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PARTNERS
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News For July 18th, 2009
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Mass Confusion Yields Unexpected Finish |
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Joliet, IL – NASA Midwest 944 Spec had an action packed weekend at Autobahn Country Club. The weekend resulted in getting family & friends out for NASA’s annual family day, raising money for children’s charities, and enjoying great racing with some fun twists thrown in. Andy Berberich and the Eurosport 944 finished first, second, and third for the three-race weekend. A spin in race two and a twist in race three resulted in a real shake up for 944 Spec. Just over half way through the season, Berberich and the Eurosport 944 is currently holding a 50-point lead in the 944 Spec series championship. |
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One weekend a year, NASA Midwest hosts a family day in order to get everyone involved in the racing excitement. Several racers brought their families, who enjoyed a bounce house,
pedal car races, and several other fun activities. It was a toss up who had more fun; the big kids (aka drivers) or the little kids.
Meanwhile, the morning race started with some excitement of its own, as the front-runners picked their way through the Spec Miata hordes. Berberich managed traffic well, and pulled the Eurosport 944 into a comfortable lead from the pole. Eric Kuhns and Ray Freundt changed places three times in the early laps, before slower traffic held up Freundt and gave Kuhns some breathing room to come in second behind Berberich. Freundt held onto third. New comers Joel Karns, Michael Palmer and Mike Dalton rounded out the field respectively. In the second race Saturday, a series of miscues on weight and some racing infractions affected much of the field. The grid was set by the finishing order of the first race, regardless of class. The grid resulted in all cars intermixed, but all comparable in lap times. Even with the mixed grid, Berberich and Kuhns approached the starter side by side. “Eric got a fantastic start.” Berberich remembered. “His lane took off and all I could do was see him get smaller and smaller. After the shake out, there were six to eight cars between us. My task was to pass the cars, catch Eric, pass Eric, and stay in front.” It took several laps, but Berberich was able to filter through the traffic, catch Kuhns, and finally pass for the lead. Due to the different strengths between the cars, a battle ensued. “I was faster than Eric in the first part of the track and he was faster in the second half. I would create a slight gap and he would close it up and initiate a pass. We battled for several laps swapping positions and racing very hard.” In one of these hard racing moments, the Eurosport 944 encountered a light tap that resulted in a spin. The spin was minor, but traffic made things worse. Unable to avoid the situation, a Legends car contacted the Eurosport 944 in the right rear quarter panel. (The same quarter panel damaged at Watkins Glen.) The contact rendered the Legends car disabled on the track and caused the Eurosport 944 to exit the race early. What ensued still leaves several people scratching their heads. With the Legends car disabled, the pace car came out and the track went full yellow. In the sake of safety and at the last minute, the race officials decided to bring the field into pit lane and off the track. Before the track was able to go full course black, the pace car pulled into pit lane. Several people followed the pace car, but others stayed on the track. A small number who stayed on the track were disqualified for passing the pace car. This situation, several underweight issues, and other infractions riddled the 944 Spec class down to two drivers. Michael Dalton was the only 944 Spec driver to stay out of trouble, which earned him his first 944 Spec win! Berberich was the other driver who, besides being one lap down, rounded out the class in second place and with yet another track record of 1:42.637. Sunday brought yet another twist into the racing: a pursuit race for 944 Spec. Handicapped by their fastest times from the previous days’ races, each driver was staged and released from pit lane according to their calculated finish time. Theoretically, all cars would cross the finish line at the same time. In the end, 2/3rd’s of the 944 Spec class was within ¼ lap at the finish. This made for some exciting racing, with Palmer and Dalton battling through the last lap, and Kuhns using their sparring to his advantage, passing them both just before the white flag. Berberich put on a heady charge from the back after being released into the middle of the rest of the field and racing door to door with Freundt for an entire lap. Series Rookie Palmer drove consistently to finish second. Berberich, Freundt, Karns, & Dalton raced cleanly to finish out the weekend for the six car field. As the class keeps getting larger, Co-op Racing anticipates that the competition will get stronger as well. Just over half way through the season, Berberich and the Eurosport 944 is currently holding a 50-point lead in the 944 Spec series championship. Be sure to check the schedule for the upcoming events and races. Also see the NASA current standings at www.nasamidwest.com/results. |
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SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR RACING PARTNERSEurosport Racing is a premiere Midwest Porsche street and race specialist. They specialize in Porsche service, track support and transport, engine design and rebuilding, dyno tuning, and suspension setup and alignment. They also offer a full line of OEM, aftermarket, and high performance parts and accessories. More information on Eurosport Racing can be found at www.midwesteurosport.comKauth and Mayeur provides the finest import services in Peoria, IL. They offer a wide range of maintenance and repair services for import cars. Specializing in high performance streetcars. Kauth and Mayeur can be reached at (309) 673-1412 or http://www.kauthmayeur.com. |
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