Las Vegas, NV. -- Jeff Kelley of Eden, Utah won Saturday night’s USAC Western HPD Midget finale at the Las Veas Motor Speedway Bullring. He passed Shawn Buckley on lap 25 and led the final six laps to beat Buckley, Jim Waters, Christine Breckenridge and Michael Daniels. Buckley wrapped up the 2014 USAC Western HPD and Pavement titles in the process. Kelley's win was the first in HPD Western competition by a Honda engine.

HPD USAC WESTERN MIDGET PAVEMENT RACE RESULTS: November 22, 2014 – Las Vegas, Nevada – Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Jim Waters, 24, Waters-15.287; 2. Jeff Kelley, 55x, Kelley-15.298; 3. Christine Breckenrdge, 26, Breckenridge-15.329; 4. Shawn Buckley, 7, Buckley-15.443; 5. Michael Daniels, 87, Daniels-15.666; 6. Courtney Crone, 98jr, Pankratz-15.843; 7. Jeanille Waters, 17, Waters-15.958; 8. Anthony Waters, 02w, Waters-15.977; 9. Ashley Hazelton, 32, Hazelton-16.006; 10. Annie Briedinger, 75, Briedinger-16.038; 11. Joel Rayborne, 2U, RamBull-NT; 12. Toni Briedinger, 80, Briedinger-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Jim Waters, 2. Breckenridge, 3. Daniels, 4. Hazelton, 5. Jeanille Waters. NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Kelley, 2. Buckley, 3. T.Briedinger, 4. A.Waters. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jeff Kelley, 2. Shawn Buckley, 3. Jim Waters, 4. Christine Breckenridge, 5. Michael Daniels, 6. Ashley Hazelton, 7. Annie Briedinger, 8. Antony Waters, 9. Jeanille Waters, 10. Joel Rayborne, 11. Toni Briedinger. NT

----------------------------

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-24 Buckley, Laps 25-30 Kelley.

FINAL USAC HPD WESTERN POINT STANDINGS: 1-Buckley-1,725, 2-Hazelton-1,149, 3-T,Briedinger-1,053, 4-Cody Jessop-1,026, 5-Breckenridge-867, 6-Rayborne-819, 7-A,Briedinger-756, 8-Kelley-594, 9-Tom Paterson-581, 10-Dylan Nobile-572.

FINAL USAC HPD WESTERN PAVEMENT POINT STANDINGS: 1-Buckley-1,188, 2-T.Briedinger-955, 3-Breckenridge-867, 4-A.Briedinger-756, 5-Rayborne-723, 6-Cody Jessop-635, 7-Kelley-594, 8-Tom Paterson-581, 9-Dylan Nobile-572, 10-Hazelton-432.

HART Continues Podium Streak at Watkins Glen

 

HART has had a strong history at Watkins Glen International Raceway, with two podium finishes in the past two years.  Coming off of a win at Kansas Speedway, HART had high hopes for this year’s event at “The Glen”.  Both the #92 and #93 had shown strong pace leading into the weekend, and the team has been perfecting its pit strategy and pit-stop performance to give the cars an extra advantage in the race.

The weekend kicked off  with Practice 1 on Thursday afternoon.  The weather looked to be good all weekend, so the team planned for a dry race.  Watkins Glen is a much different track from the previous venue at Kansas, so the team used its valuable practice time to get the cars set up for the fast corners and large elevation changes of The Glen.  Due to past experience at this track, the cars were fast right off the truck, with #93 setting a top-five time.  The pace would be good but the drivers were struggling with longevity.  The cars could run fast times, but those times would fall off too quickly as the session went on, so the team focus for Practice 2 would be on consistency.

The team worked on chassis changes to make the cars more consistent and reduce tire wear.  Some focal points were camber changes and toe changes, to assist the car at turn-in, and support the car through the corner.  Practice 2 took place early Friday morning, so track temperatures were lower than they were earlier.  Both cars were able to lower their lap times, and the changes seemed to help the balance, as well as make the cars more consistent.  HART was able to move into the top three in the ST (Street Tuner) field, and the team looked good heading into qualifying.

As qualifying approached, the team had a more relaxed schedule than at Kansas. The cars had no mechanical issues and the team’s focus would be mainly on confirming chassis setup numbers.  The only hiccup during the entire weekend was a broken windshield on the #92 car.  Fortunately, HART always comes prepared and had a spare on hand which was installed before race day.  The strategy for HART drivers Steve Eich and Chad Gilsinger was to get a gap to the rest of the field and work together.  Gilsinger led Eich onto the track, and both drivers posted great times in the first couple laps.  Eich was able to get a nice “tow” off Gilsinger and posted his best lap on his first lap.  Gilsinger needed one more lap and posted his best on Lap Two.  Although both times were only about half a second apart, Gilsinger was able to qualify in the fifth position, while Eich would slot into the 12^th spot. Both cars suffered from a little understeer during the session as the track temperature increased from Practice 2, but this would be similar to race conditions, so the team made note for future strategy.

