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ARA RaceFacts Bulletin 98-08-16

AUTO RACING ANALYSIS RACEFACTS BULLETIN AUGUST 16, 1998 Stuart Hayner (Westward Ho! Casino Chevrolet Camaro) took his first SCCA NTB Trans-Am Series win in only his twelfth start in Saturday's Road America race, the eleventh of the ...

AUTO RACING ANALYSIS RACEFACTS BULLETIN AUGUST 16, 1998

Stuart Hayner (Westward Ho! Casino Chevrolet Camaro) took his first SCCA NTB Trans-Am Series win in only his twelfth start in Saturday's Road America race, the eleventh of the thirteen-race 1998 season. Hayner is 1998's third first-time Trans-Am "breakthrough" winner, joining Lime Rock racewinner Lou Gigliotti and Bill Saunders, winner at Cleveland and Grand Rapids. Gigliotti achieved his breakthrough in only the third race of the 1998 season while Saunders posted his in race seven. In 1997, only Mike Borkowski achieved the "breakthrough" feat, and his first (of two wins) victory in 1997 came in the twelfth race of the thirteen-race season. During the 1995 Trans-Am season, two races were won by first-time "breakthrough" winners: Price Cobb and Boris Said. 1996 produced one "breakthrough" first-time winner: Jamie Galles at Long Beach. In the "current format" (1981-1998) "modern era" of Trans-Am racing, there have been 37 first-time winners. The record for most first-time winners in a season of the "current format" (1981-1998) "modern era" of Trans-Am racing is four, first set in 1983 and equalled in 1986 and 1989. 1983 produced four first-time winners: Gene Felton, David Hobbs, John Paul, Jr., and Willy T. Ribbs. 1986 saw Pete Halsmer, Chris Kneifel, Klaus Ludwig, and Scott Pruett make their first visits to Trans-Am's victory lane. Ron Fellows, Irv Hoerr, Max Jones, and Dorsey Schroeder took their first Trans-Am victories in 1989. One racewinner in each of the three seasons with four first-time winners was a "part-timer:" John Paul, Jr. in 1983, Klaus Ludwig in 1986, and Ron Fellows in 1989. Hayner is a veteran road racing winner and champion. Stu began the 1998 Trans-Am season with a runnerup finish in the season-opener at Long Beach. On January 30, 1998, he teamed with John Heinricy in a GS entry to win the Daytona inaugural event of the SCCA/ASN Motorola Cup series. Stuart and Roger Schramm drove the Rock Valley Chevrolet Camaro to victory in the 1997 PSCR Lime Rock GT1 event to score an "independent" victory for "Detroit iron." Hayner finished third in 1997 PSCR GT1 points. Hayner's 1997 PSCR Grand Sports season featured wins at Watkins Glen and Mosport Park in the Aquilante Pontiac Firebird en route to sixth in 1997 GS points. Hayner (with Roger Schramm) scored a major upset with 1996's only PSCR GT1 "independent" win in the 1996 season finale 3 Hours at Daytona. Stuart ranked sixth in 1996 PSCR GT1 points. Stuart also won three PSCR Endurance GS events in 1996: Daytona, Sebring, and Sears Point. He ranked fourth in 1996 GS points. Hayner won the 1995 PSCR Endurance GS race at Texas World; he finished tenth in 1995 GS points and seventh in 1995 GT1 points. Stuart Hayner has been a PSCR Endurance GS competitor since 1986, winning the 1987 Watkins Glen 24 Hours and one race per season in 1987, 1993, and 1994 (IRP); his 1993 and 1994 GS point rankings of third mark the high point of his PSCR Endurance efforts. Stuart finished 18th in 1994 GT1 points and 20th in GTO as well as 46th in the SCCA Trans-Am. Hayner was the International GT1 runnerup in the 1994 Rolex 24, earning a tie for fourth in the 1994 NA Endurance GT1 points. Hayner competed in the PSCR Supercar series in 1991, also placing third in points. Hayner won an SCCA USEC SSGT race in 1987 on the way to eighth in points. Stu scored a unique "double" in 1988, winning the SCCA U.S. Endurance SSGT championship (including five race victories) and the SCCA Corvette Challenge championship (with one race win). In 1989 he finished fourth in SSGT (with 3 wins including the Mid-Ohio 12 Hours) and eighth in the Corvette Challenge. Hayner won the SCCA World Challenge SS (T1) event at Texas World in 1991 and finished the season sixth in SS points. Hayner has also competed in the SuperVee series. Hayner scored a PSCR GT3 win at Mid-Ohio in 1990. Stu finished second in GT Invitational in the 1993 Sebring 12 Hours. Chevrolet clinched the 1998 Trans-Am Manufacturers Championship, the marque's fifteenth; Rocketsports Chevrolet Corvettes have taken nine 1998 wins but Hayner's victory was the first of 1998 for a Camaro; the last Camaro Trans-Am win was scored September 22, 1996 in the 1996 season finale at Reno by Ron Fellows in a McCall Racing Camaro. The 