Auto Racing Analysis Racefacts Bulletin and Model Review (09/29/97)
1 October 1997
AUTO RACING ANALYSIS RACEFACTS BULLETIN Jeff Burton (Exide Roush Ford Thunderbird) won Monday's Hanes 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Martinsville, scoring the third win of his career and of 1997. Burton, now the winner on a one and a 1.5-mile superspeedway plus a short track, is only the third driver in the Winston Cup "modern era" (1972-97) to score three wins in his "breakthrough" (first year with a race win) year, joining Geoff Bodine (1984, two short track wins and one road course) and Bobby Labonte (1995, two wins on the 2-mile Michigan superspeedway, one at 1.5-mile Charlotte)! Mark Blundell (Motorola PacWest Reynard 97I-Mercedes-Firestone) won the California Speedway Marlboro 500 CART PPG World Series race. Blundell's victory marked the fourth consecutive IRL or CART 500-miler won by non-native U.S. drivers (Andre Ribeiro, 1996 MIS Marlboro 500; Arie Luyendyk, 1997 Indianapolis 500; Alessandro Zanardi, 1997 MIS U.S. 500; and Blundell, Marlboro 500) and the third consecutive such 500-miler won by European-born drivers! In each case, the streak sets a new record for consecutive non-U.S. native drivers or European-born winners in such events! Mike Borkowski (Textron Gloy Ford Mustang Cobra), the 1997 Trans-Am Rookie of the Year, won the 1997 Pikes Peak International Raceway SCCA Trans-Am race, ending Tom Kendall's 11-race victory streak! Mike's victory came in his 12th career Trans-Am start and gives him two Top Three, eight Top Five, nine Top Ten, and nine lead-lap finishes in those twelve starts! Mike is the 116th driver to score a Trans-Am win and the 83rd to win overall (not including class wins)! Borkowski qualified fifth, drew the pole, and led every lap en route to the victory, winning a last-lap battle with runnerup Kendall by 10.452 seconds! Pikes Peak 1997 was the first Trans-Am Borkowski led! Borkowski ended Gloy Racing's 14-race winless streak in Trans-Am racing. Mike's previous career-best Trans-Am finish was third at Detroit. Mike was the 1993 SCCA Oldsmobile Pro and 1994 SCCA American Continental champion. Mike's SCCA Pro Racing career began in the 1991 SCCA Oldsmobile Pro series; Mike competed in nine 1991 events in a Lola T89/90-Oldsmobile, ranking fourth in points. He earned two "podium" finishes (thirds at Des Moines and Watkins Glen), six Top Five and seven Top Ten finishes with a pole and two front-row starts! Mike took his career-first SCCA Pro Racing pole at Lime Rock and led an SCCA Pro event for the first time before crashing out. Borkowski also competed in one 1991 IMSA Endurance Touring class event, at Road America on August 24; he drove a Honda CRX Si to tenth in Touring, three laps down, and the points earned ranked him 68th in 1991 Touring class points. Mike continued in the SCCA Oldsmobile Pro series in 1992, driving a Shannon 92PS-Oldsmobile and a Lola T89/90-Oldsmobile and winning in both! Mike's first SCCA Pro Racing win came in the July 19, 1992 Watkins Glen race; he also won on October 10, 1992 in the Del Mar (California) event! Borkowski's ten 1992 SCCA Oldsmobile Pro starts produced two wins, six Top Three "podium" finishes, six Top Five finishes, eight Top Ten finishes, and two eleventh-place finishes! Mike failed to finish only one race and led five! He won the pole at Des Moines and set three Fast Laps en route to third place in the 1992 SCCA Oldsmobile Pro point standings! 1993 was Mike's championship season in the SCCA Oldsmobile Pro series! Mike drove a Shannon 93PS-Oldsmobile to two victories (Mid-Ohio and Lime Rock) and a Miller RM2-Oldsmobile to one win (Trois Rivieres)! He won three races: Mid-Ohio on June 13, Lime Rock on July 23, and Trois Rivieres on August 15! Mike scored five Top Three "podium" finishes, six Top Five finishes, and nine Top Ten finishes and finished every lap of every race, 250 of 250! Borkowski led five of the nine events, took two poles (Road Atlanta and Watkins Glen) and one Fast Lap! Mike won the title by nineteen (19) points, 129 to 110, over Bob