Saturday was Race Day and the temperatures were in the mid-80s, with sunny skies.  HART was geared up to go for another podium finish.  As the race began, there was a multi-car crash on the front straight in the GS (Grand Sport) class, which forced the ST cars to take caution as they started their race.  The crash was right at the start/finish line and the track went back to green as the cars headed into Turn 1.  Gilsinger was able to make a pass for fourth place into Turn 1 while chaos ensued behind him.  Three ST cars came together and Eich weaved his way through the mess to pick up six positions by the time the track  went to a full-course caution on the first lap.  Due to the amount of debris, the caution lasted for more than 20 minutes.  When the track went green again, both HART drivers improved their positions even further, as both cars moved into the top five.  Just before the one hour mark, another full-course caution came out, putting both cars in their pit windows, so the team decided to make their driver changes.

Once again, the HART crew did an amazing job during the pit stop and put the #93 car, now in the hands of Michael Valiante, into the second position after pitting from fifth.  Valiante was able to pass for the lead at the restart and led the majority of his stint working with other Honda drivers who were running second and third.,  Meanwhile, Kevin Boehm was at the wheel of the #92 car and was moving towards the top 10 after being forced to pit out of sequence due to the team only having one pit crew.  Boehm was running great times when all of a sudden he felt a slight vibration, and then, the rear of the car fell down!  The right rear hub on #92 had broken, and the whole wheel and hub assembly came off of the car.  Running on only three wheels, Boehm did an amazing job of keeping the car off the guardrail, and safely managed to bring it back to the pits for service.  The crew once again did a great job, and actually got the car back on track to finish the race.

At the same time, Valiante was having a battle of his own trying to hold off the Honda Civic Si of Ryan Eversley and the Porsche Cayman of Remo Ruscitti.  The Hondas were no match for the Porsches, which used their power to motor past both of them.  With about thirty minutes remaining, the crew radioed to Valiante to save fuel whenever possible. If there were no more yellows, many cars would risk running out of fuel.  Valiante began to save fuel; unfortunately, this allowed cars behind him to close in.  With about fifteen minutes left in the race, the Porsche started to slow.  Ruscitti had run out of fuel, and this handed the lead to Eversley, with Valiante still in second and the #5 CJ Wilson Mazda on his bumper.  Ultimately, Valiante had to give up the second position due to concerns over fuel, but the team would still have been happy with a third-place, podium result.  The white flag flew with Valiante running third, but now, the Porsche Cayman of Will Nonamaker was closing fast.  Valiante made it all the way to the last corner when the fuel finally ran out, and the car “stumbled” coming onto the front straight as the Porsche motored by to take third.  Again, the team was happy to finish, and headed to post-race technical inspection in fourth position.

As with many professional races, teams often push the rules envelope to get the most performance possible out of the cars.  Sometimes they get away with it and sometimes the technical inspectors find that they have pushed too far.  The #5 CJ Wilson Mazda was found to have illegal suspension bushings and was disqualified from the race.  The #93 HART Honda Civic Si made it through tech and was moved back into the third position, extending a three-year podium streak at The Glen.

"I love racing here,” said driver Chad Gilsinger of the #93 car. “We have always been strong here and the crew once again made the difference in the race.  This year we did not have the strongest car, but we had the best package of crew, drivers, and car, and that is what kept us up front.  If the yellow [when HART pitted] would have come a couple laps later, I think we could have battled for the win, but I am happy with third and this helps us gain needed points in the championship.”

You can follow all the action on the new IMSA website, www.imsa.com

 

The next Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge event will be at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, July 12.

To keep up with HART’s progress and to see pictures and video of the cars and team, ‘Like’ us on Facebook  ( www.facebook.com/HARTracingteam )

Follow us on Twitter @HARTracingteam

Special thanks to all our Sponsors/Partners. 

 

Indianapolis is the birthplace of motorsports in the US and crossing the yard of bricks is every driver’s dream.  For the eighth round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Championship, the HART drivers got to live that dream, and fight for a chance to stand on a podium shared with many racing legends of the past. This year would bring new challenges, as the road-course configuration had changed, but the team was up for the task of competing at such a historic venue.

The weekend kicked off Thursday, with two practice sessions and qualifying.  Most of the HART drivers had been to Indy before, but none had had the chance to drive the new layout that was finished earlier this year.  In the past, the Civic had been strong here, as Chad Gilsinger grabbed pole position during the inaugural event in 2012 and the team had led many laps in two previous outings here.  Lady Luck had been the biggest challenge for HART as both visits to Indy had ended with car damage after the #93 Civic tangled with competitors.

In Practice 1, the team focused on getting the drivers familiar with the new layout.  The team went out on older tires to give the drivers a feel for what the car would be like near the end of the race, and also used the opportunity to set the balance of the car.  As many other teams went out on fresh tires, HART struggled to stay at the top of the time sheets, but the drivers were gaining valuable track time.  The new road-course layout would not be as friendly to the Civic as the old one.  The circuit is tighter, and favors rear-wheel-drive cars like the MX-5 and the Cayman. It’s also much harder on brakes.

