2013 AMERICAN LeMans MONTEREY presented by Patrón
Mazda Raceway-Laguna Seca
Article and Photos by: Randy Jones/SMM Staff Photographer
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Monterey, Calif., May 9-11, 2013 - The third race of the 2013 season took place at the West Coast's premier road course…Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. The weather couldn't have been better for the cars and the fans with moderate temperatures and at times, heavy fog as the teams began to roll in on Thursday. By Saturday the fog had disappeared, revealing clear blue skies for the rest of the weekend.
On Thursday, Four series of cars took to the track. Mazda MX-5 Cup, Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama. T
he host class, the American Le Mans Series presented by Patrón Tequila. ALMS consists of 5 classes, high-tech, high-speed LeMans prototypes P1, P2, PC. Acura, Porsche, Mazda, Corvette, Aston Martin, Ford, Dodge, BMW, Jaguar and Ferrari comprise the GT and GTC groups. During the first day of racing all series and classes went out for practice and test runs with Friday Qualifying and Race 1 for Mazda MX-5, IMSA and the Cooper Lites. Saturday began quietly as the garages began to open and the sound of high performance engulfed the still morning air. As the covers were pulled off the cars, race fans had their first opportunity to observe the best road race cars in the world. As race day begins, fans walk up and down the paddock to view their favorite teams and cars and visit well stocked souvenir booths, elaborate manufacturer exhibits and food concessions. Pretty women representing team sponsors began to appear. Before long, it was high noon and the teams set up tables at each garage for the much anticipated "meet and greets". If you waited in line long enough you'd get to ask a question and have a picture taken with your favorite driver.
At 2:00 PM, the endurance cars began to stage on the grid amongst the thousands of fans who had come out to see the cars, the drivers and pre-race activities. After the track was cleared, the cars headed out for a warm up lap in preparation for the 4 hour endurance race. At 3:30 PM, the green flag dropped.
In the end, Muscle Milk Pickett Racing cruised to its second straight victory, the GT battle stole the show as Corvette Racing's Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner managed their second consecutive class win. Seven cars in the class were within two seconds of one another. In the closing hour, the two Corvettes, BMW M3s and Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs from Flying Lizard Motorsports and Team Falken Tire came in first. In P2, Level 5 Motorsports, HPD ARX-03b made it three-for-three for the season. It was a major victory for Franck Montagny, Scott Tucker and Luis Diaz.
Visit ALMS.com for current and future event information including tickets and area accommodations. Follow the Series on Twitter, Facebook and the official YouTube channel.
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1. (1) Klaus Graf, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; HPD ARX-03a Honda (1, P1), 242.
2. (4) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Scott Tucker; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; HPD ARX-03b Honda (2, P2), 239.
3. (10) Colin Braun, Ovalo, TX; Jon Bennett; Oreca FLM09 (3, PC), 236.
4. (6) Roberto Gonzalez; Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA; Bruno Junqueira; Oreca FLM09 (4, PC), 236.
5. (7) Tom Kimber-Smith, England; Alex Papow; Oreca FLM09 (5, PC), 236.
6. (8) Michael Guasch, Palo Alto, CA; Memo Gidley, San Rafael, CA; Archie Hamilton, Hampshire, UK; Oreca FLM09 (6, PC), 236.
7. (12) Lucas Downs, North Mankoto, MN; Kyle Marcelli; Dean Stirling, England; Oreca FLM09 (7, PC), 234.
8. (9) Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Ken Dobson, Carmel Valley, CA; Oreca FLM09 (8, PC), 232.
9. (17) Oliver Gavin; Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Corvette C6-ZR1 (1, GT), 232.
10. (20) Jan Magnussen; Antonio Garcia; Corvette C6-ZR1 (2, GT), 232.
11. (18) Jorg Muller, Germany; Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; BMW E92 M3 (3, GT), 232.
12. (22) Dirk Mueller; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; BMW E92 M3 (4, GT), 232.
13. (21) Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Ferrari F458 Italia (5, GT), 232.
14. (19) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Jorg Bergmeister; Richard Lietz, Ybbsitz; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (6, GT), 232.
15. (24) Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Wolf Henzler; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7, GT), 232.
16. (11) Ryan Lewis, UK; Duncan Ende, Los Angeles; Henri Richard; Oreca FLM09 (8, PC), 231.
17. (16) Stefan Mucke, Germany; Darren Turner; Adrian Fernandez; Aston Martin Vantage (9, GT), 230.
18. (27) Marco Holzer; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (10, GT), 230.
19. (25) Sascha Maassen; Bryce Miller, Hoboken, NJ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (11, GT), 229.
20. (35) David Heinemeier Hansson; Martin Plowman, Indianapolis, IN; Antonio Pizzonia, Manaus BR; Morgan/Nissan (12, P2), 227.
21. (13) Anthony Nicolosi, Brooklyn, NY; Ricardo Vera; Oreca FLM09 (13, PC), 225.
22. (23) Guy Cosmo, Long Island, NY; Ed Brown, Las Vegas, NV; Ferrari F458 Italia (14, GT), 224.
23. (2) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Johnny Mowlem, England; Guy Smith, Beverley, UK; Lola B12/60 Mazda (15, P1), 222.
