|
AJ
Allmendinger hangs it all out on the way to victory
Photo
copyright AR1 and
Bill Kistler |
(SEBRING, Fla.) March 16, 2002 -He said it was the longest 40
minutes of his life, but in the end, it was worth the wait.
A.J. Allmendinger from Hollister, Calif. scored his first
Barber Dodge Pro Series career victory in the opening round of
the 2002 season at Sebring International Raceway. From the
pole, Allmendinger relinquished the lead to eventual
second-place finisher Davy Cook, but after settling the
nerves, he retook the lead for keeps, just before the halfway
point. Cook earned a career best finish as did Julio Campos
who finished third in his first career start. Allmendinger
leaves scoring a 22 out of 23 maximum point by virtue of
taking the win, pole and fastest race lap.
"I far surpassed my expectations this weekend. I came in
hoping to have a clean week and finish in the top-5. But to
get the pole and win makes me really excited to go to (the
next race) Lime Rock now. I really have to thank my mechanic,
Kent, and the rest of the Barber Dodge coaching and technical
staff for really staying on top of the car and helping me
out," said Allmendinger, 18. "At the start, there were a lot
of nerves. Davy got a great start and got around me. I got him
back but I was still a little unsettled and dropped a wheel
(off track) a few times. He got around me again and I knew
just had to settle down. My car got faster through the race
and I caught him in turn-1, then he made a little mistake in
turn-2 and I was able to get by in turn-3."
|
AJ
Allmendinger
Photo
copyright AR1 and
Bill Kistler |
Cook indeed timed the start well. By the entry to the first
turn, Cook assumed the early lead. Campos as well made a good
start, pressuring Nilton Rossoni for third. Cook led the first
lap; however, early into the second lap, Allmendinger passed
Cook as they entered turn-3 side by side. By the next lap
Campos got ahead of Rossoni and so the order would be
Allmendinger ahead of Cook, while Campos, several car lengths
behind, led Rossoni and Memo Rojas.
Allmendinger's lead wouldn't last. Twice on the same lap, he
edged slightly off track and when they came around to start
lap-5 it was the yellow and black HMS Motorsports Dodge
Reynard of Cook on point. The order would remain the same for
four laps with Cook and Allmendinger increasing their lead
over Campos, Rossoni and Rojas. Suddenly, Cook lost time in
turn-15 and later in the same lap Campos would spin in turn-17
and continue but not before losing a place.
Just before midway, Allmendinger made his move again in
turn-3, reassuming the lead that would be his for the balance.
Cook kept the gap to within a second until the final two laps
but never came close enough again to challenge. Christian
Szymczak was making moves coming from the ninth starting spot
to claim fifth place.
Campos meanwhile had recovered from his spin to catch Rossoni
who was running five seconds behind Cook. With three laps
remaining in the 40-minute race, Campos set up a draft down
the long Ullman Straight into turn-17 and by mid-corner had
bettered Rossoni for third place.
"I was running a lower wing than A.J. so I was faster on the
straights, but he was doing things in Turn-17 that I couldn't
compete with," said Cook of Tallahassee, Fla., 19. "I missed a
downshift in turn-3 with four laps to go, and went wide and by
that point, I knew that A.J. took care of his tires, so I just
thought about the championship and took second place."
Campos, the 2001 Skip Barber Formula Dodge National Champion
(ahead of Allmendinger) certainly worked for his first podium
in his professional race start. He passed former Series
champion and former Sebring race-winner Rossoni not once but
twice for the position.
"When I passed Nilton the first time, I looked ahead and saw
A.J. and Davy and I kept pushing and pushing to catch them.
Then I made a mistake in turn-17, trying to drive the car too
hard. When I got going again, I was behind Nilton once more
and I thought, 'forget about the race, I have to finish
third,'" said Campos, 20, from Curitiba, Brazil. "The crew and
the driver coaches helped me out a lot a I am very happy to be
near the front of the championship."
Rossoni duly finished fourth ahead of Szymczak, a career best
for the Oaklander. Barber-CART Big Scholarship winner Leonardo
Maia finished sixth, thankful that his mechanic had remedied a
shock problem before the race start. Canadian Josh Beaulieu
finished seventh ahead of Finn Hannu Wiinikainen, both drivers
contesting their first Barber Dodge race. Marc Breuers
overcame a tough start, losing his fourth position on the
grid, forcing him to take the green flag from the final row of
the pack. He fought gamely to finish ninth. Tom Fogarty
rounded out the top-10.