During Practice 2, the team investigated alternate brake pads, to guarantee it had a package that would last the entire race.  Both cars continued to work on the setup, as the team simulated a pit stop and installed new front tires to help understand the balance of the car following the stop.  With the front-wheel-drive Civic, it is crucial to get the tires to last as long as possible.  Once the front tires “fall away”, the car will lose almost three seconds a lap, while the RWD cars lose less than a second.  Understandably, this makes it VERY difficult to battle for position at the end of a race.  By the end of Practice 2, the team had made progress and managed to post times among the top 10, knowing that the car was capable of more.

As HART prepared the cars for qualifying, its strategy would be a little different.  Michael Valiante would qualify the #93 for this event, in order to get him out of the car sooner, so he could have more time to rest before his DP drive in the Tudor United Sports Car Championship race, which would start only 25 minutes after the conclusion of the CTSCC race.  Steve Eich was back after missing the previous race, and would once again qualify the #92.  Meanwhile, HART continued its strategy of having the cars work together to get the best qualifying advantage possible.  Valiante led the two on track and quickly jumped into the top three on the grid after his first flying lap.  The two cars ran nose-to-tail, pushing the limit every lap until the tires started to fall away.  At the end of the session, Valiante had managed to grab the third position on the grid, while Eich had to settle for 18^th.  Both cars ran well, but neither was a match for the Porsche Cayman that grabbed pole with a time almost a full second faster than the Civic.

Friday was Race Day, and the temperature was once again in the low 80s, with sunny skies.  There was a small chance of rain later in the race, but the teams planned for a dry event.  The day kicked off the NASCAR Brickyard weekend, with opening NASCAR practice.  During the fan walk in advance of the CTSCC event, many fans shared their love for Honda and were excited to see the cars on track.   As the green flag flew, the cars were four and five wide heading into Turn One.  Valiante had a great run into the first turn, and tried to make a pass for the lead, but ended up losing a spot in the process.  Eich also had a great start and was moving his way forward.  After the chaos of the first few laps, #93 made a couple passes and had settled into second position, while #92 was trying to work his way into the top 10. It took only 15 minutes for a full-course caution caused by a crash in Turn One.  The caution would help the Civics conserve tires, but at the same time, it bunched the field again.  With plenty of car contact during the first few laps, there was already debris on the track.  This would make the restart tricky, as most cars would be forced to run “off line” in order to make passes and/or defend position.  When the track went green, #93 was already struggling, trying to keep the lightweight Mazda MX-5 behind him as the Civic’s tires started to fall off.  The #93 was in fourth place, trying to stay among the top five before the pit window opened.  Unfortunately, only 30 minutes into the race, the #93 ran over a piece of debris on track and its left rear tire went flat.  The team was forced to make an unscheduled stop for a tire change, and decided to also do the driver change and put Gilsinger in the car.

While #93 was in the pits, #92 was moving into the top 10.  As a result, the HART team would shift the “preferred” strategy to the #92 car, and hope that it could get the lap back for #93, while salvaging as many positions as it could.  Gilsinger would have an uphill battle, having to run almost two hours on a set of front tires.  With many cars involved contact, there would be multiple yellow flags. The #92 was able to pit in its fuel window to get Kevin Boehm in the car for the finish.  The car was in the top 10, and was on a great strategy to move up before the checkers.  Unfortunately for #93, HART was never able to get its lap back, and was forced to just run until the checkered flag, while hoping that others would drop out.  As the race moved into its final hour, radar showed rain moving into the area.  This could be an advantage for the FWD cars, but the question would be, when to pit?  Sprinkles of rain were falling on the front straight and in other spots on the track, but not enough to warrant rain tires. There was just enough moisture to make the conditions tricky for the drivers.  Boehm and Gilsinger did a great job keeping their cars under control during this time, but the rain came and went without creating the need for a tire change.  With less than thirty minutes remaining, Boehm was headed towards a top-10 finish when the car began to “stumble” in the switchback corners.  One lap later, the #93 was doing the same thing.  Both cars should have had enough fuel to make it to the end, but the symptoms seemed similar to low fuel conditions.  The #92’s situation worsened, and the team was forced to pit Boehm for fuel.  Gilsinger was able to alter his driving technique and nurse the #93 to the end.  As the checkered flag flew, HART could only manage to finish 15^th with the #92 and 18^th with the #93, while still being the highest-finishing Civics in the field.

 

After the race, the team analyzed the fuel systems of both cars and found that the fuel pickup lines had come loose from the bottom of the tanks.   This is why the cars had stumbled earlier than expected.  The team has already ordered new adhesive materials to address this issue, and will have the cars ready for the next event.

 

You can follow all the action on the new IMSA website, www.imsa.com

The next Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge event will be at Road America, August 8-9.

To keep up with HART’s progress and to see pictures and video of the cars and team, ‘Like’ us on Facebook  ( www.facebook.com/HARTracingteam )

Follow us on Twitter @HARTracingteam

Special thanks to all our Sponsors/Partners. 

