SCCA (SPEED WORLD CHALLENGE) - THE MOST RELEVANT ROAD RACING IN THE WORLD
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Now in its 18th consecutive year, SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge has built its legacy around providing fans the most competitive road racing in the world, and the series has earned well-deserved praise the past few years from publications such as Car & Driver and RACER Magazine for doing just that. But what really sets SPEED World Challenge GT and Touring Car apart from all other series is the "everyday" element it brings each event. World-class drivers piloting production-based cars that come from more than 15 auto manufacturers - it's a formula that has and will continue to serve the interests of manufacturers, drivers and, most importantly, automotive enthusiasts and race fans.
SPEED World Challenge - this is how racing should be
Long Beach Street Fighters
After the jaw-dropper that was last year's SPEED GT race on the streets of Long Beach, who wouldn't want a repeat performance? On the final lap, Ron Fellows executed a spectacular pass on the outside of Michael McCann in Turn Nine to take the lead and the win. The move was even nominated for a SPEED Performance Award in the "Best Finish" category. All the protaginists from 2006 and then some return this weekend to Long Beach, so don't bother sitting down, because SPEED GT is going to have you on your feet all weekend!
SPEED GT - Familiar Faces, New Rides
Riding high atop the point sheet coming into Long Beach is Eric Curran (No. 30 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Corvette). After four years of racing in the SPEED Touring Car class, Curran made a triumphant return to SPEED GT at Sebring. Starting outside the front row, Curran mastered the damp, but drying track to take a dominant victory. Curran appears to be comfortable in his new ride, but this weekend will be his first visit to the streets of Long Beach. Perhaps his teammate Sonny Whelen (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Corvette) will offer some insight on the seaside circuit.
Just eight points behind Curran is the defending SPEED GT Champion Lawson Aschenbach. Aschenbach had a tough time at Long Beach last year, qualifying sixth and spinning twice before finishing eighth. Will an off-season switch from Porsche to the No. 1 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose Cadillac CTS-V improve Aschenbach's luck at Long Beach? It doesn't hurt that Cadillac won here in 2006, but it also means Aschenbach's main competition will be his own teammates Andy Pilgrim (No. 8 Cadillac CTS-V) and last year's Long Beach winner, Ron Fellows (No. 16 Cadillac CTS-V).
Some names you didn't hear at Long Beach last year, but are sure to recognize, are those of former SPEED GT Champions Randy Pobst and Michael Galati. The former Champion Audi teammates have reunited in SPEED GT this year in the No. 22 and No. 23 K-PAX Racing Porsche 911 GT3s. K-PAX racing may be a new team, but signing a pair of drivers that have won six World Challenge Drivers' Championships between them shows just how serious they are about winning races and defending the Manufacturers' Title for Porsche. Both Pobst and Galati had top-ten finishes at Sebring.
Another Porsche to keep your eye on this weekend is the No. 14 Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3 of James Sofronas. Hailing from nearby Newport Beach, Calif., Sofronas will be the hometown favorite this weekend. He finished fifth here last year, which is also where he finished at Sebring in March. Cruising on home turf with the California crowd behind him could be just what Sofronas needs to propel him to his first series-victory.
Although his season got off to an inconspicuous start at Sebring, where he finished eighth, Tommy Archer (No. 5 MOPAR/ Autohaus Motorsport Dodge Viper) is a strong candidate for a podium finish this weekend. In addition to being last year's Long Beach polesitter, Archer clocked the fastest race lap on his way to an eventual second-place finish, despite battling an electrical problem
Representing Hollywood, Calif., is former Trans-Am winner Tomy Drissi. Piloting the No. 15 Next-The Movie Chevrolet Corvette, Drissi is coming off his first SPEED World Challenge career-podium at Sebring. Drissi's only other SPEED GT top-ten finish came here, at Long Beach in 2006, and he won a Trans-Am race here in 2000. Drissi's teammate Lou Gigliotti (No. 28 LG Pro Long Tube Headers Chevrolet Corvette) may not be from Hollywood, but he is a reality TV star in his own right. Gigliotti's bad luck from the SPEED reality show "Forza Motorsport Showdown," continued at Sebring last month where the series veteran qualified a promising third, but exited the race early with mechanical problems. Gigliotti will be pushing for a stronger finish at Long Beach, where he finished fourth in 2006.
After coming within a few corners of winning this race last year, Michael McCann will be out for redemption this weekend. Piloting the No. 82 McCann Plastics/K&N Filters Dodge Viper, McCann looked to have his second career-win in the bag on the streets of Long Beach, but was out-foxed by the Cadillac of Fellows in Turn Nine on the final lap. McCann needs the win even more so this year following a mechanical DNF at Sebring.
