SCC: Mosport: Bill Fenton Motorsports race notes

Fenton Team's Honda Civic Si on Podium at Mosport Grand-Am Koni Challenge

Bill Fenton Motorsports co-drivers Bob Beede and Matt Plumb put the team's Honda Certified Used Cars Honda Civic Si on the Grand-Am KONI Challenge race winner's circle podium for the second consecutive race, with a third place finish today on Canada's ultra-fast Mosport International Raceway circuit.

Their teammates, David Thilenius and Todd Lamb finished in 10th place in their Southern Auto Auction Honda Civic Si.

"This is a crucial time of the season, a time when we cannot afford errors," said Fenton. "There was only one open weekend between the Lime Rock and Mosport races, and now we have no time between Mosport and Mid-Ohio this weekend. Anything but a trouble-free weekend would have put us behind the eight-ball."

Racing in the series' Street Tuner class, Plumb and Beede took the green flag from a17th place starting position in the 31-car class, while Thilenius and Lamb were 24th on the grid.

With Fenton and crew chief Steve Wheeler calling the stop in the 2 ½-hour race, the crew did its job to perfection during the race's single stop, and the drivers avoided the accidents late in the race which jumbled the order.

Plumb earned a spectacular race finish by the skin of his teeth, as a competitor made an unsuccessful attempt to block him with the checkered flag in sight.

"I'm not sure what he was thinking to make that move," Plumb said, "because his car had a lot more power and if he'd just driven in a straight line, instead of aiming at me, he'd have probably finished third and I'd have been fourth. It was really frantic out there for a second or two.

"I need to thank Bill Fenton's crew for doing such a fantastic job with this new Civic Si, and thank my co-driver, Bob Beede, for driving a smart opening stint."

"This season is only three races old and I believe we can win before long," he added. "The new Honda Civic is a strong car. This weekend we'll see if the tighter turns at Mid-Ohio play into our hands."

Honda is now third in the running for the Manufacturer Championship, with 84 points after three of 11 races, compared to 88 for Acura teams and 96 for Chevrolet.

"We feel very happy that our team has scored Manufacturer Championship points for Honda in both races we've had with the car. At Daytona, the first race of the season, we scored points for Acura, before making the change to the Honda Civic Si," Fenton said.

-credit: bfm