THE LINE - OCTOBER 23, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013 at 08:34AM 
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)Neel Jani and Nico Prost - joined by Nick Heidfeld - (No. 12 Rebellion Timepieces/Lemo Connectors/Speedy Garage Toyota-powered Lola B12/60) repeated as winners of the 1,000-mile race Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta on Saturday. Jani took the checkered flag by six laps over P2 winner Ryan Briscoe, who helped co-driver Scott Tucker to his fourth consecutive championship. “The beginning was not easy at all, it was dry, wet, dry, but wet enough so had to keep the slicks,” Jani said. “It was kind of a gamble on the tires. It was a bit of a question what do you risk. I tried not to burn out the tires, but the rain never came so we switched back.” The American Le Mans Series thus comes to a close after the sixteenth running of the special endurance racing event. Petit Le Mans remains on the Tudor United Sorts Car Championship in 2014. As always, thanks again to photographer extraordinaire John Thawley, who has provided us with sensational images of the final ALMS event here.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)The No. 551 Level 5 Motorsports Siemens/Alpina Watches/Ohiya Casino Resort HPD ARX-03b driven by Ryan Briscoe, Marino Franchitti and Scott Tucker won in P2 by 1.394 seconds over the David Brabham/Scott Sharp/Anthony Lazzaro No. 01 Extreme Speed Motorsports Tequila Patrón HPD ARX-03b. Tucker won his third straight P2 crown after taking the PC title in 2010. “All of them have been hard, and today it came down to the last race – and we had to win,” Tucker said. “Fortunately, it all worked out. Extreme Speed Motorsports gave us really tough competition, and it could have gone either way.”
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)Nick Tandy, Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler took their first triumph of the final season for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón in the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. The winning machine was a show car until it was pressed into service last month after an opening-lap incident in the Grand Prix of Baltimore presented by SRT totaled the team’s primary car. Tandy nearly lost control following the final restart with 11 laps remaining when he clipped a curb, but he recovered and held on to win by 0.741-of-a-second over Dirk Muller in the No. 56 Team RLL Crowne Plaza BMW Z4 GTE co-driven by John Edwards and Bill Auberlen. “It was clearly difficult winning a race in GT, especially when it’s a 10-hour race,” Sellers said. “It was all about resiliency. Nobody gave up and the guys were fantastic in the pits. It’s pretty special to be here in the last ALMS race and go down in the history books and be part of what is considered to be the best GT racing in the world.”
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)A sixth-place finish in GT for Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R co-driven by Jordan Taylor secured the GT drivers’ title, winning by six points over Muller (135-129). “After not getting points at Sebring, we didn’t think getting the championship was possible,” Garcia said. “But we kept fighting and it came together in the end.”
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)Chris Cumming and co-drivers Kyle Marcelli and Stefan Johansson had to come from behind to win the third-straight Continental Tire PC race for the No. 8 BAR1 Motorsports ORECA FLM09. Marcelli took the checkered flag 11.442 seconds ahead of Sean Rayhall, who co-drove with Ozz Negri. The Rayhall/Negri duo led much of the race – including eight laps overall – in the No. 25 8Star Motorsports entry.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.011)Spencer Pumpelly (No. 45 Venezuela/eSilicon/UIS Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) won in GTC by 5.839 seconds over Andy Lally. Pumpelly co-drove the Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 with Nelson Canache Jr., and Madison Snow, while Lally shared the No. 27 dempseychallenge.org Porsche with Dempsey Racing teammates Joe Foster and Patrick Dempsey. The victory gave Flying Lizard Motorsports the GTC team title by 12 points over Alex Job Racing (157-145). Alex Job teammates Jeroen Bleekemolen and Cooper MacNeil won the drivers’ title with a fourth-place finish in the No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche shared with Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, beating Pumpelly and Canache by six points (145-139). Read A.J. Morning's report from Petit Le Mans at the end of this column.
(Photo by Michael L. Levitt, courtesy of GM/Chevrolet Racing)
WillPower (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet-Dallara) won the IndyCar finale - the MATV 500 - at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Saturday night. Power, who lost the championship on this racetrack last year, won his third race of the season by 1.4883 seconds over 2012 race winner Ed Carpenter (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet-Dallara), who earned his first podium finish of the season."That is the most satisfying win of my life," said Power, who had been the series championship runner-up in 2010, 2011 and 2012. "I wanted to do it so badly all year. I knew in the early ovals, I just was kind of conservative because I just wanted to finish every lap. And this time I'm going for it." Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Hydroxycut/KVRT-SH Racing Chevrolet-Dallara) finished third. Scott Dixon won the 2013 INDYCAR Championship (see below).
