Driving and team titlists, as well as race winners, give Ford Mustangs a huge day at VIR

ALTON, Va. (Oct. 5, 2008) - Hugh and Matt Plumb dominated the middle and final stages of Sunday's Bosch Engineering Twin Six Hours, the season finale for the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series Grand Sport (GS) class, giving themselves and Mike Canney a victory in the six-hour classic at Virginia International Raceway.

Hugh Plumb passed fellow Rehagen Racing and Ford Mustang GT driver Dean Martin on Lap 144, then led Martin and TRG's Andy Lally and Spencer Pumpelly in a nose-to-tail battle to the checkered flag in a two-lap shootout. The leading quartet was separated by only 1.081 seconds, and the No. 59 Rehagen Racing Valvoline/ROUSH Performance Products Ford Mustang GT of Martin, Jack Roush Jr. and Ryan Phinny finished 0.208 seconds behind in the second closest finish in KONI Challenge Series history.

Like the race itself, the championship race came down to the final hour-and-a-half, with seven drivers fighting for the title. In the end, Scott Maxwell and Joe Foster finished fifth in the No. 55 Hyper Sport Ford Mustang GT, giving Maxwell his second GS title (2002 GSI) and Foster his first. They won the driving and owner titles by six points (248-242) over Bret Seafuse and James Gue and JBS Motorsports, and the top seven drivers were separated by only 19 points (248-229).

Maxwell and Foster went without mechanical problems - though they encountered cosmetic damage from an early spin and were running two laps shy on fuel before the final caution - and all seven drivers were in the top 10 heading into the final pit stop. But mechanical woes plagued three of the four championship cars during the final hour.

Seafuse and Gue entered the race one point (222-221) behind Maxwell and Foster, but the team had to change brake pads and rotors on the No. 37 JBS Motorsports Trumansburg Shur Save Ford Mustang GT and start from the tail after finding problems on the recon laps. The team, which also served a 60-second stop-and-go penalty for running over pit equipment, managed to stay on the lead lap, and Gue battled Maxwell for a top-five finish. However, he faded in the final 45 minutes from a lost cylinder. They finished 10th, the final car on the lead lap.

Fuel delivery problems forced Jeff Segal and Jep Thornton to lose one lap for repairs, but they and another co-driver, Terry Borcheller, regained the lap and made their way back into the top five. However, the car slowed on Lap 138 and Borcheller brought the car into the paddock for repairs. He took the No. 09 Automatic Racing Imported Car Store/Land Air BMW M3 back on the track a lap down, and finished 11th.

Craig Stanton led for the only time on Lap 125, but was passed by Maxwell on the restart on the outside of Turn 1 and quickly fell to fourth two laps later. On Lap 150, the No. 83 BGB Motorsports Performance Drink/Weeden Consultants Porsche 997 slowed due to engine failure, and Stanton and co-driver Jon Miller retired in 15th.

Though Maxwell passed Stanton on Lap 126 and led 12 laps, his fuel situation forced him to into conservation mode. Martin took the point on Lap 138, then held it until Lap 144, when Hugh Plumb surged ahead. Hugh Plumb, Martin and Lally ran within a second before the final caution - which occurred due to dropped oil from Stanton's engine. Pumpelly joined the lead trio, but no one was able to get by Hugh Plumb, who gave Canney and Matt Plumb their first career GS victories. Matt Plumb - who last won in KONI Challenge with Hugh Plumb two years ago at VIR in the ST race - led a race-high 44 laps and the No. 60 Ford Mustang GT led 67 laps.

Overall, 13 drivers in eight cars combined for 19 lead changes, and seven cautions for 22 laps slowed the average speed of 84.184 mph.

Martin, Roush and Phinny, combined to lead 18 laps in the No. 59 Rehagen Racing Valvoline/ROUSH Performance Products Ford Mustang GT in earning their best finish and second podium of the season. Their previous best third was in July's race at Barber Motorsports Park.

TRG's two cars also finished strong. Lally led a lap in the No. 41 TRG Carlsen Porsche/Cohen Financial Porsche 997 he shared with Scott Schroeder and Peter Ludwig. Outside front row starter Pumpelly, meanwhile, stormed through the field in the final 10 laps in the No. 39 TRG Carlsen Porsche/TheDigiTrust Group Porsche 997 he shared with Duncan Ende.

Rehagen Racing's Ray Mason, Gene Martindale and Adam Pecorari also slipped into sixth near the end of the 155-lap race, driving the No. 52 Columbus Truck & Equipment Ford Mustang GT. Overall, four of the top six cars were Ford Mustang GTs, helping the marquee earn its first KONI Challenge Series championship. Ford bested Porsche by four points (313-309) and BMW - which entered the race leading the standings - by five (313-308).

Other notable drivers included polesitter Bill Auberlen - who led the first 22 laps and 24 overall - and Matthew Alhadeff, who finished 20th in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 after sustaining damage to the car's right side and mechanical problems late in the race. Andrew Davis, who flipped end-over-end multiple times in the No. 18 Motorsport Technology Group Morris Animal Foundation/Meisha's Hope BMW Z4 when his brakes failed, was uninjured in the race's most spectacular incident of the day. Davis and Billy Johnson finished 24th.

The top GS and Street Tuner (ST) drivers, teams and manufacturers will be honored in Monday's season-ending banquet at the Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons in Greensboro, N.C.

