Phoenixville Race
Team’s Cars Dominant at
Rainy Watkins Glen Race
July 13, 2008
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.
– John Buttermore won the featured Touring 1
class in the Sports Car Club of America National
Championship points race today at Watkins Glen
International, driving a thundering Chevrolet
Corvette Z06.
The car was one
of 11 cars competing at The Glen built or
maintained by Phoenix Performance, Inc., of
Phoenixville, Pa.
“It was crazy
out there,” said Buttermore, a General Motors
engineer from Pontiac, Mich., noting the
challenge of racing on the famed 3.4-mile road
course in monsoon-like weather conditions, “but
we had good Hoosier rain tires on the Corvette
and that made the difference.”
Buttermore’s
chief rival and current SCCA National Champion
in the class, 21-year old Andrew Aquilante of
Chester Springs, Pa., qualified his Corvette on
the pole and led the first four laps, then let
Buttermore by and pulled into the pits, noting
this was not the day to risk to valuable race
car, and reluctantly accepted a sixth place
finish. Race officials prematurely ended the
race on lap seven due to the weather conditions
– the corner flagging stations were unable to
see the race cars, and vice-versa.
The local team’s
cars also finished second and third in the
Touring 1 class. Ohioan David Pintaric was
second with his Dodge Viper, recovering from a
first lap spin, and Cliff Murray of Chester
Springs, Pa., was third in another Corvette.
David Sanders of Exton, Pa., was fifth in his
Corvette.
“Any time my
customers can fill a winner’s circle podium,
that’s a good day for the whole Phoenix
Performance team,” Joe Aquilante beamed. He
finished third in the T-3 class with a Chevrolet
Cobalt.
The skies again
let loose prior to the American Sedan race,
which included American Sedan drivers Evan
Kesselman and 11-time SCCA National Champion
John Heinricy, both in Phoenix Performance-built
Pontiac Firebirds. Kesselman, an ex-New Jersey
State Trooper, now living in Phoenix, Ariz.,
moved from ninth to third. “Before the race,
Kurt Omensetter, my crew chief from Phoenix
Performance, made the very insightful call for
me to use ‘intermediate’ tread Hoosier tires,
and that made the difference,” said Kesselman.
Heinricy, of
Royal Oak, Mich., went from 16th on
the starting grid to fourth at the end.
“All-in-all, a
very good weekend for the Phoenix Performance
team,” concluded Joe Aquilante.
About Phoenix Performance
Located in Phoenixville,
Pa, Phoenix Performance is owned by Joe
Aquilante. Based in a 32,000 sq. ft. race shop
35 miles west of downtown Philadelphia. Phoenix
Performance-prepared cars have won 18 SCCA
National Championships since 1999 - including
three wins per year for the past four years, two
professional series Manufacturer Championship,
and the GM Motorsports Winner’s Circle Award.
For more information, call 610-482-0141 or visit
www.phoenixperformaceinc.com
and
www.phoenixperformance.net.