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The Primetime Race Group competes in its Viper in the American Le Mans Series GT2 Class. Primetime is a privateer team
from Florida that decided to compete in The Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach, California despite the cost of a cross country trek.
Primetime Race Teams Dodge Viper has a V10 engine and was developed for the ALMS GT2 Class
Primetime Team Owner and Driver Joel Feinberg at the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series in Long Beach, California
Factory teams come to race tracks with money. They have huge crews and the latest technology and
expensive parts for their vehicles. Privateer Teams are smaller and have to think long and hard about attending every race.
Primetime Viper made its way through the ALMS Series at Long Beach and passed a Riley built Corvette and a Doran built Ford GT
Primetime Team co-driver Chris Hall used his driver coaching skills to keep the Viper off the wall in Long Beach, California
“We had problems in the
St. Pete Grand Prix in Florida,” said Primetime owner and driver Joel Feinberg. “But my crew got the Viper all back together and ready for Long Beach. We made the commitment to go and booked our tickets from Florida to California the day before the race.”
It was an expensive gamble for the team. “The race is an hour and forty minutes,” said Feinberg. “It’s a street venue that has no room for escape and has the ALMS as a second tier event to the IRL. We knew that if we finished the race we would score some big points for our underdog program.”
On Thursday, Primetime co-driver Chris Hall was running at 147 mph and a tire blew out on the front straight. Fortunately he was able to keep the Viper off the wall. “The car sat in the turn one runoff on a flatbed with a wrecked diffuser and a mangled quarter panel,” said Feinberg. “It stayed there for an hour while the IRL ran its two-seater Indy experience.”
During the second 45 minute session the Viper was dropped off in the penalty box. The Primetime Racing crew pushed the car back a hundred yards to its pit area. They were on the track within ten minutes. In the end Hall’s time did not hold up during qualifying, but the team figured out what the Viper needed in time for the race.”
“When the green flag dropped we had the best times of the week,” said Feinberg. “My homemade Viper passed a Riley-built Corvette and a Doran built Ford GT.”
An hour or so into the race Feinberg came in for fuel, tires and a driver change, “It was the perfect pit stop,” he said. “It was done in less than one minute, Chris was in the drivers seat and I was out."
Primetime racing uses K&N products. "We are continuously pushing our K&N filters to be used in their most demanding conditions," said Feinberg. "They have proven to be the best high performance filters out there. K&N is a valuable partner to Primetime Race Group. We appreciate their support and look forward to building our relationship with the brand and the K&N Team.”
In the end, the Primetime Team logged a 7th in class and first checkered flag of the season. “We also earned the second place trophy given to privateer teams,” said Feinberg. “In the end, the gamble of making the trip paid off.”
The next race for Primetime Racing will be at the Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.
In the second Red Hawk Casino Hoosier Tires Championship point race of the season K&N sponsored racer Andy Forsberg took his second consecutive feature win in the Pacific Sprint Car Division.
Andy Forsberg and the A&A Motorsports Team won a Sprint Car Division Race at the Red Hawk Casino Hoosier Tires Championship Race in Placerville, California
During the 360 points race in Placerville, California Forsberg was 3rd in his heat race. He also started on the pole in the A-main for the 25 lap feature event.
No. 92 wins a 360 points race on the quarter mile ASA Sanctioned Placerville Speedway in Placerville, California
Forsberg charged his way to the front and dominated the event. The Auburn, California resident worked his way deep into lapped traffic and took the lead for all 25 laps for his third overall win of the 2009 season.
“I use K&N products at all of my races,” said Forsberg. “K&N makes great products and I would not every use anything else on my sprint cars.”
Forsberg and the A&A Motorsports Team head to Chico, California next for a 410 points race.
The most successful driving duo in American Le Mans Series history left their mark again in the 100 minute Tequila Patron ALMS at Long Beach, California. Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta had a trouble free run to victory in Corvette Racing’s final GT1 race in the season.
American Le Mans Series trouble free run to victory for Corvette Racing's No. 4 C6.R on the Streets of Long Beach
Olivier Beretta drove the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R to his 41st ALMS victory in the 100 minute Tequila Patron ALMS at Long Beach California
The two have a total of 73 wins. Beretta extended his record for ALMS victories with his 41st career win and Gavin raced
to his 32nd ALMS victory in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R.
Corvette Racing's next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France on June 13-14.
Oliver Gavin drove the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R to his 32nd ALMS victory in the 100 minute Tequila Patron ALMS at Long Beach California
The Streets of Long Beach turned mean for the sister No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R of Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen. O’Connell passed Beretta on the first lap of green flag racing, but had to make an unscheduled pit stop at 18 minutes into the race. They replaced a punctured tire and surrendered the lead.
“When I woke up, I said I wanted to win the race,” said Beretta. “I wanted to stay out of trouble and I wanted no mechanical problems. All three came true for me.”
“Those opening laps show just how hard we race at Corvette Racing,” said O’Connell. “Olivier had a bit of a bobble and I got by him. I was trying to control the pace. I also knew he was stronger and was just managing things to keep him behind me.”
Gavin had a big moment in the corner and that opened a gap. O’Connell was coming out of the hairpin when something in the driveline broke. “You don’t want to end the last ALMS GT1 race being towed in,” said O’Connell. “But I’d much rather have an issue in Long Beach and then go to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and win that one.
That’s what we’re really thinking about.”
