Speed World Challenge  

World Challenge Welcomes Special Operations Warriors to July 4 Races
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber 2009
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 29, 2009) – In the spirit of Independence Day, SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car driver Nick Esayian has invited members of the U.S. Special Forces and family members of fallen Special Operators that have fallen to the Toyo Tires Watkins Glen Grand Prix Presented by Lala Motorsports at Watkins Glen International Raceway. The race is part of the Camping World Grand Prix weekend, July 3 – 5.

For more than 29 years, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation has provided college educations to the surviving members of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel killed in combat or training. The Foundation also works to provide immediate financial assistance to severely wounded special operations personnel.

A long-time supporter of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Esayian has extended an invite to several local servicemen and families of fallen soldiers to attend Round Five of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championship. The guests of honor will receive VIP treatment all weekend, getting a behind-the-scenes look at how World Challenge and its teams operate. With Independence Day falling on race day, it’s the ideal opportunity to show support for U.S. troops and raise awareness for a noble cause.

“We’ve brought in guys from the Special Forces and their families about half a dozen times before, but bringing them out to the track on Independence Day is going to be perfect,” Esayian, driver of the No. 34 BimmerWorld/GearWrench BMW 328i said. “I’ve never had trouble drumming up support in the World Challenge paddock when I have SOWF guests, and this weekend will be no different. We’ll show them a good time and hopefully put a spotlight on the great things the SOWF is doing.

“The U.S Special Forces have truly been the tip of the spear since 9/11,” Esayian added. “These guys do amazing things in the darkest corners of the earth and the least we can do is make sure we are taking care of their kids. I’m very proud the World Challenge Community has supported me over the last five years in showing my friends from the Special Operations Warrior Foundation that the racing community truly appreciates and supports them.”

The servicemen and families in attendance on July 4 at Watkins Glen will be treated to a World Challenge GT race at 4:45 p.m. (EDT), shortly after IndyCar qualifying. The World Challenge Touring Car race follows at 6 p.m. Live timing and streaming audio will be available at www.world-challenge.com. Both races will be televised on SPEED, Wednesday, July 22, at 2 p.m. (EDT).

For more information on the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, visit www.specialops.org
 

Volvos Get Heavier, Vipers Breathe Easier with SPEED GT Adjustments
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber 2009
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 7, 2009) – SCCA Pro Racing announced today that the Volvo S60 and Dodge Viper have received a competition adjustment before the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship heads to Mosport International Raceway May 16-17.

After dominating last weekend’s event at New Jersey Motorsports Park, the Volvo’s new base weight has been raised from 3,000 to 3,350 lbs. The actual adjustment from New Jersey to Mosport will not be 350 lbs., as the Volvos had not been able to trim enough weight to achieve the 3,000-lb. figure.

“After evaluating the performance of the Volvo, which has been under development, it was clear that an adjustment was warranted,” SCCA Pro Racing Technical and Competition Director Ken Tripkos said. “The cars were not able to get down to the base weight of 3,000 lbs. at New Jersey, but the adjustment is still significant and should bring the vehicle better in line with others in the field.”

Additionally, the Dodge Viper received an air restrictor adjustment from 35 percent to 25 percent.

Round Four of the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Championship is set for Sunday, May 17, as part of the Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend at Mosport International Raceway in Canada.
 

General Motors Joins World Challenge GT Manufacturers’ Championship
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber 2009
TOPEKA, Kan. (April 22, 2009) – WC Vision is pleased to announced that General Motors has joined the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER Magazine.

Thanks to support from its competitors fielding Chevrolet Corvettes and Pontiac GTOs, General Motors has been added to the 2009 World Challenge GT Manufacturers’ Championship in search of its seventh World Challenge title.

“General Motors has long supported the series and has many teams that will continue to support its brands,” Whelen Motorsports Team Owner Sonny Whelen said. “Everyone is familiar with the current situation with auto manufacturers in Detroit, and some of the GM faithful in the series have banded together to meet the series requirements for the Manufacturers Championship in 2009.”

Chevrolet currently leads the World Challenge record books for most manufacturer class wins, with 65, and the Corvette leads the ledger for model class victories, with 41. GM has collected six World Challenge Manufacturers’ Championships with three different marques (Chevrolet, Saturn and Cadillac) since the series began in 1990.

Though Chevrolet will earn points for the podium finishes of Eric Curran at Sebring and Long Beach, as a consequence of joining the Manufacturers’ Championship following Round Two of the 2009 season, the marque has been charged a points penalty agreed upon by the four other manufacturers: Ford, Porsche, Viper and Volvo. As a result, Chevrolet currently sits second in the 2009 World Challenge GT Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER Magazine with 12 points, seven points behind Porsche.

Round Three of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship is slated for May 1 – 3, at Thunderbolt Raceway in Millville, N.J. Log onto www.world-challenge.com to learn more.
 

Chip Herr to Drive DP7 Racing Lamborghini Gallardo in World Challenge GT
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber 2009
HOUSTON, Texas (April 2, 2009) — Dan Pastorini, former NFL star quarterback for the Houston Oilers and DP7 Racing announced today the addition of the youthful and appealing racecar driver Chip Herr to drive their Lamborghini Gallardo GTR.

“Chip brings a series of wins, rock star good looks and eleven years of experience – a perfect driver for our Lamborghini Gallardo GTR,” Pastorini said. “We already have a group of racing professionals from Formula 1 to Indy Cars and with Chip at the wheel; DP7 Racing is destined to make its mark this season.

After Sebring, I felt we needed someone with experience that can give the necessary information to the crew in order to maximize the performance of the DP7 Gallardo GTR. I had a chance to visit with many drivers, but Chip is a special individual with all the ingredients to accomplish what team owner Betty Johnston and I wanted and that’s to make this program successful.”

In 2008, Herr was featured in Grass Roots Magazine as “One of the Dynamic Dozen in North America,” as well as one of the “Young Guns to watch in coming years”. In addition, he was featured as an up-and-coming driver on SPEEDtv.com and National Speed Sport News and was host of the TV show Sports Car Revolution from 2005-2006 on the SPEED Channel. In 2004 he was Sports Car Revolution’s Co-Host / Test Driver.

Herr won his first-ever auto race at sixteen years of age, literally days after being awarded his driver's license. On hand for that first win was Todd Rucci a standout Patriot Offensive Lineman and the best man at Drew Bledsoe's wedding. "NFL Football has been a huge part of my life," Herr said. "But I weigh 135 pounds and I'm 5'5". I was going to have to find another sport to try and become a professional.”

He’s has earned six poles and six wins in the ultra-competitive SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Series and has been a Championship contender the last two years. "To be asked to work with Dan Pastorini and the DP7 crew is a dream come true for me. Yes, DP7 is an excellent organization and the Lamborghini is a great car, but holy smoke, Dan Pastorini wants ME to drive HIS car!"

The Lititz, Pa. driver was the Miata Cup Pacific Tour Champion in 2003, but in the past few years he’s driven for Ford Racing, STaSIS Audi and for the past two seasons with the sensational Tindol Motorsports, a Mazda Factory Team running MAZDA6s in the SPEED World Challenge Touring Championship. Both Todd Rucci and Drew Bledsoe are still avid supporters of Herr's racing career.

“Nothing looks better on the track or generates more interest and excitement than our Gallardo GTR, which was evidenced at Sebring” Pastorini said. “We have all the ingredients of a winning team and the addition of Chip will only make our presence stronger when we come to Long Beach.

“There is one driving force behind any race team and that’s sponsorship, without it you simply cannot succeed. We have no factory support from Lamborghini, but our privateer team has shown what vision, courage, dedication and talent can accomplish. The addition of Chip will allow me more time to focus on securing the necessary sponsorship for our program.”
 

Tindol Mazda6s make last minute run at Round One of World Challenge Touring Car
Galati finishes 7th while Herr is a DNF from the 4th spot at Sebring
News from Tindol Motorsport
SEBRING Florida (March 21st 2009) — When SCCA Pro Racing’s SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championships wound down the 2008 season Chip Herr and Michael Galati looked near invincible in their MazdaSpeed/Ohlin Shocks Tindol Mazda6s. Galati stormed to a convincing win in Round 9 at Mosport while Herr led Galati in a Tindol Mazda 1-2 finish in the season finale at Road Atlanta.

That momentum seemed to hit the brick wall of a slumping economy as SPEED Touring Car seemed destined to carry on without the green and white Tindol Mazdas in 2009. Fortunately, Tindol Motorsports worked out a last minute deal with Mazda and the Florida Bureau of Tourism allowing Chris Tindol the opportunity to assemble Chip Herr and Michael Galati and his crew for at least one more shot at the tough World Challenge Touring Car competition at Sebring.

Chip Herr, of Lititz PA., qualified 6th and after Round One of SPEED Touring Car took the traditional standing start Chip immediately blasted his Sun Drop Soda/MazdaSpeed/Ohlins/Tindol Mazda6 up to 5th and began closing on the leaders. All of this on only 7 laps of setup and practice.

Driving the same Tindol Motorsports Mazda6 he drove to a convincing win in the 2008 finale at Road Atlanta Herr was in 4th position when his motor expired ending his race on lap 5 with the lead pack just in front of him.

“We made some changes after qualifying with the guys from Ohlin’s setting up the shocks perfectly and my Tindol MazdaSpeed Mazda6 was on rails,” said Chip Herr. “I was passing one car after another and got by Saini when he bobbled just a little bit and was reeling in the leaders. I think I was gaining on the leaders by 2 or 3 tenths a lap but coming out of turn 16 the motor let go and that was it. The tuning looked good on the computer so something probably just let go.

“We showed up late but we were battling for a podium spot so we demonstrated what this Tindol team can do even starting the weekend late. We were carrying the banner for Mazda and looking to win another race at Sebring so hopefully we can put something together and be able to come back for more races this season. I think we proved that we can run with anyone here in SPEED World Challenge Touring Car.”

Michael Galati, of Olmstead Ohio, started the #97 MazdaSpeed/Tindol Mazda6 started 10th and moved up to a 7th place finish after spending the 2nd half of the race fending off a strong challenge from Andrew Aquilante in a Subaru WRX.

“It wasn’t bad,” said Michael Galati. “We only had 7 laps on the car going in and it was a different car that I usually drive. We missed the setup just a bit which made it tough, but considering the competition level in World Challenge Touring Car the Tindol guys did a great job getting my car as good as it was considering we had such a late start on the weekend.”

“I got to the end of the straight and hit some dirt and almost went off the track, so now I have this guy Aquilante right on my tail behind me and I had to put my head down and make sure that he didn’t get by me,” said Galati of his late race battle with Aquilante. “We had a heck of a battle. It was four-wheel drive against two-wheel drive, turbo against no turbo but it was good racing.”

“Chip was definitely coming on, but that is the way this racing game goes,” said Chris Tindol. “The crew worked extra hard this weekend and the great people from Ohlin’s helped us out a lot. Thanks to Mazda and special thanks to The Florida Bureau of Tourism because they put this deal together to get us here.

“We ran last year’s equipment and we didn’t have time to put fresh motors in the cars so unfortunately that hurt us but we sure made an impact on the race. I wish we could have stuck around longer because it probably would have been a bigger impact for sure. We only had about 15 total laps to learn the new formula but we got a lot of data from the race so we are even better now that when we first got here. Hopefully we can find the sponsorship we need to extend this program and put that knowledge to good use.”

“I really want to thank MAZDA, Tindol Motorsport, SAFERACER.COM, Sunbelt, Sun Drop sodas and the Tindol crew that made this past week at Sebring a possibility and for a great effort with so little time to prepare,” concluded Chip Herr.
 

Curran Sharpens Focus on 2009 World Challenge GT Title
Photos courtesy SCCA/ M. Weber 2008
EAST HAMPTION, Mass. (March 10, 2009) - It is with good reason that road racer Eric Curran smiles when he sees the green flag of his 2009 racing season through the windshield, and that he also smiles when he glances in the rear view mirror to savor 2008's results.

In little more than a week, the green flag will wave over the first official practice session of Curran’s season, the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship at Sebring, Fla., on March 20 at 4:55pm (EDT).

In that series, Eric starts his third season driving the Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Corvette owned by Sonny Whelen, who will race an identical Corvette in the 10-race series.

"Going into the start of the 2009 season, I'm more excited than ever to be driving the Whelen Corvette," Curran said. "The crew at both Marsh Racing/Whelen Motorsports have been working very hard to resolve the mechanical issues we had last year. This has been a strong team over the past two seasons - winning five races and always qualifying at the sharp end of the grid. We want to get back there and stay there."

In the 2008 World Challenge GT season, Curran and the team recorded a dominant win at Mosport Park, Curran’s most successful track in terms of numbers of race wins there. They added a second-place finish at Road America, Wis., and had three additional top-five events.

"The 2008 season was a long one for me," he said. "It was good in many ways, and bad in others. Working with the Georgian Bay Motorsports team and their Chevrolet Cobalt in the Grand-Am KONI Challenge series, Jamie Holtom and I won four races, which was enough to win the ST class Driver Championship for Jamie, the Team Championship for GBM, and the Manufacturer Championship for Chevrolet."

One race that sticks in Curran’s craw, however, is his NASCAR debut at Lime Rock Park, where he raced the Whelen Engineering/Debt Cures Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the NASCAR Camping World series.

"Had it not been for a number of cautions, and starting from the back of the pack because qualifying was rained out and we didn't have any points, I potentially could have won my first NASCAR event. I led for a number of laps after getting pushed around on my way up through the pack, but the cautions hurt my chances. I guess I still can't complain about a sixth-place finish after starting last." Curran recalled, wistfully.

"We had a good car, I have thousands of racing miles on the Lime Rock track, and I know where the Winner's Circle is," he said.

"I had a lot of fun in 2008, though. I did 26 races in seven series, including a 'just for fun' 25-hour race to end the season with the Davis team. I also ran in both the GT and Touring classes of SCCA World Challenge, both the Rolex GT and KONI series in Grand-Am, plus the American Le Mans Series, NASCAR, Playboy MX-5 Cup and NASA.

"That was fun, but this year I've decided to cut down on the total number of races and focus on championships, hopefully, for the Whelen team in World Challenge GT. Last year was hard on my life outside of racing with all the traveling. This is a much more focused year."
 

World Challenge and SPEED Renew TV Agreement

Internal Combustion Group Slated to Produce Programming
TOPEKA, Kan. (March 5, 2009) – WC Vision announced today the continued partnership with SPEED to broadcast all 10 Rounds of the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships. Internal Combustion Group has been signed to produce the broadcasts.

Working with feedback from fans, teams, sponsors and industry leaders, the 2009 programming will deliver action-packed racing along with behind-the-scenes, personality-focused moments. This year’s SPEED World Challenge broadcasts will combine each SPEED GT and SPEED Touring Car Round into a single, fast-paced, one-hour program. Broadcasts will continue to air tape-delayed on SPEED.

To help create the exciting, up-close and personal programming that SPEED World Challenge fans are looking for, WC Vision has signed Internal Combustion Group, owned by long-time series announcer Tom Hnatiw (pronounced Nat-choo), to produce this season’s broadcasts. In business for 20 years, Internal Combustion Group has produced quality programming for The Export “A” Formula 2000 Championship, Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship and North American Super Touring Championship. Hnatiw and company are planning to invest a significant amount of time into post-race production to ensure a clean and concise one hour program, which captures the drama of each race.

“We welcome the addition of Tom Hnatiw to World Challenge,” said SPEED SVP of Production & Network Operations Rick Miner. “As a series insider, he will no doubt bring great knowledge to the production.”

“My mandate from WC Vision is to make the most electrifying racing show on TV and that's just what we're going to do,” Hnatiw said. "I've been a fan of World Challenge from the start and even competed in a few of the early rounds. It really is a dream come true to be chosen to bring this renewed version of the Championship to life on SPEED."

Hnatiw, who produces other SPEED programs, such as Dream Car Garage and Sports Car Revolution, will continue to be the voice of World Challenge for the new shows with his enthusiastic, no-holds barred style that fans love.

The new partnership with Internal Combustion Group will also give the series the opportunity to add more enhanced video and audio features to the SPEED World Challenge Web site, enabling those who can’t make it to the track to still be a part of the action.

“SPEED Channel reaches more than 70 million U.S. households and is the channel of choice for our fans, automotive and motorsports enthusiasts,” WC Vision Vice President of Marketing and Communications Dave Drimmie said. “They’ve been an integral partner in the growth and development of the World Challenge series. The Internal Combustion Group has a ton of experience producing top-notch automotive programs for SPEED and given Tom is so passionate about our series and motorsports, I am confident they will produce a high caliber, exhilarating program for our fans.”

A full broadcast schedule for the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships will be announced shortly.

The Toyo Tires SPEED World Challenge Season Opener at Sebring is rapidly approaching, March 18 – 20. More information can be found at www.world-challenge.com
 

SPEED World Challenge Announces Revised Schedule and Porsche GT3 Cup Shootout
TOPEKA, Kan. (Feb. 13, 2009) – Two major updates to the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships have been made, including a revised 10-race schedule and the addition of a Porsche GT3 Cup Shootout.

The 2009 SPEED World Challenge season now includes a trip to Thunderbolt Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J. Both classes will join the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, May 1 – 3.

“I’m happy we’re able to return to New Jersey Motorsports Park,” SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Bob Wildberger said. “Racing there last season, it was clear that a great deal of planning had gone into the facility and we knew there were still further improvements planned. It’s a great market for our teams and sponsors to be in and gives our schedule a good geographic balance.”

In 2008, SCCA Pro Racing received a number of requests from stock Porsche 911 GT3 Cup teams to provide a competitive environment for them in SPEED World Challenge GT. To address this, WC Vision and SCCA Pro Racing have created the GT3 Cup Shootout for stock Porsche GT3 Cup competitors running in the SPEED World Challenge GT Championship.

In the 2009 season, stock Porsche GT3 Cup cars (with the addition of a right-side driver’s net) will be eligible to compete in the SPEED GT series under the normal SCCA Pro Racing rulebook.

Similar to Rookie of the Year point standings, the GT3 Shootout Cup will be based on the regular point structure for SPEED GT Championship with only eligible drivers included in the separate Shootout point standings. Drivers may count their best five Shootout finishes toward the Cup.

Cars taking advantage of the additional SPEED GT rules allowances for the Porsche 911 GT3 are not eligible to compete for the Porsche GT3 Cup Shootout.

A full-season World Challenge television package and additional media components will be aired. Details are to be announced shortly
 

MLR Motorsports Enters SPEED Touring Car Season Opener
News from Team MLR
BEDMINSTER, N.J. (Feb. 2, 2009) – Team MLR is excited to announce its SPEED Touring Car entry into the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Toyo Tires Season Opener at Sebring. Driver Matt Lang, of Bedminster, N.J., will pilot the No. 99 Skunk2/Olson Technologies Acura Integra Type R at Sebring International Raceway March 18 – 20.

After entering his first-ever SPEED Touring Car race last season at Lime Rock Park, Lang is eager to get back in the Acura Integra Type R for the 2009 World Challenge season opener in Sebring. The race will be a homecoming of sorts for Team MLR, who were previously based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., before moving to New Jersey.

“I think we have a unique situation in that we are able to run an older car in such a great series,” Lang said. “It’s definitely one of, if not the most popular, Acura model to ever race in SPEED World Challenge. We brought the car out on last minute notice for Lime Rock Park last year, but didn’t get the results we hoped for. The fan’s seemed happy to see the car, so I guess that makes the 19th-place finishing position a little easier to swallow. We are looking to be a bit more competitive at Sebring with a better motor package and better suspension components. It also doesn’t hurt that Sebring is my home track.

“We were fortunate to have some of our sponsors step up and get behind us for this race,” Lang added. “Olson Technologies Inc. is a new sponsor to our team but not a stranger to racing. VP Erik Olson competes regularly in regional club races. Skunk2 has been a long supporter of our team and efforts in motorsports.”

Skunk2 Racing products are designed for enthusiasts by enthusiasts. Drawing on nearly a decade of experience in the sport compact industry, Skunk2 Racing is able to create products that cater to the needs of the true enthusiast. As part of a commitment to continually build the best products, Skunk2 Racing is actively involved in various forms of motorsports.

A small team with a limited budget, Team MLR is grateful for the opportunity to race at the SPEED World Challenge Toyo Tires season opener and hopes to enter several additional races in 2009. In addition to the Integra, the team hopes to make some outings in the Motorsports Gallery Dodge SRT-4 and a K24-powered Acura RSX.

 

K-PAX/3R Racing Enters Two Champions, Two Volvos in 2009 SPEED GT
News from K-Pax Racing

Photos courtesy K-Pax Racing
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (Jan. 12, 2009) – K-PAX/3R Racing has announced they will enter the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship with two-time defending Champion Randy Pobst and 2005 Champion Andy Pilgrim driving a pair of Volvo S60s.

Though the team has won the SPEED GT Drivers’ Championship the past two years with Pobst behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 and helped the German marque earn its seventh World Challenge Manufacturers’ Championship in 2007, the team could not resist the challenge of a new car. K-PAX owner Jim Haughey has long been enthusiastic about the Volvo brand and 3R has proven to be especially adept at building a car from the frame up.

That’s exactly what the team has done with the all-wheel drive 2.5 liter turbo 2009 Volvo S60. The chassis arrived at the 3R shop straight off the assembly line. The crew got to work designing their own components, while working with Mahle USA on motors and Weismann on gearboxes.

“We here at 3R are very excited at the opportunity we have been given to engineer and build all-new cars and bring a new manufacturer back to the series,” 3R Racing owner Bob Raub said. “We know that this is not an easy task or one that will not be without its share of problems and failings, but through those problems and failings we will work hard to have success for Jim, Volvo, Randy and Andy.”

The change in cars goes hand-in-hand with a driver change. Three-time series Champion (2005, 2007-8) Pobst will be partnered with 2005 SPEED GT Champion Pilgrim in 2009. Pilgrim steps into the cockpit of the Volvo S60 after five seasons driving a Cadillac CTS-V. Pobst starts his third season with K-PAX, searching for his third-consecutive Drivers’ Title. Together, Pobst and Pilgrim have combined for 27 poles, 77 top-three finishes and 28 wins.

"Happy New Year, and what a new year it will be!” Pobst said. “Fabulous new 3R Racing-built Volvo S60R all-wheel drive turbo race cars, and a new teammate who is someone for whom I have great respect, Andy Pilgrim. The new Volvo will be a very interesting development project. I am excited about being part of a new challenge; the testing, the learning and being part of a new creation. I will miss Michael Galati's effervescent personality, and I wish him the best in his new endeavors."

“I’m very excited to be working with K-PAX,” Pilgrim said. “I have a ton of respect for them, having run against them in several cars, from the original Corvette they were running to the Porsches the last two years.

“At this point in my career I’m looking forward to having a big learning curve with an all-wheel drive race car. That’s something I’ve never driven before and it’s been a long time since I’ve driven a turbo. I’m always up for a challenge. I’m also looking forward to running with Randy. We’ve run as car-mates and competitors, but we’ve never run as teammates.”

With so much work to be done and parts to fit, the team doesn’t anticipate any testing before Sebring. Pobst and Pilgrim will be valuable assets in developing the car throughout the season.
 

10 Rounds Set for 2009 World Challenge; Watkins Glen Added
Photos courtesy SCCA/Weber 2008
TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 17, 2008) – WC Vision and SCCA Pro Racing have announced that the SPEED World Challenge Championships will join the Indy Racing League at Watkins Glen International, July 3 – 5, for the Fifth Annual Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen. The addition gives both the SPEED Touring Car and SPEED GT classes 10 rounds apiece for 2009.

Watkins Glen will serve as Round Five for the SPEED GT and SPEED Touring Car Championships, slotting into the schedule between Lime Rock Park and the Autobahn Country Club. It will be the series’ seventh trip to the renowned 3.4-mile road course near New York’s Finger Lakes. Last season, Randy Pobst took the GT win at The Glen, while Michael Galati collected the Touring Car victory.

For more information about World Challenge and the 2009 schedule, visit www.world-challenge.com

2009 SPEED World Challenge Schedule

March 18 – 20
Sebring International Raceway
ALMS
Sebring, Fla.

April 17 – 19
Grand Prix of Long Beach (GT Only)
ALMS/IRL
Long Beach, Calif.

May 15 – 17
Mosport International Raceway (TC Double & GT)
Trans-Am
Bowmanville, Ont. (Canada)

May 22 – 25
Lime Rock Park
Grand-Am
Lime Rock, Conn.

July 3 – 5
Watkins Glen International
IRL
Watkins Glen, N.Y.

July 24 – 26
Autobahn Country Club
Atlantics
Joliet, Ill.

Aug. 7 – 9
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
ALMS/IRL
Lexington, Ohio

Aug. 14 – 16
Road America
ALMS
Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Sept. 23 – 25
Road Atlanta
ALMS
Braselton, Ga.

Oct. 9 – 11
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
ALMS
Monterey, Calif.

Divided into two separate series and races (SCCA SPEED GT and SCCA SPEED Touring Car), the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships are America’s top production car-based series. SCCA SPEED World Challenge events are a maximum of 50 minutes in length, feature standing starts and the world’s most popular manufacturers racing head-to-head. For more information see www.world-challenge.com
 

2009 World Challenge Schedule Nears Completion
Photos courtesy SCCA/Weber 2008
TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 10, 2008) – WC Vision and SCCA Pro Racing have announced three more dates that will be added to the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships calendar, including one brand-new venue.

World Challenge will return to Mosport International Raceway, but will trade its traditional August date for a May date in 2009. Both Touring Car and GT will make the trip to Bowmanville, Ont., Canada, May 15 – 17, to headline the Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend. Fans will have the opportunity to enjoy three World Challenge races, as the event will be a doubleheader for the Touring Cars.

July 24 – 26, the series will make its first-ever trip to the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Ill, near Chicago. Both classes will race alongside Cooper Tire Atlantics and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. Opened in 2005, the 3.54-mile road course has received rave reviews from racers and is destined to become a new World Challenge favorite.

A staple on the World Challenge calendar, Road Atlanta returns in 2009. The penultimate rounds for the GT and Touring Car Championships will take place during the prestigious Petit Le Mans weekend, Sept. 23 – 25.

An additional July date will be added shortly.

2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Schedule

March 18 - 20
Sebring International Raceway
ALMS
Sebring, Fla.


April 17 - 19
Grand Prix of Long Beach (GT Only)
ALMS/IRL
Long Beach, Calif.


May 15 - 17
Mosport International Raceway (TC Double & GT)
Bowmanville, Ont. (Canada)

May 22 – 25
Lime Rock Park
Grand-Am
Lime Rock, Conn.

July 24 – 26
Autobahn Country Club
Atlantics
Joliet, Ill.


Aug. 7 - 9
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
ALMS/IRL
Lexington, Ohio

Aug. 14 - 16
Road America
ALMS
Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Sept. 23 - 25
Road Atlanta
ALMS
Braselton, Ga.

Oct. 9 - 11
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
ALMS
Monterey, Calif.
 

MX-5 Cup Broadcast Schedule Comes to a Close
Photos courtesy SCCA/Weber 2008
TOPEKA, Kan. (Nov. 14, 2008) – The final race of the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup season will hit the airwaves this weekend, airing nationally* on Dish Network and DIRECTV.

MX-5 Cup heads to the west coast and beautiful Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to close out the 2008 season.

 Championship point leader Eric Foss starts the 45-minute race from pole in the No. 30 Team MER/Autobarn Mazda MX-5, but only needs to be classified as a finisher to earn the 2008 MX-5 Cup Title. Don’t think for a second Foss will be playing it safe though, the 2008 SCCA Spec Miata National Champion spends the entire race in a three-car battle with Championship rival Brad Rampelberg (No. 14 Hooverspeed/Mazda MX-5) and 17-year old Christian Franck (No. 16 Alara Racing/Select Painting MX-5). Just when you think the order has been settled, a full-course caution comes out on lap 18, giving everyone a shot at the win once more.

To see who captures the final victory of the 2008 MX-5 Cup season, tune to the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, Nov. 16 at 1:30 p.m. (EST) or to Comcast Sport Net West on Nov. 22 at 2 a.m. (EST). For a full schedule of show times on regional cable sports networks, visit www.mx-5cup.com

*USA only
 

At the Quebec Motorsport Federation banquet
Kuno Wittmer awarded Bertrand-Fabi Memorial Trophy

By Michel Poirier-Defoy
MONTREAL, Quebec (November 7, 2008)— Kuno Wittmer had a pretty busy racing calendar and a mostly winning one, ending the season with both third places in the final standings in the SCCA World Challenge and Grand Am Koni Challenge series. Clearly the best results ever achieved by a Quebec driver in both touring series. At the Quebec Motorsports Federation season ending gala evening, Wittmer was awarded the Bertrand-Fabi Memorial Trophy, acknowledging his accomplishment on the international scene. In 2008, the 26 year-old driver entered 32 events, won 6 outright and had no less than 24 Top 10. He also entered a few events in the Canadian Castrol Championship and earned two wins by the same token.

“I had a pretty busy calendar this year, claims Wittmer, and it was filled with success. My brother Nick and I have been with very good teams in the last years and we have elbowed our way up in the standings over the best racing facilities in North America. Nick suffered a few mechanical gremlins this year while I was lucky not to DNF a single event. In the Koni Challenge, I teamed up with Peter Cunningham: we didn’t have the fastest car but we stayed out of trouble and were always among the leaders.”

“In the World Challenge, RealTime Acura was obviously the best team and we fought for the title among us (Cunningham and Kleinubing). It came down to the last lap of the last round where each could come out the winner. Finally, I ran a few events with Lombardi Honda Racing in the Canadian series in order to develop a strong car for 2009 and I earned a few victories in the process. I want to thank both teams, i-Moto and RealTime Acura for their fast machines and some sponsors. But mostly my family who has been involved in motorsports for more than 40 years! “

After a few karting years, Kuno entered single seaters in formula 1600, Renault and Atlantic. He started with touring cars in the Motorola and Hankook series (Quebec touring champion in 2002). He took part in the Honda Michelin series and was national champion in 2005. He is among the best touring car drivers in North America.

Bertrand-Fabi Memorial Trophy honors the memory of a young and brilliant driver who died in a Formula 3 race in England in 1986, on his way to a promising formula one career. In the past, this coveted award was given to drivers like Richard Spénard, Claude Bourbonnais, Alex Tagliani and Patrick Carpentier.

