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	Rolex 24 Standings Through 21.5 Hours (1pm EST) posted by Phil Allaway Sunday January 29, 2012 DP: 1. 8- Allan McNish Starworks Motorsports 2. 60- AJ Allmendinger Michael Shank Racing 3. 01- Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates 4. 6- Michael McDowell Michael Shank Racing 5. 02- Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates 6. 5- David Donohue Action Express Racing 7. 77- Billy Johnson Doran Racing 8. 90- Antonio Garcia Spirit of Daytona Racing 9. 2- Michael Valiente Starworks Motorsports 10. 9- Max Papis Action Express Racing GT: 1. 44- Andy Lally Magnus Racing 2. 59- Leh Keen Brumos Racing 3. 67- Jeroen Bleekemolen TRG 4. 63- Olivier Beretta Risi Competizione 5. 57- Ronnie Bremer Stevenson Motorsports 6. 66- Dominik Farnbacher TRG 7. 70- Marino Franchitti SpeedSource 8. 23- Marco Holzer Alex Job Racing 9. 69- Jeff Segal Team FXDD AIM Autosport Racing with Ferrari 10. 45- Jorg Bergmeister Flying Lizard Motorsports with Wright Motorsports Rolex 24 Standings Through 18.5 Hours posted by Phil Allaway Sunday January 29, 2012 DP: 1. 01- Scott Pruett Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates 2. 60- Ozz Negri, Jr. Michael Shank Racing 3. 8- Allan McNish Starworks Motorsports 4. 6- Jorge Goncalvez Michael Shank Racing 5. 5- David Donohue Action Express Racing 6. 02- Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates 7. 2- Ryan Hunter-Reay Starworks Motorsports 8. 77- Brian Frisselle Doran Racing 9. 90- Richard Westbrook Spirit of Daytona Racing 10. 9- Joao Barbosa Action Express Racing GT: 1. 59- Andrew Davis, Brumos Racing 2. 44- Richard Lietz, Magnus Racing 3. 67- Spencer Pumpelly, TRG 4. 57- Ronnie Bremer, Stevenson Motorsports 5. 63- Olivier Beretta, Risi Competizione 6. 23- Cooper MacNeil, Alex Job Racing 7. 70- James Hinchcliffe, SpeedSource 8. 66- Patrick Pliet, TRG 9. 88- Tom Milner, Autohaus Motorsports 10. 69- Jeff Segal, AIM Autosport with Team FXDD Rolex 24 Standings Through 11 Hours posted by Phil Allaway Sunday January 29, 2012 DP: 1. 8- Allan McNish 2. 5- David Donohue 3. 6- Gustavo Yacaman 4. 60- AJ Allmendinger 5. 02- Scott Dixon 6. 01- Graham Rahal 7. 90- Richard Westbrook 8. 76- Ricardo Zonta 9. 9- Joao Barbosa 10. 2- Marco Andretti GT: 1. 44- Andy Lally 2. 59- Marc Lieb 3. 23- Butch Leitzinger 4. 67- Spencer Pumpelly 5. 88- Tom Milner 6. 57- John Edwards 7. 63- Toni Vilander 8. 70- Sylvain Tremblay 9. 32- James Sofronas 10. 66- Allan Simonsen Standings after 5 Hours 50 minutes posted by Phil Allaway Saturday January 28, 2012 DP: 1. 90- Oliver Gavin Spirit of Daytona Chevrolet Corvette DP 2. 99- Alex Gurney GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP 3. 01- Joey Hand Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley DPG3 4. 60- Ozz Negri, Jr. Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley DPG3 5. 6- Michael McDowell Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley Mk XX 6. 02- Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley DPG3 7. 9- JC France Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP 8. 2- Enzo Potolicchio Starworks Motorsport Ford Riley DPG3 9. 5- Christian Fittipaldi Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP 10. 8- Allan McNish Starworks Motorsport Ford Riley DPG3 GT: 1. 44- John Potter Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 2. 57- Ronnie Bremer Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R 3. 59- Hurley Haywood Brumos Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 4. 23- Cooper MacNeil Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 5. 66- Allan Simonsen TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 6. 88- Tom Milner Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R 7. 67- Marc Goossens TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 8. 70- Sylvain Tremblay SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 9. 69- Jeff Segal AIM Autosport FXDD Ferrari 458 Italia 10. 68- Chris Cumming TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Standings After Regulation Sprint Race Distance (2 hours, 45 minutes) posted by Phil Allaway Saturday January 28, 2012 DP: 1. 