Short Course Woes for Mustangs
How much does a gallon of race gas cost? If you read it from the pump, the answer is about $7.50. For Scott Maxwell, co-driver of the #55 Hyper Sport Mustang at last weekend's Barber Motorsports Park race, the real answer is: 15 spots on the finish list.
Maxwell's car ran out of gas on Lap 82 of the Koni Challenge race in Birmingham, AL, and coasted to a 19th place overall finish. In lap 81, he was running fourth in a race that saw a number of Mustangs in contention for a podium spot, but none in the top five when the checkered flag fell.
A total of fourteen Mustangs gridded for the early morning start on the 2.3-mile road course. Maxwell's co-driver, Joe Foster, began the race in third spot. The second Hyper Sport Mustang, #54, was next to be found, back in tenth spot. Blackforest Motorsports' #5 car, driven by Tom Nastasi and Ian James started in 14th place, followed immediately by Jim Click Racing #154 entry with Jamie Sloane and Billy Johnson driving.
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A couple of first lap Mustang spins helped keep things exciting, eventually leading to the first full-course caution period, when the #17 Team Centurion Mustang was found stuffed into the Turn 5 gravel trap. Pole sitter, Doug Goad, in the #9 Spirit of Daytona Racing Pontiac GTO had opened a half second lead over the rest of the field.
Lap 18 saw a number of course departures, leading to the third full-out caution of the race. Scott Turner, in the newly-liveried Blackforest #3 car, took a vacation in Turn 5, while Valerie Limoges, in the #4 Mustang parked in the Turn 13-14 complex. "I was really happy because the car was strong in these track conditions, and I was able to pass a lot of people so the first part of the race was great," said Limoges. "Even though I was disappointed with my qualifying yesterday, I was having a great race today and kept moving forward." A driveline failure sidelined her car.
By lap 23, Joe Foster was in second position and three other Mustangs were in the top ten. Race action continues with Goad maintain the lead. BY lap 50, #55 Foster, #37 Bret Seafuse and #154 Jamie Sloane have grabbed the third through fifth spots in their Mustangs. On the next lap, Foster pits to turn the Mustang over to Scott Maxwell.
By lap 60, the top ranks saw Jim Click Racing's #150 with Mike McGovern driving in third, #5 Tom Nastasi in sixth, JBS Motorsports' #137 with Todd Snyder driving in ninth place and #55 Scott Maxwell in tenth. McGovern had started the race in 30th place, while Nastasi had been battling mechanical issues through most of the race. Snyder started from 31st position.
After a round of pit stops, lap 70 saw #150 McGovern in fourth, followed by #55 Maxwell in fifth, #137 driven by Snyder in eighth and #37 with James Gue in ninth. Andy Lally, in a Porsche 997, leads the field by more than 30 seconds. He will maintain this margin through the next dozen laps to grab the the checkered flag.
With Maxwell falling out of contention on the white flag lap, Billy Johnson takes sixth spot for Jim Click Racing, James Gue is seventh for JBS Motorsports and Todd Snyder takes eighth position, also for JBS Motorsports.
Images courtesy of Grand Am Road Racing
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