Press Release:
For immediate release
July 28, 1999
Trois Rivieres, Canada
Toad Hall Motor Racing, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, enters two Porsche RSRs for the Trois Rivieres, Canada, SPEEDVISION World Challenge GT Race, on Saturday, July 31, 1999.
Peter Kitchak, of Minneapolis, will drive the Keewaydin/Toad Hall Porsche and Jim Oppenheimer, Chicago, will drive the Impac/Toad Hall Porsche.
Kitchak finished first, fourth and second in the last three races of the series and has taken over 4th place in the driver’s points championship.
Kitchak won the third race of the season at Mid Ohio. He also won the only World Challenge Race he entered in 1997, at Minneapolis. He did not participate in the series in 1998.
The Speedvision World Challenge GT series is North America’s leading series for exotic production based sports racing cars. Pitting European marks such as Porsche and BMW against the “big iron” from North America, the 8 liter Dodge Vipers, the Corvettes and the Mustangs, and the best sports cars from Japan with the turbo charged Toyota Supra and the Acura NSX, the season is shaping up as a top level series with a broad spectrum of manufacturers competing. Eight different manufacturers are now represented in the top 12 positions in the driver’s points race.
Kitchak and Oppenheimer will both driver 3.8 liter Porsche RSRs. Modified to tight racing specifications determined by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), these normally aspirated cars produce 370 horsepower and will reach 135-140 miles per hour on the city streets of Trois Rivieres.
“We were competitive at Atlanta last weekend and have made some changes to our set-up with the expectation to be very competitive at Trois Rivieres,” Kitchak said, “Our crew is working around the clock in an effort to find the speed we need to be a front runner.”
The Toad Hall Porsches are prepared by Moorespeed Race Engineering in Austin, Texas.
David Moore, president of Moorespeed will be the team’s crew chief, manager and chief engineer for the team. Moorespeed is a specialty race car engineering and preparation shop specializing in Porsche and other race cars. Other crew members are Lee Kemper and Mike Whitley, both from Texas and Mike Breckenridge of Minnesota.
Jim Oppenheimer will drive his first World Challenge race this weekend. A successful Porsche Club of America racing series competitor, he has also raced at the 24 hours of Daytona and the 12 hours of Sebring.
Kitchak won the 1998 24 hours of Daytona GT-2 class in a Twin Turbo Porsche. He recently finished 18th overall, 6th in class and was a driver in the top GT-2 Porsche at the 1999 24 Hours of LeMans. Driving in the American LeMans Series for the Germany based team of Konrad Motorsports, he was also 3d in his class at the 12 Hours of Sebring and 3d in the Grand Prix of Atlanta in 1999.
Kitchak was the Canadian American Ice Racing Champion in 1970 (driving a Porsche on the frozen lakes of the US and Canada) and the International Ice Racing Champion in 1973. He did not drive any race cars between 1974 and 1992 when he started his road racing career. At 58 years old, Kitchak is one of the oldest drivers in the field. “Age is not a factor, ” he says, “I stay in good shape and am driving better than I ever have.”
Oppenheimer is a resident of Chicago, Illinois. He is 56 years old, married to Leslie with sons Michael and Jim. An executive in the packaging conglomerate, “The Impac Group”, Oppenheimer is a successful race car driver and Porsche collector.
Kitchak is a resident of Excelsior, Minnesota. He is 58 years old, married to Patricia. He is considered on the top “deal makers” in American corporate real estate and is the President of The Keewaydin Group, a real estate consulting firm headquartered in Minneapolis.
For more information contact Allison Riestenberg, The Keewaydin Group, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, 612-341-4422. During the Race Weekend contact Peter Kitchak 612-889-0910 (cell phone) or David Moore at 512-751-2996 (cell phone).
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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