Race Recap: IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Laguna Seca

After visiting Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca last September, the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge returned to the fabled 2.24-mile track eight months later to bring the nation’s premiere street-stock endurance series to California’s Monterey Peninsula for the series’ third round of competition for 2014: the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix Powered by Mazda. Fans saw the Mustang BOSS 302Rs battle Camaro Z/28.Rs, Porsche Carreras, Nissan 370Zs, BMW M3s, and Aston Martin Vantages through the course’s infamous corkscrew turn during the race on Saturday, May 3rd.

Green! Green! Green! Trent Hindman (BMW) and Eric Curran (Camaro) drive side-by-side at the start of the race. A first-lap crash brought out the yellow flags, but Curran edged out Hindman on the restart.

Leading up to Laguna Seca, the talk of the 2014 season has been Chevrolet’s new Camaro Z/28.R race car. Built by Pratt & Miller, the same outfit that builds GM’s LeMans-winning Corvette Racing team, the Z/28.R is a serious contender. The Z/28.R enjoys several features that give it a leg up on the other cars in the Continenatal Tire SportsCar Challenge field, including six-piston AP Racing rear brakes (the rest of the field must use the OEM rear brake components) and an adjustable rear spoiler. Its 7-liter engine is a full two liters larger than anything in the rest of the field (the second-largest engine being the BOSS 302R’s 5.0-liter mill). Ironically, Stevenson Motorsports, a factory-supported Z/28.R team, had a hard time keeping the engines together at Daytona. But before the series’ second round, they solved their engine reliability issues, and a Camaro powered into victory lane at Sebring. Before Laguna Seca, IMSA officials added 100 pounds to the Camaro’s minimum weight in an effort to level the playing field.

The No. 32 Phoenix American Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R of Rezzetano and Knowles power slides through the very high-speed turn six at Laguna Seca

The Laguna Seca weekend started off on Thursday with two unofficial testing sessions in the afternoon to prepare them for practice the next day. In Friday’s practice sessions, Fall-Line Motorsports’s Trent Hindman and John Edwards were quickest in their BMW M3. The TRG Aston Martin Vantage of DoBoer and Davison ran the second-quickest lap, followed by Farano and Empringham in their Nissan 370Z. Billy Johnson and Ian James were 5th fastest, just behind CKS Autosport Camaro of Curran and Aschenbach.

Last season, Brentwood Tennessee’s Jade Buford dominated qualifying sessions by nabbing a seven pole positions. In 2014, another youngster, Trent Hindman, is making waves. The 18-year-old driver of the No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 scored his second-consecutive pole position at Laguna Seca with a blistering 1:45.948-second lap. The Wayside, New Jersey resident laid down his quick time late in the fifteen-minute qualifying session. “I’m thrilled because I was really disappointed with my driving earlier today [in the second practice session],” said Hindman. “I’m so thankful to be surrounded by some of the best people in the business. They really brought my spirits up today by giving me such a great car for qualifying.” Hindman and co-driver John Edwards finished second during the first two rounds of the 2014 series (Daytona and Sebring) and were hungry for a win. Eric Curran missed the pole by 0.031 seconds after leading most of the session, running a lap of 1:35.979 in the No. 01 CKS Autosport Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R co-driven by Lawson Aschenbach.

Saturday was race day, and the festivities kicked off with the traditional fan walk on pit lane where fans got up close and personal with the drivers and cars of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. The weather was picture-perfect with temperatures in the upper 60’s and light winds. After the national anthem and the formation lap, Trent Hindman led the field to the green flag. Al Carter (No. 7 Porsche) and Andrew Baxter (No. 12 Porsche) tangled at the start and got stuck in the gravel trap outside turn one, which brought out a full-course caution.

Top Row: Left: The corkscrew is a very violent turn, as the track surface drops several stories in a couple hundred feet. Here the No. 78 Racers Edge Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R shared by Lucas Bize and David Levine hustles through the turn all crossed up. Right: Multimatic Motorsports fields two Mustang BOSS 302Rs: the No. 158 for Billy Johnson and Ian James, and the No. 15 for Jade Buford and Scott Maxwell. In this photo, the No. 2 Jim Click Mustang BOSS 302R follows in formation. Bottom Row: Left: Andrew Aquilante and Preston Calvert split driving duties in the No. 35 Phoenix American Racing Mustang BOSS 302R at Laguna Seca, seen here between the corkscrew and turn nine. Right: Rezzetano qualified the No. 32 Phoenix American Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R in the 17th starring slot for Saturday’s race at Laguna Seca.