1998 Road America win by Chevrolet means that Chevrolet's Bowtie Brigade has 147 wins (88 Camaro/47 Corvette/9 Beretta/3 Monza) while Ford has 82 (80 Mustang/2 Cortina Lotus); the Camaro's 88 wins lead all Trans-Am racewinning cars. The Road America Trans-Am race featured three "official" leaders (Paul Gentilozzi 19 laps, Brian Simo five laps, Hayner the 25th and final lap.) plus one "unofficial" leader as Gentilozzi's Autolink Rocketsports Chevrolet Corvette teammate Bill Saunders took the lead on lap 25 when Gentilozzi retired but Hayner then passed him for the victory. Chris Neville (ARCO Derhaag Chevrolet Camaro) again led the rookies with a third-place finish while Lou Gigliotti (Young Chevrolet LG Racing Chevrolet Corvette) was fourth. John W. Miller IV (PLC Direct Chevrolet Camaro) was fifth as Chevrolet swept the Top Five positions. Ford Mustang Cobras finished sixth through ninth with Don Sak's Oldsmobile Cutlass tenth and Leighton Reese's Pontiac Grand Prix fifteenth as four marques and five models finished in the Top Fifteen. The 1998 Road America Trans-Am tied the Trans-Am record for most lead-lap finishes at 20, a total previously achieved in the June 5, 1994 Mid-Ohio Trans-Am and the September 10, 1994 Road America Trans-Am. Jimmy Hensley (Cummins Petty Dodge Ram) became the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series' third consecutive first-time winner Saturday by winning the Nashville event, joining Andy Houston (New Hampshire) and Terry Cook (Flemington). This marked only the second time in series history three consecutive races produced first-time racewinners. The feat had been achieved only once before, in the series' first three races in 1995, when Mike Skinner (Phoenix), Ron Hornaday, Jr. (Tucson Raceway Park) and Ken Schrader (Saugus) scored their first Craftsman Truck wins. The victory was Dodge's first in 1998 NCTS action and ended a six-race Chevrolet win streak. Gentleman Jimmy's first entry in ARA's records of major event racewinners is a September 21, 1968 Martinsville 100 NASCAR Modified victory in a 1937 Plymouth Modified. Jimmy ranked ninth in 1968 NASCAR Modified National points. Throughout the 1970s, Jimmy was a standout competitor in NASCAR Late Model Sportsman competition; he ranked third in 1972 LMS National points. Among Jimmy's LMS track titles were the Caraway championships in 1972 and 1978, the 1974, 1975, and 1976 Kingsport titles, the 1974 and 1976 Lonesome Pine championships, and the 1978 Franklin County title. Jimmy was a regular competitor in the NASCAR Busch Grand National series, finishing as runnerup for the title in 1985, 1987, and 1990. He ranked fifth in 1991 points, sixth in 1988, and eighth in 1983 and 1986. He took his first BGN win March 10, 1985 at Hickory and his ninth and most recent BGN victory on August 10, 1991 at Orange County (NC). He won three Martinsville BGN races, twice at Hickory, and once each at IRP, Orange County, South Boston, and at Nazareth, his only win on a "mile" track. Jimmy was a sporadic Winston Cup competitor until 1992, when he won the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors and finished 28th in points for Cale Yarborough Racing. Hensley, age 52 (DOB: October 11, 1945) has competed in the Craftsman Truck series full-time beginning with 1996 (he made three 1995 starts) and ranked eighth in points in 1996 and 1997. Dario Franchitti (Team Kool Green Reynard 98I-Honda-Firestone) became CART's first "breakthrough" winner of 1998 with his victory at Road America Sunday. Dario's first major pro racing victory came June 16, 1991 in the British Formula Vauxhall Junior round at Thruxton. Dario won four races en route to the 1991 British Formula Vauxhall Junior championship title driving for the David Leslie team. In 1992, Dario moved up to the British Formula Vauxhall Lotus series, driving for the Stewart team; he finished fourth in points. He also won a Caterham Vauxhall race at Snetterton. In 1993, again driving for Stewart, he won six races en route to the 1993 British Formula Vauxhall Lotus championship title. Franchitti drove for Stewart Racing again in 1994, contesting the British Formula 3 Championship series; he won twice at Silverstone and ranked fifth in points. Franchitti was tapped by Mercedes for its AMG Mercedes C FIA International Touring Car Championship series team in 1995, winning at Mugello, Italy and ranking third in season points. Contesting the series again for AMG Mercedes in 1996, Dario won at Suzuka, Japan and ranked fourth in points. Franchitti competed in CART in 1997 for Hogan Racing, ranking 22nd in points. Honda now has nine 1998 CART