Rich Wesorick
Enthusiast
This past weekend, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was once again covered with snakes as the Viper Days™ organization brought their driving school and racing series (Viper Racing League) to Mid-Ohio. Nearly 100 Vipers from all over the country descended upon arguably the finest permanent road course in North America for the two day (Friday and Saturday) event. Instructors were present for those desiring assistance in learning about high-speed driving techniques, and in learning the fast line around the highly technical track. On the other end of the spectrum, many of the Vipers that showed up were full race-prepared machines. Several of the drivers of the race cars have competed in professional racing series’ including SPEED World Challenge, ALMS, and Grand-Am. These drivers and their cars were there primarily for the Viper Racing League (VRL) races that were held on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
One of the racers that came to Mid-Ohio for the Viper Days™ event was 1999 World Challenge GT Champion and 2001 SCCA Southwest Division T1 Champion Bobby Archer of Ft. Worth, TX. Archer’s ViperSpeed Racing teammate, Dr. Deborah Loth of Kennedale, TX, also attended the event. The two ViperSpeed Racing teammates thought the event would be an excellent opportunity to test their T1 Vipers in preparation for the SCCA Valvoline Run-Offs at Mid-Ohio in September.
On Friday afternoon, qualifications were held for the 4pm VRL race. The race group consisted of 25 or so cars in two classes: GT1 for the more fully-prepared cars, and GT2 for the less prepared cars like the T1 Vipers of Archer and Loth. In the GT1 class, Ohio’s Mike McCann won the pole, with Nebraska’s Bob Woodhouse right behind him in the second starting position. Bobby qualified first in the GT2 class and sixth overall in his black No. 32 SuperClubs Resorts/The Lodge/ViperSpeed Viper. Deborah qualified second in the GT2 class and tenth overall in her yellow No. 23 Bobby Archer Motorsports/ViperSpeed Viper.
Friday’s race was run in sunny, 60 degree weather. As the green flag was waved on the straightaway in front of the pits, Archer got a jump on a few of the cars in front of him and rocketed into third place. He would not hold this position long though, as the faster GT1 cars were able to pass him back within a few laps. In the early laps of the race, Loth was able to gain a spot or two, and picked another couple of positions when a few of the GT1 cars went off in the esses. The race was stopped briefly to clear the cars that had gone off. When the race resumed, Archer was in sixth place, followed immediately by Loth in seventh. At the front of the race, Bob Woodhouse was working hard to find an opening to pass Mike McCann for the lead, but it never appeared. On the last lap of the race, Woodhouse ended up going off, giving Jim McCann a somewhat easier drive to the checkered flag and the overall win.
On Saturday, Archer spent very little time on the track prior to the VRL race because he felt that, after several track sessions on Friday, they had the set-up of the car right where it needed to be. He was gridded sixth for the race, with Mike’s brother Jim McCann sitting on the pole. Once again, Archer was able to pass a few cars at the start and ran in fourth place for awhile. Eventually, Archer surrendered the spots back to the faster GT1 cars, but not without some exciting racing between Bobby and Ohio’s “Evil” Joe Ellis. Although Evil Joe would finish the race one spot in front of Archer, Bobby’s pass of Evil Joe on the front straight was one of the truly exciting moments in the race. Archer took first in the GT2 class, five spots behind the overall and GT1 class winner Jim McCann. Mike McCann, Rob Foster, Bob Woodhouse, and Joe Ellis, respectively, rounded out the top five finishers.
Overall, the weekend was a lot of fun for all of the Viper owners and drivers. A highlight of the weekend for most of the Viper owners was seeing the new Viper Competition Coupe on the track. With Tommy Archer at the wheel, the Competition Coupe was being put through the paces, while a team of engineers from Dodge monitored the progress. The Viper Days™ event was particularly good for Bobby Archer who won both races in his class and who left knowing he has an excellent car and set-up for the upcoming SCCA Valvoline Run-Offs, where both he and Deborah Loth will be competing for the National Championship in the T1 class.