- Grand American Road Racing Association

Jamie Holtom wins driving title, gives Georgian Bay team crown and Chevrolet the manufacturer championship

ALTON, Va. (Oct. 4, 2008) - They had six hours to distance themselves from the competition, but Lawson Aschenbach and Ken Dobson needed every single minute of Saturday's Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series Street Tuner (ST) season finale, the Bosch Engineering Twin Six Hours at Virginia International Raceway, to win Round 11 in the No. 110 Georgian Bay Motorsports Chevrolet Cobalt SS.

Aschenbach - who led three times for a race-high 36 laps after making up 37 positions after starting at the back of the field - passed outgoing series champion Adam Burrows on Lap 139 of the 147-lap race, then distanced himself from the rest of the field over the final five laps or 15 minutes.

In the meantime, Aschenbach's teammate, Jamie Holtom in the No. 01 Georgian Bay Motorsports Chevrolet Cobalt SS, claimed the ST championship by 45 points (282-237) over Kuno Wittmer. At age 21 years, four days, Holtom becomes the youngest Grand-Am champion in the sanctioning body's nine-year history. He shared the car with Eric Curran, who had previously won at VIR in KONI Challenge competition three times.

Holtom led as late as Lap 132 before losing two positions. In an effort to keep the car out of trouble, he kept close to Burrows and challenged him for second, concluding the season with five consecutive podium finishes and nine top 10s in 10 starts. Holtom's only DNF came at Watkins Glen International in July.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, Georgian Bay ran up front. Aschenbach, who has the Formula Ford 2000 track qualifying record, qualified 38th, yeah wasted no time going toward the front. After making the winning pass, he was still forced to hold off Burrows and Holtom, who ran a combined one second behind at times before fading in the final laps. Burrows, who moved to second in the point standings after entering the event sixth, followed by 1.436 seconds in the No. 76 Compass360 Racing Skunk2/Sunday Group Management Acura TSX, while Holtom was 1.777 seconds behind Aschenbach, with whom he shared the ST victory at Iowa Speedway in August.

The opening laps appeared to be like what many expected to be see in the closing laps. Five drivers led in the opening 10 laps, attributing to 21 lead changes among 14 drivers and 11 cars. No driver led more than five laps in the first hour.

Aschenbach, who made his return to racing after a recent illness from overtraining, stayed out front for the longest periods of time. He led for the first time on Lap 24, taking the point for seven laps, then again on Lap 48 for 20 laps, the longest any driver ran out front. He then led the final nine laps, driving Georgian Bay's third entry fielded solely to help garner Chevrolet the manufacturer championship. Dobson led 11 laps, only to be passed by Curran on Lap 100. Curran led the second-highest number of laps, 23. Burrows also led 23 laps. Overall, Georgian Bay led 84 laps, and at one point had all three of its cars in the top five. Kirk Spencer and Ashley McCalmont ended the season in the No. 00 Georgian Bay Motorsports Chevrolet Cobalt SS in 11th.

Matthew Bell and VJ Mirzayan finished fourth - their second-best finish of the season - in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW 330i after running in the top five for most of the event. Owen Trinkler and BJ Zacharias rounded out the top five in the No. 196 RSR Motorsports CaseTech/Cruise America Mini Cooper S.

Seven cautions for 22 laps, most for cars which spun off course, slowed the race to an average speed of 80.048 mph. The only accident involved Bryan Ortiz and Juan Leroux, as Ortiz, in the No. 127 Next Generation/Fountain Motorsports BMW 330i, ran into the back of Leroux's No. 174 LRT Racing Mobil 1/Presidente Beer Acura TSX. Both drivers, however, escaped without serious injury.

Holtom and Curran's third-place finish wrapped up the championship for Georgian Bay's No. 01 car, and Aschenbach and Dobson's victory was enough to give Chevrolet its first KONI ST crown by nine points (310-301) over Acura, which had previously won five titles in six seasons.

Wittmer, who led three laps before his No. 32 i-MOTO Racing Cybernation/Alpinestar Acura TSX suffered mechanical problems, still managed to stay in third in the driver point standings. The No. 32 also ran out front for 16 laps. Bob Beede, who missed the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway when his car was involved in an early incident, finished fourth.

Kristian Skavnes dropped to fifthin the final rundown after co-driver Chuck Hemmingson brought the No. 111 ICY/Phoenix Racing Subaru Legacy into the pits with a cut left-front tire, less than a handful of laps after Hemmingson took the controls from Andrew Aquilante. Unfortunately, the team's stop included repairs to the left-front of the car, forcing the team several laps down. Together, Skavnes, Hemmingson and Aquilante were credited with 19th.

In total, Burrows, Wittmer, Beede and Skavnes were separated by only four points (239 for Burrows, 237 for Wittmer, 236 for Beede, 235 for Skavnes). Beede's No. 29 Bill Fenton Motorsports car finished second in the team points, while Wittmer's No. 29 i-MOTO Racing machine was third.

The top ST drivers, teams and manufacturers will be honored in Monday's season-ending banquet at the Sheraton in Greensboro, N.C. The Grand Sport (GS) six-hour race will start at 11 a.m. Sunday, with seven drivers within nine points of the driving championship lead.

- Grand American Road Racing Association