For the Wittmer brothers, 2009 could be as busy and propositions are being considered: “We have to look at the rule changes, the cars and the teams involved”, he concludes. “The two main touring series are in the picture but there could be some class changes. We – Nick and I – will also drive for Lombardi Honda Racing in the Canadian series. But until the Test days in January, we will enjoy the off-season break.”

 

World Challenge Champions Honored in Atlanta
Photos courtesy SCCA/Weber 2008
BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 4, 2008) – Following the exciting season finale at Road Atlanta, the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge paddock gathered at the Gwinnett Place Marriott to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2008 season.

Family played an important role in the night’s festivities. Peter Cunningham was accompanied by daughter Audrey to the stage to accept his 2008 SCCA SPEED Touring Car Drivers’ Championship. With his trophy in one hand, and daughter in the other, Cunningham thanked his wife Rainey and RealTime crew for their support throughout the season, with special emphasis on teammates Kuno Wittmer and Pierre Kleinubing, who fought hard for the 2008 Championship all the way to the end.

To accept his second-consecutive SPEED GT Drivers’ Championship, Randy Pobst brought his father Gene with him to the podium. Gene Pobst made a point to thank the SPEED World Challenge competitors and staff for the excellent jobs they do before handing the mic over to Randy for his acceptance speech, which he closed by encouraging all drivers to always race with the utmost respect for each other and keep racing clean.

No strangers to the SPEED World Challenge banquet stage, Porsche and Acura both had representatives on hand to accept their SPEED World Challenge Manufacturers’ Championships Presented by RACER Magazine. It was the seventh Championship for each.

A year after accepting his 2007 Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship trophy, Jason Saini climbed the steps to the SPEED World Challenge banquet stage to accept his SPEED Touring Car Rookie of the Year prize. Saini expressed his gratefulness to Mazda for their MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder program and his eagerness to return to the series next season.

Gunter Schaldach made his way to the podium with daughter Lala in hand, for whom his team is named. Upon accepting his SPEED GT Rookie of the Year trophy, Schaldach reflected on his roots as a club racer, and the importance of a good crew when making the transition to professional racing.

As voted on by the teams of the paddock, Tindol Motorsports was awarded the SPEED Touring Car Crew of the Year Award and Team Remington Cadillac the SPEED GT Crew of the Year Award.

Advancing more positions from grid to checkered flag than anybody else, Tony Gaples and Seth Thomas were presented with the Sunoco Hard Charger of the Year Awards in SPEED GT and SPEED Touring Car, respectively.

Tindol Motorsports owner Chris Tindol received the Zimmermann Cup, awarded in memory of Championship-winning RealTime crew chief Jerome Zimmermann. Tindol was selected for his limitless enthusiasm and passion for World Challenge racing. A surprised Tindol thanked the paddock for the great competition and reminded the room that only a couple years ago, he was watching them all on TV, wishing for his own World Challenge team.

The Jim Cook Memorial Trophy was presented toWoodhouse Performance team owner and WCVision Co-Chairman Bob Woodhouse. The honor is annually bestowed upon a participant who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to promote the series and has made significant contributions to the success of the series. In addition to the way in which he motivates the entire paddock to strive for their best, it’s hard to imagine WCVision could have come together without Woodhouse’s charismatic personality.

The night, which was presented by Toyo Tires®, closed with a toast to the champions by Tom Hnatiw, the banquet emcee and voice of World Challenge. The paddock and fans now wait anxiously for the 2009 season to begin.

In the meantime, news and information on SCCA SPEED World Challenge can be found at www.world-challenge.com
 

Mosport SPEED World Challenge Action Airs This Week
Photos courtesy SCCA/Weber 2008 and Jamie Longmuir 2008
TOPEKA, Kan. (Aug. 26, 2008) – The SCCA Pro Racing Mosport SPEED World Challenge Races Presented by Toyo Tires will have fans on their feet when they air Wednesday, Aug. 27, on SPEED.

SCCA SPEED GT kicks things off at noon (EDT). Eric Curran starts from pole in the No. 30 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Corvette, but Randy Pobst in the No. 1 K-PAX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 and the No. 5 Coastal Pet Products Dodge Viper of Jason Daskalos get off the line quicker, dropping Curran to third. After drag racing Daskalos down the back stretch on lap four to take the runner-up spot, Curran sets his sights on Pobst. The defending race winner quickly discovers that catching Pobst is one thing, passing him is another. Even a restart from a full-course caution period doesn’t provide Curran an opportunity to push his powerful Corvette past Pobst’s nimble Porsche. Keep the channel on SPEED to see how many times Curran will take a look heading into Turn Eight before finally committing.

Next, at 1 p.m. (EDT), the ultra close battle for the SCCA SPEED Touring Car Championship gets even tighter as Chip Herr leads the pack into Turn One in the No. 97 Mazdaspeed/Tindol Motorsports MAZDA6, while the No. 36 and No. 38 BimmerWorld BMWs of James Clay and Seth Thomas try to fight their way past Herr’s teammate, Michael Galati. Clay successfully moves into second and is immediately pressuring Herr for the lead before a half shaft failure brings the Road America winner’s race to an early close on the back stretch. Galati finds it much easier to get past Herr in the No. 95 Mazda North America/Tindol MAZDA6 and begins to open a lead. Trouble is brewing behind him however, as Thomas grows impatient trying to find a spot to pass Herr. The battle for second is the one to watch and there’s no excuse to miss these two exchanging paint all the way to the checkered flag (if they make it that far) on SPEED.

Divided into two separate series and races (SCCA SPEED GT and SCCA SPEED Touring Car), the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships are America’s top production car-based series. Competing at 12 high-profile venues in 2008, the series is an important showcase for the world’s leading auto brands and makers of performance parts. SCCA SPEED World Challenge events are a maximum of 50 minutes in length, feature standing starts and the world’s most popular manufacturers racing head-to-head. For more information see www.world-challenge.com.
 

SCCA Pro Racing / WCVision Press Conference Transcript
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Photos courtesy SCCA/Weber 2008
LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 18, 2008) — Eric Prill, VP Marketing & Communications SCCA: Thank you all for coming to this exciting opportunity to learn a little bit more about what’s happening with SCCA SPEED World Challenge. We are in one of the most exciting times of the series’ 19-year history. We are joined by five gentlemen and I will allow each of them to comment about what was announced July 2 and elaborate a little more about what will be happening with World Challenge moving forward. We’ll then open it up for some question and answer. Later today we will have both a written hard copy and soft copy of today’s press conference transcript.  --->MORE 

Watkins Glen SPEED TC Results Revised After Tri-Point Appeal
Photos courtesy SCCA/Weber 2008
LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 19, 2008) – SCCA Pro Racing announced today the revision and finalization of its SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car results from Watkins Glen International, June 8.

After an appeal of the final results by Tri-Point Motorsports, the fourth and fifth finishing positions were reversed, placing Charles Espenlaub fourth and Chip Herr fifth.

The cars crossed the finish line in that order while under yellow, but it was later ruled by SCCA Pro Racing that Espenlaub had gained the position after the race-ending full course caution was deployed. A Court of Appeals was convened to hear Tri-Point Motorsports’ (Espenlaub’s entrant) appeal and ruled that, while a full-course caution may have been called for in race control and over the series’ operational radio network, there was no evidence that yellow flags were deployed on the circuit until after the pass had occurred.
 

SCCA Pro, WC Vision Finalize World Challenge Licensing Agreement
TOPEKA, Kan. (July 1, 2008) – SCCA Pro Racing Ltd. and WC Vision LLC. announced today an agreement in which WCVision has secured the long term marketing and licensing rights for the Speed World Challenge® racing series.

The Speed World Challenge Series has been one of the best-kept secrets in professional road racing. With nearly a twenty-year history, which includes some of the biggest names in racing, the series is one of the most exciting and competitive sports car series out there. Now is the time for the World Challenge to take its rightful place at the forefront of North American motorsports.

Two years ago, the World Challenge Participants Committee was formed, and what followed was the development of a group of competitors to partner with SCCA on a strategic level. Over the years, SCCA Pro Racing has done an outstanding job of administering and running races, yet they lacked the resources to pursue marketing, public relations, and sponsor acquisition.

WCVision is a coming together of a number of people within the World Challenge community. Collectively, they offer business, marketing and promotional expertise as well as capital investment to the series.

“This is a great day for the SCCA Speed World Challenge series, its participants and fans,” SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Robert Wildberger said. “This already successful series will now enjoy the benefits of having two companies energetically supplying their core competencies to take World Challenge to the next level. SCCA Pro has a history of providing quality race operations and sanctioning services and WCVision will provide the desired marketing and business resources.”

There are three fundamental goals of this exciting partnership.

1. Elevate the profile of the series through improved televised race coverage, production values, and viewing times. In addition, it will form partnerships with both print and Internet media, among others, to showcase the series. Big media, big exposure, all the time.

2. Grow the size of the race car field through a targeted effort to attract new teams, drivers and manufacturers. Improve the ’cost of admission‘ in terms of the cars themselves. We have awesome drivers and teams but there are others that will want to step up to World Challenge. We are going to make it more attractive for new competitors starting today.

3. Secure sponsorship partners with a value proposition that will benefit all involved. Understand their needs and deliver on them.

Mike Davis WCVision investor and CEO of Applied Computer Solutions, states, “For ten years we had been watching and waiting for a racing entity to come in and show everyone else what we have. We finally picked up the ball and put our talents, business expertise, financial resources and enthusiasm together and took action. I’m more excited now than at anytime in my career about the future of this series.”

“One of the goals” said Peter Cunningham, WCVision co-chair and winningest sports car driver in American history, “from the onset was to eliminate the potential for an uncompetitive environment. We want every racer to have an equal chance to win. The investor group had this as the basis of their agreements to insure parity for our current and future competitors.

Ken Tripkos, SCCA Pro Racing Technical Director expands, “It is important to state from the beginning that SCCA Pro Racing is solely tasked with controlling car specifications and officiating the series. This is like the separation of church and state.”

Nick Esayian, series veteran and driver of the #34 BimmerWorld 3-Series and WCVision co-founder, “We plan on putting on a show… My personal target for World Challenge is a combination of the Red Bull Air Races, an NFL Playoff game, and a KISS concert rolled into one. People should go home elated”

Bob Woodhouse, co-chairman of the new corporation agrees, “I want fans at the track and viewers at home to tell their friends this is the best show on earth… Our competitors have the technology, the talent, and the colorful personalities to make this close racing just the best. We want people to show up for work on Monday and tell their co workers, “You have just got to see this…”

Watch for additional announcements regarding WC Vision. A press conference will be held at the July 18-20 SCCA Speed World Challenge race weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
 

Cindi Lux Announces Partnership with Piloti
Mopar Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe Team to Wear Piloti Shoes in SPEED GT
Image by Jeff Boerio
ALOHA, Ore. (June 16 2008) - Cindi Lux (Aloha, Ore.) and Piloti (www.Piloti.com) announced today a partnership that names the Westlake Village, Calif.-based company the "Official Shoe Supplier of the No. 2 Team Mopar Dodge Viper Competition Coupe". Piloti, Italian for "racing driver", joins the Northwest-based team starting with the next round of the 2008 SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT season at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 19. The NayKid Racing team, led by team manager Fred Lux, will utilize Piloti's DTM style of shoe for its at-track wear for the remainder of the 2008 season. The Piloti DTM, developed with years of experience in both motorsports and the athletic shoe industry, is currently available for purchase by the public at select retailers and online at www.Piloti.com. "This is a very exciting announcement for us,” said Kevin A. Beard, Piloti, Founder and CEO. “Piloti has had the opportunity to work with some of the strongest drivers, teams and sanctioning bodies in motorsports today. Bringing Cindi Lux and the Team Mopar Viper into the fold seems like a perfect fit for our marketing and development objectives. Cindi has shown this year that she brings a lot to the table both on the track and off and that is precisely what we try to do at Piloti."

The addition of Piloti comes on the heels of what is one of Lux's strongest season starts. In the two SPEED GT races in which she has competed thus far, Lux has bettered her career-best Series finishes in both events. She opened the season at the Grand Prix of Long Beach (Calif.) finishing with a ninth-place result, at the time her best finish in the road car-based Series. In the next event, held at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, Lux finished fifth after racing near the front all day. "Being at the race track for 12 to 14 hour days your feet take a beating; shoes become everything,” said Lux. “Finding something that you can wear and forget about your feet is critical. They truly are a dual purpose shoe and in the world of motorsports, that is so awesome. The sporty yet professional look that Piloti adds is a natural fit to our Team Mopar Dodge Viper program. We are really excited to welcome a partner like Piloti which so committed to motorsports and understands the real needs of its participants and fans."

Piloti is synonymous with excellence in motorsports footwear, apparel and accessories. Piloti interprets the style, performance and comfort attributes of racing for the street. Applying the principles of biomechanical technology, Piloti's patented spherical Roll Control (TM) heel construction creates a shoe that provides drivers with enhanced pedal feel as well as excellent comfort in everyday use. Piloti manufacturers 20 different styles of shoes ranging from its new line of full racing shoes (the LMP and the RSR) and full dress wear shoes (the Sebring) to its more traditional casual wear shoes. All styles provide a unique comfort in walking and standing while also providing the critical feel needed to properly drive a race car at its limits.
 

Thoennes Named SCCA Pro Racing Technical Manager
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 23, 2008) – SCCA Pro Racing announced today that Jeremy Thoennes will join its staff as Technical Manager. Thoennes will focus on the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships.

Thoennes joins the SCCA Pro Racing staff after serving as Club Racing Technical Services Manager for Sports Car Club of America, Inc. since 2002.

“Not only does Jeremy have a wealth of technical and motorsports knowledge, he has a great skill set and instinct to bring to SCCA Pro Racing,” SCCA Pro Racing Competition and Technical Director Ken Tripkos said. “He is a perfect fit for our team as SPEED World Challenge progresses into the future.”

A graduate of Minnesota State University (Mankato, Minn.), Thoennes has been in motorsports his entire professional career, serving as car chief, crew chief, engine builder and fabricator for several racing teams in both oval and road racing. His first experience on the race organization side came with a two-year stint at SCCA Enterprises as Assistant Technical Director. Thoennes becomes the first staff member to work for all three entities of SCCA—the parent company, SCCA, Inc., and its two subsidiaries—SCCA Pro Racing and SCCA Enterprises.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for me to put all of my past experience to work for the best production-based professional racing series in North America,” Thoennes said. “I’ve enjoyed my time on the Club Racing side, but it was time for a change and I’m excited to get started.”

Thoennes will not have to move far to occupy his new post—down the hall to the Pro Racing wing in the Topeka, Kan.-based SCCA headquarters. He, his wife Aimee and their family live in Burlingame, Kan.

Thoennes will officially start June 2. His first race will be the June 6-8 SCCA SPEED World Challenge event at Watkins Glen International.
 

Long Beach and VIR World Challenge Races Air Wednesday on SPEED
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber
TOPEKA, Kan. (April 29, 2008) – From the streets of Long Beach to the greenery of VIRginia International Raceway, SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge has it all on SPEED, Wednesday at noon and 1 p.m. (EDT).

The Long Beach SPEED GT race Presented by Applied Computer Solutions gets things started at noon. Local favorite Brandon Davis starts his No. 10 SCA/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra on pole for the second-consecutive race. Just like the previous round at Sebring, Davis has defending SCCA SPEED GT Champion Randy Pobst lining up next to him on the grid. Pobst gets a great start his No. 1 K-PAX Racing Porsche 911 GT3, but arrives at Turn One with too much steam and runs wide, sending him back to sixth. Luckily for Pobst, the yellow flags come out shortly thereafter and he’ll have a shot at making up lost positions on the restart. In fact, several more full-course cautions throughout the race will give Pobst, as well as Andy Pilgrim, a shot at challenging young Davis for the win. Tune into SPEED to see if Davis can hold off the veterans at Long Beach for his first-career SCCA SPEED GT win.

Next at 1 p.m. it’s Round Two of the SCCA SPEED Touring Car Championship at scenic VIRginia International Raceway. Quite the opposite of the Long Beach race preceding it, the SCCA SPEED Touring Car race runs green from start to finish, giving polesitter Chip Herr (No. 97 Tindol Motorsports MAZDA6), Kuno Wittmer (No. 44 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX) and Pierre Kleinubing (No. 43 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX) plenty of opportunities for door-to-door racing. As if the SCCA SPEED Touring Car drivers didn’t already have their hands full, the skies above are threatening to open at any moment. As the pressure builds throughout the race, some of the field’s fiercest competitors will crack and others will break through and surprise you. Don’t miss the fifth-closest finish in series’ history on SPEED.

If you miss them the first time, the races will re-air on SPEED, Thursday, May 1, at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. (EDT).
 

Horton Motorsports / Landsystems Racing to Campaign Dodge Viper in SPEED World Challenge GT Championship
Photos © Nathan Colwell
MURRIETA, Calif. (April 7, 2008) - Horton Motorsports has announced that they will support driver Stu Frederick, in the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship.

Currently, the team is campaigning a full-season SCCA SPEED Touring Car effort with driver Patrick Lindsey. “Adding Stu to our team now gives us solid entries in both Touring and GT,” states Horton. “Stu is a very complete and impressive driver. We all expect to be sharing in some great results this season.”

Frederick, of Del Mar, Calif., begins his season with his No. 57 Dodge Viper Comp Coupe at this year’s Long Beach Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday, April 20. Meissner Jacquet Commercial Real Estate Management will be on board as the car’s sponsor for the event. The team has also committed to run at the 2008 Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park in May, then plans to run an abbreviated schedule throughout the remainder of the season.

Horton Motorsports has supported Frederick’s racing efforts over the past several years including his 2006 SPEED GT debut at a rain soaked Mosport in Ontario, Canada. Frederick finished 18th out of 34 entries.

“It is great to have the strength of a team like Horton Motorsports, and sponsors like Meissner Jacquet behind me this year.” Frederick said. “We hope to get some quick testing in with the new car before hitting the streets of Long Beach. They have a bunch of walls up there, don’t they? I am thrilled to be racing again in such a competitive and exciting series like SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT. To compete against some of the best road racers in the world is beyond description.”

SCCA SPEED GT at Long Beach Presented by Applied Computer Solutions will take place April 17 – 19. The race will air on SPEED Wednesday, April 30, at noon (EST).
 

Good Friday, Good Racing: SPEED World Challenge Season Openers on SPEED
Photos © Lisa Salazar 2008
TOPEKA, Kan. (March 20, 2008) – It will be a Good Friday indeed when the opening rounds of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships air on SPEED, Friday, March 21.

The action begins at noon (EDT) with the SCCA SPEED Touring Car race. Pierre Kleinubing starts on pole in the No. 43 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX and is flanked by teammates Kuno Wittmer and Peter Cunningham. The RealTime crew pulled off a podium sweep at the 2007 season finale, could they pull it off again in the 2008 season opener? Former RealTime driver Nick Esayian could have something to say about it, starting fourth in his new ride, the No. 34 BimmerWorld BMW 325i, and just behind him are MAZDA6 pilots Chip Herr and Charles Espenlaub. SPEED Touring Car always starts the season with a bang at Sebring and don’t expect anything less Friday on SPEED.

Next at 1 p.m. (EDT) it’s déja vu for the SPEED GT field, when rain prompts a single-file rolling restart in place of the usual standing start. Save for one car, the entire field takes the green on dry tires, but unlike Sebring last year, this rain isn’t letting up, and yellow flags make the race a game of strategy rather than speed. Brandon Davis starts from the pole in the No. 10 ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra after qualifying was red-flagged, but he has rainmeister and defending SPEED GT Champion Randy Pobst sharing the front row with him. Can the No. 1 K-PAX Racing Porsche find the grip to beat Davis’ Mustang to Turn One and who will brave the puddles the longest before switching to rains? Tune into SPEED to find out!

If you miss them the first time, the SCCA SPEED Touring Car race from Sebring will re-air at 3 a.m. (EDT), Tuesday, March 25, followed by the SCCA SPEED GT race at 4 a.m.

Divided into two separate series and races (SCCA SPEED GT and SCCA SPEED Touring Car), the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships are American’s top production car-based series. SCCA SPEED World Challenge events are a maximum of 50 minutes in length, feature standing starts, and regularly have grids of more than 30 cars composed of the world’s most popular manufacturers. For more information see www.world-challenge.com
 

Global Motorsports Group Enters 2008 World Challenge Season with Three Car Effort
Photo © SCCA/Mark Weber
SANTA ANA, Calif. (March 12, 2007) — James Sofronas, President of Global Motorsports Group, has announced that he will once again be piloting the familiar blue, No. 14 GMG Porsche 997 GT3 in the 2008 SPEED GT Championship with the addition of two teammates to help Porsche capture the Manufacturers’ crown.

Dino Crescentini (Stoptech Brakes/Centric Parts) and Sean Allen (BMC Group) have joined GMG Racing this year, adding a significant advantage to the team’s efforts. Crescentini and Allen have a vast amount of racing experience and both feel that the three-car assault will help lift GMG to the top step on the podium.

"I can't wait for the season to get started," Sofronas said. "With 2 new teammates and new car for 2008, we expect to be running up front early on. Pre-season testing has shown that all three drivers are extremely competitive. With data coming from three drivers, the engineers will be able to compare valuable information, aiding the time with set up, which we weren't able to do last year. We continue our longstanding relationship with Moton shocks and Eibach springs for 2008 which will allow us to quickly adapt to the new Toyo R888 tire.

“World Challenge is the ideal venue for us to compete in. In fact, over the past 12 months we have developed our own ‘World Challenge’ collection of suspension and exhaust products for our street tuning line, which is new for 2008.  Having competed in the series for many years it was only logical for us to develop products and complete packages for Porsche automobiles. Our success in SPEED GT directly translates into the products we produce for street cars. It gives us a test bed for performance tuning packages that focus on improved handling, braking, aerodynamics and safety while maintaining the comfort and everyday reliability of these highly tuned automobiles.

"We had some mechanical issues in 2007 that were out of our control, preventing us from gaining crucial Championship points," Sofronas added. "This 2008 season, however, will be a new chapter. With three brand new 2008 GT3s using our proprietary GMG suspension components and new Moton shocks, we should prove as competitive as ever against some of the best drivers in sports car racing!"

GMG Racing will be put to the test in the SPEED GT season opener at Sebring International Raceway, March 14, at 4:40 p.m. (EDT). The race will air on SPEED Friday, March 21, at 1:00 p.m. (EDT).

GMG, the premier Porsche tuning facility in Southern California, develops, tests and manufactures racing and high performance components for both the street and track, many of which can be found on all three of their SPEED GT Porsche 997 GT3 Cup entries. GMG Vice-President/Co-Owner and Technical Director Fabryce Kutyba recently announced the introduction of GMG's WC (World Challenge) collection, a line of performance products for Porsche automobiles, which will focus on the 996TT, GT2 and 997 GT3 and RS, 997TT and 997GT2.
 

RealTime Acuras Ready for 2008
10-Time World Challenge Champs to fight for 11
News from RealTime Racing
SAUKVILLE, Wisconsin (March 7, 2008) – The RealTime Acura team is busy putting the finishing touches on its SPEED World Challenge Touring Cars in preparation for next week’s season opener at Sebring and the entire 2008 championship. As they did last year, the 10-time series champions will campaign five production-based Acuras: four TSX sedan models and one RSX sports coupe.

The driver line up will see RealTime stalwarts Peter Cunningham and Pierre Kleinubing joined by second-year RTR pilot Kuno Wittmer. New to the squad in 2008 is a driver who, like his teammates, brings an extensive history with the Acura brand: Grand Am Koni Challenge Endurance series veteran Glenn Bocchino.

Cunningham and Kleinubing are responsible for eight of RealTime’s World Challenge Drivers’ Championships (four a piece) and 51 of the team’s record 64 race victories (25 and 26, respectively).

Wittmer will look to score his first Touring Car win this season, but he finished up 2007 as the highest placing Acura shoe in the points. Kuno’s great consistency put him third overall, while Pierre and Peter ranked fourth and fifth.

Bocchino will enjoy a busy year behind the wheel of two different Acuras. His Team i-MOTO Racing team has already won the 3-hour Koni Challenge opener at Daytona and will contest that entire championship with its two-car Acura TSX team. Glenn’s teammates there include Kuno and his brother, Nick Wittmer, as well as RealTime leader, Cunningham.

RealTime Crew Chief Paul Truess likes his team’s chances this year to add to its substantial trophy case. “We know this year’s battle won’t be any easier than last season, but the guys on the RealTime crew are hungry so our competition better prepare for a fight! We had previously tested twice on the new specification tire and we just completed our final pre-season shakedown on our way to Florida.”

After the traditional start in Central Florida, the World Challenge circus winds its way around North America, including return visits to places like Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, Lime Rock Park in northwestern Connecticut, Finger Lakes region of New York’s Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the season finale at Road Atlanta.

The RealTime Acura team is sponsored by Acura, Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Red Line Oil, Eibach Springs, buyBrakes.com, Sparco, Hawk Performance, Brembo, A-SPEC, BOSCH, Total Auto Body, PACT and A-YES.

Tony Ave Racing Enters SPEED GT with Joey Scarallo
News from Tony Ave Racing

Photo ©SCCA/Digital Racing Photography
MAIDEN, N.C. (March 7, 2008) - Defending SCCA GT-1 National Champion Tony Ave Racing, of Maiden, N.C., has teamed up with its former Trans-Am driver Joey Scarallo, of Hauppauge, N.Y., to compete in the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship.

For their full-season effort, the team has purchased the Chevrolet Corvette campaigned last season by SPEED GT Rookie of the Year Brian Kubinski.

“Given the limited timeframe to prepare for the season, we didn’t really have the time to build our own car from the ground up,” Ave said. “We’ll see what we can learn from this year, and intend to expand to two cars in SPEED GT for 2009, as well as get into the Touring Car ranks, provided the series has the momentum we’re hoping for.

“Joey Scarallo was an obvious choice for us, as we ran at the front in Trans-Am in 2005 together. He has tested our ARCA stock cars and we will be running him some in that arena, but his Trans-Am experience combined with his desire to get back to the front, where he belongs, matches up well with our desire to establish the team as a World Challenge front runner. Unfortunately, we got a very late start, but by the third or fourth round, we should have the bugs worked out. The only variable is the car at this point. Once it’s right, Joey will be tough.”

“I miss Trans-Am, but at the moment World Challenge is where it’s at as far as sprint-style road racing goes,” Scarallo said. “I’ve run up front in Tony’s cars before, and we are both confident that he and his crew will figure out this style of car in time for me to make a strong run as the season rolls on.”

Group A Wheels is already onboard as a sponsor and future announcements regarding additional marketing partners will follow.

 

Whelen Engineering Prepares for SPEED GT Championship Bid in 2008
Photo © SCCA/Weber 2007
OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. (March 3, 2008) - After winning 40 percent of the SPEED GT races in 2007, Eric Curran and Sonny Whelen are preparing for even greater success in 2008. Whelen Engineering has announced their return to the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship with the Drivers’ Championship as their sole focus.

“This is a huge year for us,” driver and team sponsor Sonny Whelen said. “Ted Marsh and his team have worked incredibly hard preparing our Whelen C6 Corvettes. I’m positive Eric [Curran] and I will hit the track at Sebring with our best chances ever in World Challenge.”

“I think World Challenge fans saw what an incredible team Whelen Motorsports has become,” Eric Curran said. “Ted Marsh and his crew have shown what a determined group of guys can do against the big factory programs.”

Just days before the 2007 season began at Sebring, Whelen and crew chief Teddy Marsh learned that SPEED Touring Car standout Eric Curran was available for the season.

“Eric had helped us with some testing and we worked very well together,” team owner Ted Marsh said. “Sonny and I decided that the benefits of a multi-car effort would be worth the investment and we jumped at the chance to bring Eric on board.”

At the conclusion of the 10-race SCCA SPEED GT Championship, the addition of Curran would deliver four wins, a pole position at Mid-Ohio, four ‘Coolest Move of the Race’ awards, three fastest race laps and the distinction of having led more laps in SPEED GT than any other driver in 2007. The success of Curran and highly competitive drives by Sonny Whelen served notice that Whelen Engineering had become a powerhouse entrant in the toughest road racing series in North America.

“I’m so proud of the success our entire Whelen Engineering organization earned last year, but we’re still hungry to do even better,” Whelen added. “Our goal is to improve in every area in 2008 and go after the championship.”

Memories of 2007 have Curran counting the days until the first race gets underway in March. “Get used to the sight of both our red-and-white Corvettes running in the top 10. Sonny’s been preparing and training hard for the new season and I can’t wait to go into battle with him again.”

The opening round of the 2008 SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Championship takes place on Friday, March 14th. Follow the team’s progress and look for exclusive in-car footage, updates, and photo galleries at www.Whelen.com and www.EricCurran.com
 

Woodhouse Performance Returns to GT with Driver Jeff Courtney and the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe
News from Woodhouse Performance Racing

Photo © SCCA/Weber 2007
BLAIR, Neb. (February 25, 2008) -- Bob Woodhouse is happy to announce the return of his Woodhouse Performance race team to the World Challenge GT series. Jeff Courtney will return to the driver seat after an outstanding rookie season in the GT series, where he took 7th overall in the points race, and completed all 10 races, in the No. 99 Dodge Viper Competition Coupe.

“We will again have Kenda Tires, MPI Coin, TJM Integrated Wealth Management, and Badger Components as our primary sponsors for the 99 car,” says Woodhouse. “It’s great to have them back, as well as JG Wheels, Foerster Signs, Karavan Trailers, Eibach Springs and Kicker all supporting the team from last year.”

“2007 was a great year for Woodhouse Performance and it is exciting to be back in 2008. We have created some dynamic team synergy that I look forward to refining this year,” says Courtney, “and we intend to prove the viability of the Dodge Viper Coupe in this series while several other teams from last year have now opted for other cars.”

“We are looking to announce Jeff’s teammate in the No. 13 Viper very soon,” says Woodhouse, who has been a steady fixture and a paddock favorite with his flashy cars, love for the sport and sense of humor. “Jeff was a great addition to the team last year with his patient driving style and strong pushes in the fourth quarter of every race. He keeps us in contention and we are convinced the best is yet to come with Jeff.”

Woodhouse says, “Jeff noted that we chose to stay with the Dodge Viper. This year will tell whether we are as dumb as we look, no one likes to lose, but we have faith in the product, it is reliable and given a chance, competitive. Stay tuned for the drama.”