Thomas. Borkowski moved on to the 1994 SCCA American Continental series and won that title, too! He did not compete in the season's first event (May 22, 1994 at Mosport Park) but in the remaining six (driving a Van Diemen) he won four times and finished in the Top Three on the "podium" in all six races, completing all 160 laps of the six events and leading five of the races for a total of 99 laps! Mike took four pole positions and was on the front row for all six events; he also set three Fast Laps! Mike's first three 1994 SCCA American Continental races produced wins: June 5 at Watkins Glen, July 3 at Des Moines, and August 7 at Trois Rivieres! He led every lap of the Watkins Glen and Des Moines races. Mike then finished second at Mosport Park on August 21. He then won on August 27, 1994 at Road Atlanta, again leading every lap! He completed the season with a third-place finish at Dallas after being the race's initial leader. Borkowski also competed in one 1994 SCCA Oldsmobile Pro event, at Lime Rock. Driving the Shannon 94PC-Oldsmobile, he placed ninth. In 29 1991-1994 SCCA Oldsmobile Pro events, Mike won five times (17.24%), placed in the Top Three "podium" positions 13 times (44.83%), finished in the Top Five 18 times (62.1%) and in the Top Ten in 25 races (86.2%) and in the Top Eleven in 27 events (93.1%) as he finished 26 events (89.66%) and led eleven (37.93%)! Mike took four pole positions, six front-row starts, and four Fast Laps. Combining Mike's SCCA Oldsmobile Pro record with his SCCA American Continental performance, Mike's SCCA Pro Racing stats show 35 starts, 9 wins (25.7%), 19 Top Three "podium" finishes (54.3%), 24 Top Five finishes (68.6%), 31 Top Ten finishes (88.6%), 32 races finished (91.4%), eight pole positions, 12 front-row starts, seven fast Laps, and sixteen races led! With Mike's 1997 Trans-Am stats added, his SCCA Pro Racing stats show 47 starts, 10 wins (21.3%), 21 Top Three "podium" finishes (44.7%), 32 Top Five finishes (68.1%), 40 Top Ten finishes (85.1%), 43 races finished (91.5%), and seventeen races led (36.2%)! Borkowski competed in six races of the 1995 Indy Lights series, earning twelfth place in 1995 Indy Lights points! Mike achieved one Top Five finish (fourth at Portland on June 25) and five Top Ten finishes, completing all but two of the possible laps in the six events. Mike started eighth on the Nazareth oval on April 23, 1995 and finished eleventh, one lap down, and ranked fourth among series rookies. On June 4 he started third (his best Indy Lights start) on the Milwaukee oval and finished eighth, one lap down, ranking third among Indy Lights rookies. On June 11 in Detroit's street event he finished ninth, on the lead lap, after starting eighth, and again ranked third among the rookies. On June 25 at Portland he started from his worst Indy Lights starting position (14th) but recorded his best finish, fourth, on the lead lap! Mike was the race's second-ranking rookie! Borkowski started eleventh in the July 16 Toronto event and finished tenth, on the lead lap, as fifth-ranking rookie. His final Indy Lights start, on July 23 at Cleveland, saw him start sixth and finish eighth, on the lead lap, as fourth-ranking rookie. Mike competed in three IMSA events in 1996. He was part of the Brix Oldsmobile Aurora GTS-1 team in the February 4, 1996 Daytona 24 Hours, teaming with Brian Cunningham, Darin Brassfield, and Irv Hoerr; the Aurora caught fire and did not finish. Borkowski then competed in two IMSA World Sportscar events, June 9 in Watkins Glen's Six Hours and October 6 in the Daytona 3 Hours, each time driving a Buick Kudzu DG2. At Watkins Glen he teamed with John Mirro and A.J. Smith, starting tenth in WSC and finishing seventh. At Daytona he teamed with Smith to start thirteenth in WSC and finish tenth. These WSC efforts placed him 57th in 1996 IMSA WSC points. It is interesting to note that six of Mike's nine pre-1997 SCCA Pro Racing victories came on 1997 SCCA Trans-Am venues: Lime Rock (1993 Oldsmobile Pro), Mid-Ohio (1993 Oldsmobile Pro), Trois Rivieres (1993 Oldsmobile Pro, 1994 