24. (30) Emilio Di Guida; Jeroen Bleekemolen, Netherlands; Brett Curtis, Valencia, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (1, GTC), 219.
25. (34) James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA; Rene Villeneuve, Woodland Hills, CA; Alex Welch; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (2, GTC), 219.
26. (32) Michael Aventatti; Bob Faieta, Tijunga, CA; Cort Wagner, Pacific Palisades, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (3, GTC), 219.
27. (33) Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Cooper MacNeil; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (4, GTC), 216.
28. (28) Damien Faulkner; Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, Haarlem, NL; Peter LeSaffre, Rye, NH; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (5, GTC), 211.
29. (3) Scott Tucker; Christophe Bouchut, France; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; HPD ARX-03b Honda (6, P2), 207.
30. (5) Joe Foster, Lawrenceville, GA; Jonny Cocker, UK; Patrick Dempsey; Lola B12/87-Judd BMW V8 (7, P2), 202.
31. (14) Andrew Prendeville, Chatham, NJ; Rusty Mitchell, Midland, TX; Duarte Felix de Costa, Cascias PT; Radical SR10/Rousch Yates (8, P2), 185.
32. (29) Nick Tandy; Mike Hedlund, Woodside, CA; Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (9, GTC), 178.
33. (31) Martin Ragginger, Austria; Chris Cumming, Vancouver, BC; Matthew Marsh, Welwyn, UK; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (10, GTC), 119.
34. (15) Tony Burgess, Canada; Antonio Downs, Minneapolis, MN; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Oreca FLM09 (11, PC), 100.
35. (26) Townsend Bell, Santa Monica, CA; Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT; Lotus Evora/Cosworth (16, GT), 67.
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NORWALK, Ohio – After qualifying in the top spot to start the day at the 14th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series driver Jose Gonzalez took home the win at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
The Norwalk event marked the fourth race of the 2021 E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service season, and with today’s victory, Gonzalez currently sits second in the points standings.
His journey to the winner’s circle began when he defeated Alex Laughlin in the opening round. He then took down Mike Castellana in the quarterfinals and later Doug Winters in the semifinal round. It was his 5.723-second pass at 250.09 mph over points leader Brandon Snider.
Snider, the No. 7 seed, defeated Justin Jones, Lyle Barnett and Jerico Balduf en route to his first final round of the season.
The E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service returns to action July 16-18 at the Dodge//SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo.
Final finish order (1-16) at the 14th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The race is the fourth of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
PRO MODIFIED:
1. Jose Gonzalez
2. Brandon Snider
3. Jerico Balduf
4. Doug Winters
5. Justin Bond
6. Mike Castellana
7. Lyle Barnett
8. Jim Whiteley
9. Steve Jackson
10. Mike Salinas
11. Eric Latino
12. Justin Jones
13. Alex Laughlin
14. Jeffery Barker
15. Khalid alBalooshi
16. JR Gray.
Sunday's final results from the 14th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The race is the fourth of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Pro Modified:
Jose Gonzalez, Chevy Camaro, 5.723, 250.09 def. Brandon Snider, Chevy Corvette, 5.777, 248.84.
Final round-by-round results from the 14th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the fourth of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
PRO MODIFIED:
ROUND ONE:
Jerico Balduf, Chevy Chevelle, 5.880, 244.92 def. Mike Salinas, Chevy Camaro, 5.909, 245.58; Doug Winters, Chevelle, 5.906, 245.76 def. Jeffery Barker, Toyota Camry, 6.057, 219.76; Jose Gonzalez, Camaro, 5.795, 248.48 def. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 5.931, 239.78; Jim Whiteley, Camaro, 5.858, 244.87 def. Steve Jackson, Camaro, 5.846, 247.79; Lyle Barnett, Camaro, 5.936, 243.50 def. Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, 6.628, 154.07; Brandon Snider, Chevy Corvette, 5.829, 248.52 def. Justin Jones, Corvette, Foul - Red Light; Justin Bond, Camaro, 5.836, 247.88 def. Eric Latino, Camaro, 5.913, 242.45; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.871, 245.23 def. JR Gray, Camaro, 6.712, 199.43; QUARTERFINALS -- Winters, 5.923, 243.02 def. Whiteley, Foul - Red Light; Snider, 5.819, 247.97 def. Barnett, 6.248, 166.66; Gonzalez, 5.800, 246.89 def. Castellana, 5.847, 246.35; Balduf, 5.862, 244.25 def. Bond, 5.812, 248.66; SEMIFINALS -- Snider, 5.794, 248.25 def. Balduf, 5.833, 246.21; Gonzalez, 5.752, 248.93 def. Winters, 5.922, 223.14; FINAL -- Gonzalez, 5.723, 250.09 def. Snider, 5.777, 248.84.
Point standings (top 10) following the 14th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the fourth of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Pro Modified:
1. Justin Bond, 328
2. Jose Gonzalez, 322
3. Brandon Snider, 294
4. Steve Jackson, 254
5. Khalid alBalooshi, 204
6. Jeffery Barker, 192
7. Mike Castellana, 177
8. JR Gray, 169
9. Doug Winters, 164
10. Alex Laughlin, 147.
2021 Major Events
At Sonoma Raceway