Although Courtney was new to the GT series in 2007, his 7th place overall finish comes on the heels of his 2006 World Challenge Touring Car Rookie of the Year title. In the off-season his tires have been anything but cool as he has been busy with performance testing and recently placed 2nd at the Grand Am Koni Challenge in Daytona, Fla. Jan. 24-25.

The World Challenge GT series is revving up for their first standing start Mar. 14-17 at Sebring, with the next stop scheduled for the Grand Prix of Long Beach April 18-20.
 

Tri-Point Motorsports and MAZDASPEED Announce 2008 Driver Lineup

News from Tri-Point Motorsports
Photo © Tri-Point Motorsports
CANOGA PARK, Calif. (February 13, 2008) – Tri-Point Motorsports and Mazda had a stellar season in 2007 and are looking to repeat their success in 2008 with a fresh and potent driver lineup. SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car competition is intense and provides an ideal venue for Tri-Point to showcase Mazda’s race driven engineering.

A trio of top-level drivers will lead the charge to defend both the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles in the distinctive blue and white Tri-Point MAZDA6 race cars when the green flag drops at the traditional World Challenge season-opener, March 12-14, in Sebring, Fla. Returning for 2008 is longtime Tri-Point pilot and 2007 SPEED Touring Car Champion Jeff Altenburg. He will be joined by touring car veteran and friend Charles Espenlaub, making the move from Tindol Motorsports. Rounding out the Tri-Point squad is 2007 Mazda MX-5 Cup Champion Jason Saini who is making his World Challenge debut as he advances to the next rung of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder.

Altenburg has been a consistent and critical component of Tri-Point’s racing success and 2008 should be no exception. He will be shouldered with the difficult task of besting his 2007 record of two race wins, five podium finishes, and the Drivers’ Championship, all while wearing the iconic No.1 on the door of his MAZDA6.

“I am very happy to be trading my trusty No. 72 for the No. 1 on my MAZDA6 in 2008,” Altenburg said. “It will be a reminder all year of what was accomplished in 2007 through hard work, tough battles and support from many, many people. It’s good to know that we will have the continued support and expertise of companies like Comptech Engines, Stop Tech Brakes, Sachs Shocks, Chase Cams and, of course, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development.

Joining the Tri-Point squad this season should be an easy transition for Espenlaub, who already has three years of experience behind the wheel of a MAZDA6, driving for Tindol Motorsports. Espenlaub played an important role in Mazda’s quest for a Manufacturers’ Championship, finishing ninth in points in 2007. Espenlaub brings with him nearly a decade of professional racing and instructing experience in a wide variety of sports and touring cars.

“I am really excited about the 2008 season for many reasons,” Espenlaub said. “I’ll be able to continue my relationship with Mazda and MAZDASPEED, who have given me an opportunity to work with the Championship-winning Tri-Point team. Another bonus is that I will join forces with my good friends and A-list drivers Jeff and Jason. This will be an incredible year and I hope to do my part in bringing home another championship for both Mazda and Tri-Point.”

Saini’s 2007 racing season was a runaway success in the ultra-competitive SCCA Mazda MX-5 Cup series where he scored a staggering five wins in eight races, catapulting him to a Championship victory and into a Tri-Point MAZDA6 Touring Car courtesy of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder. The switch from a rear-drive spec MX-5 to the more advanced front-drive MAZDA6 will be an exciting challenge Saini is happy to accept.

“I’m incredibly excited at the opportunity Mazda is providing for me, advancing from the MX-5 Cup to SPEED World Challenge. It’s always been a dream of mine to drive in this series, and to get the chance to join a Championship team like Tri-Point is just amazing. I’ve got a ton of respect for what Tri-Point has accomplished, and I’m proud to drive for them in 2008.”

“There will obviously be a learning curve switching to front-drive, but the crew at Tri-Point has made the car handle so well that it’s like driving a race-car, not necessarily a front-drive race car. Also, the momentum nature of the MX-5’s I’ve been driving begs the same driving style as these Touring cars, so I think I’m ready to make the transition. The best part is, I’ll only get faster as the year goes on!”

Craig Nagler, owner and director of Tri-Point Motorsports, is once again ready to test the MAZDA6 against some of racing’s best.

“I am looking forward to defending our hard-fought Championships this year,” Nagler said. “It’s going to be very tough with all the great teams we race against in SPEED World Challenge.

“We are changing things up for 2008 by adding drivers Charles Espenlaub and Jason Saini alongside Jeff, and they are bringing a lot of excitement to our team. In addition, I think Jason has an excellent shot at winning Rookie of the Year. As we have been testing and making plans for the start of our season I really like the way Jeff, Charles, and Jason work together. Another important point is there will be very little change in our crew, which should allow us to continue where we left off in 2007.”

The new 2008 Tri-Point driver lineup makes their debut March 12-14 at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh from Florida, where they will begin their quest to keep the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ crowns in the Mazda trophy cabinet.

Divided into two separate series and races (SCCA SPEED GT and SCCA SPEED Touring Car), the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships are American’s top production car-based series. SCCA SPEED World Challenge events are a maximum of 50 minutes in length, feature standing starts, and regularly have grids of more than 30 cars composed of the world’s most popular manufacturers. The 2008 SCCA SPEED World Challenge season begins March 12- 14 at Sebring International Raceway. For more information see www.world-challenge.com
 

Osborn Family on CNN
By Erin Cechal

[Link at end of article]
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Feb. 7, 2008) - SCCA SPEED World Challenge competitor Jim Osborn and his wife Amy Jo will be featured on CNN Headline News this evening, Feb. 7, during the Nancy Grace program at 8 p.m. (EST).

SCCA SPEED World Challenge fans know Jim and Amy Jo best as Chili Pepper Racing and their work with several children’s charities, most notably, their annual motorcycle charity ride at Petit Le Mans to benefit the Lighthouse Family Retreat. Given the Osborn’s heartwarming commitment to improving the quality of life for children with cancer, it came as quite a shock to the World Challenge community when the couple’s first child, Hatch, was diagnosed with aggressive brain tumors shortly after the 2006 Petit Le Mans and passed away when he was only nine weeks old.

The tragic loss of Hatch has motivated the Osborns to do even more to help children and families battling cancer. In 2007 they established the Austin Hatcher Foundation (www.hatcherfoundation.com) to raise funds for pediatric cancer research and support families in need. That same year, Amy Jo created her own infant clothing line, A Mother’s Arms (www.amothersarms.com), with all proceeds going to pediatric cancer research. In August of 2007, Jim and Amy Jo were blessed with their second child, Zoë.

It comes as no surprise then, that the Osborns have been nominated for the “Nancy Grace Extraordinary Parents Contest.” The couple will be featured on the Feb. 7th telecast on CNN Headline News, talking about the Austin Hatcher Foundation, A Mother’s Arms and Jim’s racing in SCCA SPEED Touring Car with his groundbreaking biodiesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI.

Watch Nancy Grace on CNN Headline News tonight at 8 p.m. (EST) to learn more about the “extraordinary” Osborns.

UPDATE: Unfortunately the segment did not air. View it here:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/ireports/2008/02/07/

.osborns.parents.cnn
 

World Challenge Schedule Picks up New Jersey and Road Atlanta in 2008

By Erin Cechal
Photo © SCCA/Weber 2007
TOPEKA, Kan. (Jan. 29, 2008) – SCCA Pro Racing has added a brand-new East Coast venue and classic American road course to the 2008 SPEED World Challenge schedule.

Following Round Six at Mosport International Raceway, the series will cross the border and head east to the brand-new New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J., home of Thunderbolt Raceway. The 14-turn 2.25-mile road course will host the penultimate round of the SCCA SPEED Touring Car Championship and a SPEED GT doubleheader, September 26 – 28. The series’ inaugural event at New Jersey Motorsports Park will be held in conjunction with the ARCA/RE/MAX Series.

“The New Jersey Motorsports Park 2008 schedule features a terrific assortment of events – there’s something for everyone,” Joe Volpe Director of Motorsports, New Jersey Motorsports Park said. “I’m sure our fans will love watching the ‘all-or-nothing’ sprint racing SCCA SPEED World Challenge provides. It will be great to provide spectators with an event that features such a diverse field, including Lotus, Scion, Mazda and Cadillac, to name a few. We’re thrilled to host a race in this series.”

The final event of 2008 for both the SPEED GT and Touring Car categories will be the 11th Annual Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta, October 1– 3. This will be the 14th season, World Challenge has held an event at Road Atlanta and the second time the season finale will take place at the Braselton, Ga., track.

SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Bob Wildberger hinted that a 10th event for SPEED GT was still a strong possibility.

“Everyone at SCCA Pro Racing has worked very hard to put together this year’s World Challenge schedule,” Wildberger said. “The addition of New Jersey Motorsports Park, an exciting new facility, and the return of a classic road course like Road Atlanta gives the 2008 calendar a nice balance of both historical and new venues.”

The start of the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships draws nearer with the traditional season opener at Sebring International Raceway March 12 - 14. To learn more visit www.world-challenge.com
 

CRP Racing to Run Brian Kubinski in 2008 SPEED GT Championship
News from Competition Race Parts Racing

Photo © SCCA/Weber 2007
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Dec. 28, 2007) — Competition Race Parts Racing has announced that it will run Brian Kubinski in the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship. Kubinski, of Plainfield, Ill., will drive a C6 Chevrolet Corvette.

CRP Racing, based in Charlotte, N.C., is well known for its race prep and engineering services. Nicholas Short, of CRP, engineered Kubinski's Blackdog Racing C6 Corvette in 2007, which earned Kubinski two top-ten finishes in 2007, including a fifth-place finish at Mosport, and the 2007 Piloti SPEED GT Rookie of the Year Award.

"I do believe we have a chance to win races and contend for the Championship in 2008," Short said. "We have the driver, we have the car, we have the engine package, and the resources of CRP Racing and Diamond Construction to take Brian Kubinski to the front of the pack."

CRP Racing is in the process of recruiting a second car to compete in the 2008 SPEED World Challenge GT or Touring Car Championship as teammate to Kubinski. Interested parties should contact Nicholas Short at CRP.
 

Nick Esayian Joins BimmerWorld SPEED Touring Car Team for 2008
News from Bimmerworld
DUBLIN, Va. (Dec. 13, 2007) - After years of racing the familiar orange and white cars from RealTime Racing, fan favorite Nick Esayian announced his switch to the winning blue and gold BimmerWorld BMW E90’s from Dublin, Va.

Esayian, ready to start his fifth season of SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car, sees the move to James Clay’s team as a strategic, but friendly move, intended to boost his goals of becoming a regular visitor to the podium.

“There’s no drama in leaving RTR—they run a first class operation and we remain great friends. I just needed a change after last year,” noted Esayian. “Coming back for a fifth year would not have been a bad decision by any means, but I think the fans will be excited to see me in a BMW, along with Seth [Thomas] and James [Clay], battling the orange and white cars along with the Mazdas, Audis and all the other great marques.

“There is always a little bit of extra pressure and excitement when you are slated to battle guys you use to race with. I think we will convert some Acura enthusiasts over to BMW fans. I’m putting orange mirrors on my E90 so no one will have withdrawals….” he joked.

The switch to the rear-wheel drive inline-six cylinder BimmerWorld BMW isn’t a concern to Nick after mastering front-wheel drive cars with RTR.

“In 2004 the biggest adjustment in jumping up to a World Challenge car was not the front drive, but so much power in a front-wheel drive car. It took me a solid year to discipline myself not to just mash the throttle after the apex.”

A solid testing regimen is in order for Nick to get up to speed in his new No. 34 BMW.

“Most of the fast Touring Car guys can make the switch effectively with a few solid days of testing. The E90 is obviously a very balanced car to start with, so what BimmerWorld has learned over the last few years really equates to a strong car that should be extremely competitive in 2008. We will have the opportunity to test prior to Sebring, get acclimated to the car, and learn from what James and Seth have gleaned over the last few years. I am pretty excited to get into the car, but it should be a quick adjustment from the TSX.”

For Esayian, one of the joys of 2008 will be joining two good friends in a concerted championship effort.

“James and Seth were some of the first guys I met in my rookie year in 2004 and we have battled on the track and become good friends off the track. They always raced hard, clean, and overcame adversity. They earned a lot of respect in the paddock in doing so. Their team collectively has done and outstanding job in developing the E90 which was a formidable project. In terms of going into battle in 2008, I think we will be a force to be reckoned with. The E90 is fast and reliable, the team is experienced, and the three of us are in a position to help one another get atop the podium and potentially a championship. I can’t wait!”

Team owner James Clay is equally as excited to have Esayian in the BimmerWorld fold.

“What can I say—he’s really fast, the fans love him, the series officials respect him highly and he’s a real team player,” Clay said. “I know that with Nick in the No. 34, we’ll have the strongest BimmerWorld team yet.”

As Clay and Thomas work to add more wins and a championship to the team’s history, Esayian knows what’s needed for him to chase a title with BimmerWorld.

“For four years I’ve watched these guys overcome various challenges that would have forced other teams to put the cars on a trailer and go home,” Esayian said. “More than any other sport, racing has its challenges, and the key is to be prepared, be smart and never quit, and the BW guys clearly demonstrate these traits. They had some great results last year including Joey Hand posting a win at Mid-Ohio and James and Seth being on the podium. With three consistent drivers we should be a pretty solid threat.”

While he’s focused on the challenges ahead of him in a new car and new team, Esayian also knows how critical delivering consistent results will be in his hunt for a title.

“I don’t think you can win a championship if you DNF more than once, so being consistent is critical. There are a couple of guys who have won a race here or there, but also manage to crash their way out of the points race. It’s a balance to push hard and not overstep the laws of physics. I’ve had some podium opportunities and have not capitalized on them, so first and foremost, I need to focus in 2008 and finally get some champagne sprayed in my eyes!”

Along with the new team and car, Esayian is also bringing a new sponsor to dress his car.

“One of my companies is marketing a book on TV called Debt Cures ‘They Don’t Want You to Know About’. It’s an extremely popular book focused on helping people get financially healthy. You see stories every day in the media regarding debt, mortgages, etc. Certainly our goal is to make money, but also to help people feel like they are not alone in getting over the hump financially. Our racing effort will support the sale of the book.”

It’s Esayian’s ongoing commitment to a charity that should also resonate with fans and teams wanting to make a donation to a very worthy foundation in 2008.

“Of course we will continue our support of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. The foundation provides grants to the children of Special Forces soldiers killed in action or training. It’s really moving to meet some of the kids we have helped. The Special Ops guys always pick an event to come out and support us at the track which is always a treat. These guys are larger than life and you can’t help but feel great about giving something back to them.”

With the team of Clay, Thomas, and Esayian now in place for 2008, BimmerWorld’s impressive, winning year in 2007 looks set to be topped. If Nick has anything to say about it, he’ll be the first BimmerWorld driver in 2008 to spray champagne…in his eyes…
 

Tri-Point Suits, Hoods and Hats with MUTTS Artwork up for Auction
Photos © MAZDASPEED and Lindsey Hooper
IRVINE, Calif. (November 29, 2007) – The suits, car hoods and hats featuring MUTTS comic strip characters Earl and Mooch used by Tri-Point Motorsports during the final two rounds of the 2007 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship will be available for auction beginning December 1.

Working with the Humane Society of the United States and the MUTTS to promote the adoption of shelter animals, series Champion Jeff Altenburg carried MUTTS character “Earl” the dog on his suit and car hood for the final two races at Road Atlanta and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Randy Pobst’s suit and hood were fashioned with “Mooch” the cat.

“This was the best season ever for the Tri-Point Mazda team and we greatly enjoyed being able to end the season with the fun of carrying The HSUS and MUTTS message,” team owner Craig Nagler said. “The fan reaction was fantastic. People thanked us for what we were doing.”

Both of the hoods and custom Sparco suits will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on Autoweek.com, with all of the funds raised going to the Humane Society of the United States. Additionally, Sparco made only 50 MUTTS hats for the Tri-Point team, of which six will be up for auction, complete with signatures from Altenburg or Pobst and MUTTS cartoonist Patrick McDonnell. McDonnell has also signed an 11 x 17 art print of the MUTTS comic strip that ran on October 18, 2007, featuring Mooch as a race car driver.

All items will be available for bidding December 1 – 11 at www.autoweek.com/HSUS  just in time for Christmas.

For more information about SPEED World Challenge and the items available in the Tri-Point/MUTTS auction, visit www.world-challenge.com
 

SCCA Speed World Challenge Set To Return to Mosport In 2008
Series set to make its 18th appearance at Canada's Home of Motorsports
Photos © Jamie Longmuir 2007
BOWMANVILLE, ON (November 21, 2007) — Six classic racing venues have been confirmed for the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge schedule. Among these destinations is Mosport International Raceway's famed 4 km road course, which will host the Series (both GT and Touring Car), for the 18th time as part of the Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport, Aug. 21-24. Mosport has hosted more SPEED World Challenge races than any other track in Series history.

For the third year in-a-row, the SPEED GT cars will hit the streets of Long Beach in April with the Champ Car World Series and American Le Mans Series. The following weekend, SPEED Touring Car teams are off to Virginia International Raceway to join the Rolex Sports Car Series. The 2008 event will mark only the second time in history the series has raced at this venerable road course.

In May, both classes reunite for a showdown in the desert at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah with the American Le Mans Series. The series returns to historical Watkins Glen International in June with the Rolex Sports Car Series, and then joins the American Le Mans Series and the Indy Racing League for a repeat a highly successful event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July, followed by Mosport.

The remainder of the schedule is expected to be announced shortly.
 

MPME, Modified to Field Supercharged Scion tC in Limited 2008 SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Program
Photos © Modified Magazine
OAKLAND, Calif., (November 8, 2007) - Marshall Pruett Motorsports Engineering (MPME), Modified Magazine, and Scion have partnered to build and run the first professional road racing entry for the youth-oriented Toyota brand.

“Scions are a familiar sight at import drag racing events, drifting events and car shows, and have some of the most active car clubs in America. In 2008, professional road racing is the next place you’ll see a Scion competing,” noted team owner Marshall Pruett.

With the car set to debut at the Sebring, Fla., opener in March of 2008, the MPME team will be undertaking a partial World Challenge schedule. “Frankly, my schedule and responsibilities as a journalist won’t allow me to run the car in more than a handful of races—three to four are all we have planned for now, though there will be plenty of testing away from the SPEED cameras,” noted Pruett.

The veteran road racing crew chief and engineer-turned motoring journalist for SPEED sees the debut of a new car and manufacturer to the SPEED TC series as nothing but an indicator of the series’ strength.

“In reviewing the series to choose from, World Challenge offers the most brutal, uncompromising, and spirited touring car racing on the continent. I’d rather develop a new car in the most challenging environment available, and that’s what I’ve chosen by bringing the Scion tC to SPEED TC.”

Ancaster, Ontario’s Dave Pratte, Senior Editor for Modified Magazine and winner in the Canadian Touring Car Championship, looks forward to the starting lights turning green at Sebring. “World Challenge has always been my goal as a driver. I get to write about the best and brightest in the import/tuner car world, so what better way to serve our readers than to share my pro racing exploits with them in a Scion tC. I really want to put Modified’s readers in the driver’s seat with me, so that can share in the excitement”.

Pratte is also familiar with the FWD layout of the tC and racing on the same tires used in World Challenge. “My CTCC Honda is a front-driver, and we race on Toyo’s, but I still have a lot to learn to take on heroes of mine like Peter Cunningham and Randy Pobst. We know we have a huge mountain to climb with developing the car and I have a lot to learn with the new tracks I’ll run. Even if we’re a ways off the top cars next year, expect for us to be learning all the time and enjoying ourselves with the support of Scion fans at each round.”

The tC, believed to be the first supercharged entry in the SPEED TC category, also marks the debut of the incredibly popular Scion brand to professional road racing. Pruett was equally as careful when approaching manufacturers to partner with. “In the import and tuner world, the Scion brand is king for new car sales; look at what they’ve done with their massive catalog of aftermarket parts for all of their models. With SPEED Touring Car serving as the home for import and tuner cars, the Scion tC is the best fit possible for the category.

To demonstrate the aftermarket options available for the tC from TRD, the MPME team has worked with Scion to use as many parts direct from the TRD catalog as possible. “What TRD has done with their performance parts catalog is just amazing—these aren’t just for show, or to look cool at a car show; everything they sell is developed and tested by their staff of engineers and racers. TRD stands for ‘Toyota Racing Development’ and there’s a reason for that: their parts for the street are infused with this ‘Racing Development spirit.”

From that catalog, everything from the Stoptech developed big brake kit, Quaife manufactured limited-slip differential, TRD Supercharger, quick-shift kit, and strut tower brace will be used in battle.

Transformation of the tC from a street car to full-fledged SPEED Touring Car was carried out by TC Design of Milpitas, California, the same outfit used to transform the SPEED GT Subaru Pruett ran in 2006. “Tony and Joe Colicchio have recently surpassed the two hundred and fifty mark for race cars they’ve built—beyond their ability to do incredibly skilled and well engineered work, they’ve been instrumental in turning the tC around in record time.

Also under TC Design’s guidance, the first set of professional Moton dampers for the Scion tC have been developed. “I work closely with Lex Carson of Moton USA on a regular basis, and between the two of us, we’ve come up with the same damping advantage Moton’s other SPEED Touring Car customers are used to,” said Colicchio. TC Design has also developed custom suspension for the Scion tC for the rigors of World Challenge racing that compliment the Hotchkis anti-roll bars that are installed.

The Design scheme for the car is open for voting at www.Modified.com  “We figured everything else about the Scion tC is customizable, so why not let our readers, racing fans, and Scion nuts pick from four different designs we commissioned Marvel Comics artist Jon Sibal to create. The winning scheme will be applied to the car for the 2008 season.

With TC Design building the Scion tC for SPEED TC, the use of the initials ‘TC’ will be a common sight with the program. “We’ll be putting the myth that ‘good thins happen in threes’ to the test next year!” Pruett said.

Details about the car and team will soon be available at www.tctouringcar.com, as well as www.modified.com  and in Modified Magazine.
 

Impressive Season for Jeff Courtney in World Challenge GT
Season Recap: No. 99 Kenda Tires/ProMPI/Karavan Trailers/Badger/JG Wheels/ Foerster Signs/Eibach Springs Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe
News from Woodhouse Performance Racing

Photos © Skip Engle and Weber Photography/Mark Weber

SLINGER, Wis. (Oct. 29, 2007) — Jeff Courtney and the No. 99 Kenda Tires/Pro MPI Dodge Viper posted a solid season in the SPEED World Challenge Series, finishing seventh in the overall standings and impressing in his first season in the GT division.

Courtney, nabbed to drive for Woodhouse Performance after impressively winning Rookie of the Year in the Touring Car division in 2006, made a successful and notable transition into the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, a completely different animal than his AWD Audi in the Touring Car Series. And it had its challenges within the series. The Woodhouse Performance team worked hard all season to overcome the competition deficit with the Viper in a series where domination by Cadillacs, Porsches and Corvettes kept them from competing for the win each week. Although frustrating, it was fuel for the fire for Courtney, who, despite the difficulties with the levelness of the playing field, impressed with his consistency.

The opening race of the season was telling for Courtney, as he posted an 11th place finish right out of the box. A monsoon-like rain hit the Sebring International Raceway the morning of the race, forcing Courtney to make his first start in a Viper in wet track conditions. But the combination of challenges didn't faze him. The new team, new car, new division, new group of competitors and slippery racetrack couldn't keep him from his signature clean, consistent racing. Starting off the season just outside the top-10 in points? Not bad.

At Long Beach, a new set of challenges arose: A tight street course, a group of folks from sponsor company ProMPI/MPI Coin to impress and limited track time to prepare for the race. But the resilient Courtney was awarded the Sunoco Hard Charger Award, after picking up 16 positions on his way to a 13th-place finish.

The third round of SPEED World Challenge GT competition took place at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City. It was the site of Courtney's first top-10 finish, of both his GT career and the season. He left 11th in the championship standings, just four points out of 10th. The next race would help him break into the coveted top-10.

That next race featured NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series star Kasey Kahne joining in the World Challenge festivities as teammate. Courtney would make the best of Round Five on the modified oval of Lowe's Motor Speedway and finish fifth in the No. 99 Kenda Tires/ProMPI Dodge Viper. It was his first top-five of the season and it was also a finish one spot higher than the celebrated Mr. Kahne – something to write home about. Heading to Round Six at Watkins Glen, Courtney was sitting 10th in the season standings, on-track to start the second half of the season in prime position.

The next three races, taking place at Watkins Glen International, on the streets of Toronto, Canada and at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, would produce solid top-15 finishes and confirm his newly-tabbed nickname 'Mr. Consistency.' Through the finishes he maintained his spot in the top-10 in points, while at one event hosting a special group of 100 sponsor guests. At Mid-Ohio Kenda Tires associates cheered Courtney on from a front stretch hospitality tent, watching their No. 99 Dodge Viper race its way to the front after one of their associates gave the command to start engines to the entire SPEED World Challenge GT field.

With two races remaining in the season, SCCA made a competition adjustment to the entire field that helped the Vipers become more competitive, and it showed in Courtney's results. It was just the ticket Courtney needed to level out the playing field and kick his performance into high gear.

Round Nine took place at the historic, super-speedy Road Atlanta. The race itself could only be summed up in one word: Craziness. But for Courtney, it was one of his best of the season. He started out the weekend by posting his best qualifying effort to date, a seventh, and making his way through the multi-car wreckage resulting from a downpour of rain that came about midway through the race. He came out of the carnage cleanly in second, and had it not been for a first-time-in-SCCA-SPEED-World-Challenge-history extension of the race, Courtney would have gotten the first podium of his GT career. Still, the strategy and skill of Courtney and the direction of crewmen Erik Messley and Eddie Martin led him to a sixth place finish at Road Atlanta, one of his favorite tracks on the circuit. Again, Courtney left sitting inside the top-10 in the championship points, one solid finish away from solidifying a spot there in his opening season of GT racing.

Then came the finale, at none other than Laguna Seca Raceway, in the beautiful hills of Monterey, Calif. The challenging road course and well-known corkscrew has given drivers funny feelings in their stomachs for years. The track was one Courtney knew he could tame, in part because of his confidence in the preparation of the Viper by Rick Maxwell and Ashley Wick. Qualifying saw consistent Courtney post his best qualifying run of the year, a fifth. Courtney told the team he felt like he had a chance to give the leaders a run for their money. But an unfortunate weight penalty after qualifying forced him to start at the back. An aggressive drive to the front found Courtney gaining 15 positions in the opening laps of the race and in the battle for 12th before the mid-point of the race. Much to his dismay, a mechanical issue would slow his drive, forcing him to nurse the Viper home to an 18th place finish. However the championship points position was not in jeopardy, and Courtney would hold his place in the top-10 in points.

The Slinger, Wis. native and former Panoz Series champion finished seventh in the SPEED World Challenge GT championship points standings, scoring 151 overall. He finished in the top-10 four times, the top-five once and the top-15 in each of the rest of the races, with the exception of Laguna Seca.

At the banquet, Courtney thanked his sponsors Kenda Tires, ProMPI, MPI Coin, Badger Tire and Wheel, Karavan Trailers, Foerster Signs, JG Wheels, and Eibach Springs for giving him the opportunity to race in the SPEED World Challenge series in 2007. He placed emphasis on the fact that he wouldn't be racing without their support.

"Despite some fighting with the series to make our cars competitive, and a few driver mishaps, I felt like we put together a good season and learned a lot this year," Courtney said. "I'm really looking forward to going racing next year, whether it be in SPEED World Challenge, American LeMans or another professional series. The high competition level in World Challenge GT and the great support from the crew at Woodhouse Performance helped me raise my game this season to a level where I am confident that I will be competing for wins and possibly a championship next season."

ProMPI is an MPI company, offering an innovative variety of quality promotional products tailored to market your brand. www.prompi.com
 

SPEED World Challenge Finale Races Air Sunday
Photos courtesy  SCCA/Mark Weber 2007
TOPEKA, Kan. (October 26, 2007) – Tune into SPEED on Sunday, October 28, to watch all the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championship finale action from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

First, at 3 p.m. (EDT), it’s the SCCA SPEED Touring Car race with Championship-hopeful Randy Pobst on pole in his No. 73 MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development MAZDA6. Pobst’s teammate and Championship leader Jeff Altenburg starts eighth on the grid in the No. 72 MAZDA6 and needs to finish in the top four, should Pobst win, to earn his first World Challenge Championship. Altenburg’s chances seemingly go out the window when a dropped wheel at Turn Six causes a flat tire and requires a pit stop. Pobst has his hands full, however, with the Acuras of Peter Cunningham and Pierre Kleinubing. Get ready to hit the replay button, because what happens next is unbelievable.

The SCCA SPEED GT race is next at 4 p.m. Pobst, once again, is on pole in the No. 22 K-PAX Racing LLC/Jim Haughey Porsche 911 GT-3, but lines up next to the man hoping to reclaim the Manufacturers’ Championship for Cadillac, Andy Pilgrim. Pobst takes the early lead, but the No. 8 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac CTS-V lurks in the shadows, waiting for the Porsche to make a mistake. Will the two have a dual for the lead similar to that in the Touring Car race? Set your TV on SPEED to find out.

If you miss the finales the first time around, catch them again on Thursday, November 1, at 3 and 4 a.m. (EDT).

For all the latest news about the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships, visit www.world-challenge.com.

 

SCCA Pro Racing and SPEED Renew Relationship for 2008
Photos courtesy Keith D. Rizzo and Craig Elliott 2007
MONTEREY, Calif. (Oct. 20, 2007) – SCCA Pro Racing and SPEED announced today that the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships will again be broadcast on SPEED in 2008, marking the 13th year of its partnership.

For the 10th-straight year, each SCCA SPEED Touring Car and SCCA SPEED GT race will feature one-hour broadcasts on a tape-delayed basis on the network, generating 20 hours of unique programming.

“We are very pleased to continue our partnership with SPEED Channel,” SCCA Pro Racing President & CEO Robert Wildberger said. “This series has experienced tremendous growth in the last 13 years and much of that is due to SPEED’s involvement. We have a lot of items in the works to enhance the programs, including a larger broadcast presence on the Web.”

“It gives us great pleasure to continue the longest-running relationship SPEED has with any sanctioning body,” SPEED Senior VP of Production and Network Operations and Executive Producer Rick Miner said. “SCCA Pro Racing provided the first racing event on SPEED in February of 1996 and continues to be a pillar of our motorsports programming.”

