• Eric Lux and Goldcrest Motorsports Score Second 43rd Mitty Feature Race Win with Overall Victory in Sasco Sports Race A
• Craig Watkins Takes Overall Honors in Sasco Sports Race B in 1968 No. 46 Porsche 911 Prepared by the 901 Shop
• Chevrolet Corvair Teams Sting the Competition with Sasco Sports Race B Top-Three American Class Sweep

BRASELTON, Georgia (April 24, 2021) – Dual Sasco Sports International/American Challenge races didn’t disappoint Saturday at the 43rd Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Mitty as the pair of flat-out sprints – with nearly 70 combined entries – brought Day 2 of this year’s Mitty to an exciting and competitive conclusion.

Eric Lux and Goldcrest Motorsports scored their second-straight 43rd Mitty feature race win with an overall and Porsche-class victory in Sasco Sports Race A for larger displacement cars.

Lux topped a field of 30-plus entries in his Goldcrest Motorsports 1973 No. 0 Porsche 911 RSR for his second Sasco Sports victory at Road Atlanta in a row. Lux and Goldcrest also won the Sasco Sports International/American Challenge race at the HSR Fall Historics last October at Road Atlanta in the same No. 0 Porsche 911.

Porsche also prevailed in Sasco Sports Race B for smaller cars with Craig Watkins taking a close but flag-to-flag overall and class win in his 1968 No. 46 Porsche 911 prepared by the 901 Shop.

Watkins crossed the finish line just 1.299 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, but Lux had an even narrower gap in Race A with a scant 0.188 of a second margin of victory.

As he did in last October’s Sasco Sports race win, Lux battled throughout the race with Todd Treffert in his Speedconcepts 1974 No. 141 Porsche 911 IROC prepared by the 901 Shop. Treffert led the race early and kept the pressure on to the finish for the close runner-up result.

David Hinton completed the overall podium and secured third-place Porsche honors in the Heritage Motorsports 1974 No. 114 Porsche 911 RSR.

Two spots behind Hinton, and completing the top-five overall, was Gary Moore who beamed in victory lane as he celebrated his birthday with another Sasco Sports American-class win in his Cobra Automotive 1966 No. 98 Shelby GT350.

Second-place in the American class – in a preview of what was to come in Sasco Sports Race B – was secured by Mike Levine in his V8-powered 1965 No. 4 Chevrolet Corvair.

Levine finished seventh overall and one spot ahead of third-place American-division finisher John McCormick in his 1985 No. 28 Autocraft Cobra Mk IV prepared by Cobra Automotive.

Watkins led every lap for his Sasco Sports Race B overall and Porsche class win but a fast-closing James Reeve kept the pressure on the finish in his 1966 No. 51 Yenko Stinger Corvair.

Reeve set the overall fastest race lap and crossed the finish line in second just 1.299 seconds behind Watkins. The strong runner-up result anchored an unprecedented top-three sweep of Corvair Yenko Stingers to fill the American-class podium.

Michael Leveque in his No. 23 1966 Yenko Stinger finished a solid seventh overall and second in the American division while David Clemens was third in the stars-and-stripes class and 11th overall in his No. 241 1967 Yenko Stinger.

Watkins was joined on the Porsche-class podium by runner-up Bob Lane in his 1969 No. 15 Porsche 911 SC and third-place finisher Joe Sullivan in the Joe Joe Racing 1989 No. 14 Porsche 944 S.

Sasco Sports International class winners were Bob Summerour in Race A and Quinn Derby in Race B.

Summerour drove to victory in the Heritage Motorsports 1972 No. 201 BMW CSL. Second-place in International Race A went to Steven Davison in his pristine Heritage Motorsports-prepared 1962 No. 2 Jaguar XKE while Andrew Meudt took third in his equally immaculate 1985 No. 15 BMW 635 CSI.

Derby finished third behind Watkins and Reeve in his quick 1968 No. 141 Triumph Spitfire to a complete a rare overall podium comprised of the race’s three class winners.

Andre Herke finished a solid fourth overall and second in International Race B in his 1968 No. 16 BMW 2002, just ahead of the similar BMW of John Bibbo.

Bibbo finished fifth overall and earned his second-straight Sasco Sports podium finish with a third place showing in his 1976 No. 208 BMW 2002 prepared by Motorsport Services. Bibbo finished second in the final Sasco Sports race of 2020 at Sebring last December in what was his first solo podium finish in HSR competition.