(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
Scott Dixon pulls into the pits as the 2013 IZOD INDYCAR champion after last Saturday night's MAVTV INDYCAR race at the California (Auto Club) Speedway in Fontana, California. Dixon, who entered the 19th race of the season with a 25-point advantage over title rival Helio Castroneves, secured his third series championship in the past decade in his 220th Indy car start. Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda-Dallara) finished fifth in the MAVTV 500, while Castroneves placed sixth in the high attrition race. The final margin was 27 points. "It was a crazy day," said Dixon, who posted his field-high 10th top five of the season. "Just huge credit to Team Target. They played everything straight tonight. We had to work on a bit of strategy, we had to work on the car a lot, and then we had an issue with some overheating problems toward the end. I still can't believe we've won the championship. So many people to thank and it's just unbelievable."
(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Chip Ganassi embraces team strategist Mike Hull after Scott Dixon delivered another Indy car championship to Ganassi. It is the 10th Indy car championship for Target Chip Ganassi Racing and the ninth with Honda (Dixon won in '03 with Toyota).
(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
Scott Dixon celebrates with his wife Emma after winning the 2013 IZOD INDYCAR Championship.
(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
Scott and Emma Dixon at the INDYCAR celebration dinner Sunday night.
Eighteen-year-old Sage Karam (No. 8 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports c/w Curb-Agajanian) from Nazareth, Pa., clinched his firstFirestone Indy Lights championship with a third-place finish in the Lefty's Kids Club 100 on Saturday. It is the seventh series title for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Carlos Munoz, driving the No. 26 Dialy-Ser car for Andretti Autosport, won his fourth race of the season, holding off Gabby Chaves by .9966 of a second. Karam was 3.7 seconds behind. It was the first season in Firestone Indy Lights for Karam, who placed one spot behind Chaves in the 2012 Star Mazda Championship. Chaves, 20, of Weston, Fla., earned a victory at Mid-Ohio in early August and placed in the top five in 11 of the 12 races. He closed the season with seven consecutive podium finishes
Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing/Felix Sabates Cessna Auburn University Chevrolet SS) celebrates his victory in the Camping World RV Sales 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, which finished under caution due to a last lap wreck. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Mountain Dew/Xbox1 Chevroltet SS) was second and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Nationwide Insurance Ford Fusion) finished third. Jimmie Johnson No. 48 (Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet SS) finished thirteenth, despite leading a race-high 47 of 188 laps, but took over the series lead from Matt Kenseth (No. Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot "Let's Do This" Toyota Camry), who fought an ill-handling car during the second half of the race and finished 20th after dodging the obligatory last-lap wreck. Johnson leads Kenseth, who led 32 laps, by four points with four races left in the Chase. Watch the video here.
(Photo by Lesley Ann Miller, ©2013 LAT Photo USA, courtesy of Toyota Racing)
Johnny Sauter (No. 98 Carolina Nut Co./Curb Records Toyota) won the Fred's 250 Powered by Coca Cola NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega last Saturday. Ty Dillion (No.3 Richard Childress Racing Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet) was second and Jeb Burton (No. 4 Arrowhead-Kangaroo Express Chevrolet) finished third. There was a massive wreck at the end of the race. Watch the video here.
(Nissan)
Nissan's ZEOD RC electric prototype had its on track debut at Fuji Speedway in Japan last weekend with Michael Krumm at the wheel. The car will now head back to the UK this week to continue its testing and development program. The Nissan ZEOD RC will occupy "Garage 56" at Le Mans next year - an entry reserved for cars showcasing new and innovative technology previously not seen at the French endurance classic. Nissan says the ZEOD RC will complete an entire 8.5-mile lap of Le Mans next year on pure electric power at speeds in excess of 186 mph. When running on its internal combustion engine, the ZEOD RC will recharge its battery using regenerative braking. Nissan will use the ZEOD RC program to develop technologies for its planned future LM P1 assault.
