Race Recap: Grand-Am SFP Grand Prix At Kansas Speedway

When John Edwards met co-driver Matt Bell in the winner’s circle after winning the SFP Grand Prix at Kansas Speedway on August 17, the Stevenson Motorsports Camaro gained the maximum points possible in their bid to win the 2013 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge championship. The victory was a welcome change from their bad luck in the previous two races that all but dashed their championship hopes. However, with their championship rivals Rum Bum Racing drivers Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi standing next to them on the podium after their second-place finish in Kansas, Stevenson Motorsports only closed their 54-point championship deficit by a four points. For Mustang fans, there was a bight spot: the #51 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R finished third with Shelby Blackstock and Joey Atterbury at the controls. It was the first podium finish for either driver in their Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge careers.

The SFP Grand Prix was the first race to be held on the freshly created road course layout added to the ubiquitous tri-oval at Kansas Speedway just outside Kansas City. Because the track utilizes most of the existing oval track, the added infield pavement ribbon netted a very fast 2.37-mile track with average speeds over 100 miles per hour. Though some drivers took the opportunity to test at the track late last year, this past weekend was the first time most drivers in this production-car-based racing series lapped the track.

John Edwards and Matt Bell stand atop the podium after driving their #9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro to victory at Kansas Speedway. They are joined by Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi (#13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche), who finished second, and third-place finishers Joey Atterbury and Shelby Blackstock(#51 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R).

With that in mind, most competitors took advantage of the available test day on Thursday afternoon. By the first practice session on Thursday, most were simply fine-tuning their driving lines and car setups. Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr. in the #61 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R were quickest in the first practice session, with their teammates Shelby Blackstock and Joey Atterbury in the #51 posting the fourth-fastest time. Jade Buford and Scott Maxwell were at the top of the timing sheets in the second practice session, in their #55 Mulitmatic Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage.

In qualifying Friday night, Jade Buford netted his sixth pole position of the season—a Series record—when he drafted the #01 CKS Camaro of Lawson Aschenbach on the last lap of qualifying. He acknowledged being helped by the Camaro punching a big hole in the air ahead of him: “We hit the setup, but I didn’t think we had enough for the pole,” Buford said. “Winning it came as a surprise, and I’ve got to thank Lawson Aschenbach for that. I was able to catch his draft on that last lap. I don’t think I could have broken a 21 (1:21.00) flat on my own.”

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Top Left: Thursday’s first testing session was wet. Here, the #05 Racer’s Edge Motorsports BOSS 302R shared by Gareth Nixon and Lucas Bize negotiates the damp track at Kansas. Top Right: The track dried sufficiently for teams to start testing dry-weather setups in Thursday afternoon’s testing session. Joey Atterbury and Shelby Blackstock co-drove the #51 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R at Kansas speedway. Bottom Left: Billy Johnson hustles the #61 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R out of turn two at Kansas in Thursday afternoon’s testing session. Bottom Right: Turn one is a critical point for passing at most “rovals” (road course tracks that are made out of ovals), and Kansas isn’t any different. Pictured here is the #05 Racer’s Edge Motorsports BOSS 302R of Gareth Nixon and Lucas Bize testing the grip of the curbing at this critical turn.

Joey Atterbury set the fastest time of the Mustangs, good enough for fourth on the starting grid, but was sent to the back of the field after failing post-qualifying inspection. Grand-Am rules specify a minimum size for the battery, the theory that a bigger battery helps to re-start a stalled car, and thus avoids a full-course caution needed to retrieve it. When the officials performed a random inspection, the #51 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R was found to have a smaller, lighter battery hidden inside an OEM battery case. Oops. The trickery sent the #51 to the back of the starting grid. They weren’t last, however, as the #46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW was also sent to the back when they changed the engine between qualifying and the race.

