One Night at the NASA Championships: Miatas, Camping & Turns 8–9 at Sebring

A white and black GT race car with a big rear wing turns through a corner at Sebring during the 2026 NASA Championships (photo by Darien Entwistle)

Sebring in September hits different. No 12-hour crowds, no fireworks, just a whole paddock full of grassroots racers chasing a national title. Last month I headed up for the 2026 NASA Championships, camped one night, and came home already planning the next trip.

⛺ Saturday: Rolling In & Setting Up Camp

I rolled in around 5 PM Saturday evening and got camp set up under the pines. The best part? The NASA Championships were free for spectators Friday through Sunday. You just sign a waiver at the gate, with no tickets and no advance registration. That's an unbeatable deal for a weekend at one of the most famous tracks in the country.

Campsite under tall pine trees at Sebring with a pop-up screen tent and a red car parked on the grass — Home base for the night: camp set up under the pines.

This was the 20th running of the NASA Championships, and NASA brought it back to Sebring for the first time since 2017. Drivers came in from regions all over the country, and you could feel it. Saturday was qualifying-race day, so every session mattered for Sunday's grids.

As the sun went down, the light coming through the trees was ridiculous. Classic Sebring sunset. Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs at camp, and it totally hit the spot.

Golden sunset shining through pine trees beside the track fence at Sebring — Saturday sunset through the pines.

Darien smiling in a selfie at camp with the sun setting behind the trees — Camp life, Sebring style.

🏁 Sunday: Championship Races from Turns 8–9

Sunday started right with a camp breakfast of beef, cheese and eggs. Then it was championship race day, and I found a great spot between Turns 8 and 9. I could see the cars come in, sort themselves out, and fire off toward the next corner. What made it great? Shade and a killer view. In the Florida heat, that shade was clutch.

The run groups were the fun part. NASA split the classes into different groups, and each one had its own flavor. You'd get Corvettes and big GT cars roaring through, and then a completely different pack of cars the next session. Across the weekend, titles were on the line in 20 classes.

Red sports car turning through a corner with dark rubber marks on the track — Red sports car through the corner.

Black race car with a rear wing and green accents coming through a corner at Sebring — All kinds of machinery in the different run groups.

🔥 So. Many. Miatas.

Honestly? The highlight was seeing all the Miatas racing together on track. There were SO many of them. Spec Miata was the biggest field of the weekend: a 44-car field in Saturday's qualifying race and more than 40 taking the green flag Sunday. Watching a pack that big funnel through a corner, nose to tail and door to door, was awesome. It's like a swarm.

For the record, NASA Florida's Francisco Barroso won the Spec Miata championship after swapping the lead back and forth with Travis Wiley all race.

Yellow race car number 33 on track behind the guardrail, with blue and white tire barriers and a pit building in the background — Number 33 rolling past the tire wall.

🤝 Rookies & Veterans, Same Track

One thing I loved: rookies and veterans racing together. At a pro race, everybody's a pro. Here you've got people at their first national event sharing the track with drivers who've been doing this for years. Some drove in from hours away, and some were racing cars they built themselves. Everybody's there because they love it, and that energy is contagious.

Green race car passing behind a concrete wall with palm trees and a big oak tree behind it — Palms, oaks and race cars. Peak Florida.

Black race car with a red rear wing passing in front of stacked tire barriers — Sunday championship action.

❤️ Final Thoughts

After burritos for lunch, I packed up and headed home later Sunday. Just one night, but it was a great weekend. Good food, good racing, and a perfect little reset. If you've only been to Sebring for the 12 Hours, go check out a club racing weekend. It's cheaper (or free!), it's way more relaxed, and you get to see real people racing hard for a national title.

I'll be back. Maybe with a few more nights booked next time. 🏁

— Darien

🎥 More from the track on YouTube: @djdarien93