Round #8, the series finale of the 2009 Redline Time Attack Series was held at the famed Auto Club Speedway on the high speed ROVAL configuration. This configuration features two very different parts. The first part utilizes the entire front straight away, part of the back straightaway, and the high banked turns #1 & #2 of the NASCAR oval. This provided some of the highest top speeds we have seen all season with top Unlimited cars reaching north of 180mph. To contradict that, the rest of the course is comprised of flat, low, and mid-speed corners so as you can imagine, setting up a car to perform well on both of these very different parts of the track is a nightmare.
This event had one of the largest showings of competitors all year long. Being that this was the final event of the season virtually every top team from the East and West coast showed up for a battle that would be sure to excite the fans. Sierra Sierra was out for blood after having a taste of victory earlier in the week beating out FXMD's seemingly un-beatable NSX at the 2009 Super Lap Battle Finals. AMS Performance has already locked in the 2009 Unlimited AWD points championship but you wouldn't know it as they pulled out all of the tricks to get another win. Brian Lock and the GoTo Racing/Dell Equallogic R35 GTR, a new addition to the goliath Unlimited AWD class, sure turned some heads as it screamed down the front straight as well. Like his team-mates AMS Performance, Ryan Gates and the Gates311.com Evo X had already secured the Modified AWD points champion, but following in the footseps of his title sponsor, AMS, he also showed no mercy, but he would have a stacked field with every top team in Modified AWD on his heels. JC Meynet, James Elterman, Sharif Abdelbaset, and even Deiter Heinz in the C-Spec Tuining Evo (formerly MFQ Motorsports) showed up to have a go at Gates and his blazing fast Evo X. The Street West championship was interupted by the 2009 Street Class East champions as they came out to mix it up on the left coast in a chance to win the 2009 Yokohama Shootout. GTMotoring, Turn In Concepts, and Windspeed Racing put up their best against Jeremy Toye, Manly Kao, and many of the other West Coast Street Class powerhouses. The Stock Class also saw a number of new faces and some familiar ones. Robert Fuller was out in a new 370Z to battle AE Performance's 370Z in Stock RWD while Matt Dennison would try and fend off Thomas Smith in Stock AWD.
The Unlimited Class has gotten out of control fast this season and with the go for broke attitued that the final race of the season gives the teams, everyone was glued to the track when the heavy hitters went out for battle. Just a few days prior to this event, Sierra Sierra pulled a major upset over FXMD at the Super Lap Battle finals and with the new R35 GTR from GoTo Racing and 2009 Unlimited AWD Champions AMS Performance out there as well, nobody knew what to expect. It was an unbelieveably close battle as FXMD battled transmission issues with their NSX all day long, but they pulled it together at the last second to set a blazing 1:36.103 lap time which was good enough for the overall win, Unlimited RWD win, and a new track record for a production car. Just one tenth of a second behind FXMD driver Billy Johnson was an impressive showing by Paul Gerrard in the AMS Performance Mitsubishi Evo X with a time of 1:36.230 taking the Unlimited AWD Class win. Taking second in Unlimited AWD would be David Empringham in the Sierra Sierra Evo with a 1:38.028 with Brian Lock in the new GoTo Racing/Dell Equallogic R35 GTR rounding out the podium with a 1:38.677. Its no surprise that Chris Rado and the World Racing Scion tC pulled off another win in the Unlimited FWD class, but what is always surprising is how quickly he runs with his front wheel drive car. Rado set yet another front wheel drive track record with a 1:39.381 nearly five seconds ahead of Katsuyuki Hiranaka in the Team 5Zigen Honda who took 2nd place in Unlimited FWD with a 1:44.693. Rounding out the Unlimited FWD podium was Jason Saini with a 1:46.558.