Bittersweet.
By A.J. Morning
Braselton. Fifteen years. Compared to NASCAR’s 65 years running, not a big number. Compared to Indy and Le Mans’ ACO and FIA at or above 100 years each, barely a flash in the pan. Yet, in 15 years – the last twelve of which I’ve spent covering the American Le Mans Series – we have seen storied battles on pavement between global manufacturers and upstart privateers. We have seen a showcase for future technologies being tested in competition. We have seen history being made at high speed all over North America. In 15 years, some of the best racing anywhere has taken place in the ALMS.
With the series to be absorbed into the Tudor United Sports Car Championship in 2014, this year’s Petit Le Mans closed out the ALMS season – and the series itself – on an unusually wistful note.
“It’s kind of sad, isn’t it? I mean… it’s an end of an era.” So said Muscle Milk Pickett Racing’s Lucas Luhr, prior to the start of Saturday’s last-ever ALMS race, which summed-up the overall feel in the paddock last week. Adding to the tinge of sadness in the air was the pain of loss within the motorsports family. Famed young Porsche ace Sean Edwards was killed in a crash in Australia on Tuesday while instructing a student, and his team made the decision to remove the No. 30 MOMO Porsche 911 GT3 from competition. The Porsche’s livery was redone in a tribute to Edwards, and taken for a solitary lap prior to the race.
The undercurrent of sober reflection was inescapable. Edwards was a popular driver and proven talent in the GTC class. At 26, likely not yet into his prime, he was leading the Porsche Supercup Championship points race at the time of his death.
Thus, it was almost poetic that the 1,000-mile contest began with a somber backdrop of light rain, which continued for most of the daylight hours, before eventually giving way to clearer skies and cool October breezes for the finish.
Among the other points of interest from Petit?
All week long, it seemed much of the discussion on the paddock and track side seemed to center not so much on the race itself, as what we might expect for next year. That is because so little information has been made available to the teams competing in TUSCC starting in just three months. The series schedule was only recently released, and car specifications have been slow to come. As a result, a number of top teams have been slow to commit – Greg Pickett’s Muscle Milk Racing, Dyson Racing, and Scott Tucker’s Level 5 Motorsports are just three out of a considerable number of ALMS regulars who have yet to announce plans for 2014.
As one division in sports car racing is coming to an end with ALMS and Grand Am becoming one series, another rivalry of sorts is apparently developing: The FIA’s World Endurance Championship, responsible in no small part for drawing talent away from existing Le Mans-style racing series in the USA and Europe, has events scheduled in conflict with the new combined series. Since the first weekend of October is the new black, apparently, WEC’s Fuji date is on the same weekend as TUSCC’s Petit Le Mans in 2014.
NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series made an appearance at the track, though rain forced the series to spend most of their scheduled time idled on the paddock. Unable to account for the damp Fall weather (read: no wet tires), the “stock cars” completed a brief practice session early in the week, only to have later practices and qualifying rained-out. They did run a full race on Friday, which was still good fun to watch.
While the NASCAR teams were frustrated by moist track conditions, the IMSA Lites and Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup series put on an excellent show in both wet and dry. Most notably in MX-5 Cup, a last-lap battle between Elliott Skeer, John Dean II, and Patrick Gallagher brought fans – and announcers – to their feet, with the three finishing in the aforementioned order. Skeer won the final race of the season, but ended up 4 points shy of series championship winner Christian Szymczak.
An item that’s surfaced in the last day or two: According to sources within IMSA, one possible change for 2014 may be in the series’ safety team. That is, there might not be one. While IMSA for years has had its own dedicated safety crew traveling with the series, “the NASCAR way” has always been to have a series liaison to coordinate with local firefighters, EMTs and paramedics at each of the tracks – and this is said to be the policy TUSCC wants to adopt. NASCAR claims this is due to “risk management and the series’ insurance policies,” which is shorthand for “this is how we always done it on the cheap, and we don’t like changin’ things.” Outside the world of France family racertainment, however, it’s a travesty. Ask any driver. It is one of many points of contention that need to be settled before the green flag drops at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January.
That’s it for now; I’ll see you at the next pit stop.
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Porsche's quest to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014 - and win. A new page has debuted with images, films, background information and even a multimedia journey through Porsche's motorsports history.- PMD