                 HART Goes International and Visits 
                   Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

Canadian Tire Motorsports Park is the only international race on the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge schedule, but is well known to the U.S. and Canadian fans.  CTMP (formerly known as Mosport International Raceway) is an old-style circuit that is very fast, with many blind corners and little runoff area.  This is the kind of track where a small mistake can lead to big consequences, but a little bravery can gain many spots on the grid.

The event kicked off Wednesday with a promoter test day.  The HART drivers had never been to this circuit before, so it was crucial to get a head start on vehicle setup and allowing the drivers to learn the track.  Drivers Kevin Boehm and Michael Valiante would be the only ones able to make the test day, but both have plenty of experience setting up cars, so the team was in good hands.

In Practice 1, Boehm and Valiante had a good handle on the track, so the focus was to get the cars set up to run consistent pace.  The track is very fast, with little braking zones, which figured to make it very difficult to pass in the race.  Track position would be key, and the cars would need to maintain pace.  By the end of the opening session, #93 was in the eighth position and #92 landed in 15^th .  There was very little time separating the top 10 cars, so a couple of tenths improvement in lap time could move a driver up many positions.

Practice 2 would be early Friday morning. With the absence of Steve Eich, who was unable to make the event, Chad Gilsinger would be slated for double duty this weekend, taking stints in both #92 and #93 during the race.  To do this, the rules required him to get practice time in each car, so Gilsinger started the session in #92 and finished it in #93.  With this being his first time seeing the track, he would spend the entire session working on his lap times.  Boehm continued to work on setup and perfecting his line, as well.  By the end of the session, both drivers felt much more comfortable even though their times were only good for 14^th and 18^th.

As the team prepared the cars for qualifying, the drivers were reviewing video and looking at data, seeking any little bit of time advantage.  As mentioned earlier, track position would be key, so qualifying would be more important than ever.  The qualifying session would also take place later in the day, when the track temperature would be much higher.  This often results in a drop in the cars’ lap times, so it would be crucial to get a good lap in early.  The two HART cars would once again plan to work together to optimize their qualifying performances.  There is one long straightaway at CTMP which can benefit the cars if they have a draft.  The #92 and #93 planned to share the draft lap after lap, in hopes of giving each car an advantage.  Boehm would be qualifying the #92 car for the first time, and Gilsinger would continue his qualifying efforts in #93.  Within the first couple of laps, the cars would see their fastest times before losing the sweet spot on the tires.  Gilsinger was able to make the best of his lap, putting the #93 in second place to start the race, while Boehm made a minor mistake on his lap and had to settle for 12^th on the grid.  Once again, this proved how competitive the Continental Tire series is, as the ten-spot delta between the two cars represented only 0.7 seconds in elapsed time.

Saturday was race day and the temperature was in the mid 80’s, with sunny skies.  The crowd on hand was well into the thousands as many took advantage of the beautiful weather to see some great racing.  As the green flag flew, the roar of the cars filled the valleys of the circuit between its concrete barriers.  Gilsinger tried making a pass for the lead multiple times in the opening laps, but finally had to settle into second position.  Boehm had a good start and was able to maintain position just outside of the top ten.  Both drivers were pushing hard for almost an hour as the track stayed green.  Even though the tires started to show significant wear after about 30 minutes, #92 and #93 maintained position until the first caution flag came out, almost an hour into the race.  Gilsinger was sitting in third after being passed by the Mazda MX-5 driven by Randy Pobst, and the team needed to pit him to get him into the #92.  As the caution laps continued, the team prepared for its first stop, and all of a sudden, Gilsinger felt a vibration.  “I think I have a drive shaft going bad!”, Gilsinger radioed to the crew.   Shortly thereafter, Gilsinger found #93 without fourth gear.  The gear had broken, and the chance for a podium result would be gone.  Gilsinger would pit the car from third and Valiante would take over.  While the car’s chances for a good finish were done, the team decided to have Valiante continue, in order to pick up as many points as possible.

Now that Gilsinger was out of #93, the team planned to pit #92 once it reached its pit window for a one-stop strategy.  Boehm was now running in the top three, but was starting to have some misfire concerns.  As the car came in, the HART crew performed another amazing pit stop, and got #92 serviced without losing any time.  Gilsinger was now behind the wheel, and ready to make up for the problems of #93.  Unfortunately, #92 was already having problems of its own.  On multiple occasions per lap, the car would develop a misfire, causing a lack of power/acceleration feeling.  This would make it nearly impossible to pass other cars, while also making it difficult to defend position against other cars.  Gilsinger brought #92 back to the pits for diagnosis, but ultimately, there was nothing the team could do.  Both #92 and #93 would have to endure until the end of the race, simply trying to pick up the most points possible.  They finally crossed the finish line in 21^st and 22^nd places, respectively.  Later, it was discovered that #92 had a “fouled” spark plug which was causing the misfire.

"This track is the hardest track I have ever been to,” said Kevin Boehm, driver of the #92 car. “The corners are so fast and blind, with no run-off areas.  A small mistake can lead to a major crash.”  Even though the finishing results were not what the team members had hoped, they were still very thankful that the cars (and drivers) made it through the event with no damage.  Not all the teams were so lucky.  This would make it much easier to prepare for the next race at Indianapolis, now less than two weeks away.  The Continental Tire Challenge cars will be running on the new Grand Prix circuit used by the Indy cars, while also kicking off the Brickyard weekend. 