60-Justin Wilson MSR Ford Riley DPG3 2. 99-Memo Gidley GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP 3. 9-Joao Barbosa Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP 4. 2-Michael Valiente Starworks Motorsports Ford Riley Mk XX 5. 8-Lucas Luhr Starworks Motorsports Ford Riley DPG3 6. 01-Memo Rojas Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley DPG3 7. 90-Jan Magnussen Spirit of Daytona Chevrolet Corvette DP 8. 6-Felipe Nasr MSR Ford Riley Mk XX 9. 76-Nic Jonsson Krohn Racing Ford Lola 10. 02-Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley DPG3 GT: 1. 88-Paul Edwards Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R 2. 45-Mike Rockenfeller Flying Lizard Motorsports with Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 3. 66-Patrick Pliet TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 4. 44-Rene Rast Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 5. 32-Nicolas Armindo Orbit/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 6. 69-Anthony Lazzaro AIM Autosport Ferrari 458 Italia 7. 67- Wolf Henzler TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 8. 23- Emmanuel Collard Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 9. 59- Leh Keen Brumos Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 10. 24- Bill Sweedler Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Grand-Am to Add B-Spec Events Later in 2012 posted by Phil Allaway Saturday January 28, 2012 On Saturday, Grand-Am Road Racing officially announced the creation of a new series that will act as the teritary division for the organization. The series will simply be referred to as “B-Spec.” The new B-Spec class is designed to be a very inexpensive way for brand new organizations to get involved with racing, and for existing organizations to cultivate new talent at a minimal cost. No professional drivers from any series will be allowed to participate in any B-Spec races. The B-Spec series will race four cylinder subcompact automobiles. Five manufacturers have already signed on to provide vehicles for the series. Those are Mazda with their 2, Honda with their Fit, Ford with their Fiesta, Mini with their Cooper and Kia with their brand-new Rio. As for how expensive these cars will be, Mazda would have prospective teams purchase a new Mazda 2. These start at roughly $15,000. From there, there would be a $2600 package that teams would have to buy from Mazdaspeed Motorsports. Finally, there would the all-important safety equipment (roll cage, racing seat, safety harness, fire extinguisher, etc.). The total cost per new car would be somewhere between $20,000-$30,000. Grand-Am brass are quite confident that the series will be a great fit in the organization. “This new form of Grand-Am racing will attract new racers and in the process, new fans,” said Mark Raffauf, Grand-Am’s Managing Director of Racing Operations. “The cars are cool and the competition will be door-to-door, which should be a lot of fun for everyone – a nice fit with what Grand-Am already has happening at every event.” The B-Spec class will race at six tracks later this season starting with Homestead at the end of April. Subsequent rounds would be held at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen (during the Six Hour weekend), Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Lime Rock Park. Events will be 30-45 minutes in length with no pit stops. The new series has been likened to the Renault Cup, a spec-series of Renault Le Car’s (and later Renault Alliances) back in the 1980’s. However, it more closely resembles IMSA’s International Sedan Series, which featured Acura Integras, Plymouth Horizons, Volkswagen Golfs, and the 1980’s version of the Dodge Charger, amongst others. Ryan Dalziel Wins Overall Pole for Rolex 24, Brumos Racing on GT Pole posted by Phil Allaway Friday January 27, 2012 One of the sport’s legendary racetrack owners, spearheading the last independently-owned Sprint Cup facility has died. Dr. Joe Mattioli, 86, passed away Thursday afternoon at the Lehigh Valley Hospital Center after a lengthy illness. A dentist by trade, the patriarch of one of the most influential NASCAR