CC's dominate Phoenix race weekend

Frank Parise

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CC\'s dominate Phoenix race weekend

Last weekend, the Arizona Sports Racing Association ("ASRA") held its 44th annual Fall Enduro. This is the longest running and most prestigious local club event in Arizona. It attracts an electic group of race cars including Corvette, Viper, Mustang, Mazda, Datsun, BMW, Mini, Audi, Porsche, NASCAR style stock cars, and vintage racecars. It's a "run what you brung" race event that simply requires you pass safety tech. There are no limitations on the extent of modifications to your car, weight, power, etc. The series does not tolerate erratic driving behavior or bdy contact. The Chief Steward is none other than our very own Gary Felton from the VRL.

Friday featured four 20-minute practice sessions. Saturday had a 20 minute practice followed by a 20 minute qualifying session and a 40 minute sprint race. The sprint race results determined the starting grid for the feature endurance race on Sunday. Sunday included two 20 minute warm up sessions and then the 2-hour endurance race at 1:45 PM. There were a total of 34 racecars competing. By the way, the entry fee for this event was about $300!

We had the CC's of Phil De La O, Tom Glenn and myself. We also had the GT1 Vipers of Johnny Weigel (which Bobby Archer drove to victory in the VRL finals), Ritch Marziale, and Robert Dopp. Our stiffest competition would come from a real BMW factory/PTG M3 GTR, and a bevy of stock cars set up for road racing.

We had a huge entourage of VCA members as spectators and volunteer crew members. I am proud to report that the Viper has secured its place in local race folklore for years to come as we took first place overall in the Saturday sprint race, and again in the Sunday endurance race. Neither race had a full course yellow or a contact incident.

The competition was awesome and, as you can imagine, there were many trials and tribulations throughout the weekend, especially during the 2-hour endurance race. Some of our pit stops were very interesting. All I can tell you is that a completely stock CC is an awesome 2-hour racer. Essential items included a cool suit, a new set of VRL Hoosiers, and a new set of brake pads.

Just wanted to let you know that Viper racing is alive and well in Arizona. Happy holidays to everyone!
 

BPearson

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Re: CC\'s dominate Phoenix race weekend

Frank,

Am I to understand that you had to change brake pads during the race? The tires I can understand. Good going for all of the Vipers.
:usa: :2tu:
 

Sonny 00 GTS ACR

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Re: CC\'s dominate Phoenix race weekend

Congratulations Frank!

What track did you run on? PIR or the motorsports park? Who won and how did all of the above finish?

Any of you boys coming to California for the start of the VRL season?

Take care,
 

Viperrick

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Re: CC\'s dominate Phoenix race weekend

Congratulations Frank and the rest of the Arizona racers. It is great to see that the car is doing so well in the capable hands of the people it was built for. I pass along great amounts of appreciation to you and the others who campaigned (on this web site) so long ago, asking Dodge to build this car. Then when they did build it, you made the commitment by being first on the list to own one.
 
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Frank Parise

Frank Parise

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Re: CC\'s dominate Phoenix race weekend

The new brake pads were put on before the race and were awesome from start to finish. I haven't inspected them after the race, but my guess is they had another 3 or 4 hours left on them.

The VRL compound Hoosiers, while not a very "grippy" tire were very consistent from start to finish. I felt no tire fade whatsoever during the race. This is one of the smoothest tracks I have ever experienced, but it is flat and low-grip. I used much softer shock settings than usual, and this seemed to help alot. For whatever reason, the car was happier with a higher ride height and much less rear wing than that recommended in the service manual.

In the Saturday sprint race, Phil won it, Tom Glenn was 3rd, I was 4th, Robert was 5th, and Johnny was 7th. Phil was running on scrub Goodyear slicks and said they were awesome. His lap times were 1 second faster than his best time on new Hoosiers.

In the Sunday enduro, I won it, Phil was 5th, Robert was 22nd, and Johnny was 25th.

The race was at the new Arizona Motorsports Park, a 2.23 mile 15-turn layout that runs in a clockwise configuration. You can check it out at www.arizonamotorsportspark.com.
 

Bob Woodhouse

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Re: CC\'s dominate Phoenix race weekend

Frank and Phil: Thanks for the race report and keep em comin, as you can see we lap this stuff up (tongue in cheek). You guys are at the pinnacle of what us Viper freaks are about: racing. Now don't deny us giving you a few "attaboys" next time you do good.
 

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