SCCA: Huffaker/Qvale Motorsports EnterS Two Mangustas at San Diego Finale
6 November 2000
SAN DIEGO, Calf. (November 3, 2000) — Huffaker/Qvale Motorsports, based in Sonoma, CA, will enter two cars at the BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series finale at the San Diego Grand Prix this weekend. Brian Simo will be running the #88 Tommy Bahama Qvale Mangusta, while Huffaker/Qvale Motorsports President Bruce Qvale (pronounced Kuh - VAHL - Lee) will be running the #44 Mangusta. While only the third race of the year for 1998 Trans-Am rookie of the Year runner-up Qvale, it will be Brian Simo's last chance to wrestle the Trans-Am Champion's mantle away from two-time defending champion Paul Gentilozzi. In addition, the Trans-Am owners' championship is also up for grabs, and the Huffaker/Qvale Motorsports crew comes into San Diego with a narrow, one-point lead over Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports team in that competition. "We basically have to go for it this weekend," said Simo, who has three wins and three pole positions to his credit coming into the final weekend. "We need to win the pole, lead the most laps, set fastest lap and win the race to have a shot at the driver's championship. But that's why we're here." "It all comes down to this weekend now," commented Joe Huffaker, vice president and technical director of Huffaker/Qvale Motorsports. "We have a lot of ground to make up, but we certainly are not going to roll over and hand Paul the title. We'll be in it to the end." "I like the street races, and it's good to get out and race again," said Qvale, whose best Trans-Am finishes were a trio of podium finishes, including a pair of runner-ups, at Detroit, Trois-Rivieres and West Michigan in 1988. The 60-lap, 99-mile race around the 1.65-mile Sand Diego Grand Prix course is slated to take the green flag at 12:15 pm Pacific Standard Time on Sunday, November 5. The telecast will be live on the Speedvision Network, with coverage beginning at 3:00 pm Eastern.