Hi Joe,
Welcome to the world of racing! You and I may be in a similar spot. I am not sure, but there may be no SPEC 944 cars in NASA NE...you might want to contact the series director to confirm. I am in the same position in the MidAtlantic region of NASA. That HAS NOT stopped me from racing though! I ran GTS1 for quite a while...depending on who is running, the car can be competitive. If a GTS1 guy is a good driver and has built to the limit of the law, it's a little tougher to be competitive! Last weekend I ran in PTE which was a blast, at Summit Point. We got 2nd place on Saturday and 3rd (I think) on Sunday...and a nice bunch of guys to race with.
If you ever feel like making it down to Summit Point or VIR, let me know. I'm happy to show you everything I know about these cars to make them go!