Round 2 of the 2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series takes place at
Lime Rock Park on May 2
2002 BARBER DODGE PRO SERIES RACE
RACE RESULT
ROUND 1
SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Sebring, FL
March 16, 2002
|
Pos |
No. |
Driver |
Hometown |
Pts |
Money |
Laps |
Status |
|
1
|
29
|
A.J. Allmendinger
|
Hollister, Calif.
|
22
|
$13,000
|
19
|
Running
|
|
2
|
16
|
Davy Cook
|
Tallahassee, Fla.
|
16
|
$8,750
|
19
|
Running
|
|
3
|
21
|
Julio Campos
|
Curitiba, Brazil
|
14
|
$6,500
|
19
|
Running
|
|
4
|
36
|
Nilton Rossoni
|
Curitiba, Brazil
|
13
|
$4,500
|
19
|
Running
|
|
5
|
34
|
Christian Szymczak
|
Oakland, Calif.
|
11
|
$2,500
|
19
|
Running
|
|
6
|
31
|
Leonardo Maia
|
Oakland, Calif.
|
10
|
$1,500
|
19
|
Running
|
|
7
|
27
|
Josh Beaulieu
|
Langley, B.C.
|
9
|
$1,250
|
19
|
Running
|
|
8
|
20
|
Hannu Wiinikainen
|
Espoo, Finland
|
8
|
$1,250
|
19
|
Running
|
|
9
|
94
|
Marc Breuers
|
Philadelphia, PA
|
7
|
$1,250
|
19
|
Running
|
|
10
|
66
|
Tom Fogarty
|
Portola Valley, Calif.
|
6
|
$1,250
|
19
|
Running
|
|
11
|
69
|
Chris Baker
|
Austin, Texas
|
5
|
$1,000
|
19
|
Running
|
|
12
|
56
|
Javier Gonzalez
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
4
|
$1,000
|
19
|
Running
|
|
13
|
51
|
Aurelio Lopez, Jr.
|
Guadalajara, Mexico
|
3
|
$1,000
|
19
|
Running
|
|
14
|
15
|
Memo Rojas
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
2
|
$1,000
|
19
|
Running
|
|
15
|
55
|
Piero Rodarte
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
1
|
$1,000
|
19
|
Running
|
|
16
|
13
|
John Hall
|
Sealy, Texas
|
|
$750
|
19
|
Running
|
|
17
|
19
|
Dan Di Leo
|
Markham,Ontario
|
|
$750
|
19
|
Running
|
|
18
|
37
|
Mike Richardson
|
Kelowna, B.C.
|
|
$750
|
19
|
Running
|
|
19
|
28
|
Roland Isra
|
New York, N.Y.
|
|
$750
|
19
|
Running
|
|
20
|
33
|
German Quiroga
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
|
$750
|
18
|
Running
|
|
21
|
93
|
Charlie Pareja
|
Guayaquil, Ecuador
|
|
$500
|
17
|
Contact
|
|
22
|
11
|
Rafael Sperafico
|
Toledo Paraná, Brazil
|
|
$500
|
15
|
Running
|
|
23
|
14 |
Carlos Lievano
|
Neiva, Colombia
|
|
$500
|
0
|
Off Course
|
LENGTH OF RACE:19 Laps of 3.7 Mile Circuit for 70.300 miles
TIME OF RACE:40 Minutes, 44.448 seconds
AVERAGE SPEED:103.533
MARGIN OF VICTORY:0 Minutes 2.984 Seconds
LAP LEADERS:Davy Cook Lap 1 and Lap 4 - 8; A. J. Allmendinger
Laps 2 - 3
and Lap 9 -19
FASTEST RACE LAP:A. J. Allmendinger 2:07.328 (104.612 mph) Lap
13
FASTEST QUALIFIER:A. J. Allmendinger 2:06.599 (105.214 mph)
TOTAL PAYOUT:$52,000
Championship Points:
A.J. Allmendinger, 22
Davy Cook, 16
Julio Campos,14
Nilton Rossoni,13
Christian Szymczak,11
Leonardo Maia,10
Josh Beaulieu,9
Hannu Wiinikainen,8
Marc Breuers,7
Tom Fogarty,6
Chris Baker,5
Javier Gonzalez,4,
Aurelio Lopez, Jr.,3
Memo Rojas,2
Piero Rodarte,1.
Feedback can be sent to
feedback@autoracing1.com
Go to our
forums
to discuss this article
|
Ricardo
González
News and Commentary