American Continental), and Watkins Glen (1992 Oldsmobile Pro, 1994 American Continental)! Mike's ten SCCA Pro Racing victories have seen him win six times on road courses (two wins at Watkins Glen, one each at Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta, and Pikes Peak) and four times on street or "temporary" circuits (twice at Trois Rivieres, once each at Del Mar and Des Moines). Tom Kendall has achieved ten Fast Qualifier honors in twelve 1997 SCCA Trans-Am races; he has established a new all-time record for overall "top class" Trans-Am FQs in a season, breaking the old record shared at 9 FQs in a season by Mark Donohue (9 of a possible 13, 1968), Scott Pruett (9 of a possible 12, 1987), and Scott Sharp (9 of a possible 14, 1993)! The "all-classes" Trans-Am season FQ records is ten (of a possible eleven), set by Horst Kwech in 1970 Under 2-Liter. Tom needs Reno's 1997 FQ to establish a new "all classes" record! Tom's current Season FQ Percentage is 83.3%. The all-time Trans-Am overall "top class" Season FQ Percentage record is held by John Paul, Sr. at 77.8% as he was Fast Qualifier for 7 of 9 1979 Category II events. To break Paul's record Tom needs to take Reno's 1997 Trans-Am FQ and finish at 11 of 13, or 84.6%! The all-time "all classes" Trans-Am Season FQ Percentage record, 90.9%, was set when Horst Kwech took ten of the eleven possible FQ honors in 1970 Under 2-Liter; the mark is beyond the reach of Tom Kendall in 1997. The series Mike Borkowski will be entering next year, Indy Lights, saw Clint Mears win the season finale at Fontana. Brazil's Tony Kanaan won the 1997 Indy Lights title after ranking second in 1996 points. Tony ranked fifth in 1992 Brazilian Formula Chevrolet Lotus points. He moved to Europe in 1993 and finished seventh in European Formula Vauxhall points. Tony won the 1994 Italian Formula Europa Boxer championship and placed fifth in the 1995 Italian Formula 3 series before moving on to North America in 1996! SportsCar's Pikes Peak Exxon World Sports Car event, won by the MOMO Ferrari of Andrea Montermini/Antonio Hermann, set a new WSC record with six lead-lap finishers! The race set a WSC record for a 2-hour race with six leaders and ten lead changes! The MOMO Ferrari led 49 of 140 laps with Dyson Ford entries leading 40 laps, Doyle Oldsmobile entries leading 38, and the MSI Chevrolet entry leading 13 laps as four teams and powerplants shared the lead! Andy Pilgrim and Allan McNish teamed for their second consecutive (and Pilgrim's third straight) Exxon Supreme GTS-1 win in the Rohr Porsche with the Lister Storm second and a Ford Panoz third, all on the lead lap! Franz Konrad and Nick Ham kept Porsche's winning percentage at 100% in GTS-2 while BMWs led by Bill Auberlen/Boris Said (Yokohama/Valvoline PTG BMW M3) finished 1-2-3-4-5 in GTS-3! Peter Cunningham won T1 and Pierre Kleinubing won T2 at Pikes Peak as the Comptech/Realtime Acura NSX took the T1 win and the Comptech/Realtime Acura Integra R took T2 in SCCA World Challenge action! Cunningham scored his fourth 1997 T1 victory and the 16th win of his World Challenge career, second all-time only to Lou Gigliotti's 18! Cunningham leads the T1 standings over Rob Fellows (runnerup at Pikes Peak) by fourteen points. Kleinubing scored the second consecutive win of his World Challenge career in his ninth start! Kleinubing now leads the T2 standings by one point over teammate Michael Galati! T1 was won from second starting position, T2 from third! T1 produced five lead-lap finishers, T2 four. T1 had four leaders and three lead changes; T2 had two leaders and one lead change! T1 had four marques and five models in the Top Five while T2 had four marques and models in its Top Five. The victory margins were 6.504 seconds in T1 and 7.707 seconds in T2. 