MagnaFlow Vintage 2.5 Challenge

P R E S S   R E L E A S E

For immediate release

April 22, 2001

 

Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge Series in Three-Way Points Tie

 

 

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NV  The Vintage Sedan Racers Group (VSRG) held their second Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge race of the year at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22, 2001.  At the end of the weekend the series is in a three-way tie for season championship points.  C.J. Bonura driving his 1967 Ford Cortina moved up from his second row starting position in Sunday's final race to take the lead in the second lap.  Bonura was able to hold off constant challenges by Steve Link in his 1970 Datsun 510, Jeff Hecox in his 1967 BMW 2002 and David Wall in his 1967 Alfa Romeo GTV to take the win. 

Bonura's move to the front began when slipped under Hecox in turn one and then tried an inside pass on pole sitter Link in turn two.  The attempted pass on Link failed but Bonura gained enough to pull alongside the Datsun of Link and hold that position through the next series of turns.  For the remainder of the lap Link and Bonura were door handle-to-door handle, often kicking up dirt as one was forced slightly off the narrow track, before Bonura gained enough of an edge to pull into the lead.  Although Bonura had the lead he now had three fast and determined drivers in well prepared cars that he had to hold off for another 25 minutes of racing.  Spectators were treated to an incredible display of racing as the top four cars ran nose to tail, each looking for the slightest opening that would allow a pass.  There were many attempts to pass but none succeeded and at the checkered flag there was less than one second between the leader Bonura and Hecox in third place with Link sandwiched between the two.

Saturday's qualifying race was a real dogfight and proved to be a good indication of how close the Sunday's race would be.  After a few laps there was a lead pack of six cars running nose to tail around the tight Las Vegas circuit and a little further back was a second tightly grouped pack of five cars.  At the start of the race Bonura made a move on Link in turn one to take the lead.  However Link came back a lap later and slipped by Bonura to move his beautifully prepared Datsun 510 into the lead with Bonura, Kevin McKee, Alan Ward, Jeff Hecox and David Wall close behind.  Every driver was looking for a slight opening and three-wide on the front straight was quite common as each tried to gain a position.  Late in the race the series points leader, Kevin McKee, spun his 1967 Alfa Romeo GTV and dropped out of contention as did Alad Ward when he lost oil pressure in his Alfa GTV.  At the finish Link had held onto his solid lead and took the pole for Sunday's race and Hecox was able to pass Bonura late in the race to gain a spot on the starting row. 

The great battle of the first Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge race between the Alfa's of Kevin McKee and Alan Ward  did not occur at this race.  Ward's Alfa suffered a loss of oil pressure in Saturday's qualifying race that ended his weekend.  McKee overcame a spin in the qualifying race to start on the third row for Sunday's race but at the drop of the green flag on Sunday his transmission jammed in third gear.  McKee continued on and amazingly was able to finish in fifth position, the same position that Bonura finished in the first race.  Steve Link's pole position and his second place finish for this race along with a third place finish in the first race earned him enough points to tie McKee and Bonura for the points lead in the series.

Bonura was a double winner on Sunday as he also won the special BMW-Lotus Challenge race held earlier in the day.  

In other Sedan racing, the team of Jeff Hecox and Bob Sullivan, driving Hecox's 1967 BMW 2002, won a special Porsche vs. Sedan Enduro race.  The one hour race held Saturday afternoon pitted the sports cars of the Porsche 2 Liter Challenge series against the sedans of the Magnaflow 2.5 Challenge.  The race format required a driver change during a mandatory 5 minute pit stop.  Hecox started the race and by the required pit stop had built a substantial lead over the field.  Bob Sullivan strapped into BMW for the second half of the race and built on Hecox's lead for solid win.

The next race of the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge will be with HSR-West on June 2-3 at Thunderhill Raceway, a 3.1 mile road course in the Sacramento area.  The first event for the VSRG Eastern Region will be held on May 5-6 at Virginia International Raceway.   Information on the series can be found on the VSRG web site (www.bsedan.com) or the HSR-West web site (www.hsr-westracing.com). Finishing Order:

Position / Driver

1.  C.J. Bonura     1967 Ford Cortina
2.  Steve Link      1970 Datsun 510 (Original Meskauskas car)
3.  Jeff Hecox      1967 BMW 1600 
4.  David Wall      1967 Alfa Romeo GTV 
5.  Kevin McKee     1967 Alfa Romeo GTV 
6.  Henry Manney    1967 Alfa Romeo GTA (ex Horst Kwech car)
7.  Chris Welch     1972 BMW 2002
8.  Dirk Stoehr     1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT 
9.  Al Bourdet      1967 Alfa Romeo GTV 
10. Peter Nitoglia  1966 Alfa Romeo GTV 
11. Tim Pick        1971 BMW 2002 
12. Anthony Rimicci 1968 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Jr.
13. Dan Haney       1966 Mini Cooper    (DNS, Unknown)
14. Alan Ward       1972 Alfa Romeo GTV (DNS, Oil Pressure)
15. Larry Harvey    1964 Ford Cortina   (DNS, Transmission)
16. Terry Tinney    1967 Alfa Romeo GTV (DNS, Mechanical)
17. Timo Passi      1972 Ford Escort (not a 2.5 car, moved)

Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge Series Points
(Through Las Vegas, 4/2001)