The 2008 season will be the 19th year of SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge competition. In 1999, SCCA Pro Racing and SPEED Channel formed a partnership with the series, naming SPEED as the title sponsor in addition to its broadcast partner. Split into two, separate race series—SCCA SPEED GT and SCCA SPEED Touring Car—the World Challenge Championships feature the cars people drive the way they wish they could drive them. SCCA SPEED World Challenge—this is how racing should be.

SPEED is the nation's first and foremost cable television network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, from mainstream to the ultimate extremes, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 78 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest-growing sports cable networks in the country, the home to NASCAR on SPEED and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services.

NayKid Celebration - White Earns 8th, Lux Top Rookie in World Challenge Finale
NayKid Racing Takes Season Best Finishes in SPEED GT at Monterey Sports Car Races

News from NayKid Racing

Photos © DeFord Photo/Jim DeFord 2007
MONTEREY, Calif., October 23, 2007 - NayKid Racing used the season-ending SPEED World Challenge GT race to give notice that the Dodge Viper Competition Coupes from the Northwest were again a force to be reckoned with. The driving pair of Cindi Lux (Aloha, Ore.) and Scotty B. White (Lake Tapps, Wash.) scored their highest finishes of the season on Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. White recorded his season-high with an eighth-place finish in the No. 3 Corsa Performance/Forgeline Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe after an exciting battle around the Monterey, Calif. track. It was the highest finish of the year for NayKid Racing. Lux would match her previous best result by finishing 11th in the No. 2 Dodge/Mintex Brakes/MOMO Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe despite gearbox problems throughout the weekend. The Laguna Seca round also earned Lux her second Piloti Rookie of the Race- awarded to the highest finish rookie driver- of the season; the first coming at Salt Lake City.

White, who has fought bad luck and bad weather in the past two events, was able to leap from a best, season finish of 13th to eighth with the weekend's performance. He started 13th and showed strength from the drop of the green flag until his progress was slowed by a Corvette. While the Viper Comp. Coupe closed on the slower V8-powered machine through the turns, the heavily rules-restricted Viper could not power past on the straights. White's constant bombardment eventually moved the white, orange and blue Viper through. White went on a tear to catch the leaders but, while he would cut into the difference significantly, he was unable to completely catch the leading pack in the limited time left. The result gives the Washington-resident his seventh career World Challenge top-10, his first since 2001. The four-time SCCA Club Racing T1 champion has one World Challenge victory (Molson Indy, 1999) to his credit.

Making the performance of White's V10-powered machine even more impressive is the extensive repairs that were required after a sudden downpour catapulted the No. 3 and three other machines into a concrete wall at Road Atlanta two weeks ago. The time was so short and the workload so heavy that for a short time crew chief Fred Lux (Aloha, Ore.) questioned if it would be completed in time for Thursday's first on-track session at the 2.238-mile, 11- turn circuit. However, the dedicated team of NayKid Racing mechanics put in the extra hours giving new breath to the fire-breathing, front-engine, American supercar in time to make the first practice. True to his form, White put aside any concerns and immediately attacked the track knowing the work had been done right by his NayKid crew.

Lux had her own struggles at Laguna Seca. A faulty gearbox hampered every effort she made to put in a quick time early in the weekend. Eventually that box would be replaced with a new but less performance- oriented street-based transmission for qualifying and the race. Lux's knowledge of the track allowed her to sneak in the 17th quick time in qualifying. The World Challenge standing-start stresses the driver and machines at every venue. However, on Laguna Seca's uphill straightaway the massive torque unraveled through the Dodge's rear wheels can melt lesser machines. Despite the slower manual transmission Lux got a self-described 'best start of her career'. By turn two she had gained four positions. Despite suffering with the slower gear changes from the stock Dodge Viper six-speed manual, especially between the critical second and third gear changes, Lux concentrated on being precise. By the end of the race she narrowly trailed tenth-place by less than half a car length but ran out of time in the one hour show to take the spot.

The SPEED GT race from Laguna Seca can be seen on SPEED Channel, Saturday, October 28 at 4:30 pm (ET).
 

Baas Makes Think First Appearance; Qualifies Seventh For Friday's SPEED World Challenge TC Race
News from Restart Communications

Photos © ee productions/Craig Elliott 2007
BRASELTON, Ga., (October 4, 2007) — Ian Baas of Noblesville, Ind., qualified seventh Thursday afternoon at Road Atlanta for Friday morning's SPEED World Challenge Touring Car race.

Baas's fastest lap in the STaSIS Motorsport Audi A4 No. 18 was timed in 1:33.661 for an average speed of 97.628 miles per hour for the 2.54-mile road course. The top 11 drivers were within one second of the new track record set by the driver who won the pole, Michael Galati, with a 1:32.956 (98.369 mph). The top five drivers all broke the previous mark.

"I knew we didn't have a pole car - we've been chasing the set-up here - but we have a good car for the race," Baas said. "The field is really close.

"We've stayed consistent all week," he added. "I was seventh and fifth yesterday. We've nailed down a good set-up. We don't have enough time to really develop it more, so we'll take what we have and see how we can do tomorrow."

Baas' Audi advertises Team Janica Racing, silvertrek.com, STaSIS, Clear Capital, Nally Audi and a charity that Baas helps, the Think First National Injury Foundation.

On Monday Baas represented Think First during a visit to the Shepherd Center, a catastrophic care hospital located at 2020 Peachtree Road NW in Atlanta.

"It's a really neat place; they have all sorts of equipment to help people who are paralyzed," Baas said. "They even have special rigging that can simulate walking for someone who is paralyzed.

"My visit was very informal, but it was good for both them and me because they're really cool guys," Baas continued. "One of them is a big SPEED World Challenge fan. He watches all the races on SPEED and really follows the series. One guy who works there is going to come to our race tomorrow too. There was a Formula 1 boat racer there, and just a lot of interesting people. They have a murder ball team; that's a lot like rugby for people in wheelchairs. It's really rough, which is how it got its name.

"Hopefully my visit helped brighten one afternoon for them, anyway," he added.

Friday's race will be broadcast at 2 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, Oct. 13 on SPEED. Live timing and scoring of the 50-minute race will be available at 10:45 a.m. Eastern tomorrow on the series' Web site at world-challenge.com. Fans can keep up to date on Baas's schedule throughout the year on his Web site at ianbaasracing.com. Information on STaSIS can be found at stasisengineering.com.

The season finale is Oct. 19-21 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif.
 

Randy Pobst hits the airwaves prior to World Challenge Series race at Road Atlanta
GAINESVILLE, Georgia (Monday October 1, 2007) — Randy Pobst, driver of the P-PAX/3R Racing Porsche 911 GT Cup car, will be taking to the airwaves on in his home state of Georgia on WATG 95.7 FM in Rome Georgia on Tuesday Morning October 2nd as Randy and the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championship Series returns to Road Atlanta in Braselton Georgia.

Pobst, who resides in Gainesville Georgia, will be on air with Elizabeth Davis to talk about the return of the World Challenge Championship Series to Road Atlanta Raceway as well as his efforts to possibly win both the GT and Touring Car drivers’ championships in 2007.

Randy Pobst will be in action in both the World Challenge GT and Touring Car events at Road Atlanta as he has been for the entire season as Randy and his No. 22 K-PAX 3R Racing Porsche leads a very tight GT points chase by only 4 points. Randy is in second place in Touring Car in his MazdaSpeed Mazda 6 where he trails his Tri-Point team mate Jeff Altenburg by 14 points with two races remaining.

Pobst and Davis will be giving away 4-packs of tickets to the Petite LeMans race weekend during the broadcast which will also be broadcast on WLAQ talk-radio or Rome which can be found at 1410 on the AM dial.

 

Mosport Races Air This Saturday on SPEED, Original Times Reversed
Photos © Jamie Longmuir 2007
TOPEKA, Kan. (Aug. 29, 2007) – All the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge thrills and spills from north of the border air this weekend on SPEED.

The SCCA SPEED GT race kicks things off Saturday, September 1 at 1:00 p.m. (EDT). The field has to make the tough call to go with either wet or dry tires on a damp, but drying course. Lawson Aschenbach starts the race from his first career-pole alongside Randy Pobst, but when the lights go out, the front row remains stationary. See who makes it through scathed and unscathed, and if a dry tire choice pays off for any World Challenge competitor willing to roll the dice. If you miss it the first time, catch the replays on Wednesday, September 5 at 1:00 p.m. and Friday, September 7 at 3:00 a.m.

Following the SCCA SPEED GT race at 2:00 p.m. (EDT), tune in for the SCCA SPEED Touring Car race from Mosport. STaSIS Audis take up the first three spots on the grid. Another first time polesitter, Adam Pecorari, will find teammate Chip Herr to be his biggest competition and likewise for the RealTime Acuras of Pierre Kleinubing and Canadian Kuno Wittmer. The more important question however, is where did Charles Espenlaub get that beer? Watch it all again Friday, September 7 at 4:00 a.m.

The two races were originally scheduled to air in the reverse order, but a recent schedule change now places the SCCA SPEED GT race before the Touring Car race on the programming schedule. The SPEEDtv.com website will be updated shortly to reflect the change.

Round Nine of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships will be a part of the Petit Le Mans weekend at Road Atlanta, October 3 - 4. Until then, visit www.world-challenge.com for the latest news.
 

Making your heart race: Chili Pepper Racing and A Mother’s Arms Clothing line joins in donations in Toronto
By Diane Skuza
Photos © Amy Jo Photography
OOLTEWAH,TN (June 29, 2007) — On Thursday July 5, 2007, welcome clothing for infants will be donated to newborns at the Yonge Street Mission (www.ysm.on.ca) in Toronto, Canada during a visit from Chili Pepper Racing and sponsor A Mother’s Arms™, an infant clothing line. The sponsor and driver will be in Canada for the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto July 6-8 participating in the SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Race which will be running at this venue for the first time in the 21 year history of the race.

The 50 infant gowns are a needed commodity at the mission, which has served the community since 1896, meeting the needs of homeless and low income families. The donated gowns, a regular product of A Mother’s Arms™, will keep the infants comfortable and lift the spirits of their mothers as they admire their babies’ new clothes.

Chili Pepper Racing’s No. 24 Spice RED MK 5 VW Jetta TDI will be at Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto for the Steelback Grand Prix. Owner and driver Jim Osborn will be practicing and qualifying Friday and Saturday in the Speed World Challenge Touring Series. The SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Race will be held Sunday. The team was recognized earlier this year for their Energy Efficiency in Motorsports introducing the Worlds First Bio-Diesel Touring Race Car at the SPEED World Challenge Series season opener in Sebring Fla.

Chili Pepper Racing raises money and awareness for charities through racing, and supports the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer. The foundation was formed by Jim and Amy Jo Osborn after the heartbreaking passing of their infant son, “Hatch”, who died last year from metistatic cancer.

Amy Jo Osborn founded A Mother’s Arms™ clothing line for the very same reason. The high quality line of clothing is manufactured in Peru, thoughtfully designed by Amy Jo. All profits from the sale of the boutique layette apparel go toward providing additional funding supporting research in curing pediatric cancer, including the Austin Hatcher Foundation. Together the two companies hope to grow the awareness, help affected families cope, and towards research for a cure of Pediatric Cancer.

A Mother’s Arms™ line of infants and childrens’ clothing is available in 25 stores in five states, and will soon be available on line. More information will be provided as it becomes available. Additional information on the Foundation and the team can be found on the following websites:
www.hatcherfoundation.org
www.chilipepperracing.org
www.amothersarms.com
 

'Double Trouble’ at The Glen
RealTime Acuras 2nd, Then 4th
News from RealTime Racing
WATKINS GLEN, New York (June 10, 2007) — With the completion of Rounds Four and Five at Watkins Glen this weekend, the 10-race 2007 SPEED Touring Car Championship has now reached the halfway point. The best Acura was second on Saturday and fourth on Sunday.

Pierre Kleinubing’s Acura TSX was the highest finishing RealTime player in the top half of the double header, while Kuno Wittmer put his RSX in fourth in the bottom half.

Randy Pobst won both races in his Mazda 6, making the score after five races Mazda: 4, Audi: 1, Acura: 0.

The RealTime boys were looking forward to their visit to Watkins Glen’s 3.4-mile undulating circuit, where they won the Touring Car race at the series’ most recent visit in 1998. The team’s goal of winning its first event of the season was not meant to be; a host of obstacles forced the Acura runners to wait for another day to notch RealTime’s 63rd race victory.

In Saturday’s event, Kleinubing ran strong in second but in the end, had nothing to show the eventual winner. RealTime leader Peter Cunningham qualified his TSX one spot behind his teammate in fourth, but got picked off one car at a time down the back straight before the braking zone for the ‘bus stop’. He settled for a seventh place result.

Next up for RealTime were Brandon Davis and Nick Esayian in 11th and 13th, respectively, who also had difficulty holding off faster cars on the uphill straightaways. Kuno Wittmer suffered a mechanical failure while running behind Kleinubing past the halfway point, and was credited with 20th.

Hopes for Sunday were more optimistic, but the results were disheartening. The pushing and shoving started early and didn’t stop until four of the five Acuras were adversely affected.

Cunningham’s race for the podium was over a few hundred feet from the standing start, as he suffered a wheel failure in turn one. After a quick stop for a new left front, he had fun working his way back through the pack to wind up 15th.

Esayian made it another three-quarters of a mile to the ‘bus stop’ before he got a realignment thanks to another aggressive competitor. He soldiered on for a 19th place finish.

Up front, Kleinubing was fighting in the lead pack, when on Lap 12, he was tagged by another car reentering the racing surface. While it didn’t appear to be a deliberate move to do any harm to the Acura, the combination of too much speed, shallow entry and four gravel-covered tires was more than its driver could handle, sending the RTR pilot into the tire wall at over 80 mph. Pierre’s battered machine headed straight to the pits for repairs and finished one lap down in 21st.

After witnessing this melee directly before him, Wittmer masterfully found his way through and went on to save the day for RealTime with at least one top-five result—a strong fourth. He was only one second out of a podium finish when the checkered flag flew.

With the season now half over, the RealTime Acuras have some work to do to get back into the thick of the points battle, but they’re ready for the challenge.

“In our 15 years of World Challenge competition, RealTime has had a number of spectacular seasons, but so far this season, we have been disappointed. We just want to reassure our friends at BMW, Audi and Mazda that we are not about to roll over and lie down,” Cunningham commented.

Both Watkins Glen races will air on the Speed Channel on a tape-delayed basis on Saturday, June 30th at 200p and 300p ET.

The SPEED Touring Car Championship will reassemble July 7-8 on the streets of Toronto, Canada’s Exhibition Place, its first of two trips to Ontario this year.
 

Baas to Drive in Three Races
This Weekend at the Glen

News from Restart Communications
Photos © DeFord Photo 2007
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 8, 2007) - Ian Baas will drive in three different races at Watkins Glen International this weekend, and he'll start 14th in two of them following qualifying sessions Friday at the 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course. He'll qualify for the third race tomorrow morning.

Baas, 24, of Noblesville, Ind., began one of his busiest racing weekends of the year by qualifying 14th in the GT class on Friday for Saturday's 26th running of the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen Rolex Series race. His qualifying time was a 1:56.925 with Bob Miller's At Speed Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup car. His co-drivers in the blue No. 28, which advertises Celette and Duraform, will be Mark White of Waunakee, Wis., and Miller, who lives in Sykesville, Md.

The Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen will be broadcast live on SPEED Saturday in two parts starting at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. ET. There are 25 GT cars and 20 Daytona Prototypes entered for a field of 45. Baas will start 31st overall.

Baas will also drive in two SPEED World Challenge Touring Car races here at the Glen this weekend. Friday evening he put his STaSIS Motorsport Audi A4 No. 18 in 14th place on the grid for the first race with a lap in 2:07.632. His teammates, Adam Pecorari and Chip Herr, qualified 13th and 16th, respectively, in similar Audi A4s. Qualifying for the second Touring Car race is slated for 8:45 a.m. tomorrow.

Both of the SPEED World Challenge Touring Car races will be 50 minutes long. The first is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday after the Six Hours of the Glen, with the second starting at 11:45 a.m. Sunday. Both will be broadcast on SPEED on Saturday, June 30 beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

"The car feels really good," Baas said of the Audi after Friday's qualifying session. "We went out near the end of the session in hopes of a clear track, but we got tangled up with some traffic. I think the Audi is going to be good in the races though.

"As for the Porsche, we just didn't have enough time to test it," he said. "We spent all day going one direction and then we went another way in qualifying. We'll have to see; it's a long race."

It was hot and humid at the Glen on Friday, with temperatures in the low nineties. The weather forecast for the rest of the weekend calls for almost a 20-degree change, with temperatures in the mid-seventies.

Baas hopes the weatherman is right. "With all these races, anything that makes it more comfortable will be great," he noted.

Following this weekend, Baas' next Rolex Series race is at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio June 21-24. His next SPEED World Challenge Touring Car event is July 7-8 at Exhibition Place in Toronto, but there's another Rolex Series race before that on July 5 at Daytona Beach, Fla.

Fans can keep up with Baas throughout the year on his Web site at www.ianbaasracing.com  The Rolex Series' Web site is at grand-am.com, while the SPEED World Challenge Web site is at www.world-challenge.com
 

K-PAX/3R Racing Porsches finish 3rd, 10th and 14th as contact takes a heavy toll in Charlotte WCGT race

By Jim Bourne

Photos ©  K-Pax/3R Racing
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 24, 2007) -- Round 4 of SCCA Pro Racing’s SPEED World Challenge GT Championship Series was an adventure for K-PAX/3R Racing Porsche drivers Randy Pobst, Michael Galati and Robb Holland as Pobst survived to finish 3rd. Michael Galati’s day ended 14 laps early due to contact with a tire barrier while Robb Holland drove a smart race to finish strong in 10th.

Randy Pobst, of Gainesville Georgia, led the race in his #22 K-PAX/3R Racing/Jim Haughey LLC Porsche GT3 Cup car after Galati had his early spin and held the point until the scheduled mid race break with Andy Pilgrim’s Cadillac in the second position.

“It was amazing, it was like two different races,” Randy Pobst said of the split race format at Lowes Motor Speedway which was more like a Saturday night special than a sports car race.

Michael Galati, of Olmstead Ohio, held the lead from his pole position in the #23K-PAX/3R Racing Porsche but rear brake lockup caused him to spin going into the second chicane on the restart after a first lap full course caution stopped the action early.

“We had a good start and then the yellow came out on lap 1,” said Galati of the opening laps of the race. “On the restart I went into the second chicane and the rear brakes locked up and I spun. I went all the way back to last!”

As Pobst related Galati’s spin could have been worse for the K-PAX team.

“It was really, really close,” Pobst said. “I got on the brakes hard and missed him by an inch. He left me one cal length and an inch and I just squeezed by!”

Galati was able to recover and drive his K-PAX Porsche back into the 5th position before the end of the first half of the two part race that was split to provide teams time to perform a mandatory tire change due to tire concerns on the banked Lowes track.

During the break the infamous, for the K-PAX team at least, Wheel of Inversion was spun onto the number two which switched the top two cars dropping Pobst back to the second position and giving the lead to Pilgrim.

When the second half was given the rolling start Randy Pobst pressured Pilgrim for the lead but the only passing opportunities are on the high banking and Randy’s Porsche couldn’t match the Cadillac’s V-8 power down the straights.

“Randy could run with him (the lead Cadillac of Pilgrim) but he had to push the car too hard through the chicane to do it and we burned the rear tires off the car,” said Bob Raub of 3R Racing. “We were really hooked up through there but we had nothing for the Cadillacs on the banking.”

Eventually Pobst began to fade as his right rear tire began to lose grip and feeling that a 3rd place was better than nothing Randy let Aschenbach pass into 2nd.

“We came in first in the first half but when we changed the tires we noticed that we blistered a rear tire in that half,” said Pobst. “In the second half I started noticing a vibration and smelled burning tire so I started backing down and had to settle for second!

“My K-PAX Porsche was fast but I had to push it too hard through the chicanes to make up for what we lost on the banking to the Cadillacs which created a lot more tire wear!”

“We decided to take 3rd rather than nothing so Randy let Aschenbach by and limped home in 3rd,” said Raub.

Michael Galati started the second half in the 5th position and was soon up to 4th and gaining on the 3rd place Cadillac of defending GT driver’s champ Lawson Aschenbach.

Michael caught Aschenbach’s Cadillac easily but as was the case with Pobst and Pilgrim Galati couldn’t get around the Aschenbach as his Cadillac had too much grunt on the banking and straights.

Galati’s race ended on lap 31 when he laid back and took a run into the chicane on the back straight to get a jump on Aschenbach. Unfortunately Galati misjudged his entry and smacked the tire barrier ending his day prematurely limping to the pits with race ending suspension damage.

“It was a disaster, a real sad story,” Michael Galati said of the race. “We actually should have finished better than we did because the car was really great! What a shame!”

Robb Holland, of Denver Colorado, in just his second GT race in the Motorsports Gallery/K-PAX Porsche GT3kept his head and cool while those around him were crashing and finished a strong 10th.

After qualifying 17th Robb avoided track clogging multi car crashes in both the first and second chicanes on the opening lap and drove smart clean race to finish while nearly half of the field did not.

“We are looking to the long term for K-PAX racing and every race we are getting better,” concluded randy Pobst of the Charlotte race. “I want to thank my personal sponsors, WeatherTech and APR Tuning, who make a lot of this possible.”

Randy Pobst’s 3rd place finish elevated him to 3rd in the Driver’s Championship chase with 99 points and Michael Galati’s 14th place finish kept him in the run for the championship in 5th position with 93 points. Pilgrim and Aschenbach lead with 112 and 100 points respectively.

The K-PAX 3rd place finish elevated Porsche into a tie (with Dodge) for 3rd in the Manufacturer’s Championship with 15 points. Cadillac and Chevrolet are 1st and 2nd with 25 and 24 points.

Round 4 from Lowes Motor Speedway will be broadcast on Saturday, June 2 at 4 p.m. (EDT) on SPEED.

Round 5 of the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT championship Series will be at Watkins Glen International in New York on June 10th.
 

Kleinubing’s Acura Third in Utah Desert
RealTime places three teammates in Top-Seven
News from RealTime Racing
TOOELE, Utah (May 19, 2007) —The Podium after today’s SPEED Touring Car Championship race at Miller Motorsports Park in the Utah desert was occupied by the same three drivers, in the same order, who had occupied it two months ago at the season-opening race in Florida.

This time, defending Drivers’ Champion Pierre Kleinubing was only: 00.974 seconds away from scoring his second straight win on this 4.486-mile, 24-turn track in his Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles-sponsored Acura TSX prepared by RealTime Racing.

“We really didn’t have anything for the Mazdas,” said Kleinubing, “but with them arguing like they were, I almost had a chance to ruin their day. As they were exchanging places on the last lap, I managed to get some of Randy’s (Pobst) blue paint on my bumper!”

Kleinubing started the race from fourth on the grid, one position ahead of new teammate Kuno Wittmer in an Acura RSX, who, in turn, was one spot ahead of team leader and four-time World Challenge titlist Peter Cunningham in his TSX.

When the checkered flag fell, Wittmer was: 02.445 seconds away from the win, in fourth place, his best-ever result in World Challenge competition. Cunningham was :11.553 seconds down in seventh place, behind a pair of BMWs.

Brandon Davis and Nick Esayian had an interesting day after getting cleaned out in a Turn 1 melee at the start. After the dust had settled, the teammates re-fired their TSXs and set out after the pack—which was already five seconds up the road. Without the assistance of any full-course cautions, they had a difficult time, but did well to slice through the field for 10th and 11th place respective finishes.

The Miller race will air on the Speed Channel on a tape-delayed basis on Saturday, May 26th at 100p ET.

The SPEED Touring Car Championship will regroup on May 28 at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut where RealTime’s drivers have won seven races.

The RealTime Acura team is sponsored by Acura, Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Red Line Oil, Eibach Springs, buyBrakes.com, Sparco, Hawk Performance, Brembo, A-SPEC, BOSCH, Valley Graphics, Total Auto Body, PACT and A-YES.
 

K-PAX/3R Racing Porsches finish 4th and 5th in Utah World Challenge GT race
By Jim Bourne

Photos ©  K-Pax/3R Racing
TOOELE Utah (May 19, 2007) -- The K-PAX/3R Racing Porsche GT3s of Randy Pobst and Michael Galati finished 4th and 5th in today’s Round 3 of SCCA Pro Racing’s SPEED World Challenge GT Championship Series here at Miller Motorsports Park in northern Utah. Robb Holland overcame an early over steer problem to finish his Motorsports Gallery/K-PAX Porsche in 23rd position.

Both Randy Pobst, of Gainesville Georgia, and Michael Galati, of North Olmstead Ohio, got off to strong starts as the GT field launched from their standing start and rocketed down the long Miller straightaway into turn 1. On the opening lap of the 4.486 mile track Pobst was 3rd in the #22 K-PAX Porsche with Galati 5th in the #23 Porsche.

“The start went well but it was hard because I couldn’t see the starting lights because they were reflecting in the sun,” Pobst said of the standing start that begins every World Challenge GT race. “It looked like they were already on!”

Early on Pobst had to fend off repeated challenges from GT point leader Eric Curran while trying to pass Lou Gigliotti for second. Passing the start finish line beginning lap 3 Randy tucked in behind Gigliotti’s Corvette and dove past into turn 1 to take over the 2nd position.

Pobst immediately started working over race leader and eventual race winner Tommy Archer through the twisty parts of the course only to see Archer’s powerful Viper motor away down the front straight.

As the leaders headed into turn 1 for lap 5 Pobst tried an out breaking maneuver on Archer but ran out of room as the cars were under heavy breaking. Pobst got into the Viper slightly spinning his Porsche to avoid heavy contact.

“I couldn’t quite pull off the pass on Tommy and then I was trying my best to make the corner,” Randy said with a slow shake of his head still wet from the heat of the race. “Doggone it that was too bad because the team gave me a good car today and I think that we had a shot at winning the race today!”

Randy got back into the action quickly but the spin dropped Pobst back to 5th temporarily. Undaunted Pobst set the fastest time of the race and a new GT track record of 2:57.759 on lap 7 catching back up to the lead trio of Archer, Gigliotti and Dou Peterson.

Randy Pobst caught the lead group but try as he might Randy couldn’t get past Peterson’s Corvette and had to settle for a very close and hard fought 4th place finish only 1.5 seconds behind the race winner after 63 miles of sprint racing. The P-PAX Porsches have finished 4th in all three World Challenge GT races in 2007.

“I just couldn’t get the K-PAX Porsche any further up towards the front at the end,” Pobst said of the final laps of the race. “We had the handling but we didn’t have the power to get close enough at the end of the straightaway.

“The changes the crew made for the race really improved the car after the race. Will Moody and the entire K-PAX/3R Racing team never quit working and my K-PAX/3R Racing Porsche GT3 was really good in the race.”

Michael Galati ran in the top 5 all day but couldn’t quite catch the four leaders but drove his K-PAX/3R Racing Porsche GT3 to a well deserved 5th place finish as he battled with the factory Cadillac CTS-V of defending GT driver’s champion Lawson Aschenbach for most of the race.

“I am going to try to go as fast as I can,” Michael Galati said of his race strategy before the race. “I don’t think that we have any chance to get up front and win because those top 4 cars are too fast but we will do the best we can and fight it out for 5th or 6th. I am three seconds from the pole so I think that those guys are going to check out.”

“Michael’s car was a little loose in the beginning of the race but it came back to him at the end,” said Bob Raub.

Michael Galati’s pre race words turned out to be a bit of fortune telling as he finished only 14 seconds off the leaders pace in 5th position.

Bob Raub of 3R Racing hesitated when asked how the weekend went for the K-PAX 3R racing team but then replied to the positive.

“Overall it was a good weekend for us,” Raub said. “We were competitive, more competitive that I thought we would be. The issue we have is that we just can’t seem to get to the podium!

“I really like the way SCCA has set up the points but you have to qualify in the points and you have to finish in the podium to remain competitive in the point’s race!”

Robb Holland, of Denver Colorado, had said at the start of the weekend that this race, being his first in the GT Porsche would be a learning and developmental race and the race played out as had the weekend as his Porsche started out with a bad over steer problem but settled down for the final laps.

“It was a little tough in the first half of the race because the car was super loose and my lap times really suffered,” Holland said of his race. “Fortunately with about 4 or 5 laps left came in a bit and I was able to drop 3 or 4 seconds off my lap times!”

As indicated Robb’s best laps in the Motorsport Gallery/K-PAX Porsche GT3 were his last two laps.

“The race was just like the rest of the week here,” said Holland. “We are making progress but we don’t have the results just yet to show for it. We will keep at it and we will get better I can promise you that!”
 

Team Cadillac Qualifies Seventh and 14th for Salt Lake City SPEED GT
Performance Restrictions Take a Toll on Cadillac at High-Altitude Track
Photos © DeFord Photo 2007
SALT LAKE CITY, (May 18, 2007) — Team Cadillac drivers Lawson Aschenbach and Andy Pilgrim qualified seventh and 14th respectively today for the third round of the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT series at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City. The team's qualifying performance at the high-altitude track was adversely affected by series-mandated engine and weight restrictions.

Aschenbach recorded his quick time on his first flying lap on the sprawling 24-turn, 4.5-mile circuit at 2:57.498 (90.984 mph) to claim seventh place on the starting grid. Pilgrim also posted his quick time on his first lap at 2:58.311 (90.569 mph). After the Team Cadillac crew made suspension adjustments, Pilgrim returned to the track. His attempt to improve his 14th starting position was stymied by a red flag that shortened the scheduled 20-minute session by six minutes.

Tommy Archer won the pole in a Dodge Viper with a lap at 2:54.986 (92.290 mph) that eclipsed the 2:56.232 track record set last year. Corvette drivers Eric Curran, Lou Gigliotti and Doug Peterson swept the next three spots, and Porsches qualified fifth and sixth.

"My Cadillac was actually very good in qualifying, so I really don't know where Archer's 2:54 came from," said Aschenbach. "We knew some guys were sandbagging, and we're holding nothing back. It's just a shame that this is the way it comes out.

"The regulations have favored the Vipers, Porsches and Corvettes," explained the reigning SPEED GT champion. "I'm hopeful that the series officials will see that we're pushing as hard as we can and help us out for the next race, because we definitely need it now. Hats off to my crew, because they deserve a lot better than this."

