SCC: Mid-Ohio: Team Cobalt California special crew members

Team Cobalt California teams with Union families at Mid-Ohio

BENICIA, Calif. -- Five of Team Cobalt California's newest crew members at the Mid-Ohio Grand American race last week were family members from the UAW Local 1714 and 1112.

Brandon Baker, age 11, son of Jesse Baker; David Yukon, age 12, son of Dave Yukon; Nick Young, age 12, son of Nick and Stacie Young; Jarid Sox, age 13, son of Ron Soc; and Kyle Bluhm, age 13, son of Curt Bluhm were hard at work in the Team Cobalt California paddock preparing cars no. 48 and 98 for the Grand-Am Cup.

"We had a ball getting ready for our new crew members" said Robyn Lepper, co-owner of Team Cobalt, "we presented each crew member with tools and made sure that they experienced every aspect of race preparation. It was wonderful to see how excited and helpful our youngest crew members were while prepping the cars between sessions."

Eric Waddell, one of Team Cobalt California's veteran crew members, explained the mechanical make-up of the cars to the boys and demonstrated how their tools worked.

"When I took car 48 off of the jack stands so the kids could sit in the driver's seat, they were thrilled" said Waddell.

Luke Bailey guided the boys through mounting the wheels with the aid of an impact gun and Doug Armstrong showed the boys how the fronts of the cars were assembled.

VJ Mirzayan, one of Team Cobalt California's drivers showed the boys a video that was taken during one of his practice runs. "I love to teach" said VJ "I was able to show the boys what the track looked like while driving. It was very exciting!"

During the race, the boys got to sit with the spotters and view the race action.

Howard Davis, team Cobalt California's crew chief and Jeff Mishtawy, Chief Operations Officer viewed the Mid-Ohio race as a team building weekend.

"From a technical standpoint, the weekend was challenging but still successful overall" said Mishtawy. "We implemented several new internal procedures and an updated organizational system. Both were beneficial and we are very pleased with the results. We were disappointed one car wasn't able to finish the race, but thankfully that will not affect the rest of the season".

With the technical assistance of GM Performance Division, Team Cobalt California's car no. 98 finished 13 in class and was driven by VJ Mirzayan of Fresno California and veteran driver Paul Bonaccorsi of Rancho Cucamonga, California. Car no. 48, driven by veteran driver Victor Gonzalez Jr. and newcomer Bryan Ortiz, both of Puerto Rico, was 37 in class after struggling with electrical problems.

"I was proud and very pleased on how Bryan progressed during the weekend" said Crew Chief Howard Davis. "If not for 48's electrical problems, I am confident that Bryan and Victor would have finished well into the Top 10."

Team Cobalt California would thank its sponsors Red Line Oil, Clutch Masters, Sparco, K & N Air Filters, Cobalt Friction, Vibrant Performance, and Thomas Lepper Associates. Additional team supporters will be announced soon.

-www.teamcobaltcalifornia.com