
MILLVILLE, N.J. (June 2, 2013) – The SCCA Eastern Conference Majors Tour capped it’s penultimate event of the season with Round 10 on Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park, in an event that was well supported by drivers, workers, the South Jersey Region and the track.
With just one event and two races left to go, points were at a premium during Sunday’s competition.
Once again, the Formula 500 and Formula Vee fields highlight the opening group with multi-car battles. Tom Shaughnessy’s No. 17 QRE/Hoosier/Social Security Invader QC1/Rotax and Don Colanero’s No. 18 Scuderia Frenzinta Racing KBS Mark V/Rotax each led early, and with the duo joined part way through the 22-lap race by Brian Heun’s No. 26 Scuderia Frenzinta Racing QRE QC-1 Invader.
The three headed into Turn 1 with three different lines on Lap 17, with Heun getting the run around the back portion of the circuit and into the lead as the trio dove into the hard-braking right hand Turn Four. Once in front, Heun opened up a lead and scored the win, followed by Shaughnessy and Colanero.
The Formula Vee battle was three deep early, increased to four deep, and then was settled by the top two drivers over the final laps. Saturday winner Stevan Davis, who started from the rear of the field in the No. 80 Hoosier/Butler Engines/Roxannes Head Racer’s Wedge SB-1/VW, joined the front running trio of Richard Shields, Roger Siebenaler and Jonathan Weisheit. Shields’ No. 77 ARS Inc./Veesport Racing Vdf-2/VW and Siebnenaler’s No. 72 Autowerks/Hoosier Tire Mysterian M-2 each led early, prior to the field growing from four to three.
On lap 14, Davis and Weisheit’s No. 61 JK Technologies Protoform P3 made contact on lap 14, sending Weisheit off course and dropping Davis well behind Shields and Siebenaler in the battle for the lead. Davis was penalized by the stewards for the incident.
The two remaining battlers crossed the stripe side by side to start the final lap. Siebenaler outran Shields to the finish line, getting the win and leaving Shields with his second runner-up of the weekend.
Sunday’s Super Touring Lite battle raged behind the overall and Touring 1 winner Andrew Aquilante’s No. 35 Phoenix/Hawk/Hoosier Ford Mustang Boss 302.
Bob Beede started on the pole in the No. 21 Bill Fenton Motorsports Honda Civic Si, and led the opening six laps of the race before Greg Amy’s No. 33 Hoosier/HPD/Kessler Engineering Acura Integra moved into the point. Never separated by more than a few car lengths, the pair circulated through the field, with Beede moving back into the lead on lap 12.
Once in front, Beede held the lead, though Amy was in his mirrors for the remainder.
Cliff White’s No. 59 Cottage Senior Living Spec Racer Ford led from the pole, and then fell back on lap three following an off course excursion. He wasn’t the only one to experience trouble on that lap, however, as multiple cars ran off the course in Turn Two and a collision in Turn Four brought out the full course caution.
White lined up on the lap nine restart behind Jeffrey Lehner’s No. 77 Johnstown Auto Parts SRF and Bruce Myers’ No. 28 Seacoast Physiatry SRF, with White taking the lead into Turn One on lap 10. Once in front, White drove away to his second win of the weekend, with Trey Ayres coming from sixth on the restart to second overall in the No. 71 Ayres Racing SRF.
The GT-1 battle, for the second straight day, was neck and neck early. Jim McAleese lined up second in the No. 02 McAleese & Associates / Jetco Engineering Chevrolet Corvette, and hounded Saturday’s winner Dillon Machavern from the start. Machavern’s No. 29 Heritage Automotive/UniFirst/Crane Ford Falcon stayed in front of a number of outbraking maneuvers by McAleese into the first corner, until on Lap 16, McAleese went to the inside and spun.
Machavern was able to get away from McAleese, who recovered to finish second.
Chris Dryden ran away and hid from the field for an overall E Production win in the Prod Group, his second of the weekend. Dryden’s No. 02 PayPal/Carbotech/Team JBS BMW Z3 cleared the No. 00 GK Construction BMW325i of Greg Kasprzyk on lap three, and then set sail for the checkered flag over the remaining incident-free 22 laps. Along with Dryden, Jerry Hinkle swept the weekend in his F Production No. 66 Element One Associates Lotus Seven.