On the restart, Eric Curran and his #01 Camaro Z/28.R snatched the lead from Hindman’s BMW. Charles Espenlaub, driving the No. 99 Aston Martin, slipped by Hindman, dropping the 18-year-old back to third. A few laps later, Espenlaub tried to make a pass for the lead, and spun in the corkscrew. Espenlaub reentered the track and contacted Billy Johnson in the No. 158 Mustang BOSS 302R. Johnson was able to continue, but Espenlaub went off-track, and brought out the yellow flag.

The No. 2 Jim Click Racing Mustang BOSS 302R rounds turn nine early on Friday morning during the weekend’s first practice session.

Surprisingly, Rum Bum Racing’s Joe Varde called the team’s No. 13 Porsche to the pits for fuel, tires, and a driver change, even though starting driver Nick Longhi was 30 minutes shy of completing his required driving time to score points. Other teams took notice, as Varde successfully used this tactic in previous years to gain an advantage, and it usually paid off…

With the race back to green, Eric Curran and his No. 01 Camaro continued to lead, while Billy Johnson (No. 158 Mustang BOSS 302R) battled Andy Lally’s Camaro for 6th place. On lap 13, an ST-class car went off at turn five, flipping on its roof. The driver, Dr. Ramin Abdolvahabi, walked away, but the incident brought out another yellow flag. Many teams took this opportunity to pit for fuel, tires, and to change drivers. Eric Curran and Trent Hindman stayed out, and led the field to the restart.

Four laps later, Hindman drove his BMW past Curran on the uphill section before the corkscrew to take the race lead. By lap 31, Hindman built up a 3.4-second lead on Curran. One lap later, another caution flag came out to retrieve a stranded Porsche. The leaders (including Hindman and Curran) drove to pit lane for service.

Those who stayed out included Matt Plumb, now driving the No. 13 Rum Bum Porsche. Plumb assumed the lead, and it appeared that the team’s aggressive strategy was paying off.

At the restart, Plumb got a good jump on Matt Bell (No. 9 Camaro) who was side-by-side with Nick Galante (No. 79 Racers Edge Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R). Four laps later, Scott Maxwell went off-track at the exit of turn 8, and stuffed the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R into the tires, bringing out a full-course caution. The race leaders pitted for fuel and tires, and hoped it would be enough to go the distance.

The No. 35 Phoenix American Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R qualified 23rd with Preston Calvert behind the wheel.

John Edwards (who assumed driving duties from Trent Hindman in the No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW) inherited the lead. Lawson Aschenbach (now driving the No. 01 Camaro) followed Edwards, with Dane Cameron running third in the No. 28 Nissan 370Z. Another brief caution flag ten minutes from the end of the race ensured that Edwards had enough fuel to bring his BMW home for he and Hindman’s first win of the season. Eric Curran and Lawson Aschenbach finished second in their No. 01 CKS Autosport Camaro Z/28.R, and Max Riddle and Kris Wilson finished third in the No. 07 TRG-AMR Aston Martin Vantage.

Left: Jim Click qualified the No. 2 Jim Click Racing Mustang BOSS 302R 24th, and co-driver Mike McGovern finished the race 9th—the best finish for a Mustang. Center: Sadly, the No. 32 Phoenix American Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302 retired from the race after completing 57 laps, finishing 22nd. Right: Jade Buford qualified the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R in 9th place.

Two seconds and a first is not a bad way to start the season,” said Edwards. “I really thought we should have won the first two races (at Daytona and Sebring). We’re not going to win every race, but the good news is we’ve been competitive with our M3 at every race, at tracks that are very different.” Hindman recalled, “My plan at the start was to play it by ear, because I figured the Camaro would get us at the start, because it was blindingly fast. I wanted to be patient and play it smart, because I knew our car was great over the long runs. As soon as I got the opportunity, I took it, and put John in the best position possible. John drove a heck of a stint. They put tons and tons of pressure on him, and he brushed it off each time. It was incredible just watching John. That was the kind of driving I aspire to do in the future.”

The win for Trent Hindman and John Edwards has their No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 solidly in the points lead heading into round four at Lime Rock park over Memorial Day weekend.

Greg Creamer interviews Scott Maxwell (No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R) during the pre-race fan walk at Laguna Seca.

Billy Johnson (left, driver of the No. 158 Mustang BOSS 302R) and Andrew Davis (right, driver of the No. 6 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro Z/28.R) chat before the race.

The Racers Edge Motorsports crew services the #78 Mustang BOSS 302R with fresh tires and a full load of fuel while Lucas Bize hands over driving duties to David Levine.

The manufacturer representation in the Continental Tire SportsCar challenge is diverse. Nissan, Ford, Chevrolet, BMW, Porsche, and Aston Martin all fight for wins with a rules package that makes each car quite competitive.