First, they have developed a very close partnership with NASA, the Northern California division in particular, run by founder Jerry Kunzman. And it's more than just a casual friendship. Opak is a certified NASA tech inspection center for NorCal, and since the inception of their relationship, has actively pursued a NASA membership growth campaign. We aren't allowed to tell you their final goals, but suffice it to say they aren't modest by any means and they're about 10% of the way there already. The close relationship could not be missed when we visited Infineon Raceway to drive the Opak/Spoon RSX-R during a NASA HPDE event. The NASA folks all know Opak quite well, and the number of participants stopping by Opak's pits to say hello or inquire about some new parts for their cars was impressive. And unlike a drag racing or drifting event, there are very few spectators at HPDEs. The people stopping by were all there to drive. Even Edmun's daughter was hitting the track in her Honda Civic!

Next, Opak chose to pursue Spoon not just because of the brand name, but because Spoon is, first and foremost, focused on circuit racing in general, and endurance racing in particular. So there was a natural fit with Opak's long term plan. For example, Opak played a major role in Spoon's class winning Euro R effort at the NASA 25 hours of Thunderhill enduro last year. Alan was a key member of the pit crew and setup team, so key in fact that he went with the team to the 24 hours of Nurburgring race to repeat his contribution.

Finally, Opak is expanding their racing efforts, under the Spoon banner, in the USA. They have already completed their right hand drive Spoon RSX-R, and will soon take delivery of a race prepped Fit from Japan. While input and parts from Spoon are critical, these cars are largely built, prepped and maintained by Opak. Both the RSX-R and the Fit will compete at this year's 25 hours of Thunderhill in an attempt to double up last year's victory total.

As another sign of how serious Opak is, they were testing out drivers for the enduro during the Infineon event. Last year's driving team for the Euro-R was composed completely of Japanese drivers, but Spoon and Opak recognize the need for more recognizable faces if they are to grow the sport in the US. So this year Edmun put out the call for top drivers to come out and test for a seat. The names that showed up were impressive to say the least. Ali Arsham, of USTCC fame, was doing evaluation duties for Opak at Infineon. In the driver's seat, guys like Marc Kirberg (USTCC winner, Spec Miata national champ and Speed World Challenge winner) and Dave Brown (recently finished 3rd at Infineon in his NASCAR Featherlite debut race against the big boys like Boris Said and Kevin Harvick – in a rented ride!!) tried their hand against the stopwatch.

By the end of the weekend, it had become quite apparent that Edmun and the team at Opak were on a mission to grow amateur road racing and circuit events in the USA. Their enthusiasm was tempered by experience, and the knowledge that they had a long way to go and many hurdles to overcome, but, as a road course junkie myself, I couldn't help but root for them as I headed back to Southern California. I don't know if they'll be able to pull it off, but considering what they've already accomplished, and the sort of people Edmun has pulled together on his team, I don't think I'd care to bet against them.