Next up for Archer and Loth will be more Viper Days™ club races in the Viper Racing League at the new Mid-America Motorplex in Omaha, NE on May 18 and 19. Archer will resume SCCA T1 competition in the Southwest Division on May 25-26 at Texas World Speedway. Archer and Loth also plan to compete in both the SCCA June Sprints at Road America and the newly-announced SCCA Grand Prix of Texas at Texas Motor Speedway in July. More information on Bobby Archer and Deborah Loth can be found at www.bobbyarchermotorsports.com and www.viperspeed.com.
One of the racers that came to Mid-Ohio for the Viper Days™ event was 1999 World Challenge GT Champion and 2001 SCCA Southwest Division T1 Champion Bobby Archer of Ft. Worth, TX. Archer’s ViperSpeed Racing teammate, Dr. Deborah Loth of Kennedale, TX, also attended the event. The two ViperSpeed Racing teammates thought the event would be an excellent opportunity to test their T1 Vipers in preparation for the SCCA Valvoline Run-Offs at Mid-Ohio in September.
On Friday afternoon, qualifications were held for the 4pm VRL race. The race group consisted of 25 or so cars in two classes: GT1 for the more fully-prepared cars, and GT2 for the less prepared cars like the T1 Vipers of Archer and Loth. In the GT1 class, Ohio’s Mike McCann won the pole, with Nebraska’s Bob Woodhouse right behind him in the second starting position. Bobby qualified first in the GT2 class and sixth overall in his black No. 32 SuperClubs Resorts/The Lodge/ViperSpeed Viper. Deborah qualified second in the GT2 class and tenth overall in her yellow No. 23 Bobby Archer Motorsports/ViperSpeed Viper.
Friday’s race was run in sunny, 60 degree weather. As the green flag was waved on the straightaway in front of the pits, Archer got a jump on a few of the cars in front of him and rocketed into third place. He would not hold this position long though, as the faster GT1 cars were able to pass him back within a few laps. In the early laps of the race, Loth was able to gain a spot or two, and picked another couple of positions when a few of the GT1 cars went off in the esses. The race was stopped briefly to clear the cars that had gone off. When the race resumed, Archer was in sixth place, followed immediately by Loth in seventh. At the front of the race, Bob Woodhouse was working hard to find an opening to pass Mike McCann for the lead, but it never appeared. On the last lap of the race, Woodhouse ended up going off, giving Jim McCann a somewhat easier drive to the checkered flag and the overall win.
On Saturday, Archer spent very little time on the track prior to the VRL race because he felt that, after several track sessions on Friday, they had the set-up of the car right where it needed to be. He was gridded sixth for the race, with Mike’s brother Jim McCann sitting on the pole. Once again, Archer was able to pass a few cars at the start and ran in fourth place for awhile. Eventually, Archer surrendered the spots back to the faster GT1 cars, but not without some exciting racing between Bobby and Ohio’s “Evil” Joe Ellis. Although Evil Joe would finish the race one spot in front of Archer, Bobby’s pass of Evil Joe on the front straight was one of the truly exciting moments in the race. Archer took first in the GT2 class, five spots behind the overall and GT1 class winner Jim McCann. Mike McCann, Rob Foster, Bob Woodhouse, and Joe Ellis, respectively, rounded out the top five finishers.
Overall, the weekend was a lot of fun for all of the Viper owners and drivers. A highlight of the weekend for most of the Viper owners was seeing the new Viper Competition Coupe on the track. With Tommy Archer at the wheel, the Competition Coupe was being put through the paces, while a team of engineers from Dodge monitored the progress. The Viper Days™ event was particularly good for Bobby Archer who won both races in his class and who left knowing he has an excellent car and set-up for the upcoming SCCA Valvoline Run-Offs, where both he and Deborah Loth will be competing for the National Championship in the T1 class.
Next up for Archer and Loth will be more Viper Days™ club races in the Viper Racing League at the new Mid-America Motorplex in Omaha, NE on May 18 and 19. Archer will resume SCCA T1 competition in the Southwest Division on May 25-26 at Texas World Speedway. Archer and Loth also plan to compete in both the SCCA June Sprints at Road America and the newly-announced SCCA Grand Prix of Texas at Texas Motor Speedway in July. More information on Bobby Archer and Deborah Loth can be found at www.bobbyarchermotorsports.com and www.viperspeed.com.
