For immediate release

WESTERN MICHIGAN GRAND PRIX
August 29, 1999.
(Press release complements of Toad Hall Racing)

SUNDAY PM
The race is over and we won. Jim did a great job also moving up from a 36 place starting position to finish 18th. Peter qualified on the pole and spun the car and lost the lead temporarily in the middle of the race, but came back strong. Catching Archer at a rate of 1 second a lap, he was within 4 seconds with 10 laps to go when Archer, trying hard to stay ahead, made a mistake of his own, hitting a wall and knocking a valve stem out of a wheel. Bobby got a flat tire and headed for the pits. Peter took over the lead and won by 6 seconds over Reese Cox on the very tight street course. Dorsey Schroeder, driving a Saleen Mustang was third and John Heinricy driving a “factory” Corvette C5 was fourth.

Starting from the pole, we lead almost all of the way. We won the start due to the very short distance from the start line to the first turn. Bobby Archer kept the pressure on for the first 20 laps and then, on lap 21, …the mistake. But, luckily we dodged the bullet when Archer got the flat. There was one full course caution in the middle of the race and Archer got a second chance to win the drag race to turn one. He won… but on the outside, the Porsche’s lighter weight and superior braking made the difference and we got to turn one ahead of him.

The course was tight and bumpy and, by the end of the race was strewn with all kinds of body parts and car pieces. Jim dubbed one corner, which was very tight the “mirror graveyard corner.” He said their were 5 mirrors laying on the track at the end of the race from cars brushing the wall. Grand Rapids version of the Darlington Stripe.

David Moore and the crew did a fabulous job and both cars ran almost flawlessly all weekend. We had a sticky throttle problem midway in the race, but it went away after the restart. I am sure they will have it fixed by the next weekend in Vancouver BC. We were very fortunate to escape the weekend without a scratch on either car.

We added new team members this weekend when Jonathan and Sandy Pierce joined. Jon is our part time truck driver and Sandy just “came along” to help everyone out. They were a terrific.

More information:
Toad Hall Motor Racing: www.toadhallracing.com
SCCA World Challenge and immediate results: www.sccapro.com
The Keewaydin group: www.keewaydin.com

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