families staked the biggest portion of his reputation on racing, constructing the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway in Northeast Pennsylvania and convincing the most popular series in the country to stage races there. Constructed in the early 1960’s, the “Tricky Triangle” as it’s become known has hosted a total of 68 Cup Series events, beginning in 1974. Pocono Raceway is also home to a successful driving experience, a mainstay for the ARCA Series (two races per year) and has recently hosted one Camping World Truck Series event per season. Open-wheel cars also once graced the asphalt at a facility that has grown to hold over 100,000 fans. But Mattioli’s legacy reaches far beyond the racetrack. His land in Northeast PA is now home to a 25-acre solar energy system, made up of 40,000 American-made photovoltaic modules that will produce more than 72 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy over the next 20 years. Opened in 2010, it makes the raceway the largest solar-powered sports facility in the country, spearheading NASCAR’s push towards protecting the environment and renewable energy. A Navy medic during World War II, Mattioli went to Temple University in Philadelphia, PA through the G.I. Bill and established a successful dental practice in the area. Investing in real estate during the ensuing decades allowed him to accumulate wealth and establish the funding necessary to build the racetrack, which now has expanded to include nearby lodging year-round among other projects, past, present and future which have helped boost the economy in the Pocono Mountain Region. “‘Doc’ was a true leader in every sense of the word,” said the Mattioli family in a statement. “As a visionary, he brought an unknown sport into an alien place, where he along with his unstoppable will and undeniable tenacity built one of the biggest monuments of sports. His passion for his projects was only overshadowed by his deep love for his family, which he gave to all of us hand over fist.” For years, other corporations have looked to buy the speedway and the surrounding land but Mattioli would never sell. That leaves Pocono one of just three tracks on the NASCAR schedule not owned by NASCAR-linked International Speedway Corporation or Bruton Smith’s Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (Indianapolis and Dover are the other two). Mattioli also steadfastly clung to the track’s 500-mile distances, a tradition that was only recently changed for 2012. The good doctor leaves behind his wife Rose – the couple was married 63 years – three children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. In August, 2011 he had retired from his role as President of the Raceway and left the day-to-day operations in the hands of grandchildren Brandon, Nick, and Ashley Igdalsky. There are no plans to sell the facility in the wake of his death; in fact, it was left in a trust so the track will remain in family hands for generations to come. “They can’t touch it,” he said last year in a conversation recounted by Brendan Gaughan Thursday on SiriusXM’s NASCAR channel. “They’re going to learn how to run it or starve.” Chances are, with the great teacher the grandkids had to learn from success, not starvation will be the modus operandi for years to come. Statement On Dr. Joe Mattioli's Passing posted by Thomas Bowles Friday January 27, 2012 From the family of former Pocono Raceway owner and president, Dr. Joseph Mattioli… It is with the upmost remorse that we announce that Dr. Joseph Mattioli passed away this afternoon. His loss has left with each of us an unbearable sadness, which we’ll bear with us for the rest of our lives. “Doc” was a true leader in every sense of the word. As a visionary, he brought an unknown sport into an alien place, where he along with his unstoppable will and undeniable tenacity built one of the biggest monuments of sports. His passion for his projects was only overshadowed by his deep love for his family, which he gave to all of us hand over fist. Beyond our family, he had a true love and admiration for the wonderful members of his North Eastern Pennsylvania Community. He had a