You can follow all the action on the new IMSA website, www.imsa.com

The Canadian Tire race will be televised on Fox Sports 1, Sunday 7/20 at 10am EST.

The next Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge event will be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, July 24-25.

To keep up with HART’s progress and to see pictures and video of the cars and team, ‘Like’ us on Facebook  ( www.facebook.com/HARTracingteam )

Follow us on Twitter @HARTracingteam

Special thanks to all our Sponsors/Partners. 

After HART crossed the finish line first in the 2013 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge event at Kansas Speedway, the celebration was short-lived, as the Race Director handed the team a 10-spot penalty for “manipulating the restart” on the final lap.  The team appealed the penalty, but ultimately had to go home in 11^th position after fighting so hard throughout the race.  For 2014, the team still had high hopes but cautiously approached the event, as it would be battling against the new Porsche Cayman and anything could happen.

The Kansas schedule would be unlike any other schedule this year.  There would be two, one-hour practice sessions running into the evening on Friday and qualifying would not take place until 9:15pm.  With a busy day and a late night ahead, the team prepared for the worst (and it’s a good thing they did).

Both cars headed on track for the first practice with strong hopes of running up front.  Michael Valiante was able to place the #93 car at the top of the list before pitting, while the #92 was getting up to pace since Steve Eich and Kevin Boehm had little time on the Kansas circuit.  As Chad Gilsinger started his first stint behind the wheel in the #93, he managed to run only two laps before the clutch disk broke.  At almost the exact same time, the #92 had a drive shaft failure.  Both cars were able to make it back to the paddock and the team went to work.

With only a few hours in between sessions, the crew had its work cut out to perform the necessary repairs.  Luckily, the HART crew is one of the best in the paddock and did not panic. They simply got the job done.  Both cars would be ready for the second practice and the team still needed to gather valuable data on both setups and the new brake package which had been provided by HPD.   As both cars hit the track, the #93 quickly had a problem.  The transmission would permit gear changes, but the gates were very “notchy,” making it difficult to change gears quickly.  Gilsinger brought the car in immediately so the crew could diagnose the problem, as qualifying was only a couple hours away.  Meanwhile, the #92 car was providing valuable data for the team and its drivers were gaining needed experience on track.  Crew chief Andrew Salzano was also running calculations on fuel mileage to use for race strategy.  With the session winding down, the #92 once again started having drive shaft problems and the 4^th gear of the transmission was starting to feel weak.

As qualifying approached, the team was working diligently trying to get both cars prepared. The #93 was found to have the wrong pressure plate/clutch disk pairing, so the team had to pull the transmission one more time for repairs.  For #92, the team worked to build new drive shafts, but decided to wait to change the transmission until after qualifying.  In order to better understand the drive shaft concerns, the team installed a GoPro camera on the subframe and pointed it towards the drive shaft to see what was happening.  This would give the team a “real time” visual on the car and would hopefully indicate the cause of the failure.

At Kansas, the draft is worth up to two seconds in lap time so it is crucial to pair up with someone in qualifying.  Luckily, HART runs a multi-car team and the plan for #92 and #93 was to work together to provide each other a draft.  With all the repairs that were needed, the #92 car was not quite finished when the cars went to grid.  This left #93 without a “wingman” and would make things more challenging.  As the cars rolled onto the track, the #93 tried to pair up with one of the Porsches that had demonstrated good pace earlier.  Unfortunately, the Porsche overshot Turn One starting its first hot lap and cost #93 valuable time.  The #92 was able to make it on track and was searching for a drafting partner.  With both cars having radio communication, Eich and Gilsinger planned a method to get both cars a good lap.  As time was winding down, Eich was able to get a good draft off of the CRG Civic Si and #93 and posted a lap time that put it in the top five.  Gilsinger was still struggling trying to find a draft, so Eich put himself in a position to help.  On the last lap, Gilsinger was able to get a small draft off #92 and bettered his time to take the sixth position.  As qualifying came to an end, Gilsinger managed to hold onto sixth, while Eich was bumped back to seventh.  All in all, it was a great ending to a disastrous day.

After a wild Friday, the team had some time to rest on Saturday, since the race would not start until 6:15 p.m. and would end under the lights.  Steve Eich would start the #92 car and Chad Gilsinger started the #93.  Even though the race was late, the team had plenty to prepare for.  The #92 still needed a transmission and the drive shaft failure was still a concern.  The team analyzed the GoPro video and it seemed that the failure was occurring when the car was loaded up on the banking.  To reduce some of this compression and angle on the drive shafts, the team decided to stiffen up the front of the car by adding higher-rated H&R springs.  Once again, the team did an amazing job and had both cars cleaned and ready for the Fan Walk before the race.

