MELANIE SNOW and ANDREA ROBERTSON - TRACK CHIC's WOMEN behind the WHEELS -FORM ALMS' FIRST ALL- FEMALE PAIRING in 10 YEARS

ROBERTSON RACING will field the first all-female driver pairing in ten years of American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron history at the upcoming Mid-Ohio Sportscar Challenge on August 5/6.

Regular driver and team co-owner Andrea Robertson will be joined by highly experienced GT driver Melanie Snow in the #40 Ford GT. Andrea’s husband and fellow co-owner/driver David Robertson has taken the decision to stand down for the two-hour 45-minute enduro. 

Melanie Snow
Track Chic Woman behind the Wheels
September, 2009

Snow, who currently lies fifth in the IMSA GT3 Challenge by Yokohama Platinum Cup standings, having won the 2009 Gold edition, will make her first ALMS start since clinching the GT Challenge class title in 2009. It’s been 12 years since her first and only main GT class appearance when she won on debut at Sebring.

A day’s testing at Mid-Ohio the Tuesday before the race weekend will offer Snow her first chance to sample the Ford GT. At this stage the deal only includes the Lexington round, although further outings could be added.

Andrea Robertson
Track Chic Woman behind the Wheels
June 2011

 
Melanie Snow: “Andrea and I have been friends for a while and always joked about forming an all-girl team. It was something I never really expected though so when I got an email out of the blue it was a shock, but also a nice surprise. Obviously a lot has changed since I last raced in what was the original GT class, but the Challenge cars aren’t too far way in terms of performance so hopefully it won’t be much of a step up. Having said that I’m expecting the Ford to handle completely different to the Porsche I usually race. I’m sure I’ll get to grips with it during the test so we can hit the ground running in Free Practice. At the moment the deal is just for Mid-Ohio but we’ll play it by ear and see what happens for the rest of the season.”

Andrew ‘H’ Smith, Team Manager: “It’s great to have Melanie onboard for Mid-Ohio. She has a lot of experience in GT cars so I’m confident it won’t be long before she’s up to speed in the Ford. Andrea had expressed an interest in her joining the team and I think it’s a great opportunity for them to show how well they stack up against their male counterparts. We’ve had lots of women racers take part in the ALMS over the past 12 years so it’s about time an all-female crew was given their chance. We’re not ruling out running Melanie again later in the season but at the moment Mid-Ohio is the only round scheduled.”

Keep an eye on Robertson Racing’s facebook page, as well as www.RobertsonRace.com, for all the latest news and images. 

16 year-old Rookie, Dominique Van Wieringen scores first career Super Late Model Feature Win

DeWitt, Michigan (Tuesday, July, 19th, 2011): When 16-year-old Dominique Van Wieringen made her debut at Spartan Speedway in Mason, Michigan back on May 6th behind the wheel of an Outlaw Bodied Super Late Model, many on lookers observed that the Amherstburg, Ontario / Canada teenager had a world of untapped potential behind the wheel of a full-sized racecar after her debut resulted in a fifth place finish.

Little did those on lookers realize just how quickly she would adapt to the high-powered machines in such a short amount of time! Van Wieringen, a Development Driver for Chad Finley Racing (CFR) and Michigan Motorsports Hall of Famer, Jeff Finley, and making only her sixth career start behind the wheel of a full bodied racecar, proved many observers right when on July 15th, she would fight off two-time track champion, Jimmy Gallagher to score her first career feature win and become the first female in the tracks long and storied history to win a Feature in the tracks premiere division.

Dominique Van Wieringen celebrates her win with fans!

“This is a great feeling. A lot of pressure there not to mess up those last few laps,” The young Canadian exclaimed. “Jimmy (Gallagher) was all over me. He raced me clean though and I appreciate that. This is just amazing to me. The car was perfect and I just can’t thank all the guys from CFR as well as Chad Finley for his help and guidance. He has helped me a bunch with my line and what I should be doing. Also (Crew Chief) Jimmy D. Smith for his help. Man what a great group of people they have put around me.” She added.