great respect for all of the great people that laid the foundations of prosperity before him, and an even greater hope for the future of our area, which he believed lies in its youth. He leaves not only his family, but also everyone he’s ever met with an insatiable desire to take life by the horns. He always lived life on his own terms He did it his way. “Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” – Ernest Hemingway He died loved, respected, and admired. SunTrust Racing, TRG fastest in Opening Practice for Rolex 24 posted by Phil Allaway Thursday January 26, 2012 When the track opened up for practice at 10am Thursday morning, the teams were ready and raring to go. Many of the teams had new equipment to come to grips with, while others were using older, proven machinery. Unfortunately for Starworks Motorsport, their new equipment let them down before they even got onto the track. A failure in the Ford powerplant was found on pit road before the car even saw the track. As a result, they were forced to miss the first session while they changed the engine. The other 13 Daytona Prototypes managed to make their way onto the track and set times. The results more or less kept in line with the Roar Before the 24 test. The SunTrust Racing No. 10 Chevrolet Corvette DP driven by Max Angelelli turned in the fastest lap with a time of 1:41.952 (125.706 mph). This is about six-tenths of a second slower than the fastest test times. However, temperatures are just about 80 degrees at the track. Second was the No. 01 BMW Riley DPG3 for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The car, driven by Graham Rahal, posted a lap at 1:42.086 (125.541 mph), a tenth and a half slower than the Corvette. Third was the No. 99 Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP driven by Alex Gurney with a 1:42.199 (125.402 mph). Juan Pablo Montoya in Ganassi’s No. 02 and John Pew in the Michael Shank Racing No. 60 Ford Riley DPG3 rounded out the top-5. In GT, Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 67 TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup set down the fastest lap of the session right at the end of the session. His lap of 1:49.867 (116.650 mph) was less than two-hundredths of a second faster than Dirk Muller in the No. 94 BMW M3 for Turner Motorsport. Third in class was the Paul Miller Racing No. 48 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup driven by former Porsche factory driver Sascha Maassen with a 1:50.078 (116.426 mph). Sebastian Asch in the No. 17 Burtin Racing with Goldcrest Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was fourth fastest, while Emil Assentato in the No. 69 FXDD Ferrari 458 Italia rounded out the top-5. Ford Racing unveils 2013 Ford Fusion posted by Mike Neff Tuesday January 24, 2012 In the biggest announcement so far of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ford Racing took the wraps off of their 2013 Ford Fusion. The car incorporates common areas agreed upon by all manufacturers with style components unique to the 2013 production car to give fans a race car that truly resembles the street version of the Fusion. While there are most likely going to be some tweaks to the design the car is definitely a much needed change from the current race car and a vast improvement toward bringing the STOCK back to stock car racing. The car was a collaborative effort across many different parts of the Ford organization. One of the key members of the project was Garen Nicoghosian, design manager for specialty vehicles. He was oozing with pride over the car as the assembled members of the media commented on the great looks. He’s a fan of the cars that used to race in the old Trans Am series and it shows in the end product. “I am a big fan of the flared fenders” Nicoghosian said. “The body style and the proportions we came up with lent itself to the flared fenders and the planted look that it gives to the car. It reminds you a lot of a Porsche 911 in how it just looks planted into the track.” While the other manufacturers have not yet unveiled their proposed cars for 2013, Ford has certainly set the bar high with their Ford Fusion.