Pilgrim was frustrated by a lack of grip on the track during his qualifying run.

"I had a great run going for half a lap and then for whatever reason, the car started sliding around," he reported. "I lost a lot of time in the last half of the track. We made some changes but I didn't get to make another qualifying lap because the session was red-flagged. Now we definitely have our work cut out for us in the race."

Sunday's 50-minute race will start under cooler conditions at 9:45 a.m.

"The race is going to be about conserving tires and waiting for the last few laps to make a move," Aschenbach predicted. "We know the Cadillac CTS-V will be good in the race, but I just don't know if we have anything for these other guys. It comes down to horsepower and straightaway speed, and we're very restricted by the rules. We'll have to keep our heads down and do what we can to get to the front."

The third round of the SPEED GT is scheduled to start at 9:45 a.m. local time (11:45 a.m. EDT) on Saturday, May 19. The race will be televised tape-delayed on Sunday, May 27, at 5 p.m. EDT on the SPEED Channel.
 

Robb Holland Makes Jump to SPEED GT in a Porsche
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber
TOOELE, Utah (May 17, 2007) - Robb Holland, of Denver, Colo., announced that he will contest the remainder of the 2007 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship in a K-PAX Porsche 911 GT3. Holland will drive the third Porsche of the K-PAX/3R Racing effort, joining veteran drivers Michael Galati and Randy Pobst.

“I went to Long Beach and talked to some people about getting into a GT car and when Bob [Raub of 3R Racing] and Jim [Haughey of K-PAX Racing] heard about it we sat down and talked,” said Holland of the move into SPEED GT. “They told me that they had a third Porsche and that they would love to have me run it with them!”

The move keeps Holland with both his existing sponsor Motorsports Gallery of Denver and the 3R Racing Team that fielded the Dodge SRT-4 Robb raced in the World Challenge Touring Car Series.

Holland’s major sponsor is the Motorsports Gallery (www.MotorsportsGalleryUSA.com) a high-end performance car dealer in Denver, Colo., that sells everything from exotic street cars to shifter karts and driver apparel.

“If it has four wheels and a steering wheel, Motorsports Gallery does it and does it better than anyone,” said Holland.

“This is definitely a step up in terms of the car and my team mates [Galati and Pobst], but I think that the level of competition was just as high in Touring Car as I expect it to be in GT,” Holland said of the transition from Touring Car to GT.

After one test session and some test time today at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, Holland indicated that it wasn’t that big a deal going from the front-wheel drive Dodge to the rear-engined rear-drive Porsche, but admitted, “the hardest part is adjusting to a completely different driving style. I need to get away from the Touring Car mentality where it is all about momentum.”

Robb Holland will join the K-PAX duo of Michael Galati and Randy Pobst as SCCA Pro Racing’s SPEED World Challenge GT Championship Series begins Round Three at Miller Motorsports Park with practice on Thursday, May 17th.

The GT cars qualify on Friday, May 18 at 11:55 A.M. Mountain Time for Saturday’s 50-minute sprint race, which is set to begin on Saturday, May 19 at 9:45 AM Mountain Time. The race will be broadcast on SPEED, Sunday, May 27th at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
 

Toyo Cup Added to SPEED World Challenge Prizes
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 10, 2007) – For SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge competitors, a new prize, the Toyo Cup, has been introduced to recognize those drivers who make tremendous contributions to the series while sharing their time with another profession.

The Toyo Cup awards a $250 Toyo Tires credit at each race to the highest finishing driver enrolled in the program, who will also be acknowledged in the winner’s circle ceremonies and in the post-race media coverage. In addition, the Toyo Cup drivers in SCCA SPEED GT and SPEED Touring Car who accumulate the most points over the course of the season will be recognized with an award at the SCCA SPEED World Challenge year-end award ceremony.

The Toyo Cup program is designed for those drivers who do not rely on racing as a sole occupation. To enroll in the Toyo Cup program, drivers must submit an application to SCCA Pro Racing for approval by series officials.

“As a long-time partner of SCCA SPEED World Challenge, Toyo Tires understands the sacrifices many racers make just to get to the track,” Toyo Tires Senior Director of Marketing Steve Hutchinson said. “With the Toyo Cup, we show our appreciation for those drivers who may not make the headlines, but are crucial to a successful race weekend with their heartfelt performance on the track.”

“The Toyo Cup is in place to recognize a group of drivers dedicated to the enrichment of our series,” SCCA Pro Racing President Bob Wildberger said. “We’ve created a competition inside a competition for those drivers who remain dedicated to SCCA Pro Racing, while also pursuing other occupations, and who unselfishly contribute their time and resources every weekend, in the name of racing. These are the unsung heroes of our series.”

Toyo Tires has been the official tire of SCCA SPEED World Challenge since 2001. This season, the SPEED GT and SPEED Touring Cars will attack each track on Toyo Proxes RA1™ tires.

The first Toyo Cup awards will be handed out next weekend, May 17-19, at Miller Motorsports Park for the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix Presented by The Grand and Little America Hotels. The SCCA SPEED Touring Car race will be broadcast Saturday, May 26 at 1:00 p.m. (EDT) on SPEED. The SCCA SPEED GT race is scheduled to air Sunday, May 27 at 5:00 p.m. (EDT), also on SPEED.
 

Long Beach Will Go NayKid with Fluge Global Adventures
Fluge Global Adventures Teams with NayKid Racing for Return to SPEED World Challenge

News from NayKid Racing
PUYALLUP, Wash. (April 5, 2007) – NayKid Racing announced today that Fluge Global Adventures ( www.FlugeAdventures.com ) will join the team for their return to the SPEED World Challenge GT at Long Beach, Calif. Both the No. 2 Fluge Global Adventures/Mintex Brakes/Red Line Oil Dodge Viper Comp Coupe of Cindi Lux Aloha, Ore. and the No. 3 Fluge Global Adventures/Corsa Performance/Forgeline Dodge Viper Comp Coupe of Scotty B. White (Lake Tapps, Wash.) will carry the Fluge compass logo proudly on their cars at the April 15th Grand Prix of Long Beach. The event is the first time since 2004 that a NayKid Racing entry has campaigned in the production-based GT class of the SPEED World Challenge and Fluge Global Adventures’ first foray into professional motorsports.

Fluge Global Adventures offers the public, through its web site and blog, a rare insight into the exploits of Portland businessman and modern-day adventurer Nick Fluge. Over the course of the year, Fluge will go on a series of events and adventures that can be followed on the internet. Included in his 2007 quests are: a 19,000 foot summit run at Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, a cross country road race in The Cannon Ball Run 2007, a very serious hike to Base Camp at Mt. Everest in Nepal, a full scale onslaught on the World Series of Poker and High Octane Adventures in the SCCA behind the wheel of full-on Super cars. Other adventures are also being put together. "I am excited to be partnering with the NayKid Racing team of Cindi Lux and Scotty B. White,” said Fluge, “who many consider two of the outstanding sports car racers in the country. Being a part of the team’s comeback to World Challenge and doing it at Long Beach is great. This is a big adventure for us and we hope everyone will share in this adventure at www.FlugeAdventures.com ”

The combination of NayKid Racing and Fluge Global Adventures is a natural fit. Fluge’s desire to support a professional team in a world class event mixed perfectly with NayKid Racing’s past performances and move into the SPEED World Challenge for 2007. The pairing is also good for the Northwest racing community as it puts together one of its biggest proponents with one of its top teams. Not only is this year an adventure for NayKid Racing but it will be an extreme adventure at Long Beach. Having the backing from a local company proves how much the community rallies behind Lux and White in their efforts to enter World Challenge. Similarly, the Long Beach Grand Prix gives Fluge Global Adventures the ideal platform to promote the adventurer’s lifestyle through www.FlugeAdventures.com Fans of both Fluge and NayKid Racing will be able to follow and discuss the team’s journey to its return to SCCA Pro Racing on the site as well through the Fluge Global Adventures blog page. The blog welcomes people from around the world to talk about their own adventures, comment on the adventures of Nick Fluge or discuss exciting new adventures they are considering. “If Nick Fluge wants adventures, then he certainly picked the right arena and team in Motorsports!” enthused Cindy Lux. “This is one of the more fun and out-of- the-box marketing partners I have been partnered with. Heck, I might have to trade him some seat time behind the wheel of the Viper for an opportunity to join him at Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania! This guy certainly knows how to enjoy life and its super cool to be part of his adventure team. The Speed World Challenge Series fits right into his alley and I think people will really enjoy reading all about it at FlugeAdventures.com.”

The Fluge Global Adventures/NayKid Racing Dodge Vipers effort at Long Beach can be seen on SPEED Channel, Saturday, April 21 at 3 PM (ET).
 

Round and Round: SPEED GT Cars Get First Taste of Charlotte’s High Banks
Jimmie Johnson Makes “Official” Debut in Cadillac
Photos ©  SCCA/Weber 2007
CONCORD, N.C. (March 19, 2007) – SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship drivers got their first taste of oval racing Monday with a test on the Lowe’s Motor Speedway course they will run Round Four of the series’ Championship on May 24.

Utilizing the 1.5-mile oval with two chicanes, one on the front stretch and one on the back stretch, 17 cars took part in the test that ran into the night, under the facility’s lights.

“We wanted an addition to CTC Qualifying night for the Coca-Cola 600,” Lowe’s Motor Speedway President and General Manager H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler said. “I’ve seen these cars run before and they offer a different look. You’ve got the Porsche 911s, Corvettes and Cadillacs. You’ve got really special cars that I think the people in the stands are really going to enjoy.

“I would love to run them on the oval [only], but my heart can only stand so much of that. We’ve got a little front chicane—chicanery I call it. Then on the back stretch, there’s another little loop you’ve got to go through. Today, we were going 160 [mph] with the chicanes. Obviously we want to have a safe race and we want to have a close race. I think this little bit of chicanery will do that as well as appease the fans that like oval racing.”

Reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson made his SCCA SPEED GT debut driving the No. 48 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac CTS-V that he will pilot after he qualifies for the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24.

“I had the pleasure to go down and drive the car at Sebring,” Johnson said. “To learn that racetrack and to learn a new car was certainly a challenge and Andy [Pilgrim] and Lawson [Aschenbach] have been great working with me. Working with Pratt & Miller has been a pleasure too.

“It’s been a great experience, and I’m definitely learning the limits of the car today. I spun out and took out one of those [temporary] barriers on the back stretch, so I’ve learned the limit of the brakes.”

Despite one being a tube frame, carbureted car on slicks and the other being a heavily-modified street car on DOT-approved Toyo tires, Johnson said the SPEED GT Cadillac is remarkably similar to his more familiar Nextel Cup car.

“It out-performs the Cup car in the braking zone,” Johnson said. “But when you turn in, the power down side of it and the way the car maneuvers through the corners is very similar. That was the thing that shocked me the most the first time I drove it at Sebring is that it drives a lot like a Cup car.”

The test, which ran off and on for some eight hours Monday until 9 p.m., was not only an opportunity for teams to work on setups for the single-day event in May, but for series officials to sample several different configurations of the back stretch chicane.

The track configuration that will be utilized, rain or shine, in May saw the most use, with nearly five hours of running time, including the final one hour, 15 minute session under the full Lowe’s Motor Speedway lights.

Unofficially, Andy Pilgrim turned the fastest lap in that configuration in his No. 8 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac CTS-V at 112.978 mph (47.797 seconds). Lou Gigliotti was just a tick behind in his No. 28 LG Pro Long Tube Headers Chevrolet Corvette at 112.879 mph (47.839 seconds).

Johnson, who won his second-straight Nextel Cup race in Atlanta on Sunday, was third in his No. 48 Cadillac at 111.783 mph (48.308 seconds), followed by K-PAX Racing Porsche 911 GT-3 teammates Randy Pobst (111.575 mph) and Michael Galati (111.423 mph).

SCCA Pro Racing’s SPEED World Challenge GT Championship next visits the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach April 13-15. Before returning the Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 24, the series will also travel to Miller Motorsports Park, in Tooele, Utah, May 17-19.

The series began its 2007 season last Friday as part of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. That race will be broadcast Sunday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) on SPEED.
 

SPEED World Challenge Announces World’s First Professional Biodiesel Road Racer
Photos ©  SCCA/Weber 2007
SEBRING, Fla. (March 15, 2007) – When the start lights go out on Friday’s SCCA SPEED Touring Car race at Sebring International Raceway, Jim Osborn, of Ooltewah, N.J., will rocket away from the starting grid in the world’s first biodiesel racecar.

Osborn’s team, Chili Pepper Racing, recently announced it would run its No. 24 Volkswagen Jetta on diesel fuel for the entire 2007 SPEED Touring Car season, but the announcement today that the team has successfully made the move to biodiesel, has catapulted them from conscientious racers to world leaders.

Following in the footsteps of Audi’s diesel racing success and the adoption of Ethanol by both ALMS and the Indy Racing League, Jim Osborn couldn’t have picked a better time or place to lead motorsports into the next generation of energy efficient racing. The SPEED World Challenge is a production-based car series and Osborn’s Jetta isn’t much different from those on showroom floors across the country. Osborn hopes his performance at the internationally famous Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring event, will inspire consumers everywhere to explore the possibilities of alternative fuels in their own cars.

“We are extremely proud of this project,” Osborn said. “Alternative fuels have been getting a lot of media attention lately and to be racing a biodiesel car in SPEED World Challenge is a great way to show the motorsports industry and the world that alternative fuels are ready to be incorporated into our lives. The biodiesel fuel we’re using this week is very similar to what’s already on the market.”

Biodiesel fuel is made from natural, renewable sources, including vegetable oils and animal fats. Although similar to diesel fuel which is petroleum-derived, biodiesel has superior emission properties. This week Osborn will be running a blend of 50 percent soy bean oil and traditional petroleum-based diesel.

For SCCA Pro Racing President Bob Wildberger, it only makes sense that the country’s most diverse motorsports organization, the Sports Car Club of America, would be involved in bringing motorsports to the next level of alternative fuels.

“Supporting the use and development of racing with alternative fuels is important to SCCA Pro Racing as we shape the future of motorsports. We are proud of our technical department’s commitment to provide a rules package that encourages the use of alternative fuels. The technology that is being developed with Chili Pepper Racing’s production-based biodiesel car will give our series valuable information that will benefit our fans, the consumers.”

Osborn’s No. 24 Volkswagen Jetta TDI will take to Sebring International Raceway March 16, at 11:05 a.m. (EDT). The race will be broadcast on SPEED Channel Sunday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. (EDT). Results, live timing and lap notes can all be found at www.world-challenge.com
 

Tri-Point Motorsports Prepared for Sebring and the 2007 SPEED Touring Car Season
News from Tri-Point Motorsports
CANOGA PARK, Calif. (March 12, 2007) — After a season long battle for the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ 2006 SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Titles that netted hard fought second places in both categories, the Tri-Point Motorsports MAZDA6 powered race team will be trying for the top step of the podium in 2007.

Tri-Point hot shoe Jeff Altenburg of Ellicott City, Md. will be returning in his electric blue and white No. 72 MAZDA6, and will again be joined by road racing ace Randy Pobst of Gainesville, Ga. in the No. 73 Tri-Point entry for the full 2007 schedule.

“I feel like I’m mentally, physically and mechanically better prepared than I ever have been for this season,” Altenburg said. “I’ve got two guys (Ron Carroll and Brett) working on my No. 72 MAZDA6 that I’m excited to work with this year. I’ve been training all winter in the gym, and I’ve lost a few pounds. There’s no doubt about it, I’m ready to go.”

“I'm thrilled to be back in my fantastic No. 73 MAZDA6 Touring Car,” Pobst said. “Tri-Point Engineering and Craig Nagler have made it better than ever. After finishing second two years in a row, it is Mazda's turn to take the top podium for the Championship. Craig, teammate Jeff Altenburg, the Tri-Point team and I are gunnin' for the gold!”

The Tri-Point squad, widely recognized as one of the most professionally run teams in the SPEED Touring Car paddock; will be up against some tough competition again this year. Tindol Motorsports will be returning with their MAZDA6s, and the STaSIS team will be running their all-wheel drive Audi A4s. And finally, RealTime Racing will be back in their new for 2007 sequential gearbox equipped Acura TSXs.

Knowing full well that the SPEED World Challenge series has become one of the most competitive road racing series anywhere, the Tri-Point squad has worked hard throughout the off season winter months to prepare for the upcoming ten race schedule. The entire Tri-Point squad is confident that they will again be able to bring a very competitive effort to the table for the entire 2007 season. The team’s primary focus is to secure the Manufacturers’ Championship for Mazda in 2007, and to provide Altenburg and Pobst with the equipment and support to win a Drivers’ Championship as well.

“We are going to return with two MAZDA6s again for 07, and Jeff and Randy are going to be our guys for the third year in a row, Tri-Point Team Principal Craig Nagler said. “We have been preparing in the off season to make sure we have our MAZDA6s ready for the season long battle. Every year the competition gets stronger with more teams running up front, and we are looking forward to the challenge.”

The season opening event for the SPEED World Challenge series will be the weekend of the 55th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The SPEED World Challenge Touring Car race will be a 50 minute sprint race set to start at 11:50 am EST the morning of Friday, March 16th. After a promoter test day on Tuesday March 13, the first official day of practice for the 2007 SPEED World Challenge Touring Car series will be held at 9:20 am EST on Wednesday March 14th.

Tri-Point Motorsports is happy to announce that the group of supporters and sponsors that helped them in 2006 has agreed to continue for the 2007 season. The entire Tri-Point squad thanks the following for their continued support in the effort to bring Mazda a championship in 07: Mazda, Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development, Racing Hart, Stop Tech, Recaro, Crocotile, Quarter Master, Ron Davis Racing, Hawk, Koni NA, Pro Parts USA, and Race Sign Specialists.

To learn more about the Tri-Point Motorsports race team log onto www.tripointengineeering.com
 

SPEED World Challenge GT

Autohaus Motorsports Ready for Sebring with Three Snakes in SPEED GT
Photos © DeFord Photo 2006
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (March 10, 2007) — Autohaus Motorsport will field three Viper Competition Coupes for round one of the 2007 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Series at Sebring International Raceway to be run Friday, March 16th.

Tommy Archer will pilot his No. 5 Autohaus Motorsports Dodge Viper Competition around the 17-turn, 3.7-mile Sebring circuit with the hopes of getting out of the gate quickly for the 2007 season.

Archer was able to qualify third for last year’s race, but mechanical issues relegated him to a 25th place finish. The Duluth, Minnesota resident is ready to comeback and put another victory on his resume as he did in 2005.

The first event will also be the debut of the Nathan McBride and Tommy Archer engineer/driver package on the No. 5 Viper. Both have won the GT championship, but they will be looking to win it together in 2007.

“Nathan wants to constantly play out of the box, which is a good thing on a car that has been racing for four years,” said Archer. “I think we are looking good for Sebring, but I think the fruits of our labor won’t really be realized until mid-season. Sebring should be typical, some people are ready and some won’t be. We have to go there and get things sorted quickly and try and qualify in the top five and run consistently. I would like to come away from Sebring this year with some points.”

Jeffrey Robbins, of Southfield, Michigan, joins the team in his No. 6 RSIG Security Dodge Viper Competition Coupe. This will be the first year for Robbins in the series.

“I have run at Sebring several times in the past in the SCCA Winter Nationals,” Robbins said. “The track is a little bumpy, but overall I love the circuit. I am joining a new team and I have some great teammates in Tommy and Brett, I am excited to get started. I would like to shoot for Rookie of the Year. In the first part of the season I want to finish each race and eventually be in a position to bring points home for Dodge and compete for Rookie of the Year. Dodge has been a big help and I want to help them win the manufacturers title.”

Brett Pearson, of Orlando, Florida, joins the team in the No. 7 Ventex Pearson Motorsports Viper Competition Coupe. Pearson has eight World Challenge GT starts in his Viper with a best finish of ninth.

“I did my first World Challenge race at Sebring in 2005,” Pearson explained. “I love Sebring, it is a challenge with the bumps and the high speed turns in one and 17. I want to try and run consistently in the top ten this season. I have seven starts in the series and would like to do the whole series with the hopes of a top ten points finish at the end of the year.”

The 2007 SPEED World Challenge GT Series begins on Friday, March 14th at Sebring International Raceway. The race will be televised on SPEED on Sunday, March 19th at 4:00 p.m. ET.
 

Tindol Motorsports Announces 2007 Driver Lineup
Galati Joins Espenlaub, Katharine and Putman
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber
CHARLOTTE, NC (March 5, 2007) — Tindol Motorsports has announced their driver lineup for the 2007 SPEED World Challenge Series. Returning to the series for his fourth year with Tindol Motorsports is Charles Espenlaub, of Lutz Fla., along with returning teammates Charlie Putman, of Mills, Wash., and Mary Katharine, of Gulf Stream, Fla. The team is also excited and pleased to announce the addition of five-time World Challenge Champion, Michael Galati, of Olmsted, Ohio.

SPEED World Challenge fans will be familiar with the Galati name. He has taken three SPEED Touring and two SPEED GT Championships, and helped Audi win a Manufacturers’ Championship in 2003. Adding Galati is pivotal to Mazda’s assault on winning the SPEED Touring Car Championship for 2007.

Tindol Motorsports also announces the addition of Aeromotive – Serious Fuel Systems, as a sponsor for the 2007 season.

The Charlotte, N.C. based Tindol Motorsports team will campaign four Mazda 6 SPEED Touring Cars in the green and white livery that SPEED World Challenge fans are familiar with.

“We are very pleased with our 2007 driver lineup and are looking be a top contender for the Touring Car title,” Team Owner Chris Tindol said. “Galati will be a strong asset to the team and we are excited for the season.”
 

Woodhouse Performance Announces Smith and Courtney for 2007 Driver Lineup
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber
BLAIR, Neb. (Feb. 27, 2007) — Woodhouse Performance announced today its driver lineup for the 2007 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge season. The multi-car team will run two Dodge Viper Competition Coupes in the GT class with drivers Brian Smith and Jeff Courtney, relinquishing its competition of the SRT-4 in the SPEED Touring Car series.

“We’re excited to be running a two-car GT team and having Brian Smith and Jeff Courtney on board as drivers,” Team Owner Bob Woodhouse said. “Smith is a familiar name with the Woodhouse team and has proven the driver’s seat is his natural environment. Our newest driver Jeff Courtney received Rookie of the Year in SPEED Touring Car last year. Both embody those criteria we look for: play hard, play fair, put it all on the table, and have fun doing it.”

Smith, re-signing with Woodhouse Performance after piloting the No. 13 Kicker/Woodhouse Auto Family Dodge SRT-4 in the Touring Car series in 2006, will take over driving duties for Woodhouse in the No. 13 Dodge Viper Competition Coupe. Woodhouse retired from driving to focus on marketing and sponsorship efforts for the team and felt Smith was the best replacement. Smith has almost 10 years experience racing Dodge Vipers, is a three-time Champion of the One Lap of America competition and was a test driver for Michelin/BFG for 6 years. His experience and the relationship forged in 2006 led Woodhouse to tab him to drive the No. 13.

Despite the hurdles with the development of the SRT-4, Smith produced some strong runs in the SPEED Touring Car series in 2006, most notably at Road America where he was running in the top-three for the majority of the race before tire issues ended what would have seemingly been a podium finish. Smith plans to improve his luck in 2007 with the Viper, a familiar and developed vehicle.

“I don’t think this year will be like a rookie season for us from the standpoint that I have a good bit of experience in a Dodge Viper,” Smith said. “I’ve put in more miles than a lot of people with all the testing I’ve done. I’ve been around the Vipers for about 10 years and I think that will give us an advantage and put us a little bit ahead of the game compared to some other first timers.”

Kicker Car Stereo Company will return as a sponsor on the No. 13 Dodge Viper Competition Coupe for a second year in a row.

Jeff Courtney, 2006 SPEED Touring Car Rookie of the Year, will drive the second Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper Competition Coupe. Courtney finished in the top-10 four times and got his best finish of fourth at Mid-Ohio last year. He will pilot the No. 99 Dodge Viper Competition Coupe for his first venture into SPEED GT.

“I am absolutely excited about driving for Woodhouse Performance and making the move up from Touring Car,” Courtney said. “GT is where I always wanted to be, but I wanted to get some good experience before making that step, so I’m glad to have had the time in Touring Car last season and now I’m ready for the GT class. The Dodge Viper is just a blast to drive. I can’t wait to get in it under race conditions.”
 

Nathan McBride Joins Autohaus Motorsport for 2007 SPEED GT Season

News from Autohaus Motorsports
Photos © ee productions/Craig Elliott
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 26, 2007) — Championship winning technical director Nathan McBride has joined Autohaus Motorsports for the 10 race 2007 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Series.

McBride is a championship winning engineer, having chaperoned last year’s GT champion, Lawson Aschenbach, to the GT series title. McBride brings his 12 years of race engineering experience to the Autohaus camp with the goal of returning 2004 series champion Tommy Archer to the top of the GT class in 2007.

“I am excited to be apart of the Autohaus team working with Tommy,” McBride said. “I have raced in and around the same series’ as Tommy for years and have admired his competitiveness and driving abilities. We share the same goal as competitors and we have both been on championship winning teams. Tommy and I have won multiple GT championships before; this year our goal is to win it together.”

McBride is looking forward to engineering the No. 5 Autohaus Motorsport Dodge Viper Competition Coupe. “After several successful days of testing and development, some engineering challenges still remain, but that is what keeps things interesting. Last year Autohaus didn’t have an engineer, Tommy and the mechanics were pretty much doing the setup work, which is asking a lot of a driver. Although we are still in the developmental stages, the Autohaus team is coming together nicely. Our combined efforts thus far have greatly improved the cars performance, and I am sure that with continued efforts we will be looking at a successful season.”

“Nathan brings a strong technical background to our team, and we are thrilled to have him on board,” Theresa Conder, Autohaus team manager, said. “We have already seen some of the dividends of his experience during our initial testing. Tommy and Nathan have connected right from the start, and I am certain that their combined experience will reap the rewards on race day.”

“Nathan is a welcome addition to the team,” Tommy Archer commented. “We had the opportunity to test at Sebring a couple weeks back and I was impressed. He is bringing a fresh insight to the team as well as to the preparation of the car which is good for me and the team. I am also looking forward to his innovative ideas on ringing additional speed out of the Viper.”

The 2007 SPEED World Challenge GT Series begins on March 14th at Sebring International Raceway.
 

Galati and Pobst Team Up With K-PAX Racing
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (Feb. 16, 2007) — K-PAX Racing announced today that Michael Galati and Randy Pobst will join forces to make a run at the SPEED GT Manufacturers’ Title for Porsche Motorsports in SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge.

Michael Galati, the only five-time World Challenge Champion, and Randy Pobst, 2003 SPEED GT Champion and two-time class winner in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, will drive two new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars for K-PAX Racing in 2007.

“Both Michael and Randy are as giddy as two kids in a candy store to be back in SPEED GT with two new Porsches and with 3R Racing doing the development and track side support,” K-PAX Team Owner Jim Haughey said.

Galati started five SPEED GT races in 2006 driving the Volvo S60R, finishing third in his first start of the season at Mid-Ohio and capturing Volvo’s first series-win at a rain soaked Mosport, where he nearly lapped the entire field.

Pobst drove in two SPEED GT races in 2006. At Road Atlanta he climbed all the way to eighth after starting 27th and he won the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca when he made a pass for the lead in the final corner, which resulted in the closest finish in SPEED GT history. The win also helped Porsche capture the 2006 SPEED GT Manufacturers’ Championship. Pobst will continue to race a Mazda 6 in SPEED Touring Car for 2007 as well.

“Our goal this year is to win the Manufacturers’ Championship for Porsche Motorsports,” Haughey said. “SPEED World Challenge is a very competitive series with strong teams and to do well we need competitive cars, good drivers, and an experienced crew. We’re lucky enough to have all three with the Porsche 911 GT3s, Michael, Randy and 3R Racing.”

Jim Haughey started K-PAX Racing after working with AtSpeed Motorsports in 2006. He has been in the retail repair side of the automotive business since 1974 and has owned and operated Scandia Auto Service for the past 18 years. He has long been a racing enthusiast and World Challenge fan.
 

Team Cadillac to Field Two Champions in 2007
News from GM Racing News
DETROIT, Mich. (Jan. 25, 2007) - Team Cadillac will have two champions on its roster in its pursuit of the 2007 SCCA SPEED World Challenge manufacturers championship. Lawson Aschenbach, the 2006 SPEED GT champion, will join 2005 SPEED GT champion Andy Pilgrim as full-season drivers on the Cadillac factory road racing team. They will wheel a pair of Cadillac CTS- V race cars sporting fresh new graphics.

"Team Cadillac is proud that we will have the last two SPEED GT champions in our stable this year," said Team Cadillac program manager Dave Spitzer. "Lawson showed last season that he has the speed and the racecraft that wins championships. He's an articulate and intelligent young American driver, and we think he is going to be a great fit with Team Cadillac."

Aschenbach, 23, scored one win and finished in the top 10 in every race last year en route to the SPEED GT Drivers’ Championship. He'll be paired with Pilgrim, who finished third in the championship standings with one victory and four podium finishes.

"I've done two tests with Team Cadillac so far, and they went really, really well," said Aschenbach. "That was the first time I've driven a front-engined race car - all of my previous racing experience has been in open-wheel and rear-engined cars. It was an unbelievable ride in the Cadillac CTS- V on the first couple of laps. I really enjoyed the handling and the horsepower. I think the Cadillac is going to suit my driving style.

"Our goal as a team is to win the manufacturers championship for Cadillac in 2007," Aschenbach added. "Working with Andy is a great experience; he's helping me to understand the data and teaching me how to get the best out of the car. He's a first-class person, totally unselfish, and I couldn't ask for a better teammate."

Pilgrim has been with Team Cadillac since its inception, and 2007 will mark his fourth season in the black Cadillac race cars.

"Lawson is young, but he's already very experienced in racing and obviously has a lot of talent," said Pilgrim. "I'm looking forward to having him as a teammate. Our first goal is win the manufacturers championship. I'd like to win the sixth drivers championship of my career, but you can't plan to win a championship. I'll prepare for every race the best that I can, and let the championship take care of itself."

Team Cadillac will unveil its new look for 2007 at the Cadillac/Mobil 1 Super Bowl Celebrity Grand Prix go-kart race in Miami, Florida on Saturday, February 3, 2007. The new graphics package retains the team's hallmark black and red colors of previous years, and adds the famous Cadillac script.