1997 World Challenge T1 racing has produced five racewinning drivers in nine races, with Peter Cunningham, the driver of the Comptech/Realtime Acura NSX, scoring four wins! Cunningham won at St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio, Trois Rivieres, and Pikes Peak. Rob Fellows (a first-time winner in 1997!) is the other multiple racewinner, his two victories coming at Heartland Park and Mosport Park. Kermit Upton, Lou Gigliotti, and first-time World Challenge winner Peter Kitchak have scored the other wins. Five teams have scored wins, led by Comptech/Realtime with four; AER/McGraw has two, with Mountain, Gigliotti, and Kitchak each taking one. The Acura NSX leads with four T1 wins; the Ford Saleen Mustang has three wins. The BMW M3 and Porsche RSR have scored one apiece as four marques have won the nine 1997 T1 races. 1997 World Challenge T2 racing has produced seven racewinning drivers in nine races, with only Paul Booher, driver of the ICY Racing Saturn SC, and Pierre Kleinubing, in the Comptech/Realtime Acura Integra R, scoring two wins! Peter Schwartzott, Michael Galati, Alain Chebeir, and first-time World Challenge racewinners Kristian Skavnes and Johannes Van Overbeek have scored the other five wins. Four teams have won in 1997 T2, with ICY Racing and Comptech/Realtime leading with three wins apiece. Last Minute Racing has two (Chebeir and Van Overbeek); Schwartzott Racing took the other victory. Four marques and three manufacturers have won in 1997 T2. Honda has four wins, three by Acura Integra R entries, one by a Honda Prelude Si. Saturn has three victories; BMW has two wins with its 328is. Acura has won in both classes, four times with the NSX in T1 and three times with the Integra R in T2! BMW has also won in both classes, once in T1 with an M3 and twice in T2 with a 328is. Comptech/Realtime is the only team to win in both classes, four races with Peter Cunningham in T1 and three in T2, once with Galati and twice by Kleinubing! Peter Cunningham has four wins in 1997 T1 competition; this achievement marks only the 8th season in World Challenge history of 4 or more wins! Eight drivers have achieved World Challenge seasons of four or more wins. Lou Gigliotti took six wins (in 8 races) in 1992 T1. Elliott Forbes-Robinson won five of 8 races in 1993 Class A (Sports) competition, and David Murry won five of eight 1995 Sports races. Bill Saunders won five of eight races in 1992 Class D. Bobby Archer won four of eight races in 1990 T2, Ron Emmick won four of eight 1993 T2 events, and Neil Hannemann won four of eight 1992 Class D races. Congratulations to the Thrust SSC team on their New Land Speed Record mark of 714.144 mph. Their website can be found at http://thrustssc.digital.co.uk/thrustssc/. ARA MODEL KIT REVIEW LINDBERG 1964 DODGE 330 SUPER STOCK BILL "MAVERICK" GOLDEN 1:25 SCALE SKILL LEVEL 2 Craft House Corporation 328 North Westwood Avenue Toledo, OH 43607 This kit produces an excellent model of the 1964 Dodge 330 two-door sedan; this can be affirmed from personal experience as our first driving was done in a 1964 Dodge 330 two-door sedan, albeit with a 225-cubic inch six, not a 426 Hemi V8! The 330 was Dodge's "mid size" and its boxy and beefy appearance made it look even larger than it was! The Lindberg kit reproduces the Bill "Maverick" Golden 426 Hemi Super Stock SS/A drag racer with appropriate decaling. For sentimental reasons, however, ARA built the kit as a street car without the drag car decaling or hood scoops and using the interior armrests provided for those choosing not to go the full "super stock" route. The model's "super stock" Hemi 426 engine and suspension components are modeled in great detail. Other than the rear bumper area assembly being a bit tricky, the assembly proceeded smoothly, producing an attractive and accurate model. As an information sheet and order form supplied with the kit notes, Bill "Maverick" Golden was called "King of the Wheelstanders" and was also famous for his "Little Red Wagon" Dodge drag truck, now on display at Don Garlits' Museum in Ocala, Florida. According to the insert, Golden has a variety of models, diecast and memorabilia for sale and can be reached at 1908 Searcy Street, Kensett, Arkansas 72082, fax or telephone 501-268-7970. Our website at http://members.aol.com/autoracg/ provides a wealth of useful and interesting auto racing information!