Her next scheduled race at the fast ¼ (0.250) mile semi-banked paved oval located just south of Lansing, Michigan is on Sunday, July 24th in the running of the “Chargin” Charlie Ryan Jr. Memorial 75-lap Feature which is part of the Midwest Racing Scene Sunday Slugfest Series. In the first Sunday Slugfest event back on June 26th, she finished 11th in the 75-lap feature and hopes to improve on that performance this Sunday.

On off weekends from driving the Outlaw Super, Van Wieringen still races one of her two MRP Motorsports Birel Racing Go-Karts as the 2011 season is her final year of racing the National circuit in the World Karting Association (WKA) series where she is one of the top drivers in the circuit. She began her racing career at just five years old as she started out in racing of the two-wheeled variety, in Motocross. She spent six seasons on motorcycles before moving into four-wheeled racing and went Go-Kart racing where she continues to be one of the top competitors within the WKA.

Prior to the start of the 2011 racing season, Van Wieringen joined forces with Chad Finley Racing and is chasing after the 2011 Rookie of the Year title at Spartan Speedway in the tracks Outlaw Super Late Models division. She is leading the freshman title chase by a very wide margin and sits seventh overall in the chase for the 2011 Track Championship. In six starts, she has one Feature Win as well as two top five finishes and five of her six starts have resulted in at least a top 10 showing.

“I just can’t thank (Car Owner) Jeff Finley enough for his years of experience. He has been instrumental in our success this whole year. All the guys in the shop who spend countless hours both there and at the track for me too. I’m very blessed to have such an incredible team who support me as much as they do.” She continued. “I can’t thank my family enough as well. They do a lot for me and I am thankful. My Dad and Mom really have worked hard for me, so again thank you to them. “Van Wieringen ended.
For the remainder of the 2011 racing season, Van Wieringen’s #95 Outlaw Super Late Model with a Chevrolet Camaro front nose, has sponsorship decals from DuroByte Inc., as well as NorthsideTowing.net, and Chad Finley Racing. To learn more about Dominic Van Wieringen and to inquire about additional sponsorship opportunities for the remainder of the current season as well as looking ahead to the 2012 campaign, go to her page within the Chad Finley Racing Website at: http://www.chadfinleyracing.com/

Contact: Jeff Finley
517-819-1560

CINDI LUX TAKES PODIUM FINISH IN ROSE CUP RACE

Cindi Lux became the first woman in Rose Cup history to earn a podium.  

Shown in the Black Rock Coffee Bar-Lux Performance Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe on the grid.  

Image by Jeffrey Zurschmeide.

PORTLAND, June 21, 2011 - Aloha's Cindi Lux added yet another accolade to her already stellar motorsports resume on Sunday. The 12-time, road racing champion earned her first career podium with a third-place finish in the 51st Annual Rose Cup Race at Portland International Raceway (PIR). In the process of setting her personal-best in the Rose Cup, Lux, driving the No. 4 Black Rock Coffee Bar-Lux Performance Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, also made event history. The daughter of the inaugural winner of the race, Dick Hahn, became the first woman in the 51-year history of the Rose Cup to finish on the podium.

Lux, who had previously won her class at Rose Cup support races but never finished better than fourth in the main event, drove a spectacular race to overcome a substantial horsepower disadvantage. Starting fifth against the unrestricted, high-power competition, the 2003 Oregon SCCA National Driver of the Year never placed a wheel wrong during the 45-minute race. She fought her way into third-place before lap 20 when the first, full-course caution bunched the field. With such a massive power disparity, the Viper fell to fourth nearing the restart. However, the pass came while still under caution and race officials swapped the order. With the precise setup placed under her by husband/crew chief Fred Lux, the former Dodge and Mopar factory driver was able to hold-off the subsequent, unassisted assault. Lux kept third until the checkered flag fell. Cindi Lux on her way to her first Rose Cup podium finish in the Black Rock Coffee Dodge Viper. Image by Jeffrey Zurschmeide

