With opposing teams pitching in to keep a competitor running, door-to-door battles up front and clean racing through the field, Sunday’s Autobahn Grand Prix race was typical of the cameraderie and competition evident in many Ford Racing Mustang Challenge events.

In a repeat of last year’s visit to the semi-private racetrack south of Chicago, Tony Buffomante continued where he left off last year by taking the point for every lap of Sunday’s 45-minute Mustang Challenge race to seal his third win of the year. Buffomante had started from his fourth pole of the season, after qualifying a half second ahead of points rival Jason von Kluge.

The win ties Buffomante with Jason von Kluge – who finished second – in the lead for the series title and sets the stage for a dramatic series finale event at Miller Motorsports Park.

“It was a great pole, a great race and a great result for us and now it’s a tie game heading to Utah,” said a clearly elated Buffomante after the race. “We’ve put so much effort into this year, myself, my family, the whole team and now it’s all down to one weekend where both Jason (von Kluge) and I need to bring our best game.”

From the green flag, Buffomante and von Kluge pulled away from the field and ran nose to tail for several laps. Following an aborted passing attempt late in Lap 3, von Kluge misjudged a turn and allowed Buffomante to pull ahead. By lap 7, a two-second gap had opened up.

“I had the pace early on. I had one chance to get passed Tony (Buffomante) but he closed the door on me and thinking back to New Jersey, I didn’t want to risk a black flag penalty for contact and so I backed off. Then, I made that mistake and he got away from me,” explained von Kluge.

When #50 Mustang driver, Richard Golinello, felt something wrong during the warmup lap, he pulled into the pits to find that a spindle had broken at the strut mounting point. At any other race, that would have meant the end of the day for the driver.

Instead, three teams, Capaldi Racing, Speedworks and RP Motorsports pulled out all stops to help as the rest of the field thundered through the green flag. With fewer than 10 laps complete, major repairs were finished on the #50 Mustang and Golinello was back in the race.

“I thought I had flatted, but when I heard what the problem was, I thought to myself, ‘it’s over.’ And then all these guys chip in with help and tools and parts to get me going again, so a huge thanks to all of them,” said Golinello.

Sunday Group Management “Rookie of the Race” Award winner, Kyle Gimpel took the final step on the podium, after fighting a loose car through most of the race. Gimpel and the rest of the Mustang Challenge competitors now face a five-week break until the next event. That race is scheduled for September 10 – 12, at Miller Motorsports Park, the 4.486-mile natural-terrain road course in Tooele, UT.

The Ford Racing Mustang Challenge was formed through a partnership between Miller Motorsports Park and Ford Racing. The Mustang Challenge series has run for three racing seasons and will come to an end with the Utah double-header event in September.