Grand-Am

SCC: Fontana: SpeedQuest Racing race notes

Getting Our Feet Wet, Grand Am Cup Style Many questions arose at the recent California 200 at the California Speedway, but one that everyone kept asking was "who are those guys in the ...

Edited: Dec 21, 2009, 5:26 AM

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Getting Our Feet Wet, Grand Am Cup Style

Many questions arose at the recent California 200 at the California Speedway, but one that everyone kept asking was "who are those guys in the #58 Mustang Cobra SVT?" With 71 cars officially entered in the Grand-Am Cup race, traffic was very hectic and car setup played a major role. The SpeedQuest drivers did a fantastic job acclimating to a car that they have never driven and did an even better job competing for their first time in this ultra competitive series.

SpeedQuest Racing was the talk of the weekend. With the celebrity rock band KoRn and the awesome car that Rehagen Racing prepared for the team, this team had everyone watching. Including the TV and radio announcers who paid a visit to the team pit requesting a formal pronunciation of the driver's names and a brief history.

Romeo Kapudija and Adam Pecorari, the official drivers of SpeedQuest Racing. Romeo comes with extensive experience that ranges from Karting, Formula Zetec, Toyota Atlantics and a number of stints in the ALMS, whereas Adam hails from very competitive runs in Karting, Formula Zetec and Toyota Atlantics. Why Grand Am Cup? Simply it is a great test of our drivers in a sportscar series that is highly competitive and in a car with the ability to showcase their talents, which they certainly proved!

After some minor set up changes, Romeo placed the car seventh in Qualifying and was up to third in the field of 71 and holding onto the fastest lap of the race after 29 laps. On lap 35 and in the process of overtaking second place, the #58 Mustang was tapped from behind by a lapped car and spun, forcing the car in for an earlier than anticipated pit stop under unfortunate green flag conditions. Romeo says "I had a great run and I believe we had a very competitive car that was capable of finishing on the podium." Romeo also went on to say "I am very proud of my efforts in Fontana and I look forward to representing SpeedQuest Racing and the teams partner KoRn as a driver in future Grand-Am races." Team Director Eric Burch goes on to say "Romeo drove a brilliant race against many of the series top drivers and we will be back in the U.S. Sports Car Invitational race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca".

Meanwhile, Adam Pecorari took over the driving duties and found himself back in 28th position after seeing a stellar drive up to third by his teammate and quickly started making up positions. After only a few green flag laps followed by many laps under caution, Adam had picked up 11 places on the field and was overtaking the #11 Cadillac when the two got tangled on lap 58, damaging the suspension of the #58 car and forcing an early retirement of what was a great run by two new drivers in a very challenging field of World class drivers. "Racing in the Grand-Am cup was a great change from open wheel racing", said Pecorari. "Driving with an added 2,000 pounds and 150 horsepower took a bit of getting used to, but Romeo and I came to speed quickly. Throughout the minimal green flag laps I had in the car, we were setting very quick laps and making up many positions until lap 58 when we got together with the #11 car. A top 5 would have been a realistic finishing position, which would have been great for my first time in the car."

SpeedQuest Racing and its drivers are now looking towards the future with the Grand-Am Series. "We are exploring the opportunity to continue in the #58 Mustang as a building tool for our drivers and our marketing platform" says team principal Adam Stevenson. The Rehagen/SpeedQuest entry and its drivers proved to be a successful combination and we look forward to more of the same down the road.

-sqr-

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