Despite always downplaying her place in the progress and success of women in motorsports, the 75-time race winner is credited with several major milestones for females race drivers. Lux bettered over 150 other drivers to win the inaugural American Le Mans Series' Women's Global GT Series championship in 1999. She was named the 1999 Pro-Driver SCCA Driver-of-the-Year and was presented the Northwest Pat Piggot Memorial Award for the most outstanding driver in 1992.  She also became only the second woman in history to win the prestigious SCCA June Sprints in 2004 and repeated the feat in 2006.

The Rose Cup weekend at PIR, which supports the annual Rose Festival, was the debut of Black Rock Coffee Bar into the world of motorsports marketing. By all accounts, the relationship with Lux Performance Group was a resounding success for all concerned. Black Rock Coffee Bar, a Portland-area franchise which features premium-blend coffees sold via an easy drive-thru format, embraced the event using its social media platform, eight-area locations and a concentrated on-site program to maximize its partnership with Lux. The tie-in helped bring guests to Black Rock locations across Oregon, Washington and California as well as introduced the product to hundreds of track workers and spectators at PIR.

In addition to the Dodge Viper entered for Cindi Lux, Lux Performance Group also prepared and managed the Pirelli Cup entry for driver Steve Streimer. Streimer scored his personal career best in the one-make Porsche 911 GT3 Cup series race finishing second. The success of the weekend was not only a testimony to the driver's efforts, but to Lux Performance Group's preparation of the German car and the coaching ability of Cindi Lux who has been instructing Streimer for four years.

Quotes Cindi Lux:   "I don't think I could have driven my Black Rock Coffee Bar Viper Comp. Coupe any harder in this race! I asked 110% of out of the race car for 45 minutes and she held up like a champ. I cannot speak enough about the quality prep that comes from our guys on the Lux Performance team. They gave me the best race car I have driven in a long time; it was on rails. Finishing third is respectable but only gets me fired-up to climb the final two steps in future years. I am never satisfied and always pushing myself to do better. That is especially true here, in front of my hometown crowd! Having Black Rock Coffee Bar on board this weekend was pretty cool. It kept me personally 'fueled' up and ready to attack.  Overall a great weekend."

About racing her home track: "Racing in my hometown is always significant to me and I really try to juggle my crazy schedule to allow me a few days off to race the Rose Cup each year. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the Portland fans at the track. I have gotten to know so many of the fans over the years of coming here it's like coming to a family reunion. This race carries so much personal importance to me. I want to go out there and do my best for my family, for Black Rock and for the city! This is going to be like a giant shot of Black Rock espresso!"

To learn more about Black Rock Coffee Bar and national franchise opportunities, please visit: www.BlackRockCoffeeBar.com. Follow Black Rock on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/BlackRockCoffee and on Facebook at Black Rock Coffee.

Learn more about the Rose Cup, its traditions and its current races at www.RoseCup.com.

For more on Cindi Lux, please visit www.CindiLux.com. Learn more about the Dodge Viper Cup at www.ViperHeadquarters.com. Follow Cindi on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/CindiLux and Cindi Lux on Facebook.

For Enders, a great drag race always begins with a perfect start

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 15) — When Erica Enders starts her ZaZa Energy Pro Stock Chevrolet at this weekend’s Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, she’ll begin a long procedure that has made her one of the best drivers off the starting line in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

It’s the same procedure she’s used for years, and she repeats it every time she makes a pass down the drag strip.

The procedure actually starts long before she crawls in the ZaZa Energy Chevy Cobalt, when Enders takes 10 minutes of quiet time to begin focusing on the task at hand. Soon, she’ll begin to clear her mind of outside thoughts and think only on cutting the best light.

“Once I buckle in, all the outside thoughts go away,” Enders said. “I’m able to get all the distractions out of my head, and I think that’s one of the reasons why I do a good job.”

