SCC: Powell Motorsports Mosport race report

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (June 23, 2001) -- After waiting four long years, Powell Motorsports was finally victorious again on its home track of Mosport International Raceway during the Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series Three-Hour Race. Devon Powell, of Port Perry, Ontario, and co-driver Doug Goad, of Farmington Hills, Mich., were dominant in their Sunoco/Encompass-sponsored #11 Corvette Z06, finishing one full lap ahead of the second-place car, the Steiner/Majestic-sponsored #15 Porsche TT of Motorsport Technologies.

"Thank God," Powell exclaimed in Victory Lane after winning his third-straight race of the season. "I haven't won here since 1997. I have a lot of friends and family here in the stands, and it feels so good to finally win again."

Powell started the day by capturing the pole position during morning qualifying and maintained the lead until he pitted near the halfway mark to let Goad into the car. The team pitted for a second time 30 minutes later under caution for fuel, but Goad was sited by race officials with a stop-and-go penalty under green for a blend line violation during his reentry to the track. The pit stop and penalty combination opened the door for the Zippo Manufacturing #47 Mustang Saleen SR of TF Racing, which took a 40-second lead.

The Corvette was slowly eating away at the Mustang's lead when the leader was suddenly forced to pit to repair a loose wheel. Two laps later the Mustang pitted yet again with a cracked rotor that the team hoped to repair in the pits. But, upon further inspection they found the car had also suffered a broken hub, and the Mustang retired from the race.

With the retirement of the Mustang, the Corvette enjoyed a comfortable one-lap lead over the second-place Porsche. The Mears Motor Coach/Champion Porsche/Fikse/Dynamic Suspension-sponsored #70 Porsche 911 of Speedsource captured its second-straight Grand Sport (GS) class victory and also became the first GS team of the season to earn a spot on the overall podium, finishing third.

"This was a really interesting race," said #70 Porsche driver Sylvain Tremblay, of Pompano Beach, Fla. "What a testament to our team this was to bring six cars to compete and place two on the podium."

The second Speedsource car earning podium honors was the Workscape-sponsored #65 Porsche 911 Supercup, placing third in the Super Grand Sport (SGS) class. The Sunoco/Devon-sponsored #19 Porsche 993 of Fiorano Racing took second in the GS class, followed by the Tradition-sponsored #53 Mustang Cobra R of D.M.A. Racing in third.

The Sport Touring (ST) class was a heated battle from the green flag to the checkered. The first part of the race was a three-way dogfight between the pole-sitting Merritt/Protrac-sponsored #0 Lexus IS 300 of Team Lexus, the MAI/www.tirerack.com/Pro-Cam/Redline Oil-sponsored #64 Acura Integra R of King Motorsports, and the Lear/BBS-sponsored #72 BMW Z3 Coupe of Team Spartanburg. The Lexus found trouble and slid back, while the Acura and BMW fought for the class lead. BMW driver Jeff Altenburg, of Catonsville, Md., was able to maneuver past Bob Endicott, of San Pedro, Calif., in the Acura in turn one of the final lap to take the ST lead. Endicott was attempting to make a run on the BMW in the final turns when he spun out in turn 10, allowing the BMW to cruise to its second-straight victory.

"One of our crew found a four-leaf clover at the last race in Mid-Ohio, and we put it on the dash," said Team Spartanburg owner Mark Hughes, of Spartanburg, S.C. "We found another one here this weekend and put it on the dash again. Now we're going to make sure we find a four-leaf clover at every race."

The Data Clean Corporation/Acura-sponsored Acura Integra R of The Spirit of Miami finished third in the GS class.

The Compact 2000 (C2K) class was not nearly as close of a race, as the Orison-sponsored #42 Acura Integra GSR of Planet Earth Motorsports dominated the class with amazing speeds to earn its second-straight class victory. At one point during the race, drivers Mike Fitzgerald, of Phoenix, and Will Nonnamaker, of North Canton, Ohio, pulled the Acura into the top-10 overall and were ahead of not only their class, but all the ST-class cars, as well.

"It was a pretty phenomenal car today," Fitzgerald commented, while his teammate credited good pit strategy for their domineering performance.

The Honda of America/Redline Oil/DC Sports-sponsored #69 Honda Civic Si of Honda of America Racing captured second place in the class, while the Tempur-Pedic/Redline Oil/Superwinch-sponsored #48 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 of WTF Engineering finished third in its Grand-Am Cup debut.

The Grand-Am Cup teams will now pack up their transporters and travel south of the border to Virginia International Raceway for the Virginia Festival of Speed next weekend, June 28-30.

-Grand-Am Cup