The 43rd HSR Mitty concludes Sunday with its biggest day of competition yet this weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

The day begins with the one-hour B.R.M. Enduro Challenge for the Vintage and GT Classic (GTC) classic classes at 8:15 a.m. EDT. The B.R.M. race will be followed at 9:35 a.m. EDT by the HSR Stoner Car Care Global GT race.

Following the mandatory Sunday quiet time and an early lunch break, the full schedule picks up again at 12:15 p.m. EDT with the Corvette Feature Race, an all-out sprint showcasing nothing but “America’s Sports Car,” which is the Featured Marque of the 43rd Mitty.

The packed schedule concludes with the final HSR WeatherTech Sprint races of the weekend for all Run Groups and the first HSR Classic RS Cup race of the 2021 season.

Tickets are available only at the HSR Driver/Crew Registration office or at the gate at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Information on tickets and pricing is available at www.HSRTickets.com.

Event information, including the official weekend schedule and entry list, can be found on the 43rd HSR Mitty event page at www.HSRRace.com.

About HSR: Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) was formed in the mid-1970s with an event at Road Atlanta. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate the race cars from the past. As a “time machine” of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at race tracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions eight vintage and historic racing events at some of the world’s most renowned race tracks, including Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Daytona International Speedway and more. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR’s website at www.HSRRace.com. Look for the HSR Channel on YouTube and follow HSR on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HSRrace/ and on Twitter and Instagram at @HSR_race. A dedicated website for the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA is available at www.Classic24hour.com.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 24, 2021) – When an early caution slowed the action on the streets of St. Petersburg, Michael Carter (No. 08 Carter Racing Enterprises) thought that his work to pull away from the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires field was all for naught. He didn’t need to worry; when racing resumed, he still could not be caught. Carter took the win by over two seconds, a mammoth margin in MX-5 Cup competition, and leaves St. Petersburg in the points lead following six races in the 14-race championship.

Starting from the pole, Carter held off Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) through the opening laps. Any mistake by Wagner meant he was pounced on by a train of cars behind him. This gave Carter the opportunity to build a comfortable gap, until 10 minutes into the race, the car of Aaron Jeansonne (No. 24 Provision Motorsports) caught fire and brought out the race’s only full-course yellow. Jeansonne was able to pull off and exit the car.

When the track was clear and green flag racing resumed, there was 26 minutes left on the race clock. This commenced a hectic battle for second through sixth positions, which enabled Carter to once again pull away.

The fight for the final two podium spots was intense. Eventually, Sam Paley (No. 28 McCumbee McAleer Racing) emerged as the breakaway driver to chase down Carter.

While scrapping for third, Wagner and Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) made contact in Turn Two. Thomas spun and was lucky to have not been hit by any of the cars packed up behind them. Wagner continued on, and Thomas dropped down the order. He eventually climbed back to 16th at the finish.

Race One winner Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports) did not get a chance to challenge for the podium. Contact with the wall in Turn 10 damaged his car and he parked in pit lane with 10 minutes left.

Up front, Paley was ever so slightly chipping away at Carter’s lead, but eventually ran out of time. Carter took the win by 2.210 seconds over Paley.

“That was how you want them to go,” Carter said. “You want to sit on pole, lead every lap, and win the race. We didn’t get that done this morning, but it was great to do that in Race Two. I worked my tail off to get that gap before the yellow and then when the yellow came out, I radioed ‘I just did all that for nothing!’ But fortunately, when we restarted, they got to racing really hard and I was able to do it again. The last ten laps, I was just taking care of everything as much as I could.”

Carter’s two poles, two fast laps, runner-up finish in Race One and win in Race Two have propelled him into the MX-5 Cup Championship lead by 120 points over Wagner.

“Congrats to Sam (Paley), he drove his tail off and to Gresham (Wagner) as well after he had that problem in race one,” Carter added. “Also, a big thank you to everyone at Coaches Corner back in Savannah who watches us and supports us, a big thank you to them!”

Paley collected his second podium of his rookie season. His first top-three came in his Mazda MX-5 Cup debut at Daytona International Raceway in January.

“Honestly, that was probably the hardest race of my entire life,” a red-faced Paley said. “I’m not going to lie, I’m out of breath! I really gave it 110 percent the entire time. We were the fastest car on track, but unfortunately the gap was just too big and we just didn’t have enough laps. I had the car and gave it everything I had so I’m satisfied with second, especially after the DNF in race one. It was a good, tough race.”

Third was a satisfying finish for Wagner after a drivetrain issue in Race One forced him to retire. His relief was tempered with some regret for his contact with Thomas, though race officials deemed it to be a racing incident with no penalties issued.

