FONFERKO CAPTURES FIRST CAREER WIN AT MID-OHIO
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FONFERKO CAPTURES FIRST CAREER WIN AT MID-OHIO
LEXINGTON, OHIO (August 11, 2002) –Ross Fonferko, of Wheaton, Ill., won
Round Ten of the 2002 Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship at the Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course. Completing the top-three was J.W. Urlin, of London, Ont.,
Can., and Matthew McDonough, of West Newbury, Mass. Ron Thomas, of Galena,
Ohio, won the American Continental Championship class.
Race two of the doubleheader at Mid-Ohio, run in conjunction with the CART
FedEx Championship, began in hot and humid conditions. At the start, the
polesitter, Sean McIntosh, maintained the lead ahead of Urlin and Bryan
Sellers. McIntosh and Urlin quickly built up a sizeable lead, while a battle
ensued for second place. On lap 2, Sellers and Lawson Aschenbach made
contact while fighting for the position, ending Aschenbach’s day. On the
following lap, a full-course caution was displayed for Tom Dyer going
off-course in the Keyhole. On the restart, the top-five cars went
nose-to-tail into turn one. McIntosh held the lead, while Fonferko passed
Sellers, in a damaged car, for third place. For the next three laps, the
top-three remained unchanged, with Fonferko steadily closing the gap on
Urlin, in the No. 19 Budget Rent a Car/Mygale Cars OTM Motorsports Mygale
Ford. On lap 11, Fonferko got a good run on Urlin, making the pass for
position. Immediately following the change in the top-three, a second
full-course caution was displayed for James Gue, who had become stuck in the
turn 11 gravel trap. On the lap 15 restart, Fonferko got a good draft on
McIntosh, and passed for the lead in the famed Keyhole turn. Upon losing the
lead, McIntosh was immediately under pressure from Urlin, who took the
position later in the lap. Within a lap of taking the lead, Fonferko, in the
No. 4 J&R Associates/Ross Racing Inc. Cape Motorsports Van Diemen Ford,
built up a four second gap. With the first two positions looking to be
secure, all eyes focused on the battle for the final podium position.
McDonough in the No. 6 TASC Technical Services/GTP Engineering Van Diemen
Ford looked to be the quickest car, having moved up from his eighth place
starting position to fourth place. On lap 17, McDonough passed McIntosh to
move into third place and began to close on Urlin. As the 22-lap race
approached its conclusion, McDonough repeatedly challenged Urlin for
position, but was unable to make a pass. At the checkered flag, Fonferko had
captured his first career Zetec Championship win, by 1.004 seconds.
“I’m elated with the results this weekend,” said Fonferko, who ran two
Zetec Championship races in 2001, after winning the Jim Russell Triple Crown
Championship. “After starting fifth, I honestly didn’t think I had any
chance to win. All the thanks has to go to the Cape’s, who gave me a
fantastic car all weekend long.”
“It was good to see a lot of passing out there,” said Urlin, who remains
fourth in the championship. “The Zetec Championship is a learning series,
and we keep learning every race. I think our day will come.”
“My engineer Glenn [Philips] gave me a phenomenal car,” said McDonough, who
captured his first career podium finish. “I got a couple runs on J.W.
[Urlin] late in the race, but a yellow flag ruined my best chance. The team
is getting stronger every race and I’m very much looking forward to the next
few races.”
“I really wanted the win today,” said Thomas. “Yesterday we were running up
front and battling some of the Zetec cars for position when we got a flat
tire. Maybe next time I’ll have a Zetec car, they look like a lot fun to
drive.”
Completing the top-five was McIntosh, of Coquitlam, B.C., Can., in the No.
24 Kirmac Carstar/PPG/Lordco Auto Parts/Sign Way Design/NKG Spark Plugs PR1
Motorsports Van Diemen Ford, and Edouard Aube, of Montreal, Que., Can., in
the No. 22 PATTISON Richard Morgan Racing Van Diemen Ford. Sellers maintains
the Zetec Championship point standings lead, by 17 points over Jeffrey
Jones, after finishing 22nd.
- 30 -
LEXINGTON, OHIO – Race results for the 22-lap, 49.676-mile Round Ten race at
the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with finishing position, starting position
in parenthesis, driver, hometown, class, car, laps completed and reason out
if any.
1. (5), Ross Fonferko(R), Wheaton, Ill., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
2. (2), J.W. Urlin, London, Ont., Can., F2A, Mygale Ford, 22.
3. (8), Matthew McDonough(R), West Newbury, Mass., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
4. (1), Sean McIntosh(R), Coquitlam, B.C., Can., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
5. (6), Edouard Aube(R), Montreal, Que., Can., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
6. (7), Anthony Massari(R), Miami, Fla., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
7. (11), Mark Wilkins(R), Toronto, Ont., Can., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
8. (18), Jeffrey Jones(R), Sarasota, Fla., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
9. (9), Ricardo Imery(R), Caracas, Venezuela, F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
10. (13), Scott Rubenzer, Brookfield, Wis., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
11. (15), Tonis Kasemets, Mundelein, Ill., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
12. (20), Travis Irving(R), Chino Hills, Calif., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
13. (16), Andy Brumbaugh(R), Blythewood, S.C., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
14. (19), Jon Groom, Boonton, N.J., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
15. (22), Ron Thomas, Galena, Ohio, ACC, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
16. (23), Scott Dick, Cincinnati, Ohio, ACC, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
17. (25), Chris Dona, Sandown, N.H., ACC, Van Diemen Ford, 22.
18. (10), Tom Dyer, San Rafael, Calif., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 20.
19. (24), Jeff Sakowicz, Camarillo, Calif., ACC, Mygale Ford, 19, OFF.
20. (12), James Gue(R), Roswell, Ga., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 19.
21. (21), Kip Meeks, Grove City, Ohio, ACC, Van Diemen Ford, 15, AXLE.
22. (4), Bryan Sellers, Centerville, Ohio, F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 14,
SUSPENSION.
23. (17), David Clarke(R), West Palm Beach, Fla., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 13,
SUSPENSION.
24. (27), Dick Rose, Powell, Ohio, ACC, Van Diemen Ford, 3, MECH.
25. (3), Lawson Aschenbach(R), Gaithersburg, Md., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 3,
SUSPENSION.
26. (14), Matt Green, Jacksonville, Fla., F2A, Van Diemen Ford, 0, DNS.
27. (26), Jeff Kowalik, Oshkosh, Wis., ACC, Van Diemen Ford, 0, DNS.
Time of race: 35 minutes, 09.364 seconds.
Average speed: 84.780 miles-per-hour
Margin of victory: 1.0039 seconds
Lap leaders: # 24 1- 14 Sean McIntosh(R)
# 4 15- 22 Ross Fonferko(R)
Fastest race lap: Ross Fonferko(R), 1:23.324 (97.556 mph)
Allan Craighead
Director of Public Relations
Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship
3608 Morris St. North
St. Petersburg, Fla. 33713
727-522-7544
303-883-8521 Cell
www.usf2000.com
