Road America: Pre-race notes

What: The Trans-Am 100, Round 8 of the Trans-Am Series for the 2003 BFGoodrich Tires Cup Championship
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 22, 23 and 24, 2003

Race Day: Sunday, Aug. 24, at 10:45 a.m.
Distance: 25 Laps/101.20 miles or 75 minutes, whichever comes first
Where: The race will be run on the 4.048-mile, 14-turn permanent road course

Road America Review:

* Jaguar can clinch its third Manufacturers' Championship with a victory by an XKR on Sunday. Jaguar last won the titles in 1978 and 2001. Jaguar (2000 and 2001 race winner) is also seeking its third Road America Trans-Am Series victory in last four events here. Jaguar has won six of seven events this year.

* The last victory for a Chevrolet's Corvette here came in 1984.

* Rocketsports Racing (1999 and 2000 race winner) seeks its third Road America Trans-Am victory.

* This year's race could break a nine-year streak (1994-2003) without a race winning polesitter. The last polesitter to win a race here was Scott Sharp in 1993 (1996 fast qualifier and race-winner Tommy Kendall started fifth after the inverted start).

* Johnny Miller (2000 polesitter) seeks his second Road America pole, his second pole this year and the fourth of his career. Meanwhile Chevrolet Corvette seeks second consecutive Road America Trans-Am pole, while Derhaag Racing seeks its second consecutive pole here.

* With a victory Sunday, points leader Scott Pruett will move into a tie with Peter Gregg on the all-time Trans-Am Series win list with 20. The late Mark Donohue owns the record for the most career Trans-Am Series victories with 29.

* The Trans-Am Series has competed at Road America in every season beginning in 1970. The 1970 event featured two races, one each for Over and Under 2 Liter, while the 1976 through 1979 races were two-class events (Category I and II) and there were two races during the 1977 season.

* Consecutive wins have been scored by Donohue (1970 and 1971), Bob Tullius (1977 and 1978 Category I), Monte Shelton (1980 and 1981), Pete Halsmer (1986 and 1987), Tommy Kendall (1996 and 1997), and Paul Gentilozzi (1999 and 2000). Kendall's 1997 victory tied him with Gregg with three victories as Road America's leading Trans-Am Series race winner.

* Chevrolet's Camaro has scored overall wins in 1976 (Carl Shafer), 1983 (David Hobbs), 1991 and 1993 (Sharp), and 1998 (Stu Hayner). The Camaro also took a Category I win in 1977. Chevrolet's Corvette won overall in 1973, 1975, 1978, 1982, and 1984 and is the most successful model in Road America Trans-Am racing; Corvettes also took Category I wins in 1976 and 1979. Chevrolet's Beretta won in 1990 (Kendall). Chevrolet leads the marques with 14 victories here, including three in Category I.

* Ford's Mustang first won here in 1972 (Warren Tope driving his own entry) and won again in 1989 (Dorsey Schroeder), 1992 (Ron Fellows), 1994 (Schroeder), 1995 (Boris Said), 1996 and 1997 (Kendall) and thus had a four-race win streak ended by Hayner's 1998 victory. Ford won again in 1999 with Gentilozzi. Mercury products won four-straight races, 1985-1988, with Roush entries winning five straight, from 1985-1989.

* Jaguar's XKR has won two (2000 and 2001) Road America Trans-Am races.

* The last 23 Trans-Am Series events at Road America (1980-2002) have had victory margins of less than one minute, the last 19 being under 30 seconds. The Road America Trans-Am record closest victory margin was set in 1998 by Hayner's 0.333 of a second victory over Bill Saunders. 1996 ranks second with Kendall's 0.538 second win, with Gentilozzi's 0.719 margin in 1999 ranking third and Peter Gregg's 1974 margin of 0.8 second ranking fourth. Boris Said won by 0.866 second in 2002.

* Twenty (58.82%) of the 34 races here have been won by less than 10 seconds while 17 (50.0%) have been won by less than five seconds.

* Twelve (35.3%) of the 34 overall Road America Trans-Am race winners have started from the pole. The record for lowest starting position by an overall Road America Trans-Am race winner was set by Shelton in 1980 when he won from 10th starting position.

* Thirteen (38.23%) of the 34 overall Road America Trans-Am race winners have won after setting the fastest qualifying time.

* The average starting position for race winners here is 2.55.

* Hansen (1975, 1982) and Sharp (1991, 93) lead all drivers in Road America Trans-Am victories from the pole.

* Seven Trans-Am Series events here been won in flag-to-flag fashion from the pole: 1975 (Hansen), 1981 (Shelton), 1982 (Hansen), 1983 (Hobbs), 1986 (Halsmer), 1988 (Pruett), and 1993 (Sharp). Ludwig Heimrath led the entire race on the way to victory in 1977, but started second, as did 2001 winner Michael Lewis.

* At the other extreme, seven "current format" Trans-Am Series events here (1980-2002) have had a minimum of either three leaders or three lead changes: 1980 (four leaders, three lead changes), 1987 (3, 2), 1989 (3, 3), 1990 (2, 3), and the two most competitive races to date, 1992 (four leaders and four lead changes) and 1998 (three leaders, five lead changes). 1997's race had two leaders (Kendall and Simo) and two lead changes; 1999's race had two leaders (Simo and Gentilozzi) and one lead change, as did the 2000 race (Miller and Gentilozzi). The 2002 race had three leaders (Kenny Wilden, Boris Said, and Don Sak) and three lead changes.

* Pruett (1987 and 1988) was the first consecutive fast qualifier in Trans-Am Series history here, and he also won the pole in 1994.

* Ford's Mustang took three consecutive Road America Trans-Am poles and four consecutive fast laps prior to Gentilozzi's 1998 pole in a Corvette and Hayner's fast lap in a Camaro.

* Chevrolet entries took the 1990-1994 Road America poles: Kendall's C & C Beretta in 1990 and the McCall Camaros of Sharp (1991 and 1993), Baldwin (1992) and Pruett (1994). Roush Racing Ford Motor Company entries took four consecutive poles, 1986 through 1989 and the 1995 and 1996 with Kendall. Pruett's 1994 pole allowed McCall to tie the Roush record and allowed Chevrolet's Camaro to break a tie for the most consecutive Road America Trans-Am poles by a model with Mercury's Merkur, the polesitter from 1986 through 1988.

* Chevrolet leads the marques with 19 poles, including two in Category I, while Corvette leads the models with 11 poles, including seven "overall" poles, tied with Camaro for "overall" pole honors.

* Chevrolet leads the marques with 16 fast laps, including four in Category I. The 10 overall Chevrolet fast laps were achieved by Camaros (six), Corvettes (five) and Beretta (one) with Category I fast laps achieved by Corvettes (three) and Camaro (one). Ford's Mustang leads all models with seven Road America Trans-Am fast laps after Gentilozzi's 1999 effort. Chevrolet's Camaro ranks next in Road America Trans-Am fast laps with six.

* Rocketsports (Darin Brassfield, 1991 and Gentilozzi, 1999) has achieved two Road America fast laps.

* Road America's 1998 race produced 20 lead-lap finishers, tied for all-time Trans-Am leadership.

* Trans-Am racing has taken place at Road America in every season since the beginning of Driver Championship awards in 1971, and the championship-winning driver has won a race at Road America in 16 of the 36 (including 1976-79 two-category seasons) seasons, or 44.44%. Said (2002 champion and 2002 Road America Trans-Am Series victor) is the most recent member of the group. Gentilozzi (1999 champion and 1999 Road America Trans-Am winner) preceded him.

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