| 2007
American Road Race of Champions
The ARRC at Road Atlanta
A late-season
discussion between car owner Kirk Knestis
and Conover Motor
Sports boss Cameron Conover led to the
decision that ITA hotshoe and Team GTI Longest Day team driver Bowie
Gray would
drive the Golf in what is arguably the most prestigious SCCA regional
sprint race in the US - the American Road Race of Champions (the ARRC)
at Road Atlanta.
Knestis
wanted to give CMS a good showing at this high pressure event but was
pragmatic enough to understand that making the ARRC his first visit to
the daunting Braselton, Georgia track was not a recipe for success. Gray
on the other hand has many successful Atlanta Improved Touring races under
his belt, so he was the natural choice for the job, having demonstrated
his speed for the team at the Longest Day 24 hours.
|
Tom
Hoppe-Sixgun Racing Photo - Several places at Road Atlanta require liberal
use of the curbs to go fast |
Conover had one week to turn the car around following the team's first-in-class
run at the VIR 13 hours but relatively few substantial changes were required
to turn their endurance-optimized racer into a thoroughbred sprinter.
Some unnecessary equipment was removed (the parking brake and specialized
Hella Xenon lights, for example), the suspension was aligned, all systems
got a complete check, and it was into the trailer and south to Georgia.
The first qualifying
session saw Gray second to Northeast standout Beran
Peter (VW Golf III) and ahead of the Vantage Motorsports duo of
Derek Lugar and Rob
Mccabe (VW Golf MkIII and MkII respectively) and Trever
Degioanni's Honda Accord.
The second session
finished with Gray on top of the heap but with a time that left Peter
on the pole for the race, once fastest times from the two sessions were
combined to establish the grid. Amazingly, the top eight were all under
the existing ITB lap record - a feat attributed to track repaving as well
as increased competitiveness of this class for 2007.
|
Tom
Hoppe-Sixgun Racing Photo - Gray pursues Derek Lugar's similar Golf.
This model would sweep the podium. |
Early
in the race, Gray, Lugar, Peter, and Degioanni battled for the lead in
what was described by many spectators as "one of the best tin-top
races ever." Unfortunately, it turned ugly when the Peter-Degioanni
fight got a little too heated, resulting in contact and the latter's Honda
suffering a hard impact drivers's right, coming onto the straight.
Gray had a front row
seat for the incident and later admitted that he "freaked out a little
bit" over the severity of Trever's hit. Once it was clear that his
competitor was going to be okay however, Gray "put his head down"
and turned his fastest race laps, until he was passed by Peter - who took
victory by about 1/10th of a second.
However, following
the race, it was announced that stewards had penalized Peter one position
for his role in Degioanni's crash, bumping the Conover Motor Sports Team
GTI entry into first place.
|
Tom
Hoppe-Sixgun Racing Photo - Bowie Gray celebrates in the ARRC victory
lane |