Easier said than done, of course, so Enders first asks for a little help from above.

“I pray for a clear head,” Enders said. “Something my dad told me a long time ago was, ‘Once you get in the racecar, you can’t change anything on the outside.’ There are times when it’s challenging to be able to do it but most of the time I’m able to forget everything else.”

Before she actually fires the powerful Cagnazzi engine on her car, the actual starting-line procedure begins. And though the entire process only takes a few moments, Enders needs several minutes to verbally explain it.

First, she goes through a 12- to 15-step mental checklist before starting the 2,400-horsepower engine.

“That helps me to never forget anything,” Enders said.

Then comes an array of moves, settings, and adjustments that boggle the mind: Enders fires the car, puts the transmission in first gear and rolls through the water box. She puts it in second gear and then stops to make sure it’s in gear. Next, she sets the brake pressure and revs the engine twice.

On the second rev, she drops the clutch and goes through the gears – third, fourth, and fifth – as she drives across the starting line for the burnout.

When she stops after smoking the tires, she pushes in the clutch and begins to back up, listening to crew chief Dave Connolly on her radio as he position her on the track and tells her where to stop.

Enders then goes through another mental checklist, this one more extensive than the first. Switches are toggled, and then Connolly directs her forward to the correct spot.

Crew member Rich Saulino then takes over at the side of the car and guides Enders to a spot just short of the start line, inches from the pre-stage light.

And the checklist continues.

“I re-check everything,” Enders said. “I’m one of the few drivers who hasn’t ever forgot to turn my fuel pumps on or forgot to do this or that. I double-, triple-, quadruple-check everything.”

She’s communicating with her crew, too, confirming switches or changes, so she can check it off in her head and eliminate more things from her mind.

Before staging, Enders then puts the car in neutral to set the brake and clutch as the crew makes its last-second adjustments.

“Dave says, ‘It’s all yours,’” Enders said. “I take a deep breath, put my visor down and make sure all my switches are in the right spot.”

Enders pushes in the clutch and puts the transmission in first gear, rolling forward to turn on the pre-stage bulb. She sets the brake pressure and gets her left arm – her steering-wheel arm – in the correct position.

She revs the motor, gently lets the clutch out a little and stages shallow in the second beam. The Christmas Tree will then begin, and Enders jams the throttle to launch, hopefully cutting a good light somewhere in the .020-second or quicker range.

Enders will then repeat the procedure – exactly – for the next session. And the next, and the next…

“There’s always going to be something different every time you get in the car,” Enders said, “but for the most part, I do my procedure the exact same way every time.”

And that’s with an incredibly long list of things to do, though Enders insists on repeating it every time – and with good reason.

“That’s one of the things that is important to me,” Enders said, “and I think it helps me drive better.”

Qualifying for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals gets under way at 5 p.m. EDT on Friday. Qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, followed by a Fan Fest in the pits immediately following the final round of qualifying.

Eliminations get under way at noon. ESPN2 will air the qualifying show at 7 p.m. EDT on Saturday and the elimination show at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Enders has several media and fan opportunities scheduled for Thunder Valley, from an appearance in the Bruton Smith Suite on Friday at 2:15 to the Fan Fest to the Track Walk before eliminations Sunday.

–30–

Contact: Lee Montgomery at 704-258-0903 or lee.montgomery@zazaenergy.com.

Please visit www.ZaZaEnergy.com for more information.

RoadRage.com Driver Pruett-LeDuc > Bristol Dragway NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 15) – It’s been an anxious week since the end of the NHRA SuperNationals, but now both Leah Pruett-Leduc and the RoadRage.com Camaro are ready to participate in this weekend’s Get Screened America Pro Mod Series race at the Ford Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Even though Pruett-Leduc’s home and the R2B2 Racing shop are on opposite sides of the country, she kept close tabs on the progress on permanent repairs to the RoadRage.com Camaro following a crash into the gravel trap during the first round of eliminations in Englishtown, N.J.