With the No. 3 Corvette on the sidelines, Gavin had an uncontested run to the checkered flag.
Corvette Racing runs a special K&N Engineering air filter. “Dirt is a huge problem in our races,” said Crew Chief Dan Binks. “K&N protects our engines from the debris and is especially helpful in Long Beach as it will be at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
“Although this is our last ALMS GT1 race, it isn’t the last hurrah for the GT1 Corvettes,” said Gavin. “We still have unfinished business in Le Mans.”
Corvette Racing’s next event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France on June 13-14. The 77th running of the classic 24 hour endurance race on the 8.5 mile Circuit des 24 Heures de Mans will be televised live on SPEED TV.
In the Terrible’s Town 250 Race at Primm, Nevada Brad Lovell watched a trail of dust rise ten miles away from where he was standing in Pit No. 2. The 250 is called the Richest Off-Road Race in Nevada because off-roaders consider it the jewel of desert off road racing.
The so called Richest Road Race in Nevada is the Terrible's Town 250 Race, photo by Chad Jock Photography
Brad Lovell and his Torchmate Teammate did not see a boulder buried in silt and knocked out a front suspension link, photo by Chad Jock Photography
“This is my third desert race,” said Lovell. “I am still awestruck by the power, violence and danger of these machines. Anyone other than a fighter pilot would be shocked at the sight of an unlimited desert truck screaming through the terrain.”
Torchmate Desert Truck surrounded by a plume of dust on the 250 mile off road course in Nevada, photo by Chad Jock Photography
Brad Lovell is getting ready for the SCORE Baja 500 and a WE Rock race in Cedar City, Utah, photo by Chad Jock Photography
The 250 mile course is intense. “Our Torchmate Teammates started the race and the 19 starters in our class were spread out over the first few miles,” he said. “We could feel the tension in the pits. I caught sight of the leader as the truck floated over bumps like a hovercraft. The truck lurched sideways suddenly but the driver never let off the throttle. He got it straight again and shot by us at well over 100 mph. The roar of the engine was deafening and the top layer of dirt and rocks pelted our pit trucks over twenty feet away.”
Lovell said he fidgeted for the next three hours waiting for his leg of the race like a little boy at Christmas. “I felt the excitement and all sensibility left,” he said.
Finally they blasted out of the pits into the desert. A mile later they passed by a $400,000 pile of burnt rubble. A few hours before it was a high end race truck. “There were no camera crews, no fire personnel and no tow truck,” said Lovell. “There was just a defeated former off-road truck smoking in the sun, and a reflection of the seriousness of desert racing.”
Lovell and teammate Bill Koontz continued on, weaving through the sand washes and bouncing over the whoops. They reached speeds of more than 101 mph until one huge bolder buried in silt jarred their truck. “We felt a strong vibration and heard the sound of metal on metal,” said Lovell. “We had a broken front suspension link. We went another 55 miles on a loose and clanking wheel and still managed an 8th place finish.”
Brad Lovell believes in K&N products. “These serious courses require the filtration K&N filters provide,” he said. “K&N protects our engines on these tough desert courses.”
The Torchmate Ranger is getting repaired for the upcoming SCORE Baja 500. In the meantime Lovell will head back to the rocks for Round 2 of WE Rock in Cedar City, Utah on May 2.
Andrew Comrie-Picard, “ACP” extended his lead in the Rally America Championship Series. He finished second overall in his NOS Energy Mitsubishi and became points leader in the series.
Andrew Comrie Picard was aggressive enough at the Olympus Rally to put him in first place in points in the Rally America Championship Series
“The Olympus Rally was incredibly tough,” said Comrie-Picard. “The competition between the top teams was intense and we fought hard for this result.” This was his third podium finish in three starts in the series.
Andrew Comrie-Picard will be ready for the Rally America Championship Series when it resumes on the Portland based Oregon Trail in May
Team ACP Rally uses K&N products on their vehicles. “I’ve used K&N since I began Rally racing more than a decade ago,” said Comrie-Picard. “We compete under tough conditions, with dust, mud and water splashes. We do the most extreme things we can do in a car and K&N is the perfect formula for our turbo charged motors. There is no compromise with K&N.”
Comrie-Picard entered the event tied with Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust for the championship lead. ACP came out ahead in the points after a two day battle over more than 100 miles of rugged stages. He has 48 points, while Foust and Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana are tied for second place with 45 points apiece.
The Olympus Rally opened with a series of extremely fast stages. Teams were racing at 120 mph on some of the straight-aways. Comrie-Picard and co-driver Robbie Durant finished the first day in third-place.
Day two in South Bend, Washington was more technical. ACP and Pastrana traded seconds all day. They also finished stages in dead-heats. “Andrew prepared to push into the final miles Sunday afternoon, but an ailing transmission began to cost them time,” said Jen Horsey of Team ACP Rally. “They didn’t have the use of third or fourth gear through the final two stages of the event and were unable to catch Travis Pastrana.”
Everyone in the lead had problems, Pastrana and Foust both had to do transmission work overnight after day one and Ken Block blew two motors. Third place went to Foust. He made an early bid for the lead but lost time to the leaders on Sunday while running with a back-up gearbox.
“We’re thrilled to be leading the championship,” said Comrie-Picard. “We’re gunning for top points this year and we plan to battle hard at every round. There’s no doubt this is a tough sport.”
The next round for Team ACP Rally is the Portland-based Oregon Trail Rally in May.
