivers is TC Motorsports’ dedication to our customers’ motorsports goals. Since its first foray into professional racing in the 2005 Pro Mazdaspeed Miata Cup, TC Motorsports has been, and continues to be, one of the premiere arrive and drive companies in the United States providing talented drivers a unique opportunity to hone and showcase their skills in professional sports car racing.

TC Motorsports Vision
TC Motorsports is a complete and comprehensive source for sport, club, and professional driving enthusiasts who want to maintain, modify, drive, or race high performance sports cars and race cars. TC Motorsports is regarded as one of the leading motorsports companies in North America and abroad while maintaining profitability and success for its share holders.