This would be the first time the cars could start near each other.  The goal of the drivers was to work together and work their way into the top five.  The team knew it had a tough battle, as four of the top five cars we new Porsche Caymans.  As the green flag flew, Gilsinger had a great run going into Turn One and was able to move  into fourth place.  Meanwhile, Eich lost a couple spots because the car in front of him was “sleeping” at the start and he was not allowed to pass until crossing the start/finish line.  With this race taking place on a smaller road course inside an oval, there were not many corners, so the anticipation of yellows was low.  Eich was able to battle back up to fifth position and Gilsinger was able to stay in fourth after the first hour of the event.

Seeing that a yellow flag condition was unlikely, Andrew Salzano formulated a strategy to pit both cars under green as their pit windows opened.  Both were able to open up a bit of a gap to the cars behind them and this would give them an advantage.  Once again, the team did an amazing job in the pits and both cars were serviced and out without losing any time.  As the first round of pit stops came to a close HART found itself sitting in second place for #93 and seventh place for #92, with Valiante and Boehm, respectively, now at the wheel.

With about an hour left, the final caution period of the race was ending and Valiante was ready to move to the front.  As the track went green, Valiante took his Honda into the lead, passing Charles Espenlaub in the Porsche Cayman, which had started from the ST pole.  At the same time, another Cayman was moving  through the field and putting major pressure on Valiante.  The two battled back and forth and even made periodic contact.  It was a true nail-biter, but in the end Valiante and Gilsinger came out ahead in a tough battle with the Porsche Cayman of Will and Wayne Nonnamaker. The Honda edged the Nonnamaker Porsche by just 79 one-hundredths of a second at the checkers.  Unfortunately, the #92 once again had a drive shaft failure which forced Boehm to retire the car.

"This was one of the toughest wins I've had, with that much pressure and knowing that second and third [places] were coming," said Valiante. "I knew I couldn't make any mistakes, particularly when they were on my bumper. I kept telling myself, 'Hit your marks … hit your marks' and get good exit shots, and I was able to pull it off. That's one of the toughest wins I've had.

"The team finally got the “monkey off its back” and hopes to see the season turn around as it heads to Watkins Glen at the end of the month, a track where the team has seen victory  before.

You can follow all the action on the new IMSA website, www.imsa.com

The Kansas race will not be televised, but watch for upcoming events on Fox Sports 1.

The next Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge event will be at Watkins Glen, June 27-28.

To keep up with HART’s progress and to see pictures and video of the cars and team, ‘Like’ us on Facebook  ( www.facebook.com/HARTracingteam )

Follow us on Twitter @HARTracingteam

Special thanks to all our Sponsors/Partners. 

HART Returns To Victory Circle at Kansas Speedway

 

Equipped with Honda Performance Development’s new brake system, the Honda of America Racing Team duo of Chad Gilsinger and Michael Valiante returned to victory Circle Saturday night at Kansas Speedway, claiming the ST class honors at the fifth round of the 2014 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Championship.

 

The updated Honda Racing/HPD brake package, recently approved for compeititon by the International Motor Sports Association sanctioning body, enabled the 2014 Honda Civic Si fielded by HART and other Honda-equipped teams to run  the brakes hard from start to finish for the first time this season.

 

After two hours and 30 minutes on the Kansas Speedway road course, Valiante and Gilsinger came out ahead in a battle with Will and Wayne Nonnamaker, with the Honda edging the Nonnamaker Porsche by just 79 hundredths of a second at the checkers.

 

“This was one of the toughest wins I’ve had, with that much pressure and knowing that second and third were coming,” said Valiante, who took over from starting driver Gilsinger near the mid-point of the contest. “I knew I couldn’t make any mistakes, particularly when they are on your bumper. I kept telling myself, ‘hit your marks, hit your marks’ and get good exit shots, and I was able to pull it off.  That’s one of the toughest wins I’ve had.”

 

Valiante first took his Honda into the lead with 45 minutes remaining, passing Charles Espenlaub in the  Porsche Cayman, which co-driver Corey Lewis had started from the ST pole. Wayne Nonnamaker – who took over for his brother Will at the mandatory pit stop - made repeated challenges in the final 30 minutes, but was unable to find a way past the HART Civic Si.

 

Lewis and Espenlaub finished third, followed by Ryan Eversley and Kyle Gimple in the No. 75 Compass360 Racing Civic Si. Eversley showed great confidence in his new brake package, repeatedly taking competitors deep into Turn 1,  while managing a driveshaft vibration and shifter issue for the final hour.

 

His valiant effort gave Honda two finishes in the top four at Kansas.  Both top-finishing Civics were running the sealed Honda K24 engine package, also available to competitors through the Honda Racing Line.

 

The next race for the Continental Tire Challenge will be at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, June 28.

Wellsboro, PA. (May 30-31^st 2014) – HPD and THR capture another B-Spec win at the 2014 Susquehannock Trail Pro Rally with B-SPEC Honda Fit

 

Team Honda Research partnered with Honda Performance Development and Maxxis Tires to showcase the B-Spec Fit developed specifically for Rally competition at the fourth round of the Rally-America National Championship.