"We wanted to connect the look of our Team Cadillac CTS- V race cars more closely with our 'Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit.' marketing campaign," said Cadillac global marketing director Liz Vanzura. "Our campaign utilizes very prominent and bold placement of the iconic Cadillac script logo, so we've developed the new look of our CTS- V race cars to incorporate the Cadillac script. After all, our team's efforts on the race track are the racing manifestation of our Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit (of championships) campaign."

Aschenbach will carry the No. 1 on his Cadillac CTS-V that signifies the series champion, while Pilgrim's car will wear his familiar No. 8. The third car in the Team Cadillac stable, the No. 16 CTS- V, may appear in selected events.

"Fans of the SCCA SPEED GT know that Team Cadillac has brought in great drivers and done some surprising things with the third car in the past," said Spitzer. "We intend to continue that tradition in 2007."

The 2007 SPEED World Challenge GT series will kick off at Sebring on Friday, March 16, 2007.
 

Bob Woodhouse won’t drive In the 2007 Speed World Challenge Series
Woodhouse Performance team will announce lineup soon

Photos courtesy DeFord Photo 2006
BLAIR, Neb. (January 16, 2007) — Woodhouse Performance announced today confirmation that three-year veteran of the SPEED World Challenge series Bob Woodhouse will not be returning to pilot a Dodge Viper Competition Coupe for the full season in 2007.

Woodhouse, 60, posted an impressively consistent 2006 season, finishing in the top-10 eight times and in the top-five four times, ahead of many competitors half his age. He posted the strong season while his daily life consisted of being engaged in the six franchises, 600 plus employee car dealerships of Blair and Omaha, Nebraska.

Woodhouse will not disappear from the series. No, you couldn’t pull him away from having some kind of dealing with a Dodge Viper Competition Coupe if his life depended on it. Woodhouse will step into a Team Owner’s role for the 2007 season, looking to build a leading team in the series and a marketing program that will attract sponsors and build momentum for what is a rapidly-growing American road racing series.

“Along with thousands of other crazed individuals, I love the driving experience that this sport offers, but I have also known lots of folks who get a sense of accomplishment from other aspects of race team involvement,” said Woodhouse. “I am about to find out if that works for me. So far my wife Louise approves.”

The Woodhouse Performance driver lineup for 2007 will be announced at a later date.
 

Initial 2007 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Schedule Released

Sophomore Acura racer leads RealTime podium sweep by 0.005 second
News from RealTime Racing
DENVER, Colorado (August 13, 2006) — You had to assume there was a wicked-good SCCA SPEED Touring Car race brewing when RealTime Acura driver Pierre Kleinubing qualified on the pole for the Grand Prix of Denver event by only 0.025 seconds over teammate Brandon Davis.

Qualifying drama, however, paled in comparison to the race finish. Several minutes after the checkered flag fell; series officials determined that Davis had secured his first professional victory by the narrowest margin in World Challenge history, 0.005 seconds over teammate and 2005 Denver race winner Eric Curran.

Kleinubing’s third place finish, just 0.632 seconds out of the lead, resulted in the first Winner’s Circle sweep for the RealTime Acuras since the season finale in 1999 at Laguna Seca.

Davis, the 2005 Touring Car Rookie-of-the-Year and a rising junior at the University of Denver, has now become the youngest winner in the 17-year history of the World Challenge at 20 years, 268 days. This was his first podium finish in 21 race starts and he jumped from sixth to fourth on the season points chart.

The 30-lap race on the 1.657-mile temporary circuit on the streets of Denver was dominated by Davis, Curran and Kleinubing, who held the top three positions throughout, but rarely in the same order. Their battle could have been tougher if the fastest Mazda of second-in-points Randy Pobst and fourth-in-points Audi driver Chip Herr hadn't come together in Turn 1 on the first lap. Pobst dropped back a few spots as a result of the altercation, but Herr got the worst of it and was forced to the pits for suspension repairs.

Kleinubing kept his Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles-sponsored TSX in the lead for the first three laps until Curran, who saw Davis and his TSX were already occupied with trying to move ahead of Kleinubing, passed both of them to put his Acura RSX into the lead.

Curran held the point with his mirrors full of RealTime orange & white teammates until lap 19 when Davis pulled off a successful pass under braking for the 180-degree Turn 9.

Following the race’s second full course yellow, Davis stretched out a relatively large 0.021-second margin over Curran, who had 0.566 seconds over Kleinubing. Neither of the veteran RTR drivers showed interest in giving the kid a break in front of his hometown cheering section.

Curran regained the point on lap 26, passing in the same place where he had lost the lead, and held it until he and Davis engaged in a rolling start drag race out of Turn 9 to the checkered flag, swapping paint as they went.

RealTime team owner Peter Cunningham qualified his TSX ninth fastest and finished in seventh place, only 3.482 seconds out of the lead. Cunningham remains third in the Drivers points at 137, trailing the 167 points for Mazda driver Randy Pobst, and 195 for Kleinubing.

More importantly, the 1-2-3 Acura finish enhanced Acura’s Manufacturers' Championship points lead from six to 13, after six of ten rounds.

Nick Esayian qualified his RSX 14th quickest in the 22-car field. In the race he survived a number of bump and run incidents, and worked his way back through the pack to wind up 11th, his first time all season out of the top 10. For the second straight year in Denver, Esayian and RealTime hosted a group from the 10th Special Operations Group, representing the Special Operations Warrior Fund. The fund provides for the families of fallen special-ops soldiers from four branches of the U.S. military. It is always a humbling experience to be in the presence of these brave soldiers and their family members, but on this day they also raised the team’s spirits with their loud cheers supporting the efforts of the RealTime Acura crew!

The two RealTime transporters were loaded and on the road within three hours of the checkered flag in Denver Sunday evening. The eleven hundred mile journey direct to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin will be completed Tuesday, giving the team a few short days to prepare the cars. The race will be held this Saturday at 430p CDT at the famed Road America circuit, not far from RTR’s Saukville home outside Milwaukee.

The Denver race will air on the Speed Channel on a tape-delayed basis on August 19 at 100p EDT.
 

STaSIS Motorsports Adds Pecorari for Denver
SONOMA, Calif. (August 4, 2006) — STaSIS Motorsports has announced the addition of Adam Pecorari to its driver line-up for The Grand Prix of Denver.
 

Pecorari will fill the seat normally occupied by Fred Baker, who has previous obligations that will prevent him from running in Denver.

Amidst an impressive year in IMSA Lights where he has won five of the last six races, Pecorari will try his hand in SCCA Pro Racing SPEED Touring Car Championship for the first time on the streets of Denver.

"We had hoped to have Adam test with us at the beginning of the year, but the timing did not work out,” STaSIS Team Owner Paul Lambert said. “Adam has had a very impressive career thus far in a wide variety of cars and we look forward to seeing him in a STaSIS MAHLE powered Audi A4 in SCCA SPEED Touring Car.

At Denver, Pecorari will join STaSIS drivers Chip Herr, currently fourth in points, and Jeff Courtney, who leads the Piloti SPEED Touring Car Rookie of the Year standings.

“After careful consideration we feel Adam is a terrific addition to the team to help keep STaSIS Motorsports at the front of the pack in SCCA SPEED Touring Car,” STaSIS General Manager Ben Bauer said.

The Grand Prix of Denver takes place August 11 - 13 in Denver, Colo. and will be televised on SPEED August 19 at 2 pm EDT and August 23 at 12 pm EDT.
 

Kleinubing goes wire-to-wire again
Scores RealTime’s 60th World Challenge win
News from RealTime Racing
TOOELE, Utah (July 15, 2006) — RealTime Acura driver Pierre Kleinubing started from the pole position and led every lap in the SPEED Touring Car race at Miller Motorsports Park on Saturday, bolstering the respective points leads for both Drivers’ and Manufacturers’. This victory was Pierre’s second-consecutive, his series career 26th, and the milestone 60th World Challenge series win for RealTime Racing.

Kleinubing‘s Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles-sponsored Acura TSX felt the heat in more ways than one in the 100°-plus temperatures as the Mazda of second-in-points Randy Pobst filled his mirrors throughout the 13-lap contest. After staving off a charge on the penultimate lap, Kleinubing took the checkered flag more than a second ahead of Pobst.

Coming into the inaugural professional race weekend on the new 4.486-mile, 23-turn layout with a 12 point lead over Pobst, Kleinubing maxed-out on points and heads home to Florida with a 164-146 gap.

The win also doubled Acura’s margin over Mazda; Acura now leads 40 to 34.

The pole shot was Kleinubing’s third consecutive this season and now ties his team boss Peter Cunningham for the World Challenge series-record at 29.

“My car was just unbelievable today! Even with the blistering-hot conditions, the handling of my Acura continued to improve as the race went on and the fuel load lessened,” Kleinubing reported. “The RealTime crew once again gave me a fantastic racecar and I wasn’t about to let that Mazda get past me and disappoint them.”

“Pierre has both qualified and finished in the top three at all five races so far this season,” noted Crew Chief Mike Busalacchi. “He’s showing the kind of consistency that may earn him his fourth Touring Car driving championship in October. It also shows the strength of the Acura and the ability of the RealTime crew to put consistent cars on the track.”

RealTime teammate Eric Curran, driving an Acura RSX, earned his first podium finish of the season with a strong third place result. Curran moved up from his fourth place starting spot to third off the standing start and proceeded to continually pressure the second place Mazda allowing Kleinubing an extra ounce of breathing room. The points for third moved Curran up one more spot for the series Drivers’ Championship to eighth.

The 2005 Rookie Champion Brandon Davis continued to show his speed, securing the third-quickest time in practice before qualifying a less representative tenth. He deftly maneuvered through the competitive field in his TSX finishing sixth for the second straight race.

Teammate Nick Esayian started 17th in his RSX but climbed up the order to finish eighth, recording his seventh consecutive top-10 finish since late in the 2005 season.

Cunningham qualified his TSX one position ahead of Curran in third, but by the end of the first lap was shuffled back to sixth. On Lap 6, side-to-side contact with another competitor sent him to the pits for a new tire. He returned to the action in 22nd, moving up to 18th by the finish.

Cunningham maintained third place in the hunt for the championship, but lost precious ground to the leaders.

The race was taped for broadcast on Saturday, July 22 at 300p ET on the Speed Channel.

Immediately following the Salt Lake City event, the RealTime Acura transporters were dispatched back to their shop in Saukville, Wisconsin to re-prep the cars for a test at Road America, the team’s home track and host to Round 7 of the Touring Car Championship on August 18-19.

Round 6 takes place on the mile-high streets of Denver, Colorado, sharing the card with the Champ Cars on August 11-13.

RealTime Racing is sponsored by Acura and Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Red Line Oil, Eibach Springs, buyBrakes.com, Sparco, Hawk Performance, Brembo, BOSCH, A-SPEC, Memphis Car Audio, Valley Graphix, Total Auto Body, Enkei, PACT and A-YES.

BimmerWorld a tour de force with a four car campaign at Infineon
Matt Richmond in the house!
By John Thawley
Photos © John Thawley/Creative Communications Group
SONOMA, California (June 22, 2006) — Returning to the scene of what had to be one of the most topsy-turvy starts in SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Tour Car history, BimmerWorld racing heads to Infineon Raceway with a four car effort
for Round Four of the Touring Car series championship.

Re-joining the team for his first race of the season, Matt Richmond will be back in the #37 BimmerWorld BMW.

"I'm really looking forward to being back and being part of the team," said Richmond. "Infineon brings back lots of memories for me. There's no pressure for me so my goal is, as always, to have fun. Though, I will say, the time out of the car has made me really hungry."

BimmerWorld owner, James Clay, will be in his new #36 BimmerWorld E90 BMW for the first time.

"It is great to have Matt Richmond back with us for this race," noted Clay. "He and I ran nose to tail in 4th and 5th last year for most of the race, so I have good expectations this year."

"I am in my E90 for the first time this weekend," Clay continued. "We have been doing a lot of work and testing on the new E90 cars since Ohio and they are getting better every time out."

Looking back, Clay reflected on the team's history at Infineon.

"Sonoma has been full of ups and downs for our team in the past," said Clay. "But when everything is going well, the results are good. In 2003 I went off in turn 10, picked up a sign that covered my front bumper, and had to stop to get it removed, still managing a 10th place finish. In 2004, Matt, Seth, and I wiped out all three cars in a single incident at the start."

Seth Thomas will be back in the BimmerWorld #38 E90 BMW.

"I am really excited about being at Infineon this weekend," said Seth. "Being there with the big crowds and the Nextel Cup series will help to elevate the Touring car series and draw more attention to the great racing."

"Our E90 is going to be better at this track," said a confident Thomas. "Infineon really suits the rear wheel drive BMWs. And with the improvements we've made to the car since Mid-Ohio we’ll definitely be faster in qualifying and the race."

"Having Matt back on the team at one of The BimmerWorld Boys’ favorite tracks is going to be a huge asset to the team," Seth continued. "He always helps us to elevate our team both at the track and away from it. This is going to be an exciting weekend for BimmerWorld!"

Rounding out the team, Paul Goldman returns to the #39 BimmerWorld E46 BMW.

I am excited to be back driving the BimmerWorld #39 E46 car," said an eager Goldman. "This is my home track and I have been fortunate to have raced here many times. To win at Infineon, you need good starting position, patience and consistency. This weekend's configuration is both technical and fast. It should provide
exceptional racing."

"The BimmerWorld Team has worked hard and are prepared," noted
Goldman. "Over the past few years they have increased their knowledge an experience at Infineon, so I expect we'll be able make the most of our opportunities when they occur."

Saturday's 40 minute race will start at 3:30PM PST. It will be
broadcast tape delayed on SPEED Channel Saturday, July 8, 3PM EST.

BimmerWorld is pleased to have support from the top performance
companies in the industry: Silkolene, Ground Control,
Bimmerforums.com, Performance Friction, BBS, Moton, Diffsonline, and
JB Racing.

BimmerWorld is a leading retailer of high performance street and
racing BMW parts. Our race program continually drives development for
BimmerWorld's increasing line of BMW race and street performance
parts. BimmerWorld customers expect the very best.

To learn more about BimmerWorld and their extensive line of BMW
performance products, go to their website at: www.BimmerWorld.com.
Additional BimmerWorld Racing information and bios are available at:
www.BimmerWorldRacing.com
 

Never a slow moment at Chili Pepper Racing
By Amy Jo Osborn
MANSFIELD, Ohio (May 20, 2006) — There is never a dull moment in the Chili Pepper Racing schedule. After qualifying 19th in the T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital/Remote Area Medical BMW 325ci, members of the Chili Pepper Racing team made a trip to visit the Children’s Hospital of Columbus (www.childrenscolumbus.org).

This is the 4th year Osborn and the Chili Pepper Racing team has visited the Hospital and their patients. “The Children’s Hospital of Columbus is one of our favorite stops during the racing season. We look forward to seeing the Child Life Program Staff and the children every year. The children’s faces always warm our hearts, and this year is no exception,” says Osborn.

Osborn is hoping that his luck will turn course in Sunday’s race after the hard hit at the start of Round 2 at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg that left Osborn unable to complete the race. “We are so glad we were able to make the Mid Ohio race. Track is freshly paved and should be fast. If this year is anything like last year, it is going to be a dog fight!” laughed Osborn.

Round 3 of the SPEED World Challenge Touring Car series will be held at 4:00p.m. Sunday May 21, 2006. To find out more about Chili Pepper Racing and all its partners visit www.chilipepperrracing.org

*\The Children’s Hospital of Columbus Child Life Program is a staff filled with certified professionals who are prepared at the bachelors and masters levels in child life, child development and other related fields. At Children’s Hospital, these specialists have a blended role coordinating both Child Life and Volunteer Programs. The blended role enables the coordinators to provide a broader scope of support for children and families.

The Lighthouse Family Retreat is a seaside family retreat established in December 1999 to serve families caring for children with cancer. Melinda Manton’s, founder of Lighthouse Family Retreat, purpose is to provide a place of hope and renewal to families facing fear and challenges most of us will never experience. The retreat is a way to allow the children and family to escape for a week of fun and rejuvenation. The program is designed to reconnect families, strengthen parents, bring laughter to children, and find hope in God. The vision of Lighthouse Family Retreat is to host 12 to 18 retreats

T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital is part of the Erlanger Health system and is a level-one trauma center. Located in the Tennessee Valley of Chattanooga, TN. T.C. Thompson does not only serve the Tennessee area but also those living in North Alabama, East Tennessee, North Georgia and Western North Carolina. The hospital serves as a teaching facility for the University of Tennessee School of Medicine.

Remote Area Medical is a non-profit, volunteer, airborne relief corps dedicated to serving mankind by providing free health care, eye care, veterinary services and educational assistance to people in remote areas of the United States and the World. The need to get medical care to people in inaccessible regions was one which founder Stan Brock knew all too well while living 15 years with the Wapishana Indians in the Amazon rain forest. His deep desire to find a way to take health care to people who had none was the seed of R.A.M.

Since 1985, R.A.M. and 21,688 volunteers have provided free health care to 245,255 patients, 59,859 animals. In those 20 years, they have provided over $20 million in health care.

BimmerWorld fights through a tough weekend finishing just outside the
top 10
News from Team BimmerWorld

Photos © Jim Sykes
LEXINGTON, Ohio (May 23, 2006) — Through wind, rain, mud and a new track surface, the BimmerWorld team battled through it all this weekend to deliver BMW its highest finishing position in the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car race at Mid-Ohio. James Clay, driving the #36 BimmerWorld Perfect Friction BMW 325i lead the BimmerWorld team, finishing 11th.

"While I was glad to see we had the highest finishing BMW this
weekend," noted BimmerWorld owner, James Clay, "I honestly was hoping for more. This was a challenging weekend, to say the least. With the weather and the resulting paddock conditions, our crew worked very hard fighting the rain and mud, as well as the standard tuning tasks."

"I was pleased with the job Seth [Thomas] did in the new E90 car,"
Clay added. "I think the foundation is there for a fantastic
performer. I welcome Sonoma [Infineon Raceway], which is
traditionally a BMW track, as the next stop on the SPEED World
Challenge tour!"

Seth Thomas took charge of sorting out the team's new E90 car that debuted at this weekend's event. Seth qualified the #38 BimmerWorld Perfect Friction BMW 325i 15th and finished 15th.

"The BimmerWorld E90 325 is a great racecar," remarked Thomas. "The weather didn't help show its true potential though. We chose not to take the car out for wet sessions, so we lost valuable setup time. Regardless, I think we had the car pretty close by race time."

"The Performance Friction Brakes and Sunbelt motor package proved to be ready to race the first weekend out," added Seth. "To not have any major problems the first weekend on track says a lot about the BimmerWorld crew and how well they prepare the cars."

"The race left me anxiously awaiting the next round at Infineon,"
Seth concluded.

David Scott, in his SPEED World Challenge debut brought home the #39 BimmerWorld Perfect Friction BMW 325i in 29th.

"My first World Challenge weekend was a real treat," said a jubilant
Scott. "The team gave me a great car, and it got better all weekend. And the Performance Friction brakes are probably the best race brake package I have ever experienced. While the weather was often less than cooperative, I think Mid-Ohio did a great job with the off- season resurfacing. Grip was good and got better throughout the weekend."

"I had an excellent launch in my first-ever standing start,"
continued Scott, "and I made a number of passes by the entry to the Keyhole. Unfortunately, I got bumped and spun off track into the Keyhole's gravel, and had to play catch-up to the entire field. This would end up being a common theme, as I got bumped and spun off track two more times. So, 29th was a bit disappointing, especially considering how stellar the car and BimmerWorld crew performed."

Sunday's race will be broadcast on SPEED Channel Saturday, May 27 at 8 p.m. (EDT). The fourth round of the 2006 SCCA SPEED Touring Car Championship is scheduled for June 23-25, at Infineon Raceway.

BimmerWorld is pleased to have support from the top performance
companies in the industry: Silkolene, Ground Control,
Bimmerforums.com, Performance Friction, BBS, Moton, Diffsonline, and JB Racing.
 

Chili Pepper Racing caught in pit straight melee at start of Round 2
News from Chili Pepper Racing
OOLTEWAH, TN (April 3, 2006) — No one could anticipate what was coming as the “5 second board” was shown in preparation of the most exciting start in racing at Round 2 at St. Petersburg Grand Prix. Unfortunately, within the bat of an eye, all hell broke loose for Chili Pepper Racing as Osborn got caught in a pit straight melee ending Osborn’s hope of improving last years 9th place finish.

“At the start Eric Curran Acura RSX was tangled with Espenlaub and Altenburg. I saw the blue Mazda leap off the ground off to the right of the grid. The field was moving in all directions like stampeding cattle. All of a sudden the cars parted and sitting cross-way in the track was Curran,” said Osborn.” I hit the brakes but had nowhere to go; I was pinned in.” The data acquisition showed the impact was more than 3.3 Gs at over 80 mph. It was a heck of a jolt! I am OK but the car needs some work”

Chili Pepper Racing is back in their shop preparing for Round 3 at Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course May 21st weekend. Chili Pepper Racing and friends will be visiting the Columbus Children’s Hospital on Tuesday May 16, 2006.

Chili Pepper Racing promotes 501-c3 Charities at no expense to those charities. Chili Pepper Racing is an authorize dealer for SABELT, MotoPhoria, and EZ-UP. 100 percent of money raised through product sales goes to support these charities.


BimmerWorld leaves it all on the track in the “Battle by the Bay”
Tough breaks aside, team displays never-say-die tenacity
News from BimmerWorld Racing
Photos © John Thawley
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 2, 2006) — Taking every bad break the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car race handed them, BimmerWorld Racing drivers, James Clay, Seth Thomas and Paul Goldman, gave everything they had to defend BMW’s status in the touring car field. Today’s race was part of the IndyCar Racing League Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

“Certainly, the finishing positions don’t reflect our effort,” said team owner, James Clay, reflecting on the day’s final outcome. “Given the recent ‘competition adjustments’ made by the Series, and the design of the track, we knew this would be a tough weekend for our BMWs. Once the flag dropped, things got pretty wild.”

Seth Thomas, #38 BimmerWorld BMW 325, qualified 9th for the race and James Clay #36 BimmerWorld BMW 325, started 12th. Paul Goldman, #37 BimmerWorld BMW 325, running on a street course for the first time, started 28th.

“Seth and I were having good runs in the early going,” added Clay. “Unlike Paul, we came through the first lap melee in pretty good shape. I think we ran three or four laps under caution, but then once the race went green, we were able to pick up some track positions.”

“At one point I was having a good run with Will Turner in the #2 car,” said Seth Thomas. “We were fighting for sixth place and the lead pack was in sight. Knowing we had run quite a while under yellow and with Will in my mirrors, I was pushing pretty hard. Unfortunately, the way we were crashing the curbs, one of my control arms gave out. When I entered turn one, I just couldn’t hang on and Will was able to get by me. I did another lap, but then the car spun going into turn one. It was obvious my day was over so I got the car safely out of the way.”

Around lap 17, Clay was locked in battle with #99 Courtney and #6 Wittmer for seventh place. Although, it wasn’t long before Clay’s car started losing fluids and his handling began going away.

Forced to pit lane on several occasions, Clay managed to keep the car in the race and finish 22nd. Thomas’ early exit left him in 26th, while Goldman finished 20th.

“We knew we’d have our hands full this weekend,” expressed Clay. “I’m disappointed because of all the hard work we put in. But, by the same token, I’m proud of our effort and the fact our guys never gave up.”

This will be the last event for the current E46 BMW 325’s as development continues on the new BimmerWorld E90 BMW 325i’s, scheduled to debut for round 3 at Mid-Ohio. Clay talked about the new E90 and BimmerWorld’s commitment to performance and the company’s race program: “The good news is we now can focus our attention exclusively on getting the new cars ready for round 3 at Mid-Ohio,” said James. “Everyone at the shop has been doing double duty prepping the current cars while making progress on the build out of the new E90s.”

BimmerWorld is the first US team racing the new E90s in North America.

The SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Series was in St. Petersburg as part of the IRL Indy Car Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, in Florida. The 2006 World Challenge Touring Car Championship next takes to the track May 19-21 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

BimmerWorld is pleased to have support from the top performance companies in the industry: Silkolene, Ground Control, Bimmerforums.com, Performance Friction, BBS, Moton, Diffsonline, and JB Racing.

BimmerWorld is a leading retailer of high performance street and racing BMW parts. Our race program continually drives development for BimmerWorld’s increasing line of BMW race and street performance parts. BimmerWorld customers expect the very best.

To learn more about BimmerWorld and their extensive line of BMW performance products, go to their website at: www.BimmerWorld.com

Additional BimmerWorld Racing information and bios are available at: www.BimmerWorldRacing.com.

Regarded as the most relevant and top production car road racing series in the world, the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships are broken into two distinct sub-series that run separately from one another— SCCA SPEED GT and SCCA SPEED Touring Car. Each Championship is run in a 50-minute “sprint” race format, featuring recognizable cars, world-class drivers and standing starts. For more information about the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships, please visit www.world-challenge.com

B&M on board with SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge through 2007
TOPEKA, Kan. (March 22, 2006) — B&M Racing & Performance Products, producers of high-quality shifters, oil coolers, torque converters, transmissions and other street and racing products, has announced an extension of its involvement with the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships through 2007.

The agreement extends a relationship between B&M and SCCA Pro Racing that began in 2001.

“B&M is proud to be a part of the SPEED World Challenge Championships, the most competitive road racing series found in the United States,” B&M Vice President of Marketing Bob Ritzman said. “The series provides exciting racing, competitive teams and world wide coverage through television and motor press, and continues to give B&M excellent exposure for two of its product lines, precision sport shifters and oil coolers.”

Included in the package, a pair of popular awards in the SPEED GT and SPEED Touring Car classes will once again be featured in 2006 and ’07.

In SPEED GT, the B&M Oil Coolers “Coolest Move of the Race” Award will once again be handed out to the driver who is deemed by SPEED Channel producers and on-air personalities as having made the best driving maneuver of the race. SPEED GT drivers will also win $500 for being chosen as the award winner.

For SPEED Touring Car, the B&M Sport Shifters Hole Shot Award will again be on the line in every round through 2007. As before, the award will be given to the driver who gains the most positions from his or her original starting position during the first lap. In addition to the award, the Hole Shot winner will also be given $500.

As has been the case for the past few seasons, B&M will be easily identified as an official sponsor of SPEED World Challenge as every car in both classes will be adorned with number boards displaying the B&M logo – the B&M Sport Shifters logo for Touring Cars and the B&M Oil Coolers logo for GT rides.

“With this agreement, SCCA SPEED World Challenge and B&M have solidified a fantastic partnership,” SCCA Pro Racing President Earl Knoper said. “Through its continuation of the performance awards and number boards, B&M has again shown its enthusiasm for the competition level of SCCA SPEED World Challenge and its ability to provide an effective marketing platform.”

After beginning the year at Sebring International Raceway as part of the 54th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, B&M and SCCA SPEED World Challenge crank up Round Two of the 10-round 2006 slate March 31-April 2 with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Tape-delayed television coverage of the St. Petersburg event can be seen on SPEED Channel Sunday, April 2, beginning with the SPEED GT race at 3 p.m., followed by same-day delayed coverage of SPEED Touring Car at 4 p.m. All times are Eastern.

LG Motorsport Sebring race wrap up
Doug Peterson in rookie debut finishes sixth
News from LG Motorsport
Photos © Lisa Salazar
SEBRING, Florida (March 20, 2006) — A trio of LG Motorsports drivers delivered a taste of what SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT fans can expect from the team in 2006. In the season debut at Sebring International Raceway in Florida, LG Motorsports was laying down the power as their three Corvette C6 Z06s marched through the field with authority.

After qualifying to start fourth on the grid, Lou Gigliotti, #28 LG Motorsports Pro Long Tube Headers Corvette, jumped into the lead by lap two. Turning the fastest lap of the race, 102.100 mph in 2:10.460, Lou lead the caution free race and had pulled out to nearly a three second lead over the #82 car. On lap 15, with eventual race winner, Phil McCann, chasing in the #82 Dodge Competition Viper, Lou's car suddenly began smoking and was shown a mechanical black flag.

"The car was fantastic," expressed a disappointed Gigliotti. "I'm not sure what happened yet, the guys will have to get it back to the shop and see what let go. Bottom line, though, is we were fast and I could put the car anywhere on the track I wanted. I think our performance speaks volumes for our team and the kind of power LG Motorsports and Pro Long Tube Headers can generate."

"I really need to give Louis Jr. and my guys a lot of credit for the car set-up." the former World Challenge Champion continued. "They've really got these Corvette's figured out. The car cornered extremely well. The StopTech brakes allowed me to get in to the corners deep and with all that power, I had great exit speed. The car was just how I like it. We'll get this sorted out and get them in St. Petersburg. "

Teammate, Doug Peterson, had an outstanding Rookie debut in his #87 3 Dimensional Services Corvette C6 Z06. Starting 15th in his first SPEED World Challenge event, the former Star Mazda Series Champion drove to an outstanding sixth place finish.

"I've never done anything so hard in my whole life," exclaimed and exhausted Peterson. "And I've done a lot of things. This was unbelievable. The car was a blast to drive. I've got some things to work on... these cars require a completely different driving style... but I've got to hand it to Lou and his LG Motorsport's guys, they build a heck of a race car. This was really something. I don't know what to say."

Claudio Burtin brought his #26 LG Pro Long Tube Header's Corvette C6 Z06 home 11th.

"The car was excellent," expressed Claudio. I was really hoping to squeeze out one more position to get the car in the top 10, but just couldn't find that little extra. I know the car definitely has what it takes so I know the improvement will come with more seat time."

The SCCA SPEED GT race, part of the 54th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, was broadcast on SPEED Channel at 4 p.m. (EST) Sunday, March 19.

Round Two of the 2006 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships is set for March 31-April 2 at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, in St. Petersburg, Fla.
 

RealTime honors Acura’s 20th year with change of car number for Brandon Davis
News from RealTime Racing
SAUKVILLE, Wisconsin (March 13, 2006) — Brandon Davis wore the #44 on the side of his RealTime Racing Acura TSX in the 2005 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car series en route to his Rookie-of-the-Year title.

This year Davis switches to the #20 badge on his car to honor the 20th anniversary of Acura’s United States operations as the first Japanese luxury performance car brand.

