SCCA: Jeff Altenburg to contest 2000 BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series
20 January 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
STEELE RACING PARTNERS WITH ROCKETSPORTS RACING
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.Steele Racing Enterprises, Inc., of Fairfax, Va., will partner with Rocketsports Racing to field an entry for BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series Red Line Oil Rookie of the Year contender Jeff Altenburg.
Altenburg, of Baltimore, Md., is the 1999 SCCA Club Racing T1 Class National Champion, and he has collected 120 career wins and 14 championships, including four SCCA Solo national titles, six SCCA Pro Solo championships, and two PPG Neon Challenge championships with a record-setting six consecutive wins.
"This is a tremendous opportunity given to me by Steele Racing to race with Rocketsports, said Altenburg. It's like a dream come truethe benefits of being associated with Paul and Rocketsports are huge. Their competitiveness, the engineering excellence, base-line set-ups, great equipment supported by a talented crew, having Paul as a driving coachall things we wouldn't have obtained in our first year, and probably not in our first five years, if we tried to do this on our own. Sure, it puts some pressure on me to perform, but I'd rather have that situation than the frustration of problem equipment. I'm more looking forward to it that I am intimidated by it.
"Although new to Trans-Am competition, Jeff brings a wealth of motorsports experience with him," said Gentilozzi. "He has the foundation, that necessary smoothness and precision, to be successful in the Series."
"I've always had a strong entrepreneurial spirit and this move provides the opportunity to apply both the business and engineering discipline in a motorsports setting," said Robert Steele, Steele Racing President and Chief Executive Officer. "We expect to grow into a 30-50 million dollar revenue-based technology company in the next three years. Motorsports is a natural fit since some of our first product offerings will include interactive multimedia products to be sold back to the racing community."
"We're delighted to welcome the Steele Racing organization to the Rocketsports stable," added Gentilozzi. "We appreciate their tenacity and commitment to the sport and look forward to helping them achieve a winning season."
"You want to minimize your effort while maximizing your output, added Steele. So it made sense to start at the top and 'outsource' our team relationship. I saw Rocketsports as the premier team with the best equipment and engineering to deliver the success we desire, including the prospects of a Championship, right from day one. It was the only viable way to enter the racing community as an owner."
An announcement on sponsorship and car specifics is expected to be released soon. Steele Racing and Altenburg will make their BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series debut at Sebring International Raceway on March 17th as part of the Superflo 12 Hours at Sebring weekend.
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