Backstretch Motorsports

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 20, 2008) – Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn., led every lap Sunday to win the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course SPEED GT Presented by Remington race, Round Five of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship. Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton, Fla., completed the top three.

Starting from the pole in his No. 13 Foametix/Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper, Archer got away cleanly from the standing start to lead second starting Davis’ No. 10 ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra. Davis was never far from Archer, but he was unable to mount a challenge for the lead despite the race being slowed by three cautions.

[read more...]

LEXINGTON, Ohio, Sunday, July 20, 2008 - Ryan Briscoe earned his second IndyCar Series victory of the season, and Helio Castroneves finished second in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance to earn Team Penske a sweep.

The teammates started in reverse order on the front row for the 85-lap race on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn circuit. Castroneves led the first five laps on rain tires, but relinquished the lead to Vitor Meira on Lap 6 after the Panther Racing driver pitted earlier to change to racing slicks.

[read more...]

LEXINGTON, Ohio, Saturday, July 19, 2008 - Helio Castroneves put himself in the perfect position to chip away at the 63-point deficit in the IndyCar Series championship point standings. The series all-time leader in poles added No. 25 to his career tally during PEAK Motor Oil Pole Qualifying for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance.

Castroneves advanced through the first two qualifying elimination rounds to the Firestone Fast Six for the 13th time in 14 IndyCar Series road/street races. In that session, he lapped the 2.258-mile, 13-turn circuit in 1 minute, 7.2480 seconds, 120.878 mph to earn his second consecutive pole of the season and his second consecutive pole at Mid-Ohio.

[read more...]

Audi returned to its dominating style at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a 1-2 finish in the Acura Sports Car Challenge on Saturday with Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner taking the first overall victory for the R10 TDI since April. Luhr crossed the finish line 7.717 seconds ahead of teammates Emanuele Pirro and Dindo Capello.

Luhr drove the last 1:55 with the same set of Michelin tires and one more stop for fuel. Werner started fifth on the grid but moved up to third on the first lap, was second on the third lap and took the lead for good when Werner passed pole-sitter Gil de Ferran’s Acura ARX-01b a minute later.

[read more...]

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 19, 2008) – Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn., captured his second SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT pole of the season and will lead the field at the start of Sunday afternoon’s Mid-Ohio SPEED GT Presented by Remington race. Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach, Calif., will start second.

Driving the No. 13 Foametix/Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper, Archer set a time of 1:25.673 (94.882 mph) on his first flying lap around the 2.258-mile track. It is Archer’s second top qualifying effort of the year, after winning from the pole position at Miller Motorsports Park in May. Following an engine failure at the previous round in Watkins Glen, Archer’s team has been working non-stop to get him back up to speed.

[read more...]

Gil de Ferran won his third straight pole position at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Friday…seven years since his last. The storybook debut season for De Ferran Motorsports continued with de Ferran’s first pole in the American Le Mans Series, a record-breaking 1:07.969 (119.596 mph) for the Acura Sports Car Challenge.

De Ferran’s Acura ARX-01b led a second straight overall sweep of the front row for Acura in a home race before thousands of Honda and Acura employees and guests. The two-time CART and former Indianapolis 500 winner qualified 0.224 seconds ahead of Patrón Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham, who sat on the pole a week ago at Lime Rock and won the race overall with Scott Sharp.

[read more...]

Friday at Lime Rock Park, Tim Pappas said all he wanted to see was his Black Swan Racing finish the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. That may not sound like much but consider that the team didn’t receive its Falken-shod Ford GT-R until earlier that morning. So Saturday’s eighth-place finish for Pappas and co-driver Anthony Lazzaro was more than gratifying.

There’s not much time for relaxation with this weekend’s Acura Sports Car Challenge looming at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The bigger track will give a true reading as to where the Ford-Falken package lies.

[read more...]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (June 18, 2008) - The EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will mark the halfway point for the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Daytona Prototype competition. Brumos Racing has shown steady improvement in each race the first half of the season, with both cars top-10 finishers the last two races.

Totaling four top-10 finishes this season, the No. 59 Brumos entry is currently within five points of Grand-Am’s top five in Team Point Standings, while the No. 58 car is just three points away from the top 10, following their recent season-best second-place finish.

[read more...]