 

“We had a fantastic 2013 season, where we were able to finish first in the B-Spec National Championship and fourth in the 2WD overall National Championship. We wanted to come back and build on that success by refining the B-Spec package for the Honda Fit," stated James Robinson, Honda Engineer and driver for THR.  “We hope that 2014 will bring more competition and excitement in the class, thanks to the continued involvement of Ford Racing and Toyota.” 

 

In the first three rounds in the 2014 Championship, the B-Spec Fit collected three wins and two overall 2WD podium finish at the Sno*Drift, and Oregon Trail events.  With this strong start to the season, the team was prepared to fight for another victory in the fast, flowing stages of Pennsylvania. 

 

The Susquehannock Trail Pro Rally [STPR] marked the second event where THR and HPD partnered with Maxxis Tire to provide competition rally tires for the B-Spec Fit.  “We had great success with the R19 rally tire at the Oregon Trail Rally earlier this month, so we are looking forward to trying them out on this unique dirt / gravel surface!” Robinson explained at the start of Day 1. 

 

Starting the first day of competition in the notoriously rough stages, the team’s overall strategy was to keep competitive times, but try to avoid damage.  “There are two key stages today that are absolute car killers, and it’s very common for competitors to take themselves out of the race by trying to set fast times,” said Brian Penza, Robinson’s co-driver in the Fit.  “Our goal is just to stay competitive and safe, so that we’re ready for tomorrow’s fast, smooth stages.”

 

After the evening stages were finished, the B-Spec Fit was first in class, and running sixth fastest in 2WD.  “We had a bit of trouble with one of our front dampers, but we were able to make it through the first five stages without any real issue,” said Robinson at the end of the first night.  “Our goal now is to see how much we can push the pace tomorrow!”

 

Moving into the second day of competition, which included 11 new stages, the B-Spec Fit quickly started to move up the 2WD leader board.  “The roads are great, and we’re building a decent gap on our competition in B-Spec on every stage,” said Robinson at the first service of the day.  “We’re putting ahead by one to two minutes every stage, and setting the fourth-fastest time in 2WD at the same time!.”

 

By the second service on Day 2, the Fit was now 12th overall, fourth in 2WD, and first in B-Spec.  In addition, the smooth road surfaces were hardly putting any wear on the Maxxis R19 rally tires!  “We have three long stages remaining, and we haven’t even touched the tires since the start of the race. You really can’t ask for a more reliable setup!” Penza stated before heading back out for another round of stages.    

 

There was one big upset during Day 2, which saw the B-Spec competitor of Tracey Gardiner and Tabitha Lohr crashing out on Stage 10.  “We were sorry to hear about their crash, but we’re very happy that they’re both OK!” Robinson said. “Hopefully, this means we’ll see them at the next round.”

 

By the end of Stage 14, the B-Spec Honda Fit was running trouble-free and still first in B-Spec, fourth in 2WD, and 12th overall.  “We’re having a great time on these fast flowing stages, and I’m amazed at how well the R19 tire is working here at STPR,” Robinson noted. “We have only two remaining stages back at the fairgrounds, and we’re hopeful of another strong finish here at STPR.”

 

The team completed the final round and returned to the Main Time Control with another win in B-Spec, and a fourth-place overall finish among 2WD entries.  With this finish, the B-Spec Fit now has a dominant lead in the B-Spec National Championship, and moves into third place overall in the 2WD National Championship. 

 

“We really couldn’t have asked for a better result!” said an enthusiastic Robinson afterwards. “A huge thanks to HPD, Maxxis, and our fantastic crew for supporting us through this event.”

Look for the Honda Fit at the New England Forest Rally, the sixth round of the Rally America National Championship in Maine on July 18th!!

 

About Susquehannock Trail Pro Rally:

 

The fourth race on the Rally America National Championship schedule, and one of the oldest rally races on the schedule, Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (commonly known as STPR) began in 1977. It is not only the oldest, but it is also the fastest rally in North America. With roads consisting of clay and gravel, the course is slippery, fast and extremely dangerous. Drivers travel at speeds reaching 100 MPH through densely wooded roads. The speeds combined with the dangerous course ensure that this rally is not for the faint at heart.

 

About Rally America:

Based in Williston, VT, Rally America, Inc. sanctions the Rally America National Championship which consists of at least seven national-level events located at a variety of venues across the country, from Portland, Oregon to Newry, Maine. Top competitors in the Rally America National Championship reach speeds of well over 100 miles per hour, driving highly modified street cars such as Mitsubishi Evolutions, Subaru WRX STIs, Ford Fiestas and Scion XDs on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt, ice or snow. For more information regarding Rally America’s National Championship or the sport of performance rally, visit www.rally-america.comwww.rally-america.com

 

Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge: Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park recap

 

 

HART traveled coast to coast from Laguna Seca to Lime Rock for the fourth in a 12-race season.  Lime Rock Park is situated in the hills of Connecticut and is known for its park-like atmosphere. It is also known as a “bull ring” with its short track and tight confines.  This track is very difficult to pass on and can lead to aggression amongst competitors.  It is also a fairly high-speed circuit,  frequently producing lap times of under one minute.

