Schroeder Takes Detroit Win--Ford Claims Motor City 100 Manufacturers' Championship Cup; SCCA Trans-Am Results
06/11/96
DETROIT, Mich., (June 6, 1996) -- Dorsey Schroeder, driving the #12 Raybestos Ford Mustang Cobra, claimed the SCCA Trans-Am win at Detroit's Belle Isle, earning bragging rights and the Motor City 100 Manufacturers' Championship Cup for Ford.
Schroeder, taking his third win of the year, started second but jumped into the lead, past pole-sitter Dale Phelon, at turn one of the first lap on the 2.1-mile, 14-turn Belle Isle street circuit. Once in the lead, Schroeder never relinquished the top spot, despite race-long charges from Ron Fellows and Boris Said.
"I'm ecstatic. We had a rocket on the straights," said Schroeder. "When I had that much strength on the straight-aways, I knew I could take it a bit easier in the corners."
Finishing second was Fellows, in the #3 Sunoco/AER Manufacturing Chevrolet Camaro. Fellows started fourth but followed Schroeder past Phelon at the start, landing in second after the race's first turn. For the next 33 laps, Fellows stalked Schroeder, only to be surprised from a pass in turn five by Said on lap 34 of the 48-lap, 100.8-mile contest.
"It was a great pass," said Fellows. "I hadn't seen Boris make his move, and when I went to turn in, there he was."
Said, in the #14 AER/Ford Quality Renewal Mustang Cobra, held off the hard- fighting Fellows for a few laps but succumbed to the Canadian's charge as the cars worked lap 37. Said then held his position, fending off Tom Kendall for third.
"I guess I was still gloating over my pass when Ron got me," said Said. "I made a little mistake in turn three and that was all it took. I was a little disappointed about that, but racing is a game of small mistakes. I've been running really well in the last few races, including qualifying fastest at Lime Rock, just not ending well. Finishing third with these guys (Schroeder and Fellows) is nothing to be ashamed of."
Kendall, in the #11 All Sport Body Quencher Mustang Cobra, ended his day fourth, followed by the #6 Rain-X/Cytomax Camaro of Greg Pickett in fifth.
The 1:28:59.91 race was slowed by several full course yellows, the first of which, on lap two, was caused by oil laid down in turns eight through 14 from a broken oil line in the #76 True North Racing Camaro of Jerry Simmons.
Seven laps later the field again took the green and the top-five order of Schroeder, Fellows, Said, Kendall and Phelon remained unchanged until Pickett moved into fifth on lap 14.
Five laps later the motor of Craig Shafer's #39 Shafer Racing Camaro let go, bringing out the second full-course yellow on lap 19. With the oil cleaned up and the field again green on lap 25, Claudio Burtin, in the #26 Line-X Mustang Cobra, gave Don Sak, in the #10 World Wide Finish/Invisible Fence Oldsmobile Cutlass a nudge in turn 10, sending Sak spinning and bringing out the third and final full-course yellow to clean up more oil.
"None of our cars will ever squeak again with the amount of oil on the track out there today," added Schroeder.
From lap 29, it was a sprint to the finish, with the lead pack locked in a classic Trans-Am nose-to-tail train. Four laps later Brian Simo, in the #22 Valvoline Mustang Cobra, made it past Paul Gentilozzi's #5 HighwayMaster Camaro by giving him a strong nudge from behind, a move that would earn Simo a post-race penalty for rough driving, dropping him from a sixth-place finish to 10th.
On the final circuit, Fellows made a strong bid for the lead, pressing hard at turns five and 14, but it wasn't enough.
"It was a great race," added Fellows." I was working hard at the end. The three of us got to be good friends while driving for Gloy. The only was I was going to get by Dorsey was to hit him and I wasn't going to do that. At the end, I was happy to see the checkered flag -- it was an intense battle. We were probably going harder than either of us wanted to, but I could see Boris and Tommy (Kendall) back there, both with a harder rear tire. I'm not disappointed with my performance -- I did the best I could and so did Dorsey."
Schroeder earned the DynoMax Turn On the Power Award for his winning effort, while Dino Crescentini, in the #93 AutoSpecialty Camaro, won the Raybestos Rising Star of the Race Award for his 12th-place finish. Bruce Nesbitt, in the #50 Orion Industries Mustang Cobra, finished 15th from a 23rd-place start to earn the OPTIMA Batteries Quick Charger Award for his effort.
After seven races of the 14-race 30th Anniversary season, Schroeder leads the Drivers' Championship point standings with 188, followed by Jamie Galles, 171; Kendall, 170, Fellows, 136; and Gentilozzi, 135. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet leads Ford by two points, 55 to 53.
Here's a table of Results from the 48-lap Trans-Am race at the 2.1-mile Belle Isle temporary circuit:
Pos Strt Driver Country Car Laps/Reason Out ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. (2) Dorsey Schroeder U.S. Ford Mustang Cobra 48. 2. (4) Ron Fellows CAN Chevrolet Camaro 48. 3. (3) Boris Said III U.S. Ford Mustang Cobra 48. 4. (5) Tom Kendall U.S. Ford Mustang Cobra 48. 5. (8) Greg Pickett U.S. Chevrolet Camaro 48. 6. (9) Brian Simo U.S. Ford Mustang Cobra 48. 7. (6) Jamie Galles U.S. Chevrolet Camaro 48. 8. (10) Scott Sharp U.S. Chevrolet Camaro 48. 9. (13) Jon Gooding U.S. Ford Mustang Cobra 48. 10. (7) Paul Gentilozzi U.S. Chevrolet Camaro 48. 11. (11) Bill Saunders U.S. Chevrolet Camaro 48. 12. (12) Dino Crescentini U.S. Chevrolet Camaro 48. 13. (15) R.J. Valentine U.S. Chevrolet Camaro 48. 14. (14) Leighton Reese U.S. Pontiac Grand Prix 47. 15. (21) Bob Ruman U.S. Chevrolet Camaro 47. 16. (23) Bruce Nesbitt U.S. Ford Mustang Cobra 47. 17. (1) Dale Phelon PTO RICO Ford Mustang Cobra 46. 18. (16) Don Sak U.S. Oldsmobile Cutlass 45. 19. (25) Glenn Andrew U.S. Chevrolet Camaro 44. 20. (19) Trent Terry U.S. Oldsmobile Cutlass 37. 21. (18) Claudio Burtin ARG Ford Mustang Cobra Mech. 22. (17) John W. Miller IV U.S. Chevrolet Camaro Mech. 23. (20) Craig Shafer U.S. Chevrolet Camaro Oil line 24. (22) Max Lagod U.S. Chevrolet Camaro Mech. 25. (24) Jerry Simmons CAN Chevrolet Camaro Engine. Time of race: 1:28:59.91. Average speed: 67.956 mph. Margin of victory: 0.237 seconds. Fastest race lap: Greg Pickett: 1:27.182. Lap leaders: Laps 1-48, Schroeder.