MUSTANG.COM - Maxwells Mustang Takes 2nd

Maxwells Mustang Takes 2nd

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Written by Grand Am

Stanton, Traver Claim Fresh From Florida 200 For Hometown Team at Daytona International Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 25, 2008) – Making the most of his opportunities, Craig Stanton moved from fourth to first late in Friday’s Fresh >From Florida 200, the season-opener for the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series. Stanton, with co-driver Tim Traver, handed the BGB Motorsports team and the No. 83 Performance Drink/Toro Viejo Motorsports Porsche 997 a home track victory in the Grand Sport (GS) division.

Stanton – who was running fourth on the race’s final restart with just under 30 minutes to go in the three-hour race – watched as race leaders Doug Goad and Spencer Pumpelly suffered problems within a three-lap period, then whistled past Tom Milner for his seventh career KONI Challenge overall win. The victory was Traver’s second in KONI Challenge competition.

Overall, Stanton led the final nine laps of the 76-lap affair. While running third on Lap 68, Stanton watched as Pumpelly took the point from Milner in the first of 14 turns on the 3.56-mile track. Moments later, however, Pumpelly slowed, smoke bellowing out of his No. 39 TRG The DigiTrust Group/Adam’s Polishes Porsche 997.

Stanton made what would become the winning pass moments after that, driving past Milner on the backstretch. Milner later pulled his car off the track, handing second place to Scott Maxwell. But Stanton was too far ahead for Maxwell to mount a serious challenge, and with the final of five cautions waving five minutes from the scheduled checkered flag, Maxwell had to settle for the race’s runner-up position for the second straight season.

Stanton, who will compete in the GT class in Saturday’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, found the three-hour enduro to be a nice tune-up and momentum booster for the 24-hour race.

"There was a lot of stuff going on late in the race,” Stanton said. “I didn't see but about a third of it, but I heard a lot of chatter on my radio. Basically, I put my head down and worked really hard.

“This has been an accumulation of about a four-month project,” Stanton continued. “At the end of last year, we were right on the podium. We gained some momentum, so we felt a win was overdue. We worked real hard here at a number of driving events. Being local, we worked hard to get some data and put our best foot forward.”

Traver won 2006 season finale at Virginia International Raceway, also with BGB, which is located in nearby Ormond Beach, Fla. He put Stanton in prime position for the victory, stopping within the first hour-and-a-half for fuel, tires and a driver change. The team also pitted a second time just after the two-hour mark.

“The team was awesome today,” Traver said. “What can I say about Craig Stanton as a co-driver? It was amazing. Flawless pit stops, flawless strategy. It was just perfect.”

Scott Maxwell – 55 – Hyper Sport Mustang FR500C– (Finished 2nd)

YOU SUDDENLY POPPED UP AT THE END OF THE RACE. TALK ABOUT YOUR DRIVE THERE AT THE END.
“Actually, the car was working very well. And I’m really grateful to Hyper Sport because two days ago, 48 hours ago I wasn’t even driving. We decided to go with three drivers for this race just to bank some points and for the rest of the year so we had a bit of a different strategy. Jeff and Joe do not only a great job not only keeping it at the front, but the car was like new when I got in it. It was like a 35-minute sprint for me at the end. I made a lot of mistakes actually; just trying too hard and there’s a couple of guys that are annoyed with me out there. Anyways, the car was good, the Mustang was strong and we just didn’t have enough time or the legs to catch the Porsche. It was a good start for us for two years in a row to be second here so maybe next year we’ll come back and try to win it. It was a good start for the Hyper Sport Mustang.”

IF THERE WASN’T THE LAST CAUTION AND YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RACE THOSE LAST THREE LAPS OR IF IT HAD HAPPENED JUST A FEW MINUTES EARLIER AND YOU HAD BEEN ON CRAIG’S TALE, WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CATCH HIM?
“You know I honestly wasn’t close enough to give you an honest answer. Our car was strong, but Craig was far enough down the road that I couldn’t tell really if he was pushing hard or not. I would have liked the chance but he was too far down the road.”

YOU WERE INVOLED IN AN INCIDENT LATE. WHAT HAPPENED THERE?
“I think it was the second flying lap and they warned me that the brakes were a bit glazed, and I went down into one and I was full blown on the brakes and couldn’t stop and I thought I was actually going off for a nice little crash and I think I clipped one of the Volkswagens on my way in, I think it was a Volkswagen, -- one of the little cars I hit on the way in. Anyways I stopped about three feet shy of the wall and kept going.”

Maxwell, driving the No. 55 Hyper Sport Ford Mustang GT, was the third of a three-man rotation which saw Jeff Courtney start the car. Maxwell was sixth late in the race but, with impressive moves inside and out, threaded through the field. He and Courtney shared the car with Joe Foster, who also ran among the top five during his stint.

“It was pretty hectic the last few laps. I was making a lot of mistakes out there,” Maxwell said. “I went off once. But the Hyper Sport Mustang was so good; we just ran out of time running down the Porsche. I had a lot of fun. These KONI Challenge races are always a blast, and I love Daytona. I’ve won here, and almost won again last year, but I guess we’re second best again. It’s a good start to the year, something to build on. We’re after a championship, and you have to put the points on the board.”

Foster was also part of the runner-up team in the 2007 Fresh From Florida 200. Foster used that strong start to remain in championship contention throughout 2008.

“It was a great race,” Foster said. “This first race of the year is a dual-class race and it’s three hours long, so we had an opportunity to use some strategy. Jeff Courtney did a great opening stint, I did an hour, 20 minutes in the middle and Scott batted cleanup and did a great job. We’re all happy. I’m happy for Patrick (Dempsey) and Rick (Skelton), the team owners, and for Hyper Sport and for Ford. We had a great time.”

Terry Borcheller pitted late but managed to weave through the field and gave himself and co-driver Scott Tucker third in the No. 3 Blackforest Motorsports US Army/Turner Law Firm Ford Mustang GT. He took third in the final handful of laps, passing No. 09 Automatic Racing Fresh From Florida/Imported Car Store BMW M3 co-champion Jeff Segal after being forced wide on a pass for second by Maxwell just a few laps earlier.

“It was just good, clean racing,” Borcheller said. “I really had a lot of fun. I know Scott (Maxwell) well, I’ve run with him a lot. I trust him. And Jeff Segal was in the BMW and I know him pretty well and I trust him. I had my hands full with him in the infield. But our Mustang had a little power on the top over him. It was a good race. Great fun, great series.”

Segal and fellow driving titlist Jep Thornton garnered fourth, one spot ahead of teammates Jon Miller and David Russell. Miller led the opening and a race-high 28 laps after passing polesitter Tommy Constantine in Turn 1, and turned the No. 99 Automatic Racing Fresh From Florida/Imported Car Store BMW M3.

Other Mustangs dominated the middle stages of the race, as Rehagen Racing teammates Hugh Plumb and Dean Martin ran 1-2 for several laps in the race’s closest battle for the lead all afternoon. However, pit stops during a late-race yellow dropped the pair from winning competition.

The Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series competitors return to the track May 24-26 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. for the second round of the season.