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ARA Racefacts Bulletin 8/2/98

5 August 1998


AUTO RACING ANALYSIS RACEFACTS BULLETIN

AUGUST 2, 1998

	Paul Gentilozzi (Autolink Rocketsports Chevrolet
Corvette) won his sixth 1998 SCCA NTB Trans-Am Series
victory by taking Trois Rivieres event Sunday!
	Gentilozzi's six 1998 wins (in nine races) rank tied
for seventh ranking on the all-time Wins Per Season list;
with a seventh win, Paul can tie seven-race winners Mark
Donohue (1971), Scott Pruett (1987), Willy T. Ribbs (1985),
and Bob Tullius (1978 Category I).
	If Gentilozzi wins each of the season's four remaining
events, he can tie the second-ranking season win total of
ten achieved by Mark Donohue in 1968.  Tom Kendall's record
eleven-win 1997 season is out of Gentilozzi's reach.
	The victory was the 20th for the Rocketsports team in
Trans-Am competition, sixth-ranking all-time.  Rocketsports
has now won eight of the nine 1998 Trans-Am races (two with
Bill Saunders) and six consecutively!
	Gentilozzi has "opened" the 1998 SCCA NTB Trans-Am
Series season with NINE consecutive Fastest Lap honors, a
new Trans-Am Fast Lap streak record!
	Paul has TIED the all-time Season Fast Lap Total record
with the Trois Rivieres 1998 Fast Lap!  The record of nine
Fast Laps in a season was set by Tom Kendall in 1997's
13-race season!
	Gentilozzi and teammate Saunders (seventh at Trois
Rivieres) are 1-2 in points (251-195); a team has scored a
1-2 in Trans-Am points five times.  McCall Racing with
Chevrolet Camaros leads with two such results; Scott Sharp
won the 1991 title with Jack Baldwin second, and the duo
reversed the result in 1992!
	The first "team 1-2" was scored by DeAtley Racing and
its Chevrolet Camaros driven by David Hobbs and Willy T.
Ribbs in 1983.  The C & C Chevrolet Beretta team of Tom
Kendall and Chris Kneifel finished 1-2 in 1990 Trans-Am
points.
	Roush Racing achieved a 1985 1-2 by Wally Dallenbach,
Jr. and Willy T. Ribbs in Roush Mercury Capris.
	For the second consecutive race, rookie Bruce Qvale
(Huffaker/Qvale Ford Mustang Cobra) finished second, with
fellow rookie Chris Neville (ARCO Derhaag Chevrolet Camaro)
third, each achieving career-best finishes!  In the season's
nine races, Qvale and Neville have each led the rookies four
times!
	Neville now ranks third in overall points with 189;
Bruce Qvale is fifth with 180 and second to Neville in the
1998 Rookie of the Year chase!

	Jeff Gordon (Dupont Hendrick Chevrolet Monte Carlo) won
Saturday's Indianapolis Brickyard 400 NASCAR Winston Cup
event, becoming the first driver to win the event twice!
	The win was Gordon's second consecutive in the series
and series-leading sixth of 1998, achieving the feat in race
#19 of 1998.
	Jeff has been the first driver to achieve six wins in
each of the last four Winston Cup seasons; he took his sixth
1995 win in race #23 (September 3 Darlington Southern 500),
his sixth 1996 win in race #18 (July 28 Talladega 500), and
his sixth 1997 win in race #13 (June 8 at Pocono)!  While at
this time in 1997 Jeff had eight (of ten eventual) wins he
is only one race shy of his 1996 pace when he also won ten
races!

	Tommy Houston (Addington Coal Chevrolet) won Sunday's
New Hampshire NASCAR Craftsman Truck event, scoring his
first victory in the series as he became the third driver to
take his first Craftsman Truck win in 1998, joining Rick
Crawford (Homestead) and Stacy Compton (Portland)!  The win
was the fifth consecutive for Chevrolet in the 1998 series
and ended a four-race streak of alternating wins by Ron
Hornaday, Jr. and Jack Sprague!
	Andy, third in 1994 NASCAR Winston Racing Series
Mid-Atlantic points and eleventh in 1996 NASCAR Dash points,
is the son of Tommy Houston; Tommy's last NASCAR Busch Grand
National win came April 18, 1992 at Hickory.  Tommy never
won a BGN event on a track of a mile or more such as the New
Hampshire mile!

	Terry Borcheller (Saleen/Allen Ford Saleen Mustang) won
T1 and Michael Galati (Realtime/Comptech Acura Integra R)
won T2 in Trois Rivieres SCCA World Challenge action; each
driver now leads the 1998 series point standings as well!
	Borcheller did not compete in the first race of the
1998 T1 season; if he wins the 1998 T1 championship title,
he will join 1997 T1 champion Peter Cunningham as the only
World Challenge titlists to score a season championship
while missing one of the season's events!
	Borcheller's victory was his second of the 1998 T1
season, tying him with points runnerup Peter Cunningham for
1998 T1 victory honors!  Borcheller leads by five points,
146 to 141 with Terry's winless Saleen/Allen teammate Ron
Johnson third, also with 141, with Dodge Viper driver Neil
Hannemann fourth at 96 points, Porsche 911 pilot Jeff Conkel
fifth with 87, and Chevrolet Corvette driver (and
Minneapolis racewinner) Chris Wiehle sixth at 82.
	Galati's win was his first in 1998 T2 competition;
teammate Pierre Kleinubing, second at Trois Rivieres, and
fellow Acura Integra R pilot Lance Stewart, third at Trois
Rivieres, lead 1998 T2 with two wins apiece!  Galati leads
the championship with 166 points to 149 for Kleinubing and
147 for Stewart.  BMW drivers rank 4-5-6 (Johannes Overbeek
138, Hugh Plumb 121, and Alain Chebeir 119).
	The victory margins (0.266 second in T1, 0.445 second
in T2) were the closest of 1998!  Each class winner won from
second starting position with the polesitter finishing
second in each class!

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