Michigan International Speedway 6

Sunday May 6

Event 6 - MIS Time Trial

Something has gone amuck here.  The Olthoff/Lee team had a strong run and believed that they scored a 3rd place finish.  This would have put them in a very strong 5th place in the final standings.  However, the official scoring currently shows them as a DNF, which drops them back to 21st in the final standings.  In either event, they remain in 1st in the Super Tuner class.  More to follow on this.

The Kline/Roxbury team had a strong 18th place finish, which combined with their strong drag race results jump them way up to 15th place in the final standings.  They remain second in in the Vintage American class, but they are now only 5 points behind the leading #57 Corvette GSR.

Update Monday Morning

I just talked with Bob Olthoff.  Dennis had a problem with his door that slowed him somewhat, but he still had a strong run and finished 6th overall.  He is currently in 6th in the final standings.  Unofficially at this time, of course.  The OLOA officials are sorting it out and will update the MIS results.  Stay tuned.

It rained heavily on the way from MIS to Heartland.  The drivers of the #57 Corvette GSR must be wondering about the wisdom of an open car.  Heavy rains are also in the forecast for Wednesday afternoon when they travel from Road Atlanta to VIR.  This may bode well for the surging Kline/Roxbury team.  Be cautious in any rain dances, however. A wet track does not favor lightweight high powered cars with wide tires (i.e. Olthoff and Kline).  It does favor small front and all wheel drive cars.

Update Tuesday Morning

The revised MIS results are out and have apparently been completely recast.  The Olthoff/Lee team finished 6th overall.  The Kline/Roxbury team finished 23rd overall.

After MIS - Commentary

Photos by Alan Chamblee. #32 by Mark Ray. Many thanks!!

The preliminary (and incorrect) final standings after MIS give us an insight into the front runners.

	First place is the #10 2000 Dodge Viper ACR of Spencer Geswein and Brian Smith.  These two won the event overall last year in a Viper with an unbeatable combination of speed and consistency.  They finished 1st four times.   They finished in the top 5 in 13 of 15 events.  Their worst finish was 8th. Note the trailer.  Several teams have found this solution to this "bring your spares with you" rule.
	Second Place is the #8 1996 Dodge Viper of Ronald Adee and Patrick Adee.  Ron ran last year in the highly modified (read race built) and colorful Dodge Ram 1500 truck.  He was 2nd in qualifying and had 7 top 10 finishes, but 3 DNF's put him in 34th place overall when the dust settled.
	Third place is the #32 1995 Mustang Cobra R of Dan Schlickenmeyer and Marshall Aiken.  The Mark Ray prepared car is running a modified 351W with extrude honed Edelbrock heads and a Vortech T-trim supercharger.  Mark quotes 537 ponies at the rear wheel. Dan and his brother Mike entered a 1993 Mustang last year and placed 13th overall. Rumor has it that this is an ex-Barry Kline car.
	Fourth place is the #49 1975 Porsche 911 Carrera driven by the husband and wife team of Gary and Paddi Griffiths.  The early (and light) body is pushed rapidly along by a potent twin turbo engine.  This very fast car is a perennial contender and favorite of One Lap fans.  The Griffiths finished 10th overall last year by posting 9 top 10 finishes.
	Fifth place is the #13 1992 Nissan Skyline GTR of Nick Wong and Emanuel Crouvisier.  With a very powerful turbo engine (see the drag strip time slip) and four wheel drive, this is a real new age pocket rocket.  Neither driver was entered last year.
	Sixth place is the #29 29 1993 Mazda RX-7 of Rick Potter and George Samuels.  Rick and George brought their RX-7 home in 8th place overall last year.
	Seventh place is the #88 2001 Chevrolet Corvette Z-06 of Reed Kryder and John Bender. Reed and John finished 5th overall last year in their 1990 Corvette ZR-1.
	Eight place is the #57 Chevrolet Corvette GSR (Grand Sport Roadster) of Aaron Quine and William Hoskins. Neither driver was entered last year.
	The #2 Superformance of Olthoff/King is currently listed in 21st place after a scoring error.  I believe they will move to 6th after it is corrected. Dennis coming off the banking at MIS.  He reports hitting the rev limiter in 5th at a number of tracks.  this is 165 mph at 6500 rpm.
	The Olthoffs fabricated the front air dam shown here, which keeps SP308 from playing P-51 at the speeds that it is reaching. At the right is Alan Chamblee's SP455.  The tag says "2 FASTT".
	The #4 Superformance of Kline/Roxbury is currently listed in 15th place. Barry kicked major butt at the drags at Mid Michigan.

The #1 Mercedes CLK 6.0 GT of Dan Kary and Paul Gerrard has not returned after lunching its tranny at the first event.  Dan and Paul had a strong 2nd place overall finish last year in a 1994 RennTech Mercedes-Benz SL600.  They might well have won last year except for an unfortunate off road experience in the very last event.