Second Half of the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup
Underway
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
* Series photos available upon request or via media.vw.com
CONTACT: Jeremy Riffle
(310) 210-1336
jeremyriffle@sbcglobal.net
Second Half of the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Underway
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Kevin Gleason Wins Pole for Tomorrowıs Race at Autobahn Country Club
JOLIET, Ill. (July 31, 2010) Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup rookie, Kevin
Gleason, earned his first career pole this afternoon after leading the field
with a lap of 2:46.455 (75.696 mph) making him the fifth different
polesitter in the first six races of the 2010 season.
³This morning we had some rain, so I made sure to take it easy during the
first practice session,² said Gleason after qualifying. ³The track
conditions werenıt ideal, so I just stayed patient and focused on learning
the course. After practice, I took the extra time to really study the
circuit and meet with the driving instructors. During qualifying this
afternoon, I could tell my strategy really paid off. I kept getting quicker
and quicker and then at the end, I was able to lay down a really solid lap.
Iım really excited to have earned my first Series pole. One of my sponsors,
Citation Clinical Labeling Systems, is having an employee event here at
Autobahn this weekend and to be able to win the pole in front of all of them
makes this even more special.²
JD Mobley turned the second-fastest lap of the day with a time of 2:46.786
and rookie Wyatt Gooden recorded the third quickest lap (2:46.792) of the
day. Chris Wehrheim and AJ Nealey round out the top-five for tomorrowıs
race.
Round Six of the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup continues tomorrow at
Autobahn Country Club when the green flag drops at 9:50 a.m. ET.
Jetta TDI Cup News & Notes:
Parity Across The Field
One of the main goals of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup is to provide the most
level playing field possible for all 25 of its drivers as they set their
sights on the 2010 Series Championship. Not only is each of the Jetta TDI
Cup cars prepared to the exact same specifications as one another, but also
strategic measures are taken to insure that the cars are identical. Once
the cars hit the track, the effort to maintain parity continues - after the
initial practice and qualifying sessions, one of the top-five drivers from
the session is chosen to disclose their data from his/her fastest lap for
analysis by all other competitors. Furthermore, periodically throughout the
ten-race schedule, cars are interchanged between competitors to eliminate
any sort of advantage.
Series engineers and instructors take every imaginable measure to provide a
fair and even field of cars. The Series maintains a fleet of 34 racecars
that are ready at all times. Exactly 50% of the Jetta TDI Cup cars have been
driven to victory at the hands of 15 different drivers in the first 23 races
of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Seriesı two-and-a-half year history, which
certainly proves that parity is the name of the game in the Volkswagen Jetta
TDI Cup.
Illinois Driver Raises Money for Charity
Taylor Tzouanakis, an Illinois native, is making his debut in the Volkswagen
Jetta TDI Cup this season and will no doubt be looking for a trip to Victory
Lane in his home state. Not only has the 17-year old Wauconda native been
busy preparing for this weekendıs event, but also earlier this week,
Tzouanakis hosted a charity event to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes
Foundation. The cause is very close to his heart as Tzouanakis has a
cousin, who is also involved in racing, who has been battling the disease
for most of his life. The event was held at Lindyıs Landing in Wauconda and
raised nearly $2,000 for their cause. Tzouanakis is also expecting to have
plenty of friends and family on-hand tomorrow, close to 35 people, to
support him during Round Six of the Jetta TDI Cup.
Tzouanakis qualified 12th this afternoon, after posting a lap of 2:47.758
(75.108 mph).
Guest Drivers Get Up to Speed
This weekend, there are three guest drivers competing in Round Six of the
2010 season alongside the 25 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup drivers. The first is
Richard Fisher, who is a founding member of the Autobahn Country Club and
the owner of the Chicago-area Autobarn dealership group. His three
Chicagoland Volkswagen stores include: The Autobarn VW of Evanston, The
Autobarn VW of Mt. Prospect and The Autobarn VW of Countryside. The second
guest driver is Jesse Will, a writer for Maxim Magazine and the third is
Steve Hendricks, General Manager of Luther Westside VW in Minneapolis.
Each of the three has logged considerable track time, but Fisher definitely
showed his skill today as he ranked the highest among the guest drivers as
he turned the 17th-fastest lap overall at 2:48.504 (74.775 mph). Hendricks
posted the 27th fastest and Will recorded the 28th fastest lap.
Follow the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series action on:
www.vwmotorsportusa.com
Volkswagen Online Newsroom: media.vw.com
Live Timing & Scoring: http://livetiming.net/scca/VW
Live Timing & Scoring for your Mobile Device:
http://livetiming.net/SCCA/VW/html.asp
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/JettaTDICup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/VWJettaTDICup
About the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup
The SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup was launched in 2008 as way to
introduce clean diesel technology to the U.S. market and develop the best of
motorsportıs up-and-coming talent. During the season, young, up and coming
drivers (between ages 16-26) compete on road courses around North America in
identical factory-prepared clean diesel powered Jetta TDIıs. Each driver
competing in the Series earns a professional racing license from SCCA Pro
Racing at the conclusion of the season. In addition to more than $50,000 in
prize money at stake during the season, the Series Champion receives
Volkswagen factory career advancement support with a value up to $100,000.
The Jetta TDI Cup car is powered by a 2.0-liter, 170 hp, four-cylinder TDI
clean diesel engine mated to a six-speed, double-clutch, automatic DSG
transmission. The car is only slightly modified from stock with Pirelli
racing tires, race suspension and brake components, drivers racing safety
seat, FIA roll cage and an on-board fire extinguisher system. Series
sponsors include: Pirelli, Bosch, ViON, Castrol, Oakley, Red Bull, Staubli,
Aggreko, defNder, Lamin-X, Volkswagen Driver Gear, Volkswagen Parts &
Service, iRacing, Safety-Kleen and Ringer Gloves.
About Volkswagen of America
Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon,
Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg,
Germany. Volkswagen is one of the worldıs largest producers of passenger
cars and Europeıs largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Golf, GTI, New
Beetle, New Beetle convertible, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Eos, Passat, Passat
Wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan through approximately 600 independent
U.S. dealers. All 2010 Volkswagens come standard-equipped with Electronic
Stabilization Program. This is important because the National Highway and
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new
vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America
online at www.vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.
About SCCA Pro Racing:
A wholly owned subsidiary of Sports Car Club of America, Inc., SCCA Pro
Racing Inc. is a leading sanctioning body for motorsports events in the
United States. A member of the Automobile Competition Committee of the
United States (ACCUS), SCCA Pro Racing operates and sanctions the World
Challenge Championships, the SCCA Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, SCCA Volkswagen
Jetta TDI Cup, SCCA Pro Trans-Am Series, Spec Racer Ford Pro Series and
Formula Enterprises Pro Series. For more information, please visit
www.sccapro.com.
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