The Modified Class has shown us some of the biggest rivalries all season long and every major hitter from the East and West coast was in attendance. Continuing an impressively dominating season Ryan Gates and the Gates311.com/AMS/K&N Evo X once again came out on top taking the Overall Modified and Modified AWD class with a 1:43.497 lap time. Mike Cronin Jr. and Fontana Nissan have been hard at work amping up their R35 GTR and it showed this weekend as they took home 2nd in Modified AWD with a lap time of 1:44.730. The battle for third was a heated one with 3rd through 5th place finishing within a second of eachother, but coming out on top was Sharif Abdelbaset and the Forged Performance R35 GTR with a 1:44.943 lap time rounding out the Modified AWD podium. The Modified RWD class saw a few new teams come out with a vengence in the later part of the season. One of those teams is AQ Motorsports and their S2000 piloted by JC Meynet who is no stranger to the top step of the podium and this weekend would provide JC with another win, but this time in the Modified RWD class. JC piloted the S2000 to a 1:45.462 just barely edging out last year's Auto Club Speedway Modified RWD winner Matt Andrews who drove his Nitto Tires Mazda Miata to a 1:45.541. Richard Taylor and the AE Performance/Hankook/JIC/Etnies Porsche GT2 would finish off the Modified RWD podium with a 1:48.381. Ross Miller and the PTuning Scion tC came into this events as the favorites for Modified FWD, however engine and transmission issues kept them back considerably leaving them in 3rd place with a time of 2:11.543, a time nowhere near what the car is capable of. John Lindeman would take the 2nd step on the Modified FWD podium with a 2:02.176 while top honors would go to Tom Liang with his 1:58.991 lap time.
The Street Class West series is always competitive and this weekend was no different, especially with all three Street Class East champions in attendance. Proving that the West is the best, Jeremy Toye in the Reese Tuning Evo once again blew the doors off of the rest of the street class running a 1:47.678 taking the Overall Street and Street AWD class win. Stephen Ruiz and the StopTech Mitsubishi Evo X once again took the middle spot on the podium with a 1:49.050 less than one tenth of a second ahead of Russ Warr in the M1FD/TuningTech/Octane Report Evo with a 1:49.144. 2009 Street AWD East Champions Tony Weisenhahn and the East Coast dominating Subaru WRX would have to settle for a very close 4th place finish witha 1:49.290. The Street RWD class saw the return of Round #2 winner Jeremy Croiset in his MCS Motorsports/Berk Tech/KW Toyota MR2 and he would once again claim victory in Street RWD with a 1:50.692 edging out the supercharged S2000 of Robert Choo who claimed 2nd with a 1:51.617. Third place went to Jeff Tyler in the HP Autowerks BMW 335i with an impressive 1:52.811. Street RWD East Champion Gregory Haye and the GTMotoring Honda S2000 suffered engine failure in practice. Clint Boisdeau came on strong in the last half of the Street FWD West season and claimed himself another victory running a 1:56.884 in his FocusSport Ford Focus. Taking 2nd place in Street FWD was Chris Stout with a 1:57.440 followed by Jason Nathan with a 1:59.349 for third.
The Stock Class competitors showed up in the masses again for this event but nobody could catch the Tuning Tech/Robispec/Mil.Spec Evo of Matt Dennison who turned in a lap time of 1:53.241 claiming the Overall Stock and Stock AWD title. Thomas Smith and the Zenkei Motorsports/Crawford/Enduratec/Motul Subaru STI was hot on his heels in 2nd place with a 1:53.884 with Jon Drenas rounding out the Stock AWD podium with a 1:55.173. Stock RWD was a battle of the 370Zs with Paul Dentice and the AE Performance/Hankook/JIC/Etnies 370Z once again taking the top spot on the podium with a 1:55.534. A new addition to the series was the blue and orange Pizza Factory/Robispec 370Z driven by Robert Fuller barely missing the top spot on the podium with a 1:55.670. Coming in 3rd in Stock RWD was Jim Tway with a 1:56.201. Stock FWD would have an impressive showing by Dez Ballard for the top spot on the podium in the ABF Performance/Gruppe-S MINI Cooper with a 1:59.595, the only Stock FWD car under the two minute mark. Coming in 2nd in Stock FWD was Eric Emmerson with a 2:03.404 followed by Adrian Torres for third with a 2:07.742.
The Drift Class once again saw some recognizable names from the Formula Drift series coming out to play. Taking top honors again was Rhys Millen in the Red Bull/Hyundai/Toyo/RMR Hyundai Genesis Coupe with a blazing fast 1:48.004. Follwing behind with a 1:54.025 was the Mazdatrix/Exedy/Turbonetics Mazda RX7 of Kyle Mohan in 2nd while the HPS/Baker/Driftspeed 240SX of Henry Schelley took 3rd with a 1:57.497.
