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2008 Review
SPEED GT • Round Nine • Thunderbolt Raceway
Sofronas Scores First Win, Porsche Clinches Championship
MILLEVILLE, N.J. (September 27, 2008) – It took James Sofronas 99 attempts, but he finally
captured his first-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge win at New Jersey Motorsports
Park’s Thunderbolt Raceway. Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Andy Pilgrim, of Boca
Raton, Fla., completed the podium.
With the win, Porsche clinched the SCCA SPEED
GT Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by
RACER a round early.
Sofronas, of Newport Beach, Calif., started
second in his No. 14 Global Motorsports Group
Porsche 911 GT3 but edged polesitter Davis’
No. 10 ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang to
Turn One to take his first-ever lead in an SCCA
SPEED GT race.
For the first dozen laps, Sofronas did his best to
keep Davis at bay with Eric Curran charging
through the field in his No. 30 Whelen
Engineering Chevrolet Corvette and joining the
Sofronas collected his very first World Challenge win in
New Jersey. SWC/Weber photo
lead fight by lap seven. On lap eight, Curran slowed and pitted for a new alternator, costing him 10
laps.
On lap 11, the leaders caught the lapped Mitsubishi of rookie Vesko Kozarov, which helped Sofronas
pull out a 3.5-second advantage. Davis slowly eroded Sofronas’ lead to less than a second when a
lap-26 full-course caution flew for debris off Michael Galati’s Porsche. The two-lap caution created
a green-white-checker finish, and Sofronas was able to hold Davis off for a 0.172-second victory,
averaging 87.127 mph.
“It feels like a weight off my shoulders,” an excited Sofronas said. “I’ve been trying for a long time.
The first 75 starts were with a really small, self-funded effort, but lately I’ve finally got some good
equipment. My team this year has been as good as it’s ever been.”
Pilgrim started third in his No. 8 Remington Shaving & Grooming Cadillac CTS-V and recorded his
season-leading seventh podium finish to stay alive in the Drivers’ Championship.
Jason Daskalos, of Albuquerque, N.M., earned the Sunoco Hard Charger award for advancing nine
positions from 13th to finish a career-best fourth in his No. 5 Coastal Pet Products Inc. Dodge Viper.
He came out on top of a late-race battle with Brian Simo’s No. 13 Foametix/Woodhouse Performance
Dodge Viper. Simo finished fifth in his second 2008 start.
Jeff Courtney (Dodge Viper), Randy Pobst (Porsche 911 GT3), Tony Gaples (Chevrolet Corvette),
Galati (Porsche 911 GT3) and Dino Crescentini (Porsche 911 GT3) completed the top 10.
Curran, who finished 12 laps down after his troubles, turned the fastest lap of the race, a 1:22.537
(94.648 mph) and also earned the Racing Electronics Holeshot Award for advancing four positions
on the opening lap.
With Sofronas’ win, Porsche clinched its seventh Manufacturers’ Championship, the second in three
years.
Pobst continues to hold a healthy lead in the Drivers’ Championship. His 901 points are 92 more
than Pilgrim’s 809. Davis moved back into third, with 711, followed by Galati (685) and Sofronas
(678). The Road Atlanta finale has a maximum of 122 points available.
64 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Media Guide
Fn. St. Car Laps During Race
Ps. Ps. No. Driver/Hometown, State Sponsor/Car Pts. Purse Cmp Status Fast Lap Speed
1 2 14 James Sofronas/ Newport Beach/CA Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3 120 7500 30 1:23.085 94.024
2 1 10 Brandon Davis/ Huntington Beach/CA ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra 110 4500 30 -0.172 1:23.178 93.919
3 3 8 Andy Pilgrim/ Boca Raton/FL Remington Shaving/Cadillac Cadillac CTS-V 98 3000 30 -1.257 1:23.201 93.893
4 13 5 Jason Daskalos/ Albuquerque/NM Coastal Pet Products Inc. Dodge Viper 85 1900 30 -1.861 1:23.085 94.024
5 6 13 Brian Simo/ Carlsbad/CA Foametix/Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper 80 1700 30 -2.113 1:23.071 94.040
6 7 99 Jeff Courtney/ Slinger/WI KENDA/TJM/MPI Coin/Badger Dodge Viper 76 1400 30 -4.796 1:23.580 93.467
7 4 1 Randy Pobst/ Gainesville/GA K Pax Racing Porsche 911 GT3 74 1300 30 -5.067 1:23.203 93.890
8 11 34 Tony Gaples/ Libertyville/IL Kleinschmidt Inc/Blackdog Rcg Chevrolet Corvette 68 1200 30 -11.626 1:24.037 92.959
9 5 23 Michael Galati/ Olmsted/OH K Pax Racing Porsche 911 GT3 64 1100 30 -13.905 1:23.216 93.876
10 19 4 Dino Crescentini/ Manhattan Beach/CA Centric Parts/Stoptech Porsche 911 GT3 64 1000 30 -14.084 1:23.944 93.062
11 14 11 Mike Davis/ Huntington Beach/CA ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra 57 800 30 -14.150 1:24.198 92.781
12 9 2 Cindi Lux/ Aloha/OR Mopar/Corsa/Forgeline/Momo Dodge Viper 54 700 30 -14.482 1:24.549 92.396
13 21 9 Gunter Schaldach(R)/ Aspen/CO Lala Motorsports Dodge Viper 51 600 30 -16.673 1:24.201 92.778
14 20 72 Jeff Altenburg/ Ellicott City/MD DRC Motorsports Lexus IS 48 550 30 -16.694 1:23.990 93.011
15 16 31 Sonny Whelen/ Old Saybrook/CT Whelen Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette 45 500 30 -19.612 1:24.059 92.934
16 8 21 Tommy Milner/ Leesburg/VA Rahal Letterman Racing Aston Martin DB9 43 450 29 -1 lap 1:23.721 93.310
17 15 97 Vesko Kozarov(R)/ Salt Lake City/UT CompAssoc/BLaST.Smith-West Mitsubishi Evo IX 41 400 28 -2 laps 1:27.753 89.022
18 10 30 Eric Curran/ East Hampton/MA Whelen Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette 40 525 18 Mech. 1:22.537 94.648
19 17 06 Joey Scarallo/ Smithtown/NY Group A Wheels Pontiac GTO 37 350 14 Mech. 1:24.592 92.349
20 12 16 Michael McCann/ Canton/OH Remington Shaving/Cadillac Cadillac CTS-V 35 300 1 Mech. no time -
21 18 29 Eric Olberz/ La Canada/CA 911 Design Porsche 911 GT3 0 DNS no time -
** - Faster than previous record
Purse includes contingency awards
SPEED GT • Round Nine • Thunderbolt Raceway
Race Statistics
Length of Race: 30 laps for 65.100 miles
Time of race: 44 minutes, 49.856 seconds.
Average speed: 87.127 mph
Margin of victory: 0.172 Seconds
Lap leaders: Laps 1 - 30, #14 James Sofronas
Fastest race lap: #30 Eric Curran, 1:22.537 (94.648 mph)
Fastest qualifier: #10 Brandon Davis, 1:25.940 (90.900 mph)
Sunoco Hard Charger: #5 Jason Daskalos, +nine in race
Racing Electronics Holeshot Award: #30 Eric Curran, +four on lap one
2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Media Guide 65