“Brandon did a stellar job in 2005, placing fourth in the championship points, so we are thrilled to have him back. When it occurred to us that he is the same age as our car brand of choice,” said RealTime owner Peter Cunningham, “it made sense for him to wear the number 20 this year.”

Davis, who is majoring in Business Management at the University of Denver, was born October 21, 1985, six months and six days before the North American launch of the Acura brand on March 27, 1986.

“From the perspective of someone my age, Acura cars have been around forever. Acura has been good to me and I’m looking forward to stepping up to the podium this year to help celebrate this important birthday,” reported Davis.

Acura began building its professional racing legacy almost immediately, scoring its first win (with the Integra model) exactly four months after its showroom debut. Since then, an impressive 216 sports car races in North America have been won by Acura-based cars and racing engines.

Acura has won 19 North American pro series Manufacturers’ Championships since 1987, and 20 drivers have raced them to Drivers’ Championships.

RealTime Racing drivers have won 49 World Challenge races in Acura cars since 1996. They have helped the brand win five Manufacturers’ titles, tying the series record.

“A manufacturer cannot build a racing heritage overnight. Now, after 20 years, Acura has a lot to be proud of,” said Cunningham.

Last year was also a great one for Acura in the showroom, breaking the 200,000 unit sales mark for the first time.

Cunningham and Pierre Kleinubing have won seven of the team’s individual driver championships and along with Davis will race Acura TSX models again this year. 2005 Denver race winner Eric Curran and third-year RTR pilot Nick Esayian will drive the team’s Acura RSX cars. Each of the five cars will carry the 20th anniversary logos throughout the season to commemorate this important milestone
 

Kuno Wittmer to race with Autohaus Motorsports
News from de Sigi Auto Sport
MONTREAL, Quebec (March 9, 2006) — Kuno Wittmer will be considered a rookie again when he takes the Autohaus Mercedes C230 to the track in Sebring next week for the first round of the 2006 Speed World Challenge Touring Car Championship. The 23-year old from Montreal, Quebec has raced in many series in the last eight years but this will be his first start in this highly competitive series. Wittmer and Autohaus Motorsports Executive Director Peter Lockhart have agreed he will be at the helm of the Mercedes C230 Touring car at least for the first two events of the season.

“I was very impressed with Kuno when he tested at Moroso in February”, said Lockhart. “He was fast within a few laps and never put a wheel wrong all day. Kuno immediately adapted to a new car and track with the maturity and speed of a top professional race car driver. I was also impressed with Kuno’s racing background in open wheel and sedan touring. Our Autohaus MB will be in good hands, starting in Sebring next week.”

“I’m very happy to join Autohaus," added Wittmer. “We got to know Peter and I will try to be up to the challenge with the Mercedes. My goal is to get some Top Ten finishes. The car is fun to drive, I think we can find more speed in it and I long to work with Autohaus Technical Director David Ford. It will also be very interesting to work on the same team as veteran Tommy Archer, truly one of the best drivers in sedan racing in America.”

STaSIS Engineering to campaign three Audis in 2006 SCCA SPEED Touring Car
News from STaSIS Motorsports
 Photos © Mark Weber/SCCA
SONOMA, Calif. (March 7, 2006) – STaSIS Engineering has announced that it will campaign three Audi A4 racecars for all 10 rounds of the 2006 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship.

Coming off a season-ending win at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2005, STaSIS representatives said that the team’s 2006 goals are championship driven, with three cars in its lineup for the entire year, plus having great confidence in its equipment and abilities.

The STaSIS driver lineup includes “Fast” Freddy Baker, who returns to again compete in the Audi A4 Turbo. Baker has had great success in various series from Trans Am to World Challenge. Alongside Baker will be rookie Jeff Courtney, of Slinger, Wis., who won the 2005 Panoz Racing series championship. STaSIS’ third driver will be announced shortly.

“The level of competition will be strong, and we have stepped up our program in every way to ensure that we are contenders for the top spot on the podium,” STaSIS Owner Paul Lambert said. “We have added new, talented crew members to the fold, building on our team from last year. Aiding in our quest for success, our technical partners, Mahle Powertrain (formerly Cosworth Technologies), Alcon and Ohlins are all on board again with us. We are anticipating a great season in 2006.”

STaSIS will begin the 2006 SPEED World Challenge Touring Car season March 15-17 at Sebring International Raceway, where the team will run a new Audi A4 alongside two other Audi A4s that ran last season at both Sebring and St. Petersburg.

Those two previously-run cars will be replaced at the May 19-21 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course event, where STaSIS will debut two 2006 Audi A4 racecars. All STaSIS cars will be powered by the Mahle 1.8T engine that powered their race win at Laguna Seca in 2005.
 

Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles to support RealTime Racing
In SCCA Speed World Challenge
News from RealTime Racing
SAUKVILLE, WI (March 8, 2006) — Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles has joined RealTime Racing to be the presenting sponsor of its five-car SCCA World Challenge effort. The 2005 Speed Touring Car champions are set to defend their honor with three TSXs and two RSXs starting March 17 in Sebring, Florida.

“We’re looking forward to the season and our new affiliation with the people from the Acura Certified Pre-Owned program,” enthuses RealTime Team Manager, Nathan Bonneau. “Even though it’s still winter here in Wisconsin, it’s 75 and sunny in central Florida, so we’re raring to go!”

A Certified Pre-Owned Acura is one that can be purchased with peace of mind. Every customer selecting one of these vehicles receives a 12 month/12,000-mile Limited Warranty, plus a 7-year/100,000-mile Powertrain Limited Warranty.

Only well-maintained late-model Acura vehicles are considered, and each one must pass a stringent and comprehensive series of tests before certification. Following a thorough appearance inspection scrutinizing fit and finish, an Acura Dealership technician checks and services virtually every mechanical system, from the engine to the door locks.

“Before a previously-owned Acura can earn the ‘Certified Pre-Owned’ seal of approval, it must pass a rigorous 150-point inspection,” says Daniel Crowe, manager of automobile re-marketing for Acura.

“Of course, an Acura modified for racing in the Speed Touring Car Championship could never pass that test, but clearly, the record of performance and reliability of the RealTime Acuras demonstrates that their mechanics and engineers approach vehicle preparation in the same meticulous fashion as our own Acura technicians.”

RealTime owner Peter Cunningham agrees, “Knowing what Acura dealers look for in a pre-owned car, and knowing what our team does to prepare for every Speed World Challenge race, I can tell you that the checklists are very similar.”

RealTime Racing has been competing in production-based Hondas and Acuras since 1987, winning multiple championships in ice racing, performance rallying and road racing.

This year, the team is pleased to have its 2005 driver lineup return in force, as Cunningham, Pierre Kleinubing, Brandon Davis, Eric Curran and Nick Esayian will again be piloting the familiar orange & white Acura squadron. Along with the expert RealTime crew, the team will be fighting for its 10th World Challenge Drivers’ Championship and Acura’s record-breaking sixth Manufacturers’ crown.
 

Busalacchi named crew chief for RealTime Acura team
News from RealTime Racing
SAUKVILLE, Wisconsin (March 2, 2006) — RealTime Racing veteran crewman Michael of the defending SCCA Speed World Challenge Touring Car Championship Acura effort.

Busalacchi, 36, of Milwaukee, who first joined the RealTime team in 1992, was the car chief for Peter Cunningham’s Acura TSX, providing the eventual 2005 Touring Car Drivers’ Champion a speedy and reliable mount. For 2006, he will lead the five-car Acura TSX and RSX program, supervising each of the individual car chiefs and rest of the skilled RealTime squad. His goal as Crew Chief is to guide Acura to its record-breaking sixth Manufacturers’ title.

“It is an honor to be asked to officially lead this championship-caliber outfit,” said Busalacchi. “The competitive environment in Touring Car will not make my job easy, but we have all the ingredients needed within the team to continually up our game. Our winter development program has gone well and our cars will be strong. With all of these good people—between the experienced crew and the returning five drivers—we’re confident RealTime will be in a position to secure another championship for Acura!”

Cunningham recalled Busalacchi’s early days with the team, “Mike and I first worked together in 1992 in the SCCA PRO Rally Championship. After finishing second in the ‘92 Production Championship, he helped us win the 1993 title,” said Cunningham. “He was also a part of RealTime’s debut season of World Challenge racing before leaving us for a time to pursue his passion for rallying. He returned to the RTR family in 2003, bolstering the crew’s talent pool and displaying leadership qualities that helped the team grow. As crew chief, I’m confident Mike will take this organization to a new level and achieve more than it could without him.”

RealTime Racing has 18 SCCA World Challenge Championship trophies displayed at its headquarters. Nine of those are for drivers and nine more for manufacturers. In its 13 seasons of World Challenge competition, RealTime has won 58 races—44 in Touring Car and 14 in the GT division.

“Much of RealTime’s success in World Challenge occurred under the leadership of my good friend Jerome Zimmermann,” Busalacchi added. “His untimely death in July of 2003 left a big hole in this team that will never be completely filled, but to be asked to wear the hat he once wore is an honor and a challenge I cherish.”

Chili Pepper Racing announces return to Speed World Challenge Touring Car Series
Date for Post Petit Charity Motorcycle Ride fixed for
October 1st
OOLTEWAH, TN (February 26, 2006) — Chili Pepper Racing announces the return of the red hot #24 TC Thompson Children’s Hospital/Remote Area Medical BMW 325ci to the SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Series for the 2006 season. 2006 marks CPR’s 5th season in SCCA PRO racing. Jim Osborn will be piloting the team’s Ducati RED 2006 325ci as CPR continues to focus on winning both on the track and off by promoting and raising monies for CPR’s chosen charities, Remote Area Medical and Light House Family Retreat.  Be sure to drop by the Chili Pepper Racing paddock to learn all about the good work these charities do and how you can help, and to see the car up close and personal! 

Continuing a hotly-anticipated CPR tradition, Chili Pepper Racing, LLC. and Brian Skuza, Road Atlanta’s General Manager, announced today that the 2006 Post Petit Le Mans Charity Motorcycle ride to benefit the Light House Family Retreat will be Sunday October 1, 2006. The annual charity ride follows the Petit Le Mans, which runs September 27-30. 

The charity ride begins with a track ride around the world famous 2.54 mile, 12 turn Road Atlanta Grand Prix circuit. Participants are then led off over the beautiful twisting mountain roads of North Georgia by World Class Racers like Randy Pobst, Terry Borcheller, Dorsey Schroeder, Alex Job, Stu Hayner, and Steve Pfeiffer. Monies raised from the ride benefit the families of the Light House Family Retreat.  If you have a motorcycle or can beg or borrow one, mark your calendar, round up your biker friends, and make plans to join the Ride – a great way to unwind from the 10 hours of Petit before you head home to rejoin the daily grind.  We will post further details when available.   

As one of the premier motorsports events in the world, the Petit Le Mans features a 1,000-mile/10-hour format that races into the night. The competition will be terrific, with the Road Atlanta debut of the new Porsche RS Spyder, the exciting new Audi R10 diesel, a stronger Dyson team with the new twin turbo Lola AER, the return of BMW and the addition of the new Lexus. The 10-hour, 100-mile American Le Mans Series race is set for Saturday, Sept. 30, following three days of practice, qualifying and support races including SCCA Speed World Challenge Touring and GT, Panoz GT Pro Series, new IMSA Lites, Star Mazda and IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.

For 2006 Chili Pepper Racing has become an authorized dealer for Sabelt, MotoPhoria, and EZ-UP.  Proceeds from the sales of these products through Chili Pepper Racing go to support our 501-c3 charities.  For more information visit www.chilipepperracing.org

Team Cadillac to field four champions in 2006
Pilgrim to defend SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Championship; Angelelli, Fellows and O'Connell will share second Cadillac CTS-V
News from GM Racing
DETROIT (Feb. 14, 2006) ― Team Cadillac will have an all-star driver lineup in 2006 with four championship-winning racers aiming for victories in the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championship in Cadillac CTS-V race cars. Andy Pilgrim, the reigning SPEED GT champion, will contest the entire 10-race series in the No. 1 Cadillac CTS-V. Max Angelelli, Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell will share the No. 16 Cadillac CTS-V. All four of Team Cadillac's drivers have previously raced the black CTS-Vs.

"The Cadillac CTS-V is a world-class performance luxury sedan, and we are delighted to have four world-class race car drivers with Team Cadillac in 2006," said Jim Taylor, Cadillac general manager. "This formidable lineup of champions, combined with the capabilities of the production Cadillac CTS-V, will certainly put Team Cadillac in a strong position to win a second consecutive SPEED GT manufacturers championship. With drivers from the U.S., Canada and Europe, Team Cadillac's international roster of driving talent reflects Cadillac's stature as a truly global brand."

Since Team Cadillac's debut in March 2004, the black CTS-Vs have scored seven victories, six poles, and 21 podium finishes - highlighted by a 1-2-3 podium sweep at Road Atlanta in April 2005 and a sweep of the 2005 drivers and manufacturers championships.

Pilgrim, born in England and now a naturalized American citizen, has driven a Cadillac CTS-V race car since Cadillac finished first in the team's debut at Sebring in March 2004. Pilgrim's racing resume includes the 1996 IMSA Grand Sport Endurance Championship, the 1997-98 PSCR GT1 championships, five ALMS wins, and two Rolex 24 At Daytona victories, including an overall win in 2003.

"I've raced with Max, Ron and Johnny as teammates before, and I'm looking forward to having them as teammates again in 2006 at Team Cadillac," said Pilgrim. "Our focus will be on retaining the manufacturers’ championship, and I'll give it a 100 percent effort. 2006 will be an exciting year in the SPEED World Challenge with new venues such as Long Beach and Salt Lake City added to the schedule."

Fellows, a three-time American Le Mans Series GT1 champion (2002-04), 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and overall winner in the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Corvette Racing, scored back-to-back SPEED GT victories for Team Cadillac at Mosport in 2004-05. The versatile racer from Mississauga, Ont., has won races in series that range from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck (two career victories) and NASCAR Busch Series (three wins) to the SCCA Trans-Am (19 victories).

"I've had a great time racing for Team Cadillac in the last two years, and I'm looking forward to doing more races with the CTS-V this season," said Fellows. "The World Challenge GT reminds me of the Golden Age of the Trans-Am series, with intense competition among race cars that are really based on what you drive on the street. It's racing that rewards smoothness and finesse, and it's great fun."

O'Connell, a resident of Flowery Branch, Ga., shared the ALMS GT1 title with Fellows in 2003-04. The pair teamed up to win their class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and score an overall victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2001. He's won championships in the Formula Atlantic West, driven open-wheeled Indy cars, and tallied a record six class victories in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring endurance race. O'Connell's only previous appearance with Team Cadillac was at Road Atlanta in Sept. 2004.

"Racing with Team Cadillac and having Andy as a teammate is going to be a great experience," O'Connell said. "Based on the performance of the cars over the past two years, I'm confident we'll have good equipment. I've watched the close competition in the World Challenge as a television commentator, and I'm looking forward to being in the middle of the action as a driver. My job is to win races - that's the objective of everyone at Team Cadillac."

Angelelli, a resident of Monte Carlo, won the 1992 Italian F3 championship and was co-champion of the 2005 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series in the Daytona Prototype class with teammate Wayne Taylor. He scored Team Cadillac's first win in Sebring, and subsequently posted victories in Road Atlanta (Sept. 2004) and Lime Rock Park (July 2005).

"Team Cadillac has an exceptional driver lineup in 2006, and they're backed by a group of very talented engineers and technicians," noted Dave Spitzer, Team Cadillac program manager. "The competition will certainly be intense, but Team Cadillac has the personnel, the equipment and the experience to achieve success again in 2006."

SCCA News
Julow named next SCCA President
News from SCCA Pro Racing
TOPEKA, Kan. (Jan. 27, 2006) – Sports Car Club of America, Inc. (SCCA), the 60,000-member motorsports organization boasting the largest active participant group in racing, announced today that James R. Julow will become its next President. Julow brings a wealth of industry experience to SCCA, with a focus on marketing and operations. His 28-year automotive career has included stints with all domestic divisions of the current Chrysler Group, including serving most recently as the DaimlerChrysler Vice President of Motorsports and SRT Programs.

“Throughout this process, the Board of Directors’ primary goal has been to ensure the future leadership and excellence of the staff for this Club,” SCCA Chairman of the Board Robert Introne said. “We met with a number of excellent candidates, and Jim Julow stood out as an outstanding choice for the next president of SCCA. He brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership qualities to our company and has a proven record of success in his past business endeavors.”

“Given my broad background in the automotive industry and, more recently, consulting in high-tech growth marketing, I feel that there is a lot that I can bring to SCCA,” Julow said. “My goal is to turbo charge SCCA. It already has a great image and excellent programs, and I want to work to take everything to the next level.”

Under Julow’s leadership, the current Dodge Motorsports program, which includes a successful NASCAR effort, was born. Additionally, the Street Race Technology (SRT) program was conceived, and he oversaw the launch of the Viper SRT-10 convertible and SRT-4 as well as the distribution of the Viper Competition Coupe. While the Vice President and General Manager of Dodge, Julow set all-time records for sales, share and revenue for the Dodge Division.

In 2003, following his departure from DaimlerChrysler, Julow became a partner and Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Swat Team, a growth marketing consulting company specializing in the high-tech industry.
Julow’s academic accomplishments include undergraduate and MBA degrees from Purdue University and certificates of merit from Harvard University and Michigan State University. He and his wife, Joan, will relocate from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. to Kansas. The couple has three college-aged children.

Julow replaces Steve Johnson, who held the Club’s top position from 2000 through September 2005, before moving to a similar position with Champ Car. Julow will officially take the office full time in early March, but will be on hand for the annual SCCA National Convention in Kansas City, Feb. 2-4.
 

SPEED World Challenge GT
Autosport Designs Racing to bring Aston Martin to SPEED GT
By Curtis Kitchen
Photos © Autosport Designs
TOPEKA, Kan. (Jan. 20, 2006) – Autosport Designs Racing has announced that it will field a pair of Aston Martin DB9s for all 10 rounds of the 2006 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship.

The move ends a lengthy absence from United States GT racing for Aston Martin, which last took part in a full United States-based GT series in the 1960s.

“We are delighted to be involved with Aston Martin’s return to GT Championship racing in the United States,” Autosport Designs Racing Chief Engineer Barry Wagner said. “We feel that the other cars in World Challenge will be good competition for the DB9.”
American Tom Papadopoulos and Great Britain’s Johnny Mowlem will team up in 2006 to pilot the DB9s.

Mowlem comes into SPEED GT with a wealth of talent and driving success, having competed in Porsche Super Cup and the American Le Mans Series. He has also successfully competed in many prestigious events including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.

Papadopoulos, who is also a team principle, is a former Ferrari Challenge Champion (1997, ‘98), and more recently has achieved success in Grand-Am driving Porsches.

The cars will be based on the Aston Martin Racing-built DBRS9 – a motorsports version of the road-going DB9. The two-door coupe is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 engine, which marks the first-ever appearance of a V12 in SPEED GT competition.

SPEED World Challenge enthusiasts will get their first look at the brand-new DB9s March 15-17 at Sebring International Raceway, site of the opening round of the 2006 SPEED World Challenge Championships.

Aschenbach to pilot JGR Porsche 997 in SPEED GT
News from Jon Groom Racing
TOPEKA, Kan. (Jan. 10, 2006) – Jon Groom Racing has announced that Lawson Aschenbach, of Gaithersburg, Md., will pilot the team’s No. 66 AXA Financial Porsche 911 GT3 (997) for the entire 2006 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT season.

Aschenbach, 22, made immediate waves in the series in 2005, placing third at the CENTRIX Financial Grand Prix of Denver, the first SPEED World Challenge event of his career. He followed that performance with a 10th-place finish at the year’s final event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca despite an early race spin.

He joins a Jon Groom Racing team that turned in a solid 2005 campaign, scoring one win and helping Porsche to a second-place finish in the SPEED GT Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER Magazine.

“We’re really excited to have Lawson on board to lead our effort to win the championship in 2006, especially having come so close last year,” JGR Owner Jon Groom said. “I first met Lawson in 2002 when we both raced in the SCCA F2000 series and he impressed me then. He has continued to impress me since, particularly last year when he did such a great job finishing third in his first World Challenge GT race at the challenging Denver street course.”

Prior to joining SPEED World Challenge at the end of last season, Aschenbach was a three-time World Karting Association Grand Nationals winner before moving to cars at age 16. He won the Southeast Formula Ford title in 2001, moved on to the SCCA Pro F2000 series and won the Road to Indy Oval Crown Championship in that series in 2002.

Deciding to make the move to sports cars in 2003, Aschenbach won in only his second IMSA GT3 Cup race at a very wet Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Armed with his experience, Aschenbach is ready to join his new team at a planned test session Jan. 27-Feb. 14 in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina in preparation for the season’s first event at Sebring International Raceway March 15-17.

“I am very excited to be joining Jon Groom Racing this year,” Aschenbach said. “Their experience and dedication has shown during their very successful season in 2005. I’m looking forward to continuing that success in 2006.”

Groom said his team’s efforts toward a successful 2006 have been non-stop.

“The team has been working flat out since the last race of 2005,” Groom said. “And they are determined to be in a position again to fight for both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles.”
 

2006 SPEED World Challenge Schedule Complete
Touring Cars return to Denver, GT to Debut at Long Beach
Photos © SCCA/Weber
TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 20, 2005) – SCCA Pro Racing announced today the addition of two venues to its 2006 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge calendar, bringing the season total to 10 races each for SCCA SPEED GT and Touring Car.

For the first time in series history, SCCA SPEED GT will join the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach for the 32nd running of the historic event. It will be a quick turnaround for the series, which will race Saturday, April 2 in St. Petersburg, Fla. before hauling across country for the event in Long Beach, Calif. one week later.

“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to showcase the always exciting SPEED World Challenge GT on the streets of Long Beach,” said Jim Michaelian, Grand Prix Association of Long Beach CEO. “The variety of cars and close competition will create tremendous interest for our fans and also provide us with a great concluding race on Sunday afternoon.”

SCCA SPEED Touring Car will also join the Champ Car World Series once during the 2006 season, but at Denver for its second-consecutive appearance at the CENTRIX Financial Grand Prix of Denver, Aug. 11-13.

"We are thrilled to have the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car join us again for the Fastest Three Days in Denver," CENTRIX Financial Grand Prix of Denver General Manager Jim Freudenberg said. "World Challenge brings a fresh format and approach to auto racing in North America that creates the excitement and competitiveness Denver fans have come to expect."

“We’re very excited to add two premiere events to complete our 2006 SCCA SPEED World Challenge schedules,” SCCA Pro Racing Acting President Garret Mudd said. “Long Beach and Southern California represent a huge market for our brand of racing, which has proven to be the most popular and relevant form of production-based racing in North America. Similarly, Denver has demonstrated an innovative approach and set new standards for street racing and festivals in North America over the past few years. It is important that we continue to associate and showcase our series with industry leading events like Denver and Long Beach.

The two races bring the season total for each series to 10, completing the 2006 schedules.

Nathan McBride joins Jon Groom Racing as technical director
News from Jon Groom Racing
EASTON, PA  (December 6, 2005) ― Following the team’s most successful season to date finishing 3^rd in the Speed World Challenge GT championship and being nominated Crew of the Year in that series, the team announced today that Nathan McBride has been signed as the team’s full-time Technical Director. 

As Technical Director, he will oversee all technical and engineering aspects of the team, including development engineering of the team’s World Challenge cars for 2006, again running under the sponsorship of Axa Financial, Inc. 

Nathan, who graduated from the University of Montana with a mechanical engineering degree, has had a long and successful career, engineering cars to championship wins in 1996 & 1997 (Lou Gigliotti, World Challenge GT), 1999 (Carl Edwards, NASCAR Pro-Modified), 2000 ((Jeff McMillin, World Challenge GT) as well as many race wins and top 5 finishes in Trans Am, ALMS, Grand Am with a one off engineering effort of the overall 2005 Pike’s Peak winner.  

Jon Groom said “We’re really excited to have Nathan on-board and focused on our efforts both in Speed World Challenge but also in other areas of planned growth for the team. Nathan’s experience and previous success in various series, but especially in World Challenge, will bring real benefit as we continue to grow and improve the team”. 

The team’s growth is highlighted by the recent move to a new and well-equipped, 10,000 sq ft facility in Easton, Pennsylvania. 

Nathan McBride commented “I am excited and honored to be a part of a top notch team like Jon Groom Racing. I look forward to developing the new Porsche 997 World Challenge car with this highly skilled team and ultimately winning races and the championship in the process. Jon Groom is a great person and fantastic team owner; the crew is talented and fun. It is going to be an exceptional 2006 season working with Jon and the team“. 

The team just took delivery of the first 997 and will start testing both a development version of last year’s 996 chassis and the new 997 in January in preparation for the team’s championship run in 2006, with further tests planned for February. 

For more information about the Speed World Challenge Series, visit www.world-challenge.com or www.jongroomracing.com. 

2006 SPEED World Challenge initial schedule announced
Nine of 10 races confirmed
Photos © SCCA/Weber
TOPEKA, Kan. (Oct. 27, 2005) – SCCA Pro Racing announced today nine of the 10 races that will make up the 2006 SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Championship season. The final race will be announced shortly.

The schedule features one brand new venue, the return of an old favorite and a new take on a traditional venue.

As has been the case for the last four years, the season will begin Friday, March 17 at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway in Florida. SPEED GT and Touring Car events will again be the featured races on Friday leading into the Saturday American Le Mans Series (ALMS) classic.

For the second-straight year, and the fifth time in series history, SPEED World Challenge will return to St. Petersburg for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg with the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. SPEED GT will be the feature race on Saturday, April 1, with the SPEED Touring Cars racing on Sunday, April 2.

The series returns to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the weekend of May 19-21 to race in conjunction with the ALMS. It is the eighth year the series has made an appearance at the Lexington, Ohio facility.

From there, it’s to the West to a familiar facility but an all-new weekend and circuit to SPEED World Challenge teams. Infineon Raceway’s June 23-25 Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Weekend will feature SPEED GT and SPEED Touring Car races, using the short course for the first time. The series, which held its first-ever race at Infineon Raceway, then called Sears Point, in 1990, makes its 12th trip to Sonoma, Calif.

After a two-week break, it’s off to Miller Motorsports Park for the inaugural Utah Grand Prix, featuring both SPEED World Challenge races on Saturday, July 15, as well as the ALMS race. Miller Motorsports Park is a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility featuring a 4.5-mile road course—the longest in the United States.

The series visits its second track over four miles Aug. 18-20 as it makes its return to Road America in conjunction with the ALMS. It will be the 11th trip to the facility in Elkhart Lake, Wis., and the first since the 2004 season.

For the second-straight year, Labor Day (Sept. 1-3) will be spent north of the border at Mosport International Raceway for the series’ lone Canadian appearance in 2006. It will be the 16th season (of 17) that Mosport has appeared on the schedule—more than any other facility.

After running at Road Atlanta in April 2005, the series moves its Braselton, Ga.-appearance to late September as part of the Petit Le Mans week. Both races will be held on Friday, Sept. 29, one day prior to the ALMS endurance event.

For the third-straight year, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will host the season-ending races for both series, moving the date back one week to Oct. 20-22. It is the ninth time the series has competed at the Monterey, Calif. facility.

One additional event will be added for each series shortly, bringing the season total to 10 races.

2006 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championships Schedule of Events

March 15-17 Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Fla.

March 31-April 2 Honda GP of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Fla.

May 19-21: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio

June 23-25 Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, Calif.

July 14-16 Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah

Aug. 18-20 Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Sept. 1-3 Mosport Int'l Raceway, Bowmanville, Ontario, CAN
Sept. 27-29 Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga.

Oct. 20-22 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif.

SPEED World Challenge champions, award winners honored
By Eric Prill
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber
MONTEREY, Calif. (Oct. 18, 2005) – SCCA Pro Racing and the SPEED World Challenge community honored their own Sunday night in the annual awards celebration held at the Monterey Marriott.

The evening, hosted by series announcer Tom Hnatiw and SPEED Channel broadcast play-by-play announcer Greg Creamer, honored outstanding accomplishments of the season, highlighted by the SCCA SPEED GT and SCCA SPEED Touring Car Champions in both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships.

Peter Cunningham (No. 42 A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura TSX) received his fourth SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Drivers’ Championship, having topped the SPEED Touring Car division with 263 points over the 11-race season that began in March at Sebring and concluded Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Cunningham started the season off with his series-record 29th victory at Sebring. After four-straight third-place finishes, REWARDS weight took its toll on the Champ, finishing races six through nine outside of the top five before concluding 2005 with two more podiums at Mosport (second) and Laguna (third), where he also won the Air Force Reserve pole. For his season, Cunningham earned $89,970 in prize money and contingencies. He finished the season 15 points ahead of second place Randy Pobst, who finished fourth on Sunday.

Andy Pilgrim (No. 8 XM/Mobil 1 / Motorola / Bose /On Star Cadillac CTS-V) became just the second driver in 40 separate series Drivers’ Championships since the 1990 inception to take the title without winning a race. Like Cunningham, Pilgrim was the model of consistency throughout the season, starting the season with five-straight top fives, including runner-up finishes at Sebring and Road Atlanta. Like Cunningham, REWARDS weight likely kept him out of victory lane as the season progressed, but Pilgrim continued his streak of top 10 finishes all season. After qualifying 12th for the finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Pilgrim needed to finish fourth or better regardless of where his competition wound up. In the end, he could have finished worse to clinch, but he finished where he needed to—fourth. Pilgrim won $67,080 in purse and prizes and earned 248 points to beat the defending series champion, Tommy Archer, by six points.

With the SPEED World Challenge being a place for manufacturers to showcase their products, the Manufacturers’ Championships Presented by RACER Magazine were hotly contested in both series.

In SPEED GT, Cadillac accomplished the goal it set out to do when the program was announced in January 2004, taking the title over Porsche 63-59. Throughout the season, Cadillac scored four victories, at Road Atlanta, Lime Rock Park, Mosport and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with three different drivers. Following Porsche in the final standings were Chevrolet (40 points) and Dodge (38 points).

It was down to the wire in the SPEED Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER Magazine as well, with Acura taking its series record-tying fifth (with Eagle, Honda and Porsche) title, and giving American Honda Motor Company its 10th title. Acura scored a season-high five wins with drivers Cunningham, Pierre Kleinubing and Eric Curran, and its 77 points were four more than its chief rival, Mazda. BMW was third in the final standings, with 53, followed by Ford, with four.