As if that wasn't enough, this event also hosted the widely popular Super Session wheel to wheel battle between top Unlimited and Modified Class teams! Taking the green flag for this race was the FXMD NSX, Sierra Sierra Evo, GoTo Racing R35, Fontana Nissan R35, AQ Motorsports S2000, Takata Time Attack STI, and Forged Performance R35. The battles on the track were epic but Billy Johnson in the FXMD/Cricket NSX would take the checkered flag for the Unlimited Class cars followed by Sierra Sierra in 2nd, GoTo Racing in 3rd, and Fontana Nissan in 4th. Taking the checkered flag for the Modified group was JC Meynet and the AQ Motorsports S2000 followed by Forged Performance and Takata Time Attack.
Another special feature for this event was the Yokohama Tire Street Class East vs. West Shootout. The competition pitted the Street Class East and Street Class West champions against each other in a chance to win a 2-Day Jim Russell Racing School! In Street AWD it was Jeremy Toye in the Reese Tuning/Robispec Evo vs. Tony Weisenhahn in the Turn In Concepts WRX. Both cars were reportedly not running at 100% with Weisenhahn's car running with a cracked radiator and split hose. Toye's car had to be pushed to the line and they were black falgged on the first lap due to mechanical issues. Weisenhahn would go on the claim victory in the match up. For Street RWD it would have been Manly Kao in the Buddy Club/TrackHQ/APR/Toyo Lotus Elise vs. Gregory Haye in the GTMotoring/Challenge/Bridgestone Honda S2000. Unfortunately Haye's S2000 lost a motor in practice handing the win by default to Kao. It seems Street FWD was the only class with a healthy match between Clint Boisdeau and the FocusSport Ford Focus and Doug Wind in the Windspeed/Forced Performance/Continental Tire Dodge Neon SRT-4. Boisdeau put up a good fight with a 1:56.4, but it was Wind who clenched the victory with a 1:52.5.
2009 Proved to be an exciting year and with the big announcement of investors joining the Redline Time Attack series next year we can only imagine whats to come in 2010! Congratulations to all of the 2009 champions! See you at Buttonwillow Raceway March 26th-27th for Round #1 of the 2010 Redline Time Attack season!
RESULTS:
Overall:
Billy Johnson - FXMD/Cricket Wireless/Yokohama Acura NSX - 1:36.103
Overall Unlimited:
Billy Johnson - FXMD/Cricket Wireless/Yokohama Acura NSX - 1:36.103
Overall Modified:
Ryan Gates - Gates311.com/AMS Performance Mitsubishi Evo X - 1:43.497
Overall Street:
Jeremy Toye - Reese Tuning/Robispec Mitsubishi Evo IX - 1:47.678
Overall Stock:
Matt Dennison - Tuning Technologies/Robispec/Mil.Spec Mitsubishi Evo - 1:53.241
Unlimited AWD:
1 Paul Girard - AMS Performance/NOS Energy Mitsubishi Evo X - 1:36.230
2 David Empringham - Sierra Sierra Mitsubishi Evolution IX - 1:38.028
3 Brian Lock - GoTo Racing/Dell Equallogic Nissan R35 GTR - 1:38.677
4 Tarzan Yamada - Crawford Performance Subaru STI - 1:40.505
5 Mike Cronin Jr. - Fontana Nissan R35 GTR - 1:44.026
Unlimited RWD:
1 Billy Johnson - FXMD/Cricket Wireless/Yokohama Acura NSX - 1:36.103
Unlimited FWD:
1 Chris Rado - World Racing Scion tC - 1:39.381
2 Katsuyuki Hiranaka - Team 5Zigen Honda Civic -1:44.693
