Park Officials Land On Podium At History of Speed
Millville, N.J. (October 2, 2009) -
A little bit of local knowledge obviously came in handy for Friday's enduro race.
New Jersey Motorsports Park staff and officials comprised half of the podium at the conclusion of Friday’s Motor Check On-Site Enduro, the two-hour race open to all cars participating at this weekend’s History of Speed Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) races.
After two hours of hard racing, A.J. Smith and Chris Schneider found themselves on the top step of the podium after completing 71 laps in the No. 92 Pratt & Miller RM2. The endurance race, a challenging sidebar to the sprint races that comprise most of the vintage weekend, included two mandatory pit stops that lasted a minimum of five minutes each.
Lee Brahin, a New Jersey Motorsports Park principal, and Joe Volpe, Director of Motorsports at New Jersey Motorsports Park, finished second behind Smith and Schneider - with the Brahin-owned No. 195 Lola T296 the only other car on the lead lap.
The local pair may have had a shot at the win, but one mid-race penalty led to another and put the pair behind Smith and Schneider. With Volpe in the car and battling for the lead, the No. 195 and another machine touched. While the contact didn’t really affect either machine and would have gone unnoticed in most race series, the SVRA has strict policies against contact to protect both the drivers and the value of the vintage race cars.
That contact forced officials to send both cars down pit lane for a stop-and-go penalty. Trying to hold the lead, Volpe was assessed another stop-and-go penalty for speeding off of pit lane.
Brahin, who began the race, climbed back behind the wheel at the final five minute pit stop, but couldn’t catch the duo of Smith and Schneider.
“This was way to much fun,” said Brahin, who has extensive vintage racing experience. “By the end, the tires were shot. Joe got those black flags. In the last few laps, I didn’t even know if the car was going to make it another lap.”
Facility General Manager Kevin Wittman became the third Park official on the podium, joining Jim Stengel in Stengel’s No. 93 Pratt & Miller RM2. Stengel and Wittman were in the sister car to Smith and Schneider’s No. 92.
The History of Speed continues Saturday and Sunday, with vintage cars on track almost non-stop from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are available at the gate or through www.njmp.com.