Brian Price started his Touring 4 No. 51 RP Performance/Unlimited Auto Body/Hoosier Mazda Miata on the overall pole in Group Six, also including Spec Miata. Price stayed just ahead of the field for the overall win, with Matt Ferris chasing him in the No. 06 S.A.C. Racing Spec Miata.
Ferris raced relatively unchallenged to the Spec Miata win, with Elivan Goulart’s No. 74 S.A.C Racing/SCDA1.com Mazda Miata and Saturday winner Alex Bolanos’ No. 5 Autotechnik/Momo/Apex Alignment Mazda Miata on the podium.
The Group Seven race, “wings and things”, saw their race shortened to 17 laps when a car spun and stalled in Turn 11, blocking part of the track, while at nearly the same time an incident in Turn One needed addressed. Stewards determined that there was not enough time to gather the field behind the pace car, clean up both incidents, and get restarted before the 22 lap count ended.
The shortened race left Garrett Kletjian’s D Sports Racing No. 01 George Dean Race Engines Stohr WF-1 Suzuki in the overall lead. Kletjian had passed the No. 79 Company Motorsport Swift 014a Formula Atlantic winner of Connor Burke on Lap 14.
The Formula 1000 race was a cat and mouse game, with Alex Mayer’s No. 77 Mayer Motorsports/Autoworks Elan DP-04 moving around Jonathan Scarallo on lap seven. Scarallo’s No. 21 Philadelphia Motorsports Park DB-F1000 chased Mayer to the finish, but never found a way around and settled for second.
The final two rounds of the Eastern Conference Majors Tour are at during the BFGoodrich Tires Watkins Glen Super Tour at Watkins Glen International, July 5-7. The doubleheader will end the season at one of the iconic tracks in the country. More information is available at www.scca.com. Like SCCA on Facebook at Facebook.com/SCCAOfficial, or follow on Twitter @SCCAOfficial. Live timing and notes are available on Sunday at www.scca.com/SCCALive. Millville, N.J. - Provisional race winners for Sunday’s SCCA Eastern Conference Majors Tour Round 10 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Drivers are listed by Class: name, hometown, and car. American Sedan: Michael Lavigne, Hooksett, N.H., Ford Mustang B-Spec: David Rosenblum, Langhorne, Pa., Ford Fiesta C Sports Racing: Steven Durst, Medford, N.J., Ball Brothers Special D Sports Racing: Garrett Kletjian, Hingham, Mass., Stohr WF1/Suzuki Formula 500: Brian Heun, Linwood, N.J., QRE Invader QC-1/Rotax Formula 1000: Alex Mayer, Harleysville, Pa., Elon DP-04 Formula Atlantic: Connor Burke, Rumson, N.J., Swift 014/Toyota Formula Continental: Chuck Moran, Oakton, Va., Van Diemen RF99/Ford Formula Enterprise: Justin Huffman, Herndon, Va., Formula Enterprises/Mazda Formula F: Ross Devoe, Middletown, N.J., Van Diemen FF Formula Mazda: Andrew Charbonneau, Delray Beach, Fla., Formula Mazda Formula Vee: Roger Siebenaler, North Hero, Vt., Mysterian M-2/VW E Production: Chris Dryden, New Freedom, Pa., BMW Z3 F Production: Jerry Hinkle, Catonsville, Md., Lotus Seven H Production: Sam Moore, Kannapolis, N.C., Honda Civic Si GT-1: Dillon Machavern, Charlotte, Vt., Ford Falcon GT-2: Jim Goughary, Houston, Texas, Nissan 350Z GT-3: James Ashe, Prospect, Conn., Mazda RX-7 GT-Lite: Bob Dowie, Chester, N.Y., Nissan 200SX Spec Miata: Matt Ferris, Pawling, N.Y., Mazda Miata Spec Racer Ford: Cliff White, Huntsville, Ala., Spec Racer Ford Sports 2000: Christopher Mosley, Rumson, N.J., Shannon S093/Ford Super Touring Lite: Bob Beede, Greenwich, Conn., Honda Civic Si Touring 1: Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., Ford Mustang Touring 2: David Sanders, Exton, Pa., Chevrolet Corvette Touring 3: Chip Williams, Durham, Ct., Nissan 350Z Touring 4: Brian Price, Middletown, Va., Mazda Miata
Jersey Devil National-US Majors Showcase 2013 U.S. Majors Tour