The Dodge Vipers of NayKid Racing make the jump from SCCA Club Racing to SPEED GT at Long Beach this weekend. The team is composed of SPEED World Challenge newcomer Cindi Lux (No. 2 NayKid Racing/FlugeGlobal Adventures Dodge Viper) and former SPEED GT winner Scotty B. White (No. 3 NayKid Racing/Fluge Global Adventures Dodge Viper).
Other drivers out to master the streets of Long Beach include Pontiac GTO pilots Stu Hayner and Dane Moxlow, Brian Smith and Jeff Courtney in their Woodhouse Vipers, and Mike Davis in his Ford Mustang Cobra.
Local Drivers
Several Drivers call California home, including: Mike Davis (Huntington Beach), James Sofronas (Newport Beach), Tomy Drissi (Hollywood), Stu Hayner (Yorba Linda), Eric Olberz (La Canada Flintridge), and Stu Frederick (Del Mar).
Event Entry lists
SCCA SPEED GT Championship
#, Driver, Hometown, Car
1, Lawson Aschenbach, W. Palm Beach, FL, XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose, Cadillac CTS-V
2, Cindi Lux (R), Aloha, OR, NayKid Racing/FlugeGlobalAdventures, Dodge Viper
3, Scotty B. White, Puyallup, WA, NayKid Racing/FlugeGlobalAdventures, Dodge Viper
5, Tommy Archer, Duluth, MN, Autohaus Motorsport, Dodge Viper
6, Jeffrey Robbins (R) , Southfield, MI, RSIG Security, Dodge Viper
7, Brett Pearson, Orlando, FL, Ventex/Pearson Motorsports, Dodge Viper
8, Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, FL, XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose, Cadillac CTS-V
11, Mike Davis, Huntington Beach, CA, Applied Computer Solutions, Ford Mustang Cobra
12, Brian Kubinski (R) , Plainfiled,IL, Diamond Construction/Blackdog, Chevrolet Corvette
13, Brian Smith, Simpsonville, NC, Kicker/Woodhouse Auto Family, Dodge Viper
14, James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA, Global Motorsports Group, Porsche 911 GT-3
15, Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA, LG Pro Long Tube Headers, Chevrolet Corvette
16, Ron Fellows, Missiauga, ON, XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/Bose, Cadillac CTS-V
17, Rob Foster, Phoenix, AZ, LTI Contracting/Foster Motorsp, Dodge Viper
20, Dane Moxlow (R) , Grosse Ile, MI, Deronda USA, Pontiac GTO
21, Stu Hayner, Yorba Linda, CA, Trenton Forging, Pontiac GTO
22, Randy Pobst, Gainesville, GA, K-PAX Racing, LLC/Jim Haughey, Porsche 911 GT-3
23, Michael Galati, Olmsted, OH, K-PAX Racing LLC/Jim Haughey, Porsche 911 GT-3
27, Gary Sheehan, Milford, MA, Subaru/ESX/Arceo, Subaru WRX STi
28, Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, TX, LG Pro Long Tube Headers, Chevrolet Corvette
29, Eric Olberz (R) , La Canada Flintridge, CA, 911 Design, Porsche 911 GT-3
30, Eric Curran, E. Hampton, MA, Whelen Engineering, Chevrolet Corvette
31, Sonny Whelen, Old Saybrook, CT, Whelen Engineering, Chevrolet Corvette
34, Tony Gaples, Libertyville, IL, Blackdog Racing/Kleinschmidt, Chevrolet Corvette
55, Thomas Glen (R), Phoenix, AZ, GPMtrspt/NovaConsult/RaceCraft, Dodge Viper
56, Ritch Marziale, Tempe, AZ, All Cut Concrete Cutting, Dodge Viper
57, Stu Frederick, Del Mar, CA, Charter Funding, Dodge Viper
76, John Bourassa, Jupiter Island, FL, Team Hurricaine, Porsche 911 Turbo
79, Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 790 The Ticket, Dodge Viper
82, Michael McCann, North Canton, OH, McCann Plastics/K&N Filters, Dodge Viper
87, Doug Peterson, Bonita Springs, FL, LG Pro Long Tube Headers, Chevrolet Corvette
99, Jeff Courtney, Slinger, WI, Kenda/MPI/Badger/Karavan, Dodge Viper
05, Jason Daskalos (R) , Albuquerque, NM, Daskalos Development & Investm, Dodge Viper