3 Jason Saini - TriPoint - 1:46.558
4 Andrew Gillis - Gillis Motorsports Ford Focus - 1:53.549
5 Frank Yeung - HPS/Yokohama/GP - 1:56.300
6 Ryan Lapp - 2:04.910
Modified AWD:
1 Ryan Gates - Gates311.com/AMS Performance Mitsubishi Evo X - 1:43.497
2 Mike Cronin Jr. - Fontana Nissan R35 GTR - 1:44.730
3 Sharif Abdelbaset - Forged Performance Nissan R35 GTR - 1:44.943
4 Russ Warr - LIC Motorsports/Crawford/Toyo Subaru STI - 1:45.772
5 Dieter Heinz - C-Spec Tuning/Robispec/RRE Mitsubishi Evo VIII - 1:45.904
6 James Elterman - Takata Time Attack Subaru STI - 1:47.862
7 Jared Stoops - Forged Performance Nissan R35 GTR - 1:48.469
8 Carl Rydquist - Citytireonline Porsche 911 Turbo - 1:50.004
9 Dez Ballard - Gruppe-S/Hankook Subaru STI - 1:51.056
10 Ken Xu - K&W Autobody/APM Racing/AIT Racing - 1:53.425
11 Joel Miller - Sparco USA/Designcraft Mitsubishi Evo X - 1:56.396
12 Dusty Nabor - NNI Racing/101 Pipe/Sparco Subaru STI - 1:57.555
13 Kevin Welker - Rally Innovations - 2:01.064
Modifed RWD:
1 JC Meynet - AQ Motorsports Honda S2000 - 1:45.462
2 Matt Andrews - Nitto Tire Mazda Miata - 1:45.541
3 Richard Taylor - AE Performance/Hankook/JIC/Etnies Porsche GT2 - 1:48.381
4 Alex Latteri - Lotus Exige - 1:49.186
5 Stephen Ruiz - StopTech Chevrolet Corvette C5 Z06 - 1:49.458
6 Jeremy Renshaw - AFI Turbo/Kenney Ent/Wilwood/Competition Clutch Honda S2000 - 1:49.706
7 Isaac Schumacher - 1:50.343
8 Dave Lemon - Mazdatrix - 1:50.750
9 Jacob Tanaka - Nitto Tires/Sams Autoland/Technosquare/SCT/XXR Wheels - 1:51.746
10 Stu Hainer - 1:51.895
11 Steve Butscher - Ford Mustang - 1:52.785
12 Billy Brooks - MODE Racing Hyundai Genesis Coupe - 1:57.214
13 James King - 1:58.461
14 Ryan Rush - 1:59.171
Modified FWD:
1 Tom Liang - RaceLikeBunnies.com Honda Civic Si - 1:58.991
3 John Lindeman - Gear-X/Toyo Tire - 2:02.176
4 Ross Miller - PTuning Scion tC - 2:11.543
5 Jeremy Hugee - GXS Motorsports - 2:13.839
Street AWD:
1 Jeremy Toye - Reese Tuning/Robispec Mitsubishi Evo IX - 1:47.678
2 Stephen Ruiz - StopTech/AMS Performance Mitsubishi Evo X - 1:49.050
3 Russ Warr - M1FD/Tuning Tech/Octane Report Mitsubishi Evo IX - 1:49.144
4 Tony Weisenhahn - Turn In Concepts Subaru WRX - 1:49.290
5 Erik Islas - Robispec/Tuning Technologies Mitsubishi Evo IX - 1:49.697
6 Tony Fuentes - Island Motorsports/US Army/SPEC Clutches/TITEK - 1:55.452
7 Mauricio Calderon - Massimo Power/AE Performance/Domospeed Mitsubishi Evoltuion IX - 1:58.729
Street RWD:
1 Jeremy Croiset - MCS Motorsports/Berk Tech/KW Toyota MR2 - 1:50.692
2 Robert Choo - DSport/Hankook/Vortech Honda S2000 - 1:51.617
3 Jeff Tyler - HP Autowerks BMW 335i - 1:52.811
4 Manly Kao - Buddy Club/TrackHQ/APR/Toyo Lotus Elise - 1:53.640
5 Mike Bonanni - Berk Technology BMW 135i - 1:54.909
6 Kenny Chieu - KINOD Photography Toyota MR2 - 1:56.451
7 Mike Bonanni - DoubleDownMotorsports.com Nissan 370Z - 1:56.852
8 Eddie Lim - KW - 2:00.000
9 Mike Haddad - Haddad Motorsports Pontiac G8 - 2:05.179
10 Matt Johnson - 2:05.180
11 Gregory Haye - Chevrolet Corvette C6 - 2:05.348
Street FWD:
1 Clint Boisdeau - FocusSport Ford Focus - 1:56.884
2 Chris Stout - StoutPerformance - 1:57.440
