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Written by Adam Ginsberg and Skip Smith

05 May 1006

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

Another round at MSR-C, and the points race is heating up!

NASA Texas AI/X and CMC racers came back to Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, TX (www.motorsportranch.com) for Round #3 of the 2006 season. With some racers not able to attend, the points chase for AI and CMC would change during this event. That, coupled with a change in the race format to a 40 minute race on Sunday, no one could predict a winner in any class!

MSR-C WEEKEND RACE SUMMARY:
+ 2 AI/CMC sprint races toward championship points
+ 1 AI/CMC 40 minute race in preparation for the NASA National Championships!
+ 1 practice session and 2 qualifying sessions
+ 6 total race group sessions and well over 2 hours of track time!
+ 23 AI/CMC cars (not including all the competition license folks)
+ 6 American Iron cars
+ 3 American Iron Xtreme cars
+ 13 CMC cars
+ 17 Mustangs
+ 5 Camaros
+ 2 Pontiac Firebirds
+ 2 AIX pole postion winners for the weekend – David Capps (Sat) and David Armstrong (Sun)
+ 2 AI pole position winners for the weekend – Team Pedersen/Marvel (Sat) and Matt White (Sun)
+ 2 CMC pole position winners for the weekend – Eric Varner (Sat) and Jeff Burch (Sun)
+ 2 AI winners for the weekend – Team Pedersen/Marvel (Sat R1) and Matt White (Sat R2 and Sun R3)
+ 1 AIX winner for the weekend – David Armstrong (Sat and Sun)
+ 2 CMC winners for the weekend – Jeff Burch (Sat R1, Sun R3) and Glenn Landrum (Sat R2).
+ A first in Texas American Iron Racing – the first woman to ever compete in Texas American Iron, rookie Amber Love, raced with the Texas AI field!
+ Parts breakage – was, fortunately, at an all time low. One oil line (Mosty), one clutch (Bell ), one hood (Varner) and one windshield (Varner).
+ A new award for the weekend – the Performance SpeedTech “Hard Charger Award” earned by the AI and CMC driver who gains the most positions in a race. Presented by AJ Petersen from www.performancespeedtech.com.

FRIDAY - A few folks were able to take advantage of a members day to get some track time. Eric Varner, Michael Mosty, Team Ginsberg/Cooke ran a few sessions to get ready for the coming weekend. Varner, in the red #17 CMC Mustang, learned a valuable lesson about hood pins – he forgot to set them, causing his hood to fly up! Damage to the hood, roof and windshield were the result. However, in typical Texas hospitality and with help from Bud Sharp and Adam Ginsberg, a new windshield was delivered to the track Friday night!

SATURDAY MORNING – The usual Saturday morning mandatory drivers meeting was held in preparation for the weekend of racing, with all the AI/X and CMC drivers in attendance.

Practice session got started soon thereafter, with Group 5 and Group 8 together. The AI/X and CMC crew headed out on track.

Qualifying began late Saturday morning, with the AI team of Pedersen/Marvel showing how it’s done by putting down a 1:21.671, just a few thousands off MSR-C track record of 1.21.648. Not far behind, Matt White, in the VT-Engine sponsored #97 Mustang tickled the timing loop with a 1:21.983, followed closely by David Donovan ( 1:24.052 ), Chris Lyons ( 1:24.440 ), Jeff Brooks (1.26.449), and Amber Love in the #27 Camaro with a 1:35.385.

In AIX, a new 2005 Mustang, driven by owner David Capps, hounded the lights and put the car on it’s first ever pole with a 1:26.674, followed by Rick McMahon, driving the #201 former-Grand Am Cup Steeda car with a 1:30.394. AIX drivers David Armstrong and Skip Smith missed the call to grid.

The CMC racers were equally hot on track – the #17 of Varner, with a carefully pinned down hood, scorched the pavement with a ripping 1:25.879. Jeff Burch, the current MSR-C track record holder, was only .3 behind with a 1:26.087. The rest of the CMC was equally close, showing lap times all within a second of one another.

SATURDAY’S RACE #1 – 23 AI, AIX and CMC cars gridded for the first race of the weekend, getting under way with a rolling start! The VT-Engined #97 got a great start, but the #91 3-Dog Racing was close on his back bumper! Chris Lyons, driving the #12 Maximum Motorsports #12, David Donovan, and Jeff Brooks all battled hard, swapping positions in an effort to chase down the AI leaders.

In AIX, the AACP #20 Mustang, now with more power and different bodywork, took a commanding lead over the other AIX cars, but Rick McMahon fought to stay close for his first ever race in Texas.



Front to back – Rick McMahon ( AIX #201 ), Jeff Brooks ( AI # 101 ), and Mitch Warren ( CMC #9 ). Image by David Donovan.

CMC, in ground pounding, door to door action, had a pack of cars so close, it was anyone’s guess who would cross the checker first.

With just a few laps to go, the #91 realized it was time to make a move – in a hard outbraking maneuver at the entrance of Rattlesnake, driver Chris Marvel took the lead away from rookie Matt White, and held on for their first win of the 2006 season!



AI Saturday race one podium (left to right): Matt White ( 2nd ), Chris Marvel ( 1st ) and Chris Lyons ( 3rd ). Image by David Donovan.