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2009 Driver Review Schedule

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The TOP TEN!

Jarit Johnson Driver Diary: Heads Held High, Helping Out, and a Cowboy In the House

Jarit Johnson · Friday September 3, 2010

We’ve been working on the racecars this summer. Right now, the cars are just sitting here ready to go-they just need some paint and Bondo. Right now I’m pretty focused on the business because the economy is so tough. We’re knocking on doors, trying to find sponsorship. We’re having a heck of a time doing that, but we have our heads held high. We’re looking for the best!

Jarit Johnson Driver Diary: Behind the Scenes, Still Searching, and A New Niece

Jarit Johnson · Friday July 16, 2010

It’s not easy or cheap to run a race team. You’ve got all the overhead. The way we raced last year we made ends meet and were still competitive. We relied on volunteers and sponsors to provide us the parts and pieces we needed. Some of the teams at the racetrack in the K&N Pro Series with sponsors are at the track with 30 or 40 grand to go racing that week. Last year, I think we did most of our races for like $7,000. That’s where I have to look at the business too. I’ve got to pay the bills, all the utilities and the rent. We do a lot with a little, which can be frustrating at times. Trying to find the money is tough right now. So, we are racing when we can.

We do have a lot to offer sponsors. We can entertain employees and clients at the track. Online marketing, PR/media exposure, there are lot of things we can offer a company most of which have little to do with the actual racing. We are a race team, but we operate like a marketing company. There is a lot that comes with a package and it can be done for much less cost than many other teams. There are also television opportunities. Everybody in the K&N Series does a good job with the TV stuff, the TV package is great. We’ve got our hopes up and we’re going to try to be at Loudon and Dover.

Jarit Johnson Driver Diary: Getting Something Started, Expanding, and Family Time

Jarit Johnson · Friday June 25, 2010

Joe Nemechek gave me an opportunity to go and run his Nationwide Series car at Nashville. It was locked in the show, so we were just trying to keep it up in the points. Joe’s guys are really great guys and he has really good equipment. So I went to Nashville and ran half the race. We had to park it due to a transmission problem. Then we went to Kentucky and I practiced the car for Joe. The orders were, “It’s in the show. Don’t wreck it.” We got it handling good, and then Joe flew in to qualify and race it. It was fun to be in a Nationwide car. I wish I could get in one more often, to get the seat time and be in that series.

Jarit Johnson Driver Diary: A Lot to Offer, Shop Dog, and Time Flies!

Jarit Johnson · Friday May 21, 2010

Greenville was rough. The car got torn up, and we had to cut it from the door tops down and replace the whole body. We don’t have the funds to send it out to someone to hang a new body, but I got a surface plate from a friend and we started hanging our own bodies to cut down on the cost. If there was money, I’ve got a lot of friends who are body hangers who I’d love to send business to, but at this time there’s no money. The economy is so bad. We’re looking for sponsorship. I’ve got a bunch of people helping me out looking, but it’s just all up in the air.

Jarit Johnson: Kicking Off 2010, One Big Project, and Two Easter Egg Hunts

Jarit Johnson · Thursday April 8, 2010

We had everything put together for Greenville-Pickens. We pretty much had a new car to go down there with, and off the trailer we were pretty good. In the first practice we were fifth to eighth. In the second practice the track got a little bit greasy and we fell off a little bit. We dropped back in qualifying to eleventh.

We started the race and were running good. We got up to eighth and we were sitting there riding for the first 40-50 laps. Then on a restart, somebody missed a shift, and we got in the back of them and caved the nose in and all the ductwork. That put us a lap down, and we ended up making up three laps that night. We kept getting stuck in the back and getting caught up in stuff that had nothing to do with us. It was a rough weekend, but we ended up finishing 12th. It was okay, but we had to cut the whole body off the car-we’re hanging the new body on it as we speak. We’ll go on from there.

Jarit Johnson Driver Diary: Gearing Up for 2010 And Family Time

Jarit Johnson · Friday March 12, 2010

Right now, we’re taking care of getting ready for 2010. Over the wintertime, we pulled apart the car we ran at Dover, completely stripped it down, and rebuilt it. It was a Cup car, and we’ve made it into a K&N Pro Series car. We’re gearing up and trying to find some funding to make this happen on the level we want it to. We’re planning on going to Greenville-Pickens, and will go from there. We have a lot of momentum right now, and have some great marketing packages to offer. Just need to keep the momentum going…

Jarit Johnson Driver Diary: From Building Racecars To Behind the Wheel

Jarit Johnson · Wednesday February 3, 2010

I started racing motorcycles out in California when I was four years old, and that went on for several years, until Dad decided he wanted Jimmie and me in a roll cage. He wanted it to be safe. So I got into the off-road stuff, and that led into the SCORE off-road series, the desert races.

I ran that for a few years, raced go-karts for a little bit, and then I got into what’s called a spec-truck out in California. I raced that for about two years, until I moved to North Carolina. When I got back here, I didn’t jump right into racing. I started helping Blaise Alexander. I was a tire changer for Blaise, did a lot of traveling with him, then I got a job with Randy Lajoie. I would work for Randy during the day and then help Blaise in the afternoon and go travel with him. I worked with Lajoie for six years, building seats. Then, I left Randy and started my own fabrication business – I started building my own race cars.