On Saturday afternoon at 3:00PM, the green flag dropped for pole-sitter Buford and the rest of the 20-car GS-class field of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Buford led for a lap before Bryan Heitkotter in the #14 Nissan 370Z slipped ahead going into turn one. Jack Roush Jr. limped down pit lane after making contact on the second lap and broke the left lower control arm. The crew took his #61 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R behind the wall to repair the damage. Meanwhile, GS championship-leaders Nick Longhi in the #13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche and Matt Bell in the #9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro battled for fourth.

Roger Miller and Ian James co-drove the #158 Dempsey/Miller Racing Mustang BOSS 302R at Kansas Speedway. The infield road course section was recently added to the speedway, as evidenced by the shiny guardrails in this photo from Thursday evening’s testing session.

A few laps later, Matt Bell moved past Nick Longhi, and reeled in third place-sitter Paul Dalla Lana in the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW, and two laps later succeeded in taking third position from Dalla Lana. Surprisingly, Joey Atterbury (#51ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R), who started at the back of the grid, was up to seventh!

On lap 15, Jack Roush Jr. rejoined the fray in his repaired BOSS 302, but to add insult to injury, he had to come back into the pits to serve a penalty for the avoidable that put him out of the race for fourteen laps. Three laps later, the excitement continued as pole-sitter Jade Buford (#55 Aston Martin) retook the lead from Heitkotter (#14 Nissan) for the lead, while Joey Atterbury (#51 Mustang) passed Paul Dalla Lana (#96 BMW) for fourth.

Twenty-three laps into the race, Heitkotter limped his #14 Nissan to the pits with possible rear suspension damage, which promoted Matt Bell (#9 Camaro) and all those behind up a position.

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Left: Slowing from triple-digit speeds at Kansas taxes the #61 ROUSH Mustang Boss 302R’s front brakes. Jack Roush Jr is behind the wheel.Right: The #158 Dempsey/Miller Racing Mustang BOSS 302R rejoins Kansas Speedway’s banking after the infield road course section during Friday Morning’s practice session.

Fifty minutes into the race, many cars’ fuel tanks were nearly empty, with Joey Atterbury the first to bring his mount down pit lane for full service—fuel, tires, and a driver change. Co-driver Blackstock took over the controls of the #51 ROUSH Performance Mustang BOSS 302R, and rejoined the race. Over the next few laps, much of the field followed suit: leader Jade Buford (#55 Aston Martin) pitted, swapped with Scott Maxwell; Matt Bell (#9 Camaro) pitted, John Edwards got in; Trent Hindman took over driving the #48 BMW from Charles Espenlaub; Nick Longhi (#13 Porsche) pitted, with Matt Plumb taking the reigns.

With many teams having already pitted, when the race’s first full-course caution came out an hour into the race, many stayed out on the track, ready to battle each other to the end for the final 80 minutes. On the race restart, Buford’s Aston Martin led Blackstock’s BOSS 302R to turn one, and the two kept those positions for the next several laps until the next full-course caution came out after the #45 BMW of Al Carter blew an engine in spectacular fashion. With just over an hour remaining in the race, the competitors took the opportunity fill up with fuel. John Edwards, now driving the #9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro, won the race off of pit road and took the lead, with championship points leader Matt Plumb (#13 Porsche) practically glued to the Camaro’s rear bumper cover.

David Levine jockeys for position through Kansas Speedway’s turn one late in the race. He drove to eighth position after co-driver Rich Golinello qualified 16th.

Through two more restarts, Edwards held off Plumb to take the race win for he and co-driver Matt Bell. Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi lost little ground in their championship points cushion, however, with their second-place finish. An elated Joey Atterbury and Shelby Blackstock netted a well-deserved third.

Next up, the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series heads to the West coast, to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. A solid finish for the #13 Rum Bum Racing squad could clinch the championship in the series’ penultimate round, but the Stevenson Motorsports team will be trying their best to make a fight of it. All you left-coasters: don’t miss it!