This would be the first time for the HART drivers to visit Lime Rock.  With no test day and only two, 25-minute practice sessions, the team would need to use its expertise and engineering skills to dial the cars in with little data.  HART relied on driver feedback to get the most out of the reduced track time.  Since Lime Rock is made up mostly of right hand corners (only one left hand corner), Andrew Salzano and Ryan Breed worked their magic on the initial setup to add cross weight to the car, thus putting more weight on the right front tire in order to reduce abuse to the outside (left) front tire.

In the first practice session, all drivers were getting used to the track and trying to find their pace.  The weekend would include off-and-on rain showers, so the track was very “green,” with little grip.  By the end of Practice 1, the drivers were coming up to speed, but due to the short duration, HART’s drivers were only able to slot into the 23^rd and 25^th positions.  However, even though the times did not show it, HART was getting valuable information from both the drivers and the data logging.  HART was also testing a new brake package developed by Honda Performance Development (HPD) on the #92 car.  This package was intended to reduce weight, reduce heat build-up, and improve pad life, allowing for more consistent braking performance throughout a race.

In the second practice session, the drivers were more familiar with the track, so they could focus more on setting up the cars.  The team made changes to the dampers and stabilizer bar to increase grip and better balance the chassis, front to rear.  These changes proved to be effective, as the drivers moved near the top 10 and took almost a second off their lap times.  Leading into qualifying, the team attempted a few more improvements to the car, but these could not be validated as a rain shower moved through the area, causing IMSA to cancel the session (the IMSA series races, but does not qualify, in the rain).  When qualifying gets canceled, the starting grid is determined by championship points. This situation would work out all right for the #92 car, as it would be starting 10^th but would be disastrous for the #93 car due to its poor finishes in the first two races (a DNF at Daytona due to contact and a poor finish at Sebring due to a driveshaft failure).  The #93 car would be relegated to 26^th (out of 33) on the grid.

Steve Eich would start the #92 car, Chad Gilsinger started the #93 car.  Heading into race day, there was a strong chance for wet conditions, so the team prepared for anything weather-wise.  The goal for both cars was to stay out of trouble during the opening laps while trying to gain positions.  As the green flag flew, the 33-car field jockeyed for valuable track position going into Turn 1.  Needless to say, contact occurred and cars went everywhere.  Eich was able to make it through, but lost a couple spots in the process.  Gilsinger had a great run and weaved his way up to gain 10 spots on the first lap. On a track like Lime Rock, track position is key.  The team had to watch the race closely, updating strategy with each lap to make sure the cars pitted at the best time in order to gain track position.

Gilsinger never had a time to rest.  He managed to jump about 15 positions in the first 30 minutes of the race.  There would be another yellow before the 45-minute mark bunching the cars up once again.  Gilsinger was hoping to move up additional spots on the re-start, but was blocked by a slow-moving vehicle and was forced to make an evasive maneuver going into Turn One.  This sent the #93 car back a few positions, but fortunately no contact was made.  Around the one-hour mark, the #92 and #93 were separated by only one car, and both were running just outside of the top 10.  A full-course caution came out at that point, and the team decided to bring in both cars.

Michael Valiante was now behind the wheel of #93 and Kevin Boehm took over the #92.  Due to the great work of the crew, HART had the second-fastest pit stop and was able to gain about five spots in the pits.  With about an hour left in the race, Boehm was headed into the top 10 and Valiante had moved up to third!  As the race went on, there would be no more yellows.  The HART cars had good track position but due to all the battling to get there, their tires were wearing, and without a yellow they would be forced to stop for fuel.  As the time ticked down to about 20 minutes remaining, the team hoped for yellows, but they didn’t come.  The #93 car was in seventh position, with the #92 car battling for 13^th.  As crew chief Andrew Salzano planned for a fuel stop, he also decided to put left front tires on the cars to give them more grip and hopefully, an advantage in the last few laps.  Once again, the team did an amazing job to get the cars in, serviced, and back on track without losing positions. The #93 was still in the top 10 and the #92 car was just outside.  All was looking good until the final couple of laps.  With two laps to go, the #92 car had an electrical glitch and lost power momentarily, causing it to lose about five spots. Then, with only one lap to go, the #93 car was hit by the #74 car of Compass 360, sending Valiante into the tire wall outside of Turn One. Valiante managed to maintain control and get the car back on track to cross the finish line in 10^th.

“With the contact, we lost a few more positions than we should have, but coming home with a top-ten finish after startng 26^th at a track like this is amazing,” said Gilsinger.  “The crew did an awesome job; they had the second-fastest pit stop and planned a great strategy. If we could just steer clear of other teams’ mistakes, maybe we could bring it home with a little less damage next time.  I would like to make it easier on the crew between events one of these days!”

“The new brake package worked great,” said Kevin Boehm. “We lowered our pad temperatures and were able to run the same set of pads through the practice sessions and the race.  We can’t wait to get this package on both cars for the Kansas race. That track is brutal on brakes.”

You can follow all the action on the new IMSA website, www.imsa.com

The Lime Rock race will not be televised but watch for upcoming events on Fox Sports 1.

The next event will be at Kansas Speedway, June 6-7.

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