“Honestly it stinks being in California while all the guys are back in Duluth (Ga.) putting the car back together,” Pruett-Leduc said. “They would send me updated pictures during the week but it’s not the same thing.

“I really have to thank Kevin Mutters and the R2B2 Motors guys for giving us a new coat of paint and of course the race team for working long hours rebuilding the car in-house.”

Pruett-Leduc hopes to repay the team in the best way possible on Sunday afternoon.

“I owe them a trip to the Winner’s Circle and plan on doing that this weekend in Bristol,” she said. “After my crazy first weekend of racing a Pro Mod, I feel confident we’ll put a good number on the board in qualifying and go some rounds on race day.”

Pruett-Leduc qualified seventh in her first effort in a Pro Mod and won a round.

“I can’t thank Roger Burgess enough for this opportunity,” she said. “I’m excited to go to Bristol and make all the hard work my crew did this past week really pay off.”

Get Screened America Pro Mod Series racing gets under way at 4:30 p.m. EDT from Bristol Dragway. Qualifying will conclude on Saturday at 1 p.m., which will be followed by the first round of eliminations, which are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. the same day. Eliminations will continue on Sunday afternoon.

Contact: Geiger Media at 832-971-9345 or rob@go2geiger.com.

Congratulations Track Chic Andrea Robertson - 54 yr old Grandmom takes Podium at 24 HR Le Mans!

Robertson Racing score sensational Le Mans podium

 

American sportscar outfit Robertson Racing today wrote one of the great fairytales in Le Mans 24 Hours’ storied history by claiming a superb GTE Am third place finish at Circuit de la Sarthe in France, the first of any kind for the team in its short four-year history.

The storyline of the plucky privateer American Le Mans Series squad, which receives little manufacturer support in a class dominated by factory-developed machines, could not have been better composed with team owners/drivers Dave and Andrea Robertson celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary today.

Foregoing traditional festivities in favour of the world’s most famous twice-around-the-clock endurance race alongside long-time co-driver, friend and lynchpin David Murry, the crew kept to a strategy built around the consistency and bullet-proof reliability of the Braselton-based team’s fan-favourite #68 Ford GT.

285 laps and 3876 kilometres later, Andrea crossed the finish line to become the first female to climb a Le Mans podium in any class since 1931. The records do not end there though, for this was also the first husband and wife driver team to finish on the rostrum in Le Mans’ 79-race history. Murry meanwhile picked up his second consecutive GT podium finish at La Sarthe following a ten-year absence.

No modern Ford GT has finished the gruelling Grand Prix of Endurance, let alone recorded a podium finish, since the car was first produced seven years ago, while the last Ford chassis of any kind to repeat the feat did so in 1972. Of course, the last Ford GT40, on which Robertson Racing’s machine draws such iconic styling cues, last finished in the top three at this race way back in 1969 when Jackie Ickx and Jackie Oliver triumphed outright.      

While the rest of the GTE Am class fell by the wayside, Robertson Racing kept up a metronomic pace, the car’s only reliability issue of the entire race occurring after four hours when the team lost two laps converting to the ‘manual’ sequential gearbox when its paddleshift system developed problems.

Dave Robertson: “We are as happy as can be. From day one I honestly thought we had a chance in this class, which is why we entered it. We are not the fastest, and I know we have a lot of progress to make, but if the team could work together and have a mistake-free run I always believed this was feasible. We just kept going for 24 hours. We are so glad to be here, but wouldn’t be were it not for the fantastic group of people in the garage and back in Braselton. This is for them. It’s also great to be the first husband and wife on the podium and it makes it even more special that it’s our anniversary. The only problem is I’ve no idea how to top this next year!”

Andrea Robertson: “It comes as quite a shock to be the first woman since 1931 to make the podium and just proves what a male-dominated sport this is. I’m not sure why; perhaps they’re intimidated?! I am also still in awe at being the first married couple on the podium but I think it’s kind of neat. I would once again like to thank everyone in the team from the bottom of my heart because without them, their hard work and dedication, we would not have come this far.”