wins to three for Ford and two for Mercedes. The Green team became the fifth winning entrant in 1998, joining Newman-Haas, Patrick, Ganassi, and Forsythe. Danny Lasoski (Roth Beef Packers Eagle Chevrolet) took his first victory in the AMOCO Knoxville Nationals Pennzoil WoO Sprint Car race Saturday after a stirring duel with Sammy Swindell and Jac Haudenschild. Danny, a multiple Knoxville track champion and winner of the 1995 Knoxville 360 Sprint Car Nationals, first won a major touring series sprint car race on February 4, 1988 when he took the Volusia County ALL-STAR event; Danny won two 1988 ALL-STAR events. He also won a USAC Sprint Car race at Jackson, Minnesota in 1988. In 1989, Lasoski took his first WoO victory on June 18 at Oklahoma City. In 1990, Lasoski won one ALL-STAR, one USAC, and one WoO race; 1991 produced one WoO win, while 1992 produced one ALL-STAR win. In 1993 Danny won three ALL-STAR events and two WoO features. 1994 produced four ALL-STAR wins. Danny won two 1995 ALL-STAR races and three WoO features. 1996 saw Lasoski take four ALL-STAR wins. Throughout the 1990s, Lasoski also was winning in NCRA Sprint car competition. 1997 produced no ALL-STAR on WoO wins for Lasoski but he has bounced back in 1998 with three ALL-STAR wins and now has two WoO victories. Jeff Gordon (Dupont Hendrick Chevrolet Monte Carlo) won Sunday's Michigan Pepsi 400 NASCAR Winston Cup event, his first MIS win. The win was Gordon's fourth consecutive in the series and series-leading eighth of 1998, achieving the feat in race #21 of 1998. While Gordon's fourth consecutive victory ties the "modern era" (1972-1998) Winston Cup win streak record, it is of course far short of Richard Petty's ten consecutive wins in 1967. It is interesting to note that the 1971 season, the last pre-"modern era" season, produced two five-race win streaks. Richard Petty achieved won five straight, beginning with the July 14 Albany-Saratoga race, followed by the July 15 Islip event, the July 18 Trenton 300, the July 24 Nashville race, and the August 1 Atlanta 500. Each win was scored in a Petty Plymouth. Earlier in 1971, Bobby Allison won five consecutive races, including four consecutive on "modern era" venues. Bobby won the Charlotte 600 on May 30, the Dover 500, and the Michigan 400 in Holman-Moody Mercury Cyclones. He then won the Riverside 400 in his own Dodge Charger, followed by a win on June 23 at Meyers (Texas), also in his own Dodge. Jeff Burton (Track Gear Roush Ford Taurus) won Michigan's NASCAR Busch Grand National race Saturday, ending a seven-race Chevrolet Monte Carlo win streak. The last non-Chevrolet BGN win? Burton's win at Richmond. Sweden's Kenny Brack (Power Team Foyt Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora-Goodyear) won the IRL's Pikes Peak Raceway 200 to become the first driver to win consecutive races in 1998 IRL competition; Kenny won the previous race at Charlotte. The Foyt team now leads the 1998 IRL season in victories with three (two Brack, one Billy Boat); Menard has two (Tony Stewart), as does Kelley (Scott Sharp) with Cheever at one win. Brack, Sharp, and Stewart are tied at two wins apiece while Stewart leads the points. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) won the Grand Prix of Hungary on the Hungaroring Sunday; Schumacher is now only seven points adrift of point leader Mika Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) and trails Mika by only one victory (Hakkinen six, Schumacher 5) with Hakkinen's teammate Coulthard taking the other win as the series has produced no "breakthrough" winners in 1998 and has seen victories by only two teams. Terry Borcheller (Saleen/Allen Ford Saleen Mustang) won T1 and Lance Stewart (DC Sports Acura Integra R) won T2 in Saturday SCCA World Challenge action at Road America; each became 1998's first three-time racewinner in their class, and each leads his class point standings, Stewart for the first time in 1998. Borcheller's victory was his second consecutive in T1; he won from the pole after ceding the lead for the first two laps of the 20-lap event to Neil Hannemann's ViperSpeed Dodge Viper; Hannemann finished third with teammate Bobby Archer second. Borcheller's teammate Ron Johnson finished fourth, setting Fast Lap, and "Detroit Iron" swept the top five spots in T1. Stewart led all the way from the pole in T2, setting Fast Lap for a "sweep" of the honors. Three marques placed in the T2 Top Three, with Will Turner (BMW 328i) second and David Rosenblum (ICY Saturn SC) third, each achieving (Turner) or tying (Rosenblum) career-best finishes.

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