3 Jason Nathan - 1:59.349
4 Brian Alvarez - TriPoint/CP-E/Yokohama/HKS/Recaro - 2:02.000
5 Alan Bowers - 2:03.774
6 Charles Tran - Plan B Motorsports/Special Project MS - 2:06.895
7 Sean Davies - ExoSpeed - 2:13.862
Stock AWD:
1 Matt Dennison - Tuning Technologies/Robispec/Mil.Spec Mitsubishi Evo - 1:53.241
2 Thomas Smith - Zenkai Motorsports/Crawford/Enuratec/Motul Subaru STI - 1:53.884
3 Jon Drenas - 1:55.173
4 Roger Hocking - 1:55.753
5 Rigo Lafontina - South Coast Mitsubishi - 1:56.224
6 Chris Reber - Mitsubishi Evo X - 2:00.296
7 Michele Abbate - Crawford Performance Subaru STI - 2:00.411
8 Istvan Klag - 2:02.577
9 Verena Mei - South Coast Mitsubishi - 2:07.118
Stock RWD:
1 Paul Dentice - AE Performance/JIC/Hankook Nissan 370Z - 1:55.534
2 Robert Fuller - Pizza Factory/Robispec Nissan 370Z - 1:55.670
3 Jim Tway - 1:56.201
4 Ed Lee - Honda S2000 - 1:58.166
5 Jairo Jaramillo - TrackHQ/GambleItFilms Honda S2000 - 2:02.063
6 Thomas Barrett - Corvette Specialties Chevrolet Corvette C6 - 2:02.119
7 Christian Burke - Circuit Motorsports/FSR/Hellfish Racing - 2:05.104
8 Paul Paniagua - Circuit Motorsports/FSR/Hellfish Racing Lexus IS350 - 2:06.390
9 Christopher Chen - VT Engineering Hyundai Genesis Coupe - 2:07.420
Stock FWD:
1 Dez Ballard - ABF Performance/Gruppe-S MINI Cooper S - 1:59.595
2 Erik Emmerson - E&A Motorsports Acura Integra Type R - 2:03.404
3 Adrian Torres - RaceLikeBunnies.com Toyota Celica - 2:07.742
Drift:
1 Rhys Millen - RedBull/Hyundai/RMR Hyundai Genesis Coupe - 1:48.004
2 Kyle Mohan - Mazdatrix/Exedy/Turbonetics Mazda RX7 - 1:54.025
3 Henry Schelley - HPS/Baker/Driftspeed Nissan 240SX - 1:57.497
4 Sasha Radojkovic - 2:01.621
2009 CHAMPIONS:
Unlimited AWD:
Paul Gerrard/Mark Daddio - AMS Performance/NOS Energy Drink Mitsubishi Evo X
Unlimited RWD:
Billy Johnson - FXMD/Cricket Wireless/Yokohama Acura NSX
Unlimited FWD:
Chris Rado - World Racing Scion tC
Modified AWD:
Ryan Gates - Gates311.com/AMS Performance/Nitto Tire Mitsubishi Evo X
Modified RWD:
Matt Andrews - Nitto Tire Mazda Miata
Modified FWD:
Ross Miller - Ptuning/Lustine Scion tC
Street AWD West:
Jeremy Toye - Reese Tuning/Robispec Mitsubishi Evo IX
Street RWD West:
Manly Kao - Buddy Club/TrackHQ/Toyo/APR Performance Lotus Elise
Street FWD West:
Clint Boisdeau - FocusSport Ford Focus
Street AWD East:
Tony Weisenhahn - Turn In Concepts Subaru WRX
Street RWD East:
Gregory Haye - GTMotoring/Challenge/Bridgestone Honda S2000
Street FWD East:
Doug Wind - Windspeed Motorsports/Forced Performance/Continental Tire Dodge Neon SRT-4
Stock AWD West:
Matt Dennison - Tuning Technologies/Robispec Mitsubishi Evo IX
Stock RWD West:
Jairo Jaramillo - TrackHQ/GambleItFilms Honda S2000
Stock FWD West:
Eric Emmerson - E&A Motorsports Acura Integra Type-R
Stock AWD East:
Mitch Blyumin - Robispec Mitsubishi Evolution
Anthony Perry - DentSportGarage Mitsubishi Evolution
Stock RWD East:
Brian Flannigan - Tracks Unlimited/Fastech Nissan 350Z
David Norton - SPEC Clutches Porsche 911
Stock FWD East:
Shane Finnin - Honda Civic Si
Michael Ko - DTM MINI Cooper S
Drift:
Henry Schelley - HPS/Baker/Driftspeed Nissan 240SX
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