“I am a bit relieved,” Wagner admitted. “I said after my Daytona win, that was the hardest race I had ever driven, but today has that one beat! The heat, the duration, just being so busy around here, it was ruthless.

“I feel good about the result, but I do feel bad about the contact I had with Jared Thomas,” he added. “Ultimately, I think it was more of a racing deal, and I guess race control agreed. All I know is he went around, and lost positions. And that’s just not how you want anything to go when you are racing someone. Everything aside, I’m glad to leave here with a podium, and ready to move on to the next one!”

Finishing fourth, 15 year-old Luca Mars (No. 41 Copeland Motorsports) had his best MX-5 Cup race weekend thus far. The rookie finished fifth in Race One.

Rookie drivers had a strong showing on the streets of St. Petersburg; five of them finished in the top 10 in Race Two. In addition to Paley and Mars, Chris Nunes (No. 32 JTR Motorsports Engineering) finished sixth, Juan Hernandez Leiva (No. 59 Team Guatamala) finished seventh and Daniel Williams (No. 38 Copeland Motorsports) finished eighth.

The 2019 Mazda MX-5 Cup Champion Bryan Ortiz (No. 4 Copeland Motorsports) completed the top five.

Alex Bachoura (No. 33 Slipstream Performance) earned the Hard Charger Award for advancing from 18th to 11th in the 45-minute race.

A recap of Rounds Five and Six at St. Petersburg will air on NBCSN, Wednesday, May 5, at 3pm ET.

Mazda MX-5 Cup Rounds Seven and Eight will take place May 14 – 16 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Both races will be streamed live on IMSA.com and NBC Sports Gold TrackPass.

About: The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. Mazda-powered grassroots champions earn a Mazda scholarship to advance their career. The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup champion earns a $250,000 scholarship.

Find out more at http://www.mx-5cup.com.

BECHTELSVILLE, PA. April 25, 2021 . . . Last Saturday Jared Umbenhauer fell one spot short of a win in the Modified feature at Grandview Speedway despite his valiant efforts in his march to the front.

Saturday night the “Richland Rocket” had the Richard Brown-owned No. 19 in top notch form, slid underneath leader Kevin Graver on the 19th lap of the 30-lap TP Trailers 358 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Modified feature to grab the win. Even though lapped traffic in the later stages allowed defending point champion Craig Von Dohren to close in, Umbenhauer went on to score a well-deserved, long overdue victory ending a three-year winless drought for his first win of the current campaign. The last time Umbenhauer visited victory lane was August 25, 2018.

In the T.P. Truck Equipment 25-lap Sportsman feature two-time and defending point champion Brian Hirthler passed Jesse Landis for the lead on the 12th lap and went on to score his second win of the season.

Todd Lapp led from start to finish in the 12-lap Outlaw Vintage Modified feature to take home the checkered while Nicho Flammer was the winner in the 12-lap Sportsman Outlaw Vintage event.

Modified action saw polesitter Graver take the early lead trailed by Brett Gilmore, Richie Hitzler, Craig Whitmoyer and Louden Reimert.

With seven laps completed numerous cars made contact along the homestretch and as a result two-time and last week’s feature winner Brett Kressley found himself spinning into the infield for the first caution. Graver remained the leader when action resumed, but by this time Reimert advanced to second putting in his bids for the top spot. Just waiting for a slip up by the pair as they raced side-by-side in hopes to advance were Whitmoyer, Umbenhauer and Doug Manmiller.

Jeff Strunk stopped in turn four with a flat tire for the next yellow on the 13th lap. Graver was still number one on the restart while Reimert, Umbenhauer, Von Dohren and Whitmoyer gave him no room to falter.

A three-way battle for first developed between Graver, Reimert and Umbenhauer with neither one giving an inch.

Umbenhauer overtook second on the 17th lap and two laps later he was circling the 1/3-mile oval as the new pacesetter after he shot to the inside of Graver to accomplish the feat.

Von Dohren was second by the 20th lap and off in pursuit of Umbenhauer who began to encounter lapped traffic that Graver, Reimert and Duane Howard running third through fifth also had to endure.

Umbenhauer never gave up his torrid pace until he saw the checkered to claim the triumph. Chasing him across the finish were Von Dohren, Reimert, Howard and Graver, for his best finish. Sixth through tenth were Whitmoyer, Kevin Hirthler, Kressley, who came back after the early skirmish; Dylan Swinehart and Strunk, another one that overcame adversity.

Carroll Hine III, Graver and Strunk won the heats. The consi was won by Ryan Grim.

