2006 12 Hours at the Point
12 Hour Enduro at Summit Point Motorsports Park

The major enduro debut of the Conover Engines-PhilsTireService.com Team GTI Golf was not without its challenges but, by the time the dust cleared, drivers Greg Amy, Phil Phillips, Jeff Lawton, and Kirk Knestis had fought back from an early-race incident to finish second in ITB.

Ongoing tuning and alignment of the KONI suspension and trick bushings from 247-PARTS.com improved handling, and a new enduro-spec IT engine and gearbox by Cameron Conover of Summerfield, NC helped the new car be consistently quicker than last year's ride.

Greg Amy qualified the car 2nd of four in class, behind only the Team York VW Golf driven by the Troxell brothers.

Weather was expected to be variable and potentially soggy over the course of the event, so the team was confident leading up to the green flag, with both dry and rain-treaded Hoosier tires from PhilsTireService at the ready.

Greg Amy (Middletown, CT) started the car at the noontime green flag but found himself in the thick of a Spec Miata class brawl from the very first lap - not a healthy place to be at the beginning of a race scheduled to end at midnight.

Amy wisely backed off from the battle but on lap eight, the inevitable happened as a conflict among the Miata drivers resulted in multiple cars spinning and leaving the track. In avoidance, Amy went for a gap around the melee - which unfortunately closed up on him. The resulting impact significantly damaging the right front corner of the Golf, necessitating an unscheduled and all-too-early call to the pits for repairs.

The crew, led by crew chief Lee Grimes and head technician Conover replaced the steering tie rod and effected repairs to the fender, grill, and airbox. After an additional short stop to finalize suspension alignment, Amy returned to the fray 16 laps down to the ITB-leading Troxell/Troxell Golf, and was recorded as 48th overall at the end of the first hour.

The Conover Engines over-the-wall crew uses Triple 8 Brainsaver extreme sports helmets

The balance of the race was a relatively calm affair, as car owner Kirk Knestis (Greensboro, NC), Phil Phillips (Haverstraw, NY) and Jeff Lawton (Colchester, CT) took turns with Amy for the balance of the long event. Lawton would eventually turn the fastest race lap for the team (1:34.50) as the team wrestled back to 26th overall, passing Joe McCormick's Golf III and the BMW 2002 of Shelton, Willis, Willis, and Toy (pictured right, being set up for a pass) to move back into 2nd in class.

The Troxells' earlier-generation Golf was not to be caught however, as they brought the balance of speed, endurance, and reliability necessary to maintain their lead. Rain threatened, and might have changed the outcome but amazingly, the storms defied predictions and stayed away as Knestis took the checkered flag at midnight.

The Conover Engines-PhilsTireService.com team will reunite next for the 13-hour endurance classic at Virginia International Raceway in November.

Conover Engines-PhilsTireService.com Team GTI

Promotional Partners
PhilsTireService.com - Hoosier race tires
KONI Racing - Quality suspension struts
Bildon Motorsport - Racing parts for VWS
Conover Engines and Transaxles

Suppliers
Competition Cages - Rollcage construction
Action Digital Race Data - Onboard data acquisition
Recaro USA - High quality racing seats
247-PARTS.com - Racing suspension components
Triple 8 - Brainsaver Crew Helmets

PhilsTireService.com Team GTI (left to right)
Collins Conover - Communications engineer, refueler
Greg Amy - Driver
David Bill - Intrepid team intern
Cameron Conover - Lead technician, tire changer
Spencer Conover - Refueler
Kirk Knestis - Team co-owner, driver
Jeff Lawton - Driver
Lee Grimes - Crew chief, tactician
Bill Miller - Tire changer, mechanic
Phil Phillips - Driver, tire engineer
Kathy Webb - Pit observer, photographer
Evan Webb - Refueler, team chef
Laurene Johnson - Team co-owner (not pictured)