Millville: Dane Cameron race report

ANOTHER TOP-10 FINISH FOR DANE CAMERON AND THE RACERS EDGE TEAM IN A WET AND WILD VERIZON WIRELESS 250 AT NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK

Millville, NJ (May 7, 2009) -- The Racers Edge team and co-drivers Dane Cameron and Bryce Miller survived a torrential downpour and difficult track and mechanical conditions at New Jersey Motorsports Park to bring the #30 Racers Edge / Marquis Jet / Total Petroleum / Piloti Mazda RX-8 home in 9th place in the GT class at the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Verizon 250.

Cameron qualified the car fourth on the grid for the start of the race and moved into the class lead after 65-minutes of the 2-hour 45-minute race. He led twice before pitting for a driver change at the 1-hour 24-minute mark; Miller returned to the track in 12th-place and drove the final stint, re-gaining three positions to finish 9th. Both drivers were slowed by a malfunctioning windshield wiper. While Cameron experienced intermittent problems, the wiper motor failed early in Miller's stint, leaving him with very limited visibility under extremely difficult on-track conditions.

"It was a tough weekend all around; torrential rain from start to finish," said the native of Sonoma, California, an area no stranger to rain. "After the green flag dropped, it was all a battle for survival and I found out how different it is to race an open wheel car in the rain from a closed car; the windshield and rear window fogged up, and the outside mirrors were useless, so we were driving pretty much completely blind. The upside was that we qualified well on a track that didn't really suit our car, and we had a really good wet setup for the race. We ran consistently in the top three -- I think we were actually 4th overall, including the DP cars, at one point -- but our yellow flag pit to change drivers probably came a little late. Bryce got shuffled back in the field, but did a good job to make us some places and bring the car home. The next race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca should be where it all comes together for us."

Cameron arrived at this point in his career via an accomplished climb up the open-wheel ladder. Driving for Genoa Racing in the ultra-competitive 2008 Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, Cameron started from the pole once and scored two podiums and five top-5 finishes, finishing seventh in the championship during his rookie season.

In 2007, he was both series champion and Rookie of the Year in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear with three wins, six pole positions, five podium finishes and two top-5s. In 2006, Cameron was the Rookie of the Year and finished second in the F2000 championship and, as a Team USA Scholarship driver, he won the 2006 Palmer Audi Winter Championship in Europe. In 2005, he was the SCCA Formula Jim Russell Series champion and Rookie of the Year. His karting career, beginning in 2000, was similarly successful, including the 2003 Jim Russell Karting 80cc Junior Shifter Championship and a 2004 finalist in the Red Bull Driver Search. Cameron's long-time personal sponsors include the Finlay Motorsports Driver Development Program, Lynx Racing, Rett.org, Nearburg Exploration and Sparco USA.

Racers Edge is a former Star Mazda team that won back-to-back championships in 2002 with Guy Cosmo and 2003 with Luis Schiavo before moving up to the Grand-Am series in 2007. Under the guidance of President, Team Manager (and former driver) Jon Mirachi, Racers Edge has established itself as one of the premier teams in North American road racing with substantial achievements in both open wheel racing and sports cars. In the 2007 Grand-Am Rolex GT series, Racers Edge led three races, scoring five top-5 and ten top-10 finishes. In 2008, racing the same Mazda RX-8 they will field this season, the team again led three races and scored three top-10 finishes.

The next race on the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series schedule is the Verizon Festival of Speed at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in two weeks, May 13 -- 15. Along with Infineon Raceway in his home town of Sonoma, California, Mazda Raceway is one of two top racing facilities Cameron claims as 'home tracks.'

"I've raced at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca twice in my career so far, both times in open-wheel cars," says Cameron. "I qualified on pole and finished second in the Star Mazda Championship season finale in 2007, and the next season, with Genoa Racing in the Atlantic Championship, we were the fastest car in pre-season testing but had a mechanical problem in the race. It's a great track that should suit the characteristics of our Mazda RX-8 well, and the team is really coming together, so a podium finish is a realistic goal."

The next event on the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Schedule is the Verizon Festival of Speed at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca May 15 - 17.JSeveral practice sessions are scheduled for Friday, May 15, with qualifying for the Rolex GT cars scheduled to take place from 2:10 - 2:25 pm, Saturday, May 16. The 2 3/4-hour Verizon Festival of Speed is scheduled to take the green flag at 1:00 pm Sunday, May 17. The race will be broadcast live starting at 4pm ET on SPEED TV.

-credit: dcPR