David Murry: “I am so happy for Dave, Andrea and the team. We have worked so hard for the past four years and this is the pinnacle of what they wanted to achieve, so to come and get a podium on debut is just fantastic. You always dream about a possible result but don’t ever think it could happen so we have just taken one step at a time. This was a 100% team effort and that is what contributes to podiums at Le Mans.”

Andrew H Smith, Team Manager: “Unexpected, fantastic, awesome! Everybody worked so well and it’s been a true team effort over the last two days. It’s taken years of preparation to get here. With just a small bunch of people and a lot of desire we’ve taken on some of the world’s major car manufacturers at the world’s greatest race. I think we can all be immensely proud of our achievement.”

Lee Penn, Chief Engineer: “Awesome! It was absolutely amazing. I never expected it and never dared imagine it even in my wildest dreams. It is just the most unbelievable result ever and beats the podiums I have achieved here so far, including the win with Panoz.”
 

Read Andrea's Women behind the Wheels
Interview Feature and learn more about this
54 Year Old Grandmom making history at 24 Hr Le Mans!

Points leader Karen Stoffer collects runner-up result, just .0002 seconds away from a win

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 5) – Another day, another trip to the money round for Karen Stoffer and the GEICO Suzuki.

Stoffer finished as runner-up at Sunday’s 42nd annual NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, her third runner-up result of the season, and extended her lead in the Full Throttle Pro Stock Motorcycle points.

“I’m not looking at points right now,” Stoffer said. “I’m just looking at how consistent the bike can be. You look at our ETs and you look at the bike going straight. Whatever outcome we get because of that, we’re going to get.”

The only thing Stoffer didn’t get in E-town was a better light than opponent Matt Smith in the final, losing on a miniscule holeshot. Smith got a slight advantage at the line (a .023-second reaction time to a .035 by Stoffer) but his elapsed time was slower than Stoffer’s as he ran a 6.900 second lap at 191.73 mph to Stoffer’s 6.889-second lap. The race was a dead heat to three decimal places but Smith ultimately took the victory by .0002 seconds, or about one inch.

“I really didn’t have a bad light,” Stoffer said. “It was where we wanted to be and where we put the bike. Consistency got us to that final and got us to where we are in points, so we weren’t going to go away from that.

“I’m sure Matt saw me, because I saw him the whole way down. I was getting tucked in as far as I can to scrub off the time. If we stick to this consistent game plan, maybe one of those pewter Wallys will come our way.”

On the way to the final, Stoffer defeated GT Tonglet, Michael Phillips, and Gerald Savoie with ETs that were either first or second quickest in each round.

She now leads the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings by 43 points over Andrew Hines.

Stoffer’s GEICO teammate Morgan Lucas reached the second round in Top Fuel for the second time in the last seven races.

“We made four out of six runs down the track, which is a good improvement,” Lucas said. “We’re going the right direction with the car. We’ve got to get a little more ET and speed out of the car, but that will come in time.”

In Round 1, Lucas and the GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster ran a 3.870 second pass at 316.52 mph to beat teammate Shawn Langdon, who ran a 3.981 at 306.88 mph in the Lucas Oil/Speedco dragster.

“We won that round legitimately,” he said. “We didn’t do it in a pedaling contest or anything.”

In the second round, Lucas fell to eventual race winner Spencer Massey, who crossed the line in 3.807 seconds at 320.51 mph against Lucas’ 4.507 at 175.82 mph run.

“Spencer has a good car and we knew we had to go for it,” Lucas said. “We just didn’t hang on tough enough. However we made it farther down that lane than anybody else that session.”

Up next on the NHRA Full Throttle Series schedule is the June 17-19 Ford Thunder Valley Nationals from Bristol Dragway.

–30–

Contact: Geiger Media at 832-971-9345 or rob@go2geiger.com.

Please visit www.geicogarage.com for more information.