DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 10, 2008) -
The first full season for Andrew Aquilante
in the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series Street
Tuner (ST) class was a success in terms of
learning the Subaru Legacy and driving with
and against some of the best the series has
to offer.
One season after watching the
No. 141 ICY/Phoenix Racing Subaru Legacy
compete with Dave Rosenblum and other top
drivers in an abbreviated debut season,
Aquilante stepped into the car - owned by
father Joe - and competed in all 10 races on
the ST circuit to place 13th in the final
point standings.
Aquilante split time with Rosenblum and
others early in the season, and when Chuck
Hemmingson missed two races late in the
season for the birth of his son, Aquilante
moved into the team's No. 111 ICY/Phoenix
Racing in attempt to give Kristian Skavnes a
driving championship.
Overall, Aquilante earned three top 10s,
with a best finish of third at Thunderbolt
Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
"It was a lot of fun, though I have to
say I was disappointed in the way the season
ended (at VIR)," said Aquilante, who drove
sparingly in KONI Challenge in 2007. "We
didn't go in planning to win a championship,
but we wanted to be in the top 10 or even in
the top five."
The season started with a solid
12th-place finish in the Fresh From Florida
200 at Daytona International Speedway, with
Aquilante driving with Rosenblum in the
season opener. The Chester Springs, Pa.,
native recorded his first top 10 of 2008 at
Lime Rock Park, co-driving with veteran Don
Knowles to ninth. The duo also finished 13th
at Mosport International Raceway - where
Aquilante celebrated his 21st birthday - in
June.
Aquilante and Rosenblum drove together
for the next four races, with a finish of
12th in the rain at Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course, 10th at Watkins Glen International,
another 12th at Iowa Speedway and 16th in Le
Grand Prix de Trois-Riveres. As did many,
Aquilante started the car but failed to
complete the mandatory 30 minutes in the car
to obtain points.
When Hemmingson called to announce the
birth of son Chuck III less than two weeks
later, the ICY/Phoenix Racing team unloaded
only the No. 111 at New Jersey, and called
on Aquilante to drive the car during the
first stint. There, Aquilante qualified
13th, but worked his way through the field
before handing the car off to Skavnes.
There, the New Jersey driver dodged several
incidents and a long caution period to move
to third at the checkered flag.
"That was our top moment of the season,"
Aquilante said. "That is our home race -
it's something like 76 miles from our front
door to the race track - and it was really
good."
Aquilante returned to the No. 111 once
again at Miller Motorsports Park, and he and
Skavnes kept the car in the top 10 until a
late pit stop forced them to 21st at the end
of the race, both drivers' worst finish of
2008.
Skavnes, Aquilante and Hemmingson drove
together in the No. 111 in the season-ending
Bosch Engineering Twin Six Hours at Virginia
International Raceway, but a cut tire in the
latter stages of the race forced Hemmingson
into the pits. The team also had to make
repairs to the car, and the trio eventually
ended the season with a 19th-place finish.
While it was a disappointing end to 2008,
Aquilante was happy overall with the
results. And now, he sets his sights on
racing in 2009, hoping to return to the KONI
Challenge ST circuit.
"I would love to be back," Aquilante
said. "To me, it was a good challenge.
Racing against 40 cars every weekend was a
blast. The level of competition in KONI
Challenge is great. You never know exactly
who's going to win, and you have to work
very hard to do very well, and be prepared
for everything."
