CMP Race Wrap-Up: Survival Was the Strategy, the Crew Was the Weapon

Black Flag Racing officially crossed the finish line at CMP, bringing the #86 car home 33rd overall and 11th in class. For our first race, that feels less like a result and more like the culmination of a lot of small miracles and deliberate planning performed with caffeine, stubbornness, questionable decisions, and a pit crew that refused to let the car — or the team — quit.

Endurance racing has a funny way of reminding everyone that speed is only one part of the job.

Yes, lap times matter.

Yes, bravery matters.

Yes, the driver gets to sit in the loud seat and pretend they are the main character.

…but at CMP, the real story was the team effort behind the wall, under the hood, in the pits, and everywhere else things had to happen quickly, correctly, and usually while someone was holding a tool they had just been looking for ten seconds earlier.

The #86 Honda Accord did exactly what we needed it to do: it survived. That sounds simple until you remember what endurance racing actually asks from a car. It asks for heat, vibration, abuse, curb strikes, brake punishment, fuel stops, driver changes, and hour after hour of “please keep doing car things.”

CMP gave us a proper test, and the car answered. Maybe not gracefully. Maybe not quietly. But it answered.

The pit crew deserves the loudest celebration of the weekend. Every stop, every check, every adjustment, every “look at this real quick” moment mattered. The crew kept the car moving, kept the drivers organized, kept the problems contained, and kept the team focused on the one goal that mattered most: getting across the finish line. In endurance racing, the pit crew does not just support the race. The pit crew is the race. They are the difference between a minor issue and a parked car. They are the difference between frustration and forward motion. They are the reason a team gets to say, “We finished.”

And we finished.

A special shout-out also goes to the parts that made the ridiculous become functional. The Lowe’s plumbing parts worked terrific, proving once again that endurance racing lives in the beautiful gray area between motorsport engineering and “this fitting looks like it might save the weekend.” The pieces from JEGS, Canton Racing, and Advance Auto Parts did their jobs as well, helping turn the #86 car from a pile of theories into a race-finishing machine. There is something deeply satisfying about watching proper racing components and hardware-store problem solving work together in harmony.

It may not be exotic, but it got us home.

CMP was not just a race for Black Flag Racing. It was validation. It proved that the build could survive real pressure. It proved that the team could execute under race conditions. It proved that the drivers, crew, car, and chaos could all coexist long enough to earn a finish. Most importantly, it proved that this program is moving in the right direction.

There are plenty of lessons to take forward, because endurance racing is generous like that. It teaches constantly, usually with heat, noise, and financial consequences. But the big lesson from CMP is simple: this team has the grit, the humor, the mechanical stubbornness, and the pit crew to belong out there.

33rd overall. 11th in class. First race run to the bitter end.

That is not the end of the story. That is the starting line.

Now we fix what complained, improve what survived, thank the crew properly, and get the #86 ready for the next round of racing.