Corona, Calif. (December 14, 2011)
Ford Focus Midget Series
Ross Rankine Wins Ford Focus Midget Feature At Prestigious Turkey Night Grand Prix, IRWINDALE, CALIFORNIA (November 25, 2011)
Ross Rankine capped off a stellar season by earning the much coveted rite of claiming a feature win at the 71st running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix. Ross took the checkered flag driving the #9 Nine Racing Ford Focus Midget in the 40-lap USAC Western Pavement Ford Focus feature at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, in Southern California, on Thursday, November 24.
Ross qualified third fastest for the night, which put him on the outside of the second row to start the race due to an inverted start of the top six qualifiers. After battling through the field, and despite being only 14 years of age, Ross drove like an established racing veteran to take the lead on lap 16 as he passed Brodie Kostecki in the #40 Ford Focus Midget. Ross went on to win the race by a straightaway over second-place finisher Nick Drake.
Ross had an amazing race season by claiming a total of five wins, three of them on pavement driving the #9 Ford Focus Midget of Nine Racing, and earning the USAC Midwest Ford Focus Pavement Series title with Nine Racing.
SCORE Trophy Truck Championship
Bryce Menzies races away with SCORE Trophy Truck Championship. ENSENADA, MEXICO (28th November 2011)
Everything for the Menzies Motorsports team boiled down to one last race and what may be the biggest race of their 2011 season. Their first ever SCORE Baja 1000 went to plan, leaving them holding the title in their rookie season, despite some truly challenging conditions along the way.
The 44th annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 was said to be one of the toughest Baja 1000's to date, but that didn't deter Bryce Menzies and Co-Driver Peter Mortensen. The race was stopped after just a few miles, with local vehicles blocking the course, with a restart affecting many drivers' focus. It was good news for Bryce, however, allowing him to calmly cover distance and keep road position.
An impressive piece of driving saw Bryce make up his 4th position to 2nd on the road early on in the race, passing Kory Scheeler before an epic bumper to bumper duel with Andy McMillin. Having to change a loose wheel nut at mile 470 let McMillin and Vanderwey through, but Menzies kept to his game plan of keeping this position, holding back Rob MacCachren, with a simply stunning drive, to arrive into Ensenada as the season victor.
Overall victory for the event went to the McMillin's in their Eibach supported Trophy Truck, making it their second victory at this event in just three years.
SCORE International SCORE Lites Series
Rafael Navarro IV Crowned SCORE International SCORE Lites 2011 Champion TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA. (December 9, 2011)
Rafael Navarro IV, an 18-year-old Southern California native and Clemson University Freshman, was crowned the 2011 SCORE Desert Series SCORE Lites Class Champion Saturday night at the Atrium Hotel in Irvine, Calif., during the annual SCORE Awards Night season-ending celebration.
Navarro IV clinched the 2011 championship with a fifth-place SCORE Lites finish in last month's 44th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. He also gave his 2011 title bid a strong boost with a victory in this past June's Tecate SCORE Baja 500.
"It was such a relief for SCORE to finalize the championship points with my name at the top of the SCORE Lites standings," said Navarro IV. "I knew we had done enough to win the championship, but with racing you never know. I've been worried since we started the race, but I knew we could get it done. Thank you everyone for all the support."
Australian V8 Supercars and Fujistsu V8 Supercars
Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes take a season 1-2. NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. (December 4th 2011)
Jamie Whincup notched up a dominant 3rd title by clinching the 2011 Australian V8 Supercar Championship, with team-mate Craig Lowndes in second. Taking the triple-title for the Australian Championship puts Whincup on the same level as Australian racing legend, the late, great Peter Brock. Providing the perfect finish to the Australian Motor Sport season, the team took a deserved win having dominated proceedings all year.
The Triple Eight Racing team, which has enjoyed success with Eibach all over the World, also took the 2011 Fujitsu V8 Supercar crown. Team Vodafone Driver Andrew Thompson also won this series after a hard-fought season.
Southern Allstars Dirt Racing Series (SAS)
Ray Cook Closes Season on a high with Convincing Gobbler Victory! CLEVELAND, TENESSEE (November 22, 2011)
Ray Cook recorded his eighth feature win of the 2011 campaign in his season finale on November 19 at the historic Cleveland Speedway in Cleveland, Tennessee. In qualifying, Ray laid down the second quickest lap, which put him on the outside of the front row for the 50-lap 'Gobbler.' The popular driver known as the "Tarheel Tiger" grabbed the top spot at the drop of the green flag and held the point for the entire distance. At the end of fifty laps, Ray found himself taking the checkered flag ahead of Jonathan Davenp ort, Dale McDowell, Brian Reese, and Shane Clanton to pocket the $5,000 winner's purse.
"What a great way to end our year," commented Cook following the 'Gobbler' win. "I have been trying to win that race for a long time and it is an awesome feeling to finally get the job done. Even though the Gobbler doesn't pay as much to win as it once did, it is still a prestigious race down here in the Southeast. I have to thank everyone associated with D&R Motorsports, along with all of our great sponsors and product help. We had some highs and lows this season, but hopefully the Gobbler win gives us some momentum heading into another short off-season!"
FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy
Michael Lewis Chosen As Finalist For FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy MELK, AUSTRIA (November 21, 2011)
Californian Michael Lewis has been selected as one of 18 finalists for the 2012 FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy following four days of intense competition in Melk, Austria. Beginning on Tuesday, November 15, 2011, the FIA Institute brought together 36 of the world's best young drivers for the selection event. They were tested in fitness, psychology, media performance and driving skill. On the final day, 18 drivers were selected for fully funded scholarships awarded by the FIA Institute to the Academy and will be coached in a series of development workshops throughout 2012 by some of the best and brightest minds in international motorsports.
"I must thank Alex Wurz and the entire panel at the FIA Young Driver Excellence Academy for accepting me into the program," said Lewis. "It has been an amazing experience participating in the selection event, and I am looking forward to the first workshop in a few weeks. Working and competing with drivers from many different categories in racing was a unique experience, as we were all collectively trying to improve ourselves during each exercise. Teamwork was a large part of all of the events and these events had always safety in mind. I was pleasantly surprised to learn about many aspects regarding safety in motorsports and in everyday driving. I thank my ASN (ACCUS) for their work in preparing my application for this event."
