Beginners (Bad) Luck
by CP Staff
Attrition is one of the most troublesome aspects of the growth in popularity of Grand Am's KONI Challenge racing series. The recent 3-hour race at Daytona International Speedway in Florida amply demonstrated that popularity with an entry list totalling 106 cars.
Most of the scheduled races for 2007 will split the GS (Grand Sport) class competitors into a separate race from the ST (Street Tuner) entrants to reduce congestion as the series moves to smaller tracks around the country.
How long that move will remain effective is yet to be seen. Both classes continue to attract new entrants. One of those at the Daytona Beach race was James Glick, of Tucson, AZ. GLick showed up with co-drivers Mike McGovern, from Chandler, AZ and Jamie Slone, also from Tucson.
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The team posted decent practice times, sitting in 10th spot after Thursday's second session, with a lap time of 2:02.796, at 104.368 mph average speed. The team failed to post a qualifying time on Thursday afternoon, but returned for third practice on Friday morning.
Not quite an hour into the race, Jamie Slone went off-course and hard into the tire barrier in Turn 1, likely as a result of carrying too much speed into the turn from the big NASCAR section.
This is an easy place to have an off, as the #17 Team Centurion Mustang also found out during Thursday practice. Phil and Steve Mahre were able to repair their #17 car in time to start the race on Friday, though.
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