Landis was the early leader of the Sportsman feature with pressure coming from Bryan Rhoads, Tyler James, Joey Vaccaro and Cody Schantz.

Numerous cautions plagued the beginning of the event making it difficult to get laps completed. After three attempts to complete lap six, the restart was single file. Landis remained first on the next try, but by this time Kyle Smith was second.
Landis had a new challenger at the completion of the eighth lap as now Hirthler held the second spot.

The lead changed on the 12th lap when Hirthler charged past Landis and into the number one spot.

Hirthler wasted no time building up a sizeable lead and made it appear easy to open up the distance each time around.
Steve Young regrouped the field with two laps to go after he hit the fourth turn wall. Hirthler was still the leader on the restart, but now Smith slipped into second to try to get by him.

Hirthler never surrendered first and went on to score his ninth career win trailed by Smith, Landis, Ryan Lilick and Lex Shive. Rounding out the top ten were Ryan Beltz, Kenny Gilmore, Jimmy Leiby, who earned an extra monetary bonus for being the highest driver with a crate engine; Brandon Edgar and James.

Colton Perry, Vaccaro and Landis won the heats. Edgar and Cody Manmiller took the consi wins.

The Outlaw Vintage features had both Lapp and Flammer lead from the drop of the green until the wave of the checkered.

Second through fifth to Lapp with the Modifieds were Wes Cassel, Mike Stofflet, Scott Schaeffer and Jeff Paulson.

Chasing Flammer across the Sportsman finish line were Jay Garris, Mike Garris Sr., Bill Gerhart and Myron Heydt.

Next up at Grandview is the May 1st doubleheader featuring the NASCAR Auto Parts Weekly Series with the T.P. Trailers Modifieds and T.P.Truck Equipment Sportsman. Racing starts at a new weekly time of 7:30 p.m. for the balance of the season.

Friday, May 7th, the Outlaw Racing Series Enduros will be in action along with the Vintage racers. Action starts at 7 p.m.

And on Saturday, May 8th the 602 Sportsman make their second appearance of the season joining the T.P. Trailers Modifieds and T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman in a tripleheader.

RACE RESULTS
T.P. Trailers Modified Feature (30-laps): 1. Jared Umbenhauer, 2. Craig Von Dohren, 3. Louden Reimert, 4. Duane Howard, 5. Kevin Graver, 6. Craig Whitmoyer, 7. Kevin Hirthler, 8. Brett Kressley, 9. Dylan Swinehart, 10. Jeff Strunk, 11. Ryan Grim, 12. Doug Manmiller, 13. Dillon Steuer, 14. Ron Kline, 15. Brett Gilmore, 16. Justin Grim, 17. Richie Hitzler, 18. John Willman, 19. Ryan Lilick, 20. Jack Butler, 21. Nate Brinker, 22. Brad Arnold, 23. Darrin Schuler, 24. Cory Merkel, 25. Ron Haring Jr., 26. Joe Funk III, 27. Danny Bouc, 28. Brad Grim. DNQ: Mark Kratz, Bobby Gunther Walsh, Mark Levy and Jesse Leiby.

T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman Feature (25-laps): 1. Brian Hirthler, 2. Kyle Smith, 3. Jesse Landis, 4. Kyle Lilick, 5. Lex Shive, 6. Ryan Beltz, 7. Kenny Gilmore, 8. Jimmy Leiby, 9. Brandon Edgar, 10. Tyler James, 11. Cody Manmiller, 12. Ray Swinehart, 13. Parker Guldin, 14. Kenny Bock, 15. Ebby Ridge, 16. Nathan Mohr, 17. Steve Young, 18. Joey Vaccaro, 19. Bryan Rhoads, 20. Colton Perry, 21. Mike Schneck, 22. Doug Snyder, 23. Cody Schantz, 24. Dakota Kohler, 25. Mark Kemmerer, 26. Chris Esposito.
Outlaw Vintage Stock Modified Feature (12-laps): 1. Todd Lapp, 2. Wes Cassel, 3. Mike Stofflet, 4. Scott Scheffer, 5. Jeff Paulson, 6. Bobby Hall, 7. Joe Lines, 8. Joe Medaglia. DNS: Andy Cassel.

Outlaw Vintage Stock Sportsman Feature (12-laps): 1. Nicho Flammer, 2. Jay Garris, 3. Mike Garris Sr., 4. Bill Gerhart, 5. Myron Heydt, 6. Brock Jacobus, 7 Travis Jacobus, 8. Matt Smith, 9. Wayne Roth, 10. Doug Miller, 11. Dominique Deglas, 12. Dave Dissinger.