RACE: ArmsUp Motorsports Grattan summary

"ArmsUp Motorsports Continues Strong SCCA National Season in Grattan"

BELDING, Mich. -- ArmsUp Motorsports continued its strong season in the SCCA Formula Continental class last weekend at the Grattan Raceway. Drivers Jim Victor and Brian Shepherd both showed great speed in what were difficult weather conditions. At the end of the weekend Victor claimed his second straight national podium with a second and Shepherd recovered from an early race spin to claim fourth in class.

The team was greeted on Friday with chilling temperatures and rain. Jim Victor spent the day working on the rain setup and reacquainting himself with the hilly Grattan Raceway.

Saturday's weather was unrelenting again with more rain and cold. Brian Shepherd took to the Grattan Raceway for the first time during Saturday's practice session and spent most of the session getting up to speed. Victor continued to work on his rain setup with data from the previous day's test sessions.

In qualifying Victor put his ArmsUp prepared Van Diemen second in class and third overall on a wet track. Shepherd continued to come to terms with the circuit during the qualifying session. After holding third for most of the session Shepherd was dropped to fourth during the last minutes of the session.

The start of the final on Sunday brought the driest weather of the weekend but a racing surface that was still damp. The ArmsUp team made the call to stay with rain tires. All though the rain did not come down hard, there were just enough sprinkles to keep the track wet through the race. Victor drove a steady race dealing with consistent pressure from third place. The Davenport, Iowa native never cracked and took his second National podium in as many races lapping within two tenths of a second of winner and several times National Champion Dave Weitzenhof. Brian Shepherd had an eventful race. A spin on lap one dropped the Livermore, Colorado driver to the back of the grid. Shepherd then kept his head down and drove back through the field making several passes on his way to a fourth in Formula Continental and ninth overall.

"The guys did a great job dealing with some difficult weather conditions," stated team manager Brent Borland. "Brian keeps getting more and more comfortable in the car each time he gets behind the wheel. I expect him to be battling for podiums really soon. Jim drove an awesome race, he had to deal with changing track conditions and pressure from the third place car during the race. He kept his cool though and truly earned his second place finish."

ArmsUp Motorsports will be back in action next weekend at Blackhawk Farms for the Milwaukee Region's May National. Kirk Kindsfater and Jim Victor are scheduled to be steering their ArmsUp Motorsports prepared Van Diemens as both drivers will be searching for their first victory of the year.

Formed in 1995, ArmsUp Motorsports is one of the premier SCCA Formula Continental and Formula Atlantic racing teams. Based in Elkhart Lake, Wis ArmsUp Motorsports is a full service prep shop for Formula Continentals, Formula Atlantics, and Vintage racing cars. For more information please visit the official ArmsUp website at www.ArmsUpMotorsports.com.

-ArmsUp Motorsports