Both of The Winning Team Racing Apparel Rookies of the Year were crowned prior to the season finale.

In SPEED Touring Car, Brandon Davis (No. 44 A-SPEC/Monster Energy Drink/RealTime Racing Acura TSX) wrapped up his title after Round Nine at Denver, and had eight top-10s, two top fives and one pole en route to finishing fourth in the Championship.

Sonny Whelen (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Corvette C5) wrapped up The Winning Team Racing Apparel Rookie of the Year honors in SPEED GT after his career-best finish of ninth at Mosport, Round 10 of the Championship. His finished the season 12th in SPEED GT points.

While he came up short for his second Drivers’ Championship, Randy Pobst (No. 73 Mazdaspeed / TriPoint Mazda 6) earned the season-long Air Force Reserve Pole award after scoring four poles on the season, coming at St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio, Infineon Raceway and Portland International Raceway. Pobst was the only driver to score multiple poles on the season, and earned a $5,000 bonus for his efforts.

While the drivers and manufacturers were honored for the points they scored and the races they won throughout the season, several awards were given out for accomplishments behind the scenes.

Jon Groom, owner and driver of Jon Groom Racing, was presented the Jim Cook Award, the highest non-competition honor in the series, presented to the individual, or group, for contributions to the series’ overall success. Groom has worked to build a Championship-caliber GT team and established corporate sponsorship relations that have promoted the series throughout the last two seasons.

Jon Groom Racing crew member Tivadar Heinlein was presented with the Zimmermann Cup for his excellence in racing exemplified for his dedication and passion for motorsports. Heinlein sustained third-degree burns on his face during a pit lane mishap at Portland. Despite his injury, Heinlein displayed the utmost team support and courage in returning to the racetrack that weekend and throughout the remainder of the season.

Additionally, Jon Groom Racing and Tindol Motorsports were voted on by the SCCA SPEED World Challenge teams as the Crew of the Year for GT and Touring Car, respectively.

The season finale races, which aired on Sunday, will be re-broadcast on SPEED Channel, Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. (Eastern) and again, Wednesday (Oct. 19) morning (SPEED GT) at 4 a.m. and Thursday (Oct. 20) morning (SPEED Touring Car) at 4 a.m.

Molyshield, Autohaus expand 2006 Speed World Challenge effort to six cars, two classes
By Eric Prill
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber
CHICAGO (Oct. 12, 2005) – Dr. John P. Mancini, Chairman – C.E.O of Molyshield International Inc. of Chicago, IL, is pleased to announce Molyshield’s participation in two significant 2006 motorsports programs.

Molyshield Race Team, LLC has been formed to own and campaign four “factory backed” Dodge Viper Competition Coupes in the 2006 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship.

In addition, the LLC’s parent company, Molyshield International Inc., has announced the primary sponsorship of Autohaus Motorsports’ two fast-developing Mercedes-Benz C230 race cars that will continue to be campaigned in the 2006 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship. In this regard, Dr. Mancini added, “I would like to thank Dodge Motorsports and SCCA Pro Racing for their support of our new motorsport programs. SCCA Pro Racing has developed the fabulous SPEED World Challenge Touring Car and GT Championships and Dodge Motorsports has developed the Championship-winning Viper that will allow our team an excellent chance to show well in our inaugural year of competition.

“I would also like to thank all the people associated with Autohaus Motorsports, for their continued support, enthusiasm and development of the exciting C230 Mercedes-Benz race cars, especially Peter Lockhart and David Ford, who like myself, have made this new race team a part of their lives.

“As a former GT-1 competitor, I would also offer special thanks to the Directors and shareholders of MSI international for making my dream of a U.S. racing team possible and continuing our racing efforts worldwide with the best drivers and teams in their fields.

“To the fans of sports car racing in America, it is my great honor to introduce the Molyshield Racing Team USA and to let the competition know that just like our products, we guarantee the best!”

Primary Sponsorship identification and livery on all of the team cars will feature Molyshield Oil. The combined SPEED GT and Touring Car operations will be overseen by Autohaus Motorsports Executive Director Peter Lockhart and Autohaus Motorsports Technical Director David Ford. The team’s base of operations will continue to be located in South Florida.

A talented array of Drivers and Key Support personnel for all of the cars are under review and specific releases will follow.

Tommy Archer needs repeat scenario to win second championship at Laguna
Wiens to Retire from Driving
News from 3R Racing
ENGLEWOOD, Colorado (October 12, 2005) – 3R Racing’s Tommy Archer needs a repeat of last years SCCA Pro Racing Speed World Challenge GT race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to win his second GT drivers title behind the wheel of his number 1/c3controls/3R Racing/Viper.

In 2004, Archer came into the final round of the series at Laguna Seca needing points leader Michael Galati to finish at least four positions behind the Duluth, Minnesota resident to take the title. This weekend Archer is eight points behind and will need Cadillac’s Andy Pilgrim to finish no better than five positions behind Archer, while the Viper driver finishes at least third. If the race finishes with the two tied in points, Archer would be the winner with having won a race this season.

Archer has managed to stay in contention for the championship despite an average qualifying effort of seventh and an average race finish of fifth; winning the first two races at Sebring and St. Petersburg. Since the first two wins the Vipers have been encumbered by a myriad of performance adjustments throughout the season to manage their competitiveness and has stopped the cars from being able to run at the front of GT field. In addition the defending series champion was penalized 10-points for on track incidents at Cleveland and Infineon.

Tommy Archer is not optimistic about his chances going into the final race. “With the way that the rules makers have our car configured we will have to rely on our competitors to falter to have a legitimate chance to do well at Laguna,” said Tommy Archer. “I really like the track and have done well their in the past, I just don’t think I have the car to run at the front. Andy has run a consistent championship so far and I think he is the only Cadillac driver not to have recorded a finish worse than tenth. Our weight and lack of straight line speed will definitely hinder our chance at being a factor at the front this weekend. Unfortunately we need to have Andy have some bad luck, I would much rather have the chance to race him instead of putting a spell on him. ”

Teammate and team owner Tim Wiens, driving the number 3/FirsTier Bank/3R Viper, sits in tenth place in the GT driver standings. Wiens has announced that he will hang up his helmet following the Laguna race. “I have been racing for five years. I started in local events and progressed into a top ten competitor in the World Challenge Series. Bob Raub and I have a business relationship and I will stay involved as apart of 3R Racing into the future. This weekend we will be focused on trying to get Tommy’s name back on to the series champions trophy. I like the Laguna Seca circuit. When the car is handling right it is like riding a roller-coaster. I will be looking to maintain my top ten points position and rebound from some of the bad luck I have been having.”

The season finale from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will be run on Sunday, October 16th and carried live on the Speed Channel starting at 5:00 p.m. EST.

Dobson to pilot Tindol Motorsports Mazda6 in SPEED TC finale
News from Tindol Motorsports
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 5, 2005) – Tindol Motorsports has announced that Ken Dobson will join its lineup and pilot a second Mazda6 for the team at the final race of the 2005 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Oct. 16. The Monterey, Calif.-native returns to his home track, and joins the five-car Tindol lineup to help Mazda in its effort to secure the 2005 manufacturer’s championship.

A former race winner in SPEED Touring Car competition, Dobson has spent most of the season in Grand-Am Cup Sport Touring where he has been piloting a Mazda RX-8 for SpeedSource and helping Mazda secure a manufacturer’s championship in that series as well.
“I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to drive for Tindol Motorsports and represent Mazda in this very important race,” Dobson said. “This opportunity would not have been possible without help from Steve Sanders and the entire Mazdaspeed staff. Also, Chris Tindol and his team have prepared an excellent car and his trust in me to do the job means so much. My teammate, Charles Espenlaub, has already showed the strength of the car by winning in Mosport and we will go to Mazda Raceway looking for the same result.”

Currently, Mazda sits second in manufacturer’s point standings, just two points behind Acura. A winning result from Tindol Motorsports could land Mazda on top.

Steve Sanders, Manager of Mazdaspeed said, “Ken Dobson has proven his driving expertise in a number of different series and he certainly knows the fast way around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca better than most drivers. In fact, Ken literally dominated some of the Spec Miata events held at our home track over the past few years. So, it’s great to have him back and in a Mazda6 at the Speed World Challenge Touring Car finale. The Tindol Motorsports team has proven they are serious contenders this season and their strong effort has helped keep Mazda in contention for the championship. With Tindol bringing a second Mazda6 to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for Ken, our arsenal is obviously stronger now.”

Team owner Chris Tindol adds, “Ken will step into our program to add a little more gas to the fire. Charles has proven the package is competitive, now we put Ken in the seat and see if we can get the same results. We hope Ken has as much fun with the car as Charles, but we will keep our game face on. The orders from Mazda headquarters are to use all the resources you have to get the championship. This third car will let us test some new technology on the track before Sebring. This will help the development of our entire program for next year, including our third Mazda6.”

Dobson is no stranger to SPEED World Challenge. He competed in the series from 2000-2003, having twice finished fourth in the championship with a win at Mosport in 2002. In 2004, he filled in at select races, including bringing home a seventh-place finish in the season finale for RealTime Racing.

Tindol Motorsports has expanded its effort to a total of five cars at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In addition to the Mazda6 cars of Espenlaub and Dobson, the team’s three Mazda Protégés will be piloted by SPEED GT veteran Randy Hale and Rookies David MacDonald and Johnny Kanavas. 

Speed World Challenge announces 2006 Utah date
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Sept. 9, 2005) – SCCA Pro Racing announced this week that it would travel to the new Miller Motorsports Park, outside of Salt Lake City, for an SCCA SPEED World Challenge event July 14-15, 2006.

The new 511-acre facility is owned by Larry Miller, who also owns the Utah Jazz, and will feature a variety of circuit configurations, including a 4.5-mile track that will host SCCA SPEED GT and Touring Car races in conjunction with an American Le Mans Series race as part of the Utah Grand Prix.

“We’re very excited to be a part of the inaugural season at Miller Motorsports Park, which has the promise of being one of the elite facilities in North America,” SCCA Pro Racing Vice President and General Manager Mitch Wright said. “It’s also a great, untapped market for SPEED World Challenge and road racing in general. We’re really looking forward to bringing our recognizable, simple and exciting brand of racing to the Salt Lake City area.”

Alan Wilson, of Wilson Motorsport, designed the facility and serves as its general manager. Wilson is world-renowned for his race track design, including Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama and the renovation of Mont Tremblant in Quebec. Wilson was also instrumental in the development of the World Challenge when SPEED Channel became its title sponsor in 1999.

For more information about Miller Motorsports Park at www.millermotorsportspark.com

The complete SPEED World Challenge 2005 schedule of events will be released when available.

3R Racing finishes sixth and nineteenth at Mosport
News from 3R Racing
BOWMANVILLE, Canada (September 3, 2005) – 3R Racing’s Tommy Archer finished in seventh today in round ten of the SCCA Pro Racing Speed World Challenge GT series race run at Mosport International Raceway this afternoon.

The start of the 50-minute race witnessed a first turn crash that collected thirteen cars. Tommy Archer was able to avoid the carnage by nearly coming to a complete stop in the center of the mess, before picking a hole and continuing.

Teammate and team owner Tim Wiens, driving the number 3/FirsTier Bank/3R Viper, was not so lucky. The Colorado resident went through the crash and then had to take evasive action onto the grass and was suddenly spinning back into traffic where he was struck by a Corvette. The hit ended his day and resulted in substantial damage to the Viper Competition Coupe.

When the race restarted some ten laps and twenty-minutes later, Archer was in seventh. “The start was crazy. I had to come to a complete stop in turn one, pick my hole and then get going before getting rear-ended. Once the race was restarted I couldn’t get a run on Hayner to move up. Pilgrim was still in the race and I would have liked to have been in a position to go after him, but with our performance handicap I couldn’t. I would exit turn five right on Hayner’s tail and then he would leave me seven car lengths behind. Our restrictor is really holding us back.”

Tim Wiens was checked out at the infield medical center and released. “There was no where to go. I thought I saw an opening and went through and then had to go off onto the grass and then I became a passenger. Unfortunately I ended up in the middle of the track and took a hard hit from the Corvette. I have a slight pain in my foot and the car is pretty bad off.”

Archer has assumed sole possession of second place in the points and is eight behind Cadillac’s Pilgrim, 225 to 217.

Chili Pepper Racing hopeful after SCCA reduces GTO restrictor to 30%
News from Chili Pepper Racing
TORONTO, Canada (August 31, 2005) -- Chili Pepper Racing/Autosport Development readies the #7 Remote Area Medical/TC Thompson Children’s Hospital GTO for Round 10 at Mosport. Jim Osborn remains hopeful that the current round of competition adjustments will give the GTO a needed boost. “The GTO is a great racing platform” said Osborn. “It seems we have the handling but we are down on straight line speed due to our aerodynamic disadvantage…we were hoping for more of a restrictor reduction.

“We were fortunate at Denver to get the GTO into 13th position but with Mosport s long straight we will need more top speed than we have been able to accomplish to-date.”

Chili Pepper Racing’s next event is the 2005 Post Petit Lemans Charity Motorcycle Ride to benefit the Light House Family Retreat and Remote Area Medical October 1-2, 2005 in association with Road Atlanta, Autosport Development, the Flowery Branch Yacht Club, Lake Lanier Lodges, and Sports Car Revolution. For more information on the Petit Lemans weekend charity event visit www.chilipepperracing.org

Viper, Porsche and GTO receive Competition Adjustments
TOPEKA, Kan. (Aug. 29, 2005) – SCCA Pro Racing issued a technical bulletin today calling for competition adjustments for the Dodge Viper, Pontiac GTO and ’05 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in SPEED World Challenge GT competition.

Effective for this weekend’s Round 10 event at Mosport International Raceway, the Dodge Viper base weight has been reduced by 50lbs to 3100lbs. The Pontiac GTO goes from a 35 percent air restrictor to a 30 percent restrictor. The 2005 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup receives a 300 RPM reduction in rev limit from 8800 to 8500 RPM.

Data analysis and on-track performance displayed the need for the minor adjustments.

For the full technical bulletin, as well as the updated Appendix A and VTS sheets, please visit www.world-challenge.com

Johnson to step down as SCCA President, moves to Champ Car
TOPEKA, Kan. (Aug. 16, 2005) – Sports Car Club of America, Inc. President and CEO Steve Johnson announced today that he will resign from his post, effective Sept. 15, to become the President of Champ Car World Series LLC.

Johnson served as President and CEO for SCCA since June 2000, assuming the similar role with subsidiary SCCA Pro Racing in April 2001.

“Steve has been a tremendous asset to the Sports Car Club of America,” SCCA Chairman of the Board Gary Pitts said. “On behalf of the Board, we are sad to see Steve go, but wish him the very best of luck with his new position.”

“This is one of those opportunities in your life that you simply cannot pass up,” Johnson said. “I’m very confident in the team that is in place and comfortable to leave the company and Club in its current status. SCCA is financially sound, looked upon as a leader and is in the best position ever within the industry. At the risk of sounding cliché, I’m going out while we’re on top.

“While I’m moving to another motorsports sanctioning body, it is one that is very much a partner to SCCA. I understand SCCA and its strengths. I would not have had this new opportunity without my association with SCCA, and I will remain very loyal to the Club.”

The SCCA Board of Directors will begin the process to position Johnson’s successor shortly.

Denver based 3R Racing finishes sixth, seventh and tenth at home race
News from 3R Racing
DENVER, Colorado (August 14, 2005) – 3R Racing was able to put all three of their Viper Competition Coupes in the top ten today at their home race in Denver. Tommy Archer, Phil McClure and local driver Tim Wiens finished sixth, seventh and 10th, respectively, in today’s running of the SPEED World Challenge GT race, part of the Centrix Financial Grand Prix of Denver.

Archer, behind the wheel of the number 1/c3controls/3R Racing Viper, started from the fourth row and was able to navigate the streets and finish the day strong in sixth position. The Duluth, Minn. resident lost some ground today to series points leader Andy Pilgrim. Archer now trails Pilgrim by five points with 197 points.

“I got punted pretty good at the start, but there was really no damage,” said Archer. “With the restrictor I was having some trouble getting off of the turn. In the waning laps I was trying to get by the Corvette and even got up along side but I couldn’t make it stick. The car got better and better with every lap, I credit the Will Moody (team engineer) setup with that. We took a slight hit in the points to the Cadillac, but with two races remaining we have not given up.”

McClure making a return to the team after a three race sabbatical was able to cruise to a seventh-place finish. “It was a fun race,” McClure said of his seventh-place run. “The car was really good. I was fighting either end, on a street course that says a lot about the team. I had an interesting moment with the McCann Viper, I was pressuring him to get by and we had a good dice for a couple of laps. It was a nice event this weekend, it was good to get back behind the wheel and work with the 3R guys again.”

Westminster, Colorado resident Wiens, driving the number 3/FirsTier Bank/3R Racing Viper, raced hard from his 14th place qualifying position to come home in 10th and receiving the Coolest Move of The Race for his pass on the Mustang on lap 24 in turn nine. To top it off, Tim and wife Jan celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary today.

“It was a typical street course race,” Wiens said of his top-10 finish. “It was really tight racing. Anytime I’m in the top-10, I am a really happy guy. I was glad to see Tommy [Archer] and Phil [McClure] both do as well as we could with the Vipers. All in all, it was a pretty good day. The 3R Racing Viper, as always, was solid. The guys prepared the car so well. You can count on the car. It is as good at the end of the race, as it is in the beginning of the race. I couldn’t be more proud of the crew.”

Today’s race will be televised on SPEED Channel, Saturday, August 20th at 2:00 p.m. EST. Round 10 of the series will be run at Mosport Park in Canada on September 3rd. 

Tune in to win!
Speed World Challenge Mid-Ohio races air Saturday
Photos courtesy SCCA/Weber
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 26, 2005) – SCCA Pro Racing’s SPEED World Challenge GT and Touring Car Round Four races from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will premiere this Saturday, May 28 on SPEED Channel. As part of the Toyo Tires “Driven to Perform Sweepstakes,” one lucky viewer will win a set of Toyo Tires and be entered into a drawing that will award a free trip to the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

SCCA SPEED Touring Car action will open the two-hour block of SPEED World Challenge action at 3 p.m. (EDT), followed by the SPEED GT race at 4 p.m. During the SPEED GT broadcast, the Toyo Driven to Perform camera car will be revealed. Participants enter the car that carried the Toyo camera at SPEED Channel’s Web site (www.speedtv.com) and one winner will be drawn for the tires and entered into the grand prize.

In SPEED Touring Car, Peter Cunningham leads the Championship in his A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura TSX with podium finishes in all three races, including a win at Sebring. Teammate Pierre Kleinubing has been resurgent the last two races, with a second and a win at Road Atlanta. Jeff Altenburg has been consistent in his Mazda 6 and currently sits second in points with three top five finishes. Others looking to fight their way to the front include Matt Richmond (BMW), RealTime’s Eric Curran, Nick Esayian and rookie Brandon Davis, and Altenburg’s teammates Randy Pobst and Dino Crescentini.

In SPEED GT, Tommy Archer entered Mid-Ohio as the series point leader in his No. 1 c3controls / 3R-Racing Dodge Viper off the strength of his two wins to open the season. Team Cadillac brought a lot of momentum to the scenic circuit though, coming off of its 1-2-3 podium sweep at Road Atlanta in April led by “Mad” Max Papis. They have again enlisted Mid-Ohio specialist John Heinricy to pilot the third car, alongside Papis and Andy Pilgrim. Drivers looking to shake disappointing finishes at Atlanta include Robin Liddell (Porsche), Wolf Henzler (Porsche) and Lou Gigliotti (Corvette).

Both races will be rebroadcast a number of times on SPEED Channel. Check the network’s searchable program guide at www.speedtv.com  for all broadcast times.

For more information about the SCCA SPEED World Challenge, please visit www.world-challenge.com.

Two Cadillacs finish on Mid-Ohio SPEED GT Podium
Heinricy second, Papis third and Pilgrim fifth for Team Cadillac
News from Team Cadillac
LEXINGTON, Ohio, (May 21, 2005) - With a pair of Cadillac drivers on the podium and a trio of CTS-Vs among the top-five finishers, Team Cadillac took another stride toward the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT championship today at the manicured Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. GM Performance Division director John Heinricy was runner-up in a guest appearance with Team Cadillac, while full-time drivers Max Papis and Andy Pilgrim finished third and fifth respectively in the fourth round of the SPEED GT. Cadillac moved into first place in the manufacturers championship with a four-point margin over Porsche and Dodge.

Heinricy started on the outside of the front row and stalked the Porsche 911 of race winner Wolf Henzler throughout the 29-lap race. After two extended caution periods, Heinricy's run fell .657 seconds short of victory.

"My CTS-V was everything I could ask for, and the team picked the right setup for the race," said Heinricy, a multiple winner at Mid-Ohio. "I concentrated on saving the tires in the early stages of the race and cooled them down during the caution periods. When it got down to seven laps to the finish, it was time to go. I pushed as hard as I could, but the Porsche was just too fast today."

Papis had a clear view of the action as he ran in third place from flag to flag. "I was minding my tires at the beginning of the race and I was waiting to see if John could put pressure on the guy in front," he said. "That's two podium finishes in a row for me, and our goal is to win the manufacturers championship for Cadillac, so it was a good
day."

With today's results, Team Cadillac has now scored six podium finishes in four events this season.

"We had strong runs by all three Cadillac drivers," said Team Cadillac program Manager Dave Spitzer. "I wish John and Max could have gotten around the Porsche, but it appeared that he had a lot in reserve. We gave our guys the best cars we could, and I'm very proud of the team and the level of preparation. That was everything we've got, but it wasn't quite enough today."

Pilgrim started fourth, lost a position to Corvette driver Lou Gigliotti on the second lap, and then held his ground to finish fifth. Second in the drivers championship going into the Mid-Ohio round, Pilgrim was carrying 150 pounds of success ballast.

"It was a fairly uneventful race for me, yet stressful at the same time because I had cars right behind me and right in front of me for most of the race," Pilgrim reported. "I
wasn't surprised when Gigliotti passed me because he had a problem in qualifying. At the end I was trying very hard to pass him, but it wasn't possible with the REWARDS weight my car is carrying, especially through the left-right-left corners. All in all, it was a good finish."

The SPEED GT race at Mid-Ohio will be televised on the SPEED Channel at 4 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 28. The next round of the 11-race series will be the Grand Prix of Cleveland, held at the Burke Lakefront Airport on June 24-26.

GMAC / Trenton Forging #5 GTO Mid-Ohio pre-race report
Hayner ready to pick up where he left off at Atlanta
Photo ©  John Thawley
DETROIT - May 17, 2005 The #5 GMAC Commercial Finance / Trenton Forging GTO, driven by Stu Hayner, heads to Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course in Lexington, Ohio for the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT race presented by Trenton Forging Quality Formed Solutions. The series is running as part of the American Le Mans event May 20-22. The World Challenge events will run Saturday and Sunday and air on SPEED Channel Saturday, May 28 at 3pm and 4pm.

“The SPEED World Challenge Weekend presented by Trenton Forging Quality Formed Solutions is an exciting event for us,” commented Autosport Development and Trenton Forging owner, David Moxlow. “Our customer base is very strong here in the Midwest. We have 300 or more guests joining the team along with our friends from Motorsports Ministries and Sports Car Revolution for the weekend festivities. We intend to make them all big fans of the SPEED World Challenge Series and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course!”

“We’re really hoping to do well this weekend,” commented driver, Stu Hayner. “This is a big weekend for our sponsor, Trenton Forging. We’ve got a lot going on. Not only is Trenton Forging the title sponsor for the weekend, but, as David said, we are entertaining a lot of folks from GMAC Commercial Finance, Trenton Forging and PR Machine. We intend to show them a great time.”

“We made a lot of progress with our run at Road Atlanta last month,” continued Hayner. “It was good to get a full race under our belt and be able to shift our focus to the car set-ups and performance. We think we’ve made some gains since then… especially in the handling department. The guys have made some changes to the car that will give us a lot more adjustability in the spring rate and help to better balance the car. Those changes will ultimately allow us to get more aggressive with the car. We feel our speed is good. We just need to be able to get in and out of the corners with more predictability. It’s really starting to come along.”

“The team did some testing with Jim Osborn in the car last week,” Hayner went on. “They came back very encouraged with the changes and Jim was excited to get some seat time in the car.”

Osborn will pilot the #7 GTO slated to debut next month at the Cleveland Grand Prix. Osborn’s Chili Pepper Racing team is one of the more popular teams in the World Challenge Touring Car division and widely recognized for their charity work in the medical field. Osborn currently drives the #24 Remote Area Medical / Children’s Hospital / Trenton Forging BMW.

In other activities, Hayner and Osborn are taking time out to pay a visit to patients being treated at the Columbus Children’s Hospital.

“It’s great to get to do this,” commented Osborn. “It’s nice to meet the patients and their families. You realize that it’s pretty much impossible for many of them to attend a race. So it’s always a pleasure signing autographs and talking about our cars and racing.”

Autosport Development competes as part of the SPEED World Challenge GT Series. All events are nationally televised on SPEED channel (formerly Speedvision). In 2005 the SPEED World Challenge Series schedule will include street races in Denver and St. Petersburg, and make the traditional stops around the country at great tracks like Sebring, Road Atlanta, Lime Rock Park, Infineon, Mosport, Cleveland, Portland, Road America, Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca.

Herr takes over Air Force Reserve Focus in SPEED Touring Car
Photo ©  Preston Li © 2005
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 9, 2005) – Techsport and The Air Force Reserve have announced that Chip Herr, of Litiz, Pa., will take over the controls of the Techsport/Air Force Reserve Ford Focus for the remainder of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car season.

Herr replaces Memo Gidley, who had competed in 11 SPEED Touring Car races for Techsport dating back to the beginning of 2004.

“This is a great opportunity to run a competitive car for the remainder of the season, and I am looking forward to driving the car for the first time,” Herr said. “Representing the Air Force Reserve is a huge honor, and I cannot wait to get back in a front wheel drive car.”

Focused on repeating the success that made him the 2004 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Rookie of the Year runner-up, the 22-year old Herr switches teams after previously driving an Audi A4 Quattro as part of the Team STaSIS effort through the first three rounds of this season.

In 13 career SPEED Touring Car starts, Herr has amassed three top-10 finishes including a sixth-place finish at Lime Rock Park last season. In 2003, he earned nine podium finishes in 11 events en route to winning the inaugural Mazdaspeed Miata Cup Presented by Hankook Atlantic Tour Championship.

“We are excited to get Chip in the car and I am confident that he will be challenging for overall wins right away,” team owner Andy Brown said. “It is important for Techsport and the Air Force Reserve to have a professional and talented driver, and I am sure Chip will do a great job for the team.”

Herr will don the AFR colors immediately, beginning with round four of the 2005 SPEED World Challenge slate – the SPEED World Challenge Presented by Trenton Forging Quality Formed Solutions, May 20-22, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Gidley will continue to represent the Air Force Reserve in Grand-Am competition.

Turbocharged!
Irish Mike's Racing and Subaru return to Speed World Challenge TC
Photos courtesy Irish Mike's Racing
ORLANDO, Fla. (March 3, 2005)–Michael Flynn is hoping that the third time is indeed a charm, and that the luck of the Irish will be him.  He is taking a Subaru to Sebring for the third year, but instead of the normally aspirated Subaru Impreza 2.5L that he has worked with for the past two years, Michael’s #26 will be a new 2004 Subaru WRX with the 2.0L turbocharged engine.  This year will mark the initial debut of a forced induction racecar into the World Challenge Touring Series.   

The Subaru Impreza WRX in the turbo configuration has competed successfully in the World Rally Championship as well as in SCCA Pro Rally and Solo II, and has racked up victories in all of these venues.  However, this is a first for turbocharged engines in the World Challenge Touring Series, and is the maiden appearance of the Subaru WRX.  

Teaming up with Irish Mike’s Racing this year will be GPMoto, Inc., out of Portland, Oregon.  Shawn Logan, owner of GPMoto, and Eric Witte both expressed enthusiasm about being teamed with Irish Mike’s Racing.  GPMoto has developed a complete product line to help the Subaru go fast on the track or on the street.  A complete line of performance parts from headers to turbo kits to adjustable coil over shocks, every thing a Subaru owner could want, can be found on their website at www.ej255.com. The number 26 is carrying the new GPMoto headers. 

The Subaru was set up using the data that Irish Mike’s Racing has been able to gather over the past two years with the normally aspirated racecar.  

Although dropping out of the Speed World Challenge before the 2004 season ended, Michael continued to deliver stunning performances in SCCA Club Racing and currently sits atop the standing for ITS class in Central Florida Region, and is tuning up for Sebring.

If the performance is as expected at Sebring, and SCCA Pro moves ahead with completing the competition rules for the forced induction entries, Michael has two additional chassis that are sitting in the race shop ready to be complete as turbocharged racecars.

For more information check out the websites: www.irishmikes.com  and or contact Sam Watkins at samwatkins@irishmikes.com.    GPMoto’s web site is www.ej255.com.  

Speed World Challenge adds Cleveland to 2005 docket
Event replaces Road America weekend
Photos courtesy Grand Prix of Cleveland and SCCA/Weber
TOPEKA, Kan. (March 1, 2005) – SCCA Pro Racing Ltd. and the Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland announced today the addition of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT and Touring Car Championships to the June 24-26 event at Burke Lakefront Airport, in Cleveland, Ohio.

The event will replace the Aug. 19-21 race weekend at Road America on both series’ schedules.

“We’re thrilled with the addition of the Grand Prix of Cleveland to our SPEED World Challenge schedule,” SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Steve Johnson said. “Any time you can race within a metropolitan area, it’s a bonus, but Cleveland also offers decades of rich road racing history, with a great layout, great sports fans and great race fans. We know that our brand of racing will be a big hit along the shores of Lake Erie.

“Additionally, from a series standpoint, an event of this stature brings tremendous benefits to our current fans, teams and sponsors.”

“We’ve discussed having the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships in Cleveland for some time, and are happy to make that a reality in 2005,” Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland General Manager Rena Shanaman said. “These series bring a unique form of racing with cars that even casual race fans and automotive enthusiasts can relate to. We believe that we’ve made a tremendous event even better with the addition of the SPEED World Challenge at the Grand Prix of Cleveland.”

The 2005 Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland marks the 24th-consecutive event at Burke Lakefront Airport, which sits minutes away from both the Rock &