Quick Links

Contact Us

707.935-9761

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter
Drop Shadow Accent Image

Tough Cloud at Houston Grand Prix Has Multiple Silver Linings

 

October 12th, 2013

Sonoma CA

 

The World Speed Motorsports team has returned to Sonoma after a tough double header at The Grand Prix of Houston at Reliant Park last weekend. When the team and its four drivers arrived at the track it wasn't quite ready yet. This meant that no one could walk the track in advance. "The weekend was pretty tough for all the teams," stated WSM Team Owner Telo Stewart. "Most of our drivers have had a very limited amount of experience on street courses, and the constant changes and limited track time made this a bigger challenge than most. Amazingly, all four of our drivers were able to come out of the weekend with a personal victory."

 

Construction on the course around Reliant Park could not begin until afterthe Houston Texans' Sept. 29 game, so nobody had a clue that there

Bumgarner Wins Award at Houston Grand Prix
Bumgarner Wins Award at Houston Grand Prix

was a huge bump in Turn One. Once the bump was discovered, IndyCar was forced to delay track activity. The series cut some sessions out of the schedule, and added a chicane of tires that would force drivers around the bump. The series removed, and then added the chicane back over the very few sessions that the Pro Mazda Championship drivers had.

 

Series Rookie Kyle Kaiser qualified 10th, and secured two 8th place finishes over the weekend. This was the last race of the 2013 season, and Kaiser finished 7th overall in the championship. "Kyle is on a two year plan with us," noted Stewart. "He has had multiple top five finishes, and has been an excellent student of the tracks we have visited. The last time we ran a driver in this type of program was 2005/2006 with Ace Carrio. In 2005 Carrio finished 7th in points as well, but never broke into the top five all season. In 2006 he broke most of the track records, and we won the overall championship. We're looking forward to seeing what Kyle will accomplish in 2014!"

 

As is usual with street courses, there was very little room for error and WSM drivers Michele Bumgarner and Bobby Eberle both had shunts early in the weekend. Eberle's shunt was in qualifying for race one and completely destroyed his car, but not his spirit. "If we won the Expert Series race on Sunday we would secure the entire championship, and Bobby wasn't going to let this setback slow him down," said Stewart. "JDC Motorsports was kind enough to lend him a spare car for the race, but it took him a few laps to really get into a groove. By then, Jay had too much of a lead on us. It was just great to see Bobby step up and get back on the 'horse' again" and finish on the same lap as the leaders."

 

Bumgarner's shunt happened in the very first session, and really could have affected the balance of her weekend if she didn't have the perseverance and character needed to push towards a good result. Bumgarner really focused on what needed to get done, and she secured a top ten and the QuarterMaster Hard Charger Award.

 

Michael Whelden, the 2013 FCC presented by Goodyear National Champion in Pro FM, came out for his very first Pro Mazda Championship weekend. Whelden showed good pace in race one, and finished in 9th place. Here is what he had to say about race two, "Race two of the weekend was also a tough affair. I had to avoid a lap one wreck in front of me that made me lose two positions. I then made a couple of terrific passes to get back up to 7th position, and I put in a very competitive time during the race. I made a mistake on lap nine and did not compensate for it, and paid the price hitting the wall exiting turn eight ending my race. In total I take many positives from the weekend, both showing good pace with limited experience, and getting a good feel for how the Pro Mazda championship is run."

 

The team has already begun winter testing, and will also race in the off-season in preparation for the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires.

 

More info:

Drop Shadow Accent Image

World Speed Winning Championships, Races, and Getting Ready For 2014

Team is having a successful 2013 as the season starts winding down

 

Sonoma, California

2013 FCC National PFM Champion Michael Whelden

September 1st, 2013

 

World Speed Motorsports has been spending 2013 racing in as many venues and events as possible providing their development drivers with a ton of valuable experience. "This season we have competed in 3 different SCCA regions, the Pro Mazda Championship, and the Formula Car Challenge," noted Operations Manager Jan Trojan. "Racing in all of these different series concurrently allows our drivers the opportunity to get three years worth of experience in only one season."

 

FCC presented by Goodyear National Championships:  On August 25th World Speed Drivers Michael Whelden and Bucky Lasek secured FCC presented by Goodyear National Championships in the Pro FM and FS2.0 classes. The FCC National Championship event took place during the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma with the IZOD IndyCar Series. The championships were decided based on the sum of points from both races, as well as a point for the fast qualifier and a point for fast race lap in each class. 

Nicklin Leads Regional FormulaSPEED2.0 Points

 

Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear West Coast RegionWhelden also has a very strong lead in the regional Pro FM points chase, and WSM driver Parker Nicklin is leading the championship in the FormulaSPEED2.0 class. The pentultimate double header will take place in Sonoma September 28th-29th.

 

Pro Mazda Championship presented by CooperWith one race weekend left on the schedule series rookie Kyle Kaiser is currently in 7th place overall in the championship.  "Kyle is on a two year program, and one of our major goals this year is really getting to know each venue, and learning to adapt quickly to them. Kyle has finished in the top five multiple times, and has been fast at every venue," stated Team Owner Telo Stewart. "We're proud of Kyle, and what he has done so far this year." WSM driver Bobby Eberle is currently leading the PMC Expert Class Championship. Both drivers will be at the season finale in Houston October 5th-6th.

 

Sports Car Club of America: WSM driver Vince Gaddini is leading CalClub National points in the Formula Atlantic class. 

Damon Won 2 More Races at Buttonwillow Raceway Park

Second in the points is WSM driver Renny Damon. Damon is also leading CalClub regional FS points. Both drivers are also racing in the SFR Region.

 

Damon is currently second in the Formula S class, and Gaddini is second in the FA class in the SFR Region. Gaddini and Damon cleaned up again this past weekend at the CalClub BWRP Double Header winning both races in both classes.


There is still a lot of racing planned for 2013, including participating in the FCC presented by Goodyear Winter Series, before a final tally of trophies and championships can be made. "We are proud of all of our drivers this season. Every one of them has specific goals and they are all working hard to reach them," added WSM Team Owner Telo Stewart. "That is a great part of what we do, and is the real highlight for our team each season."

 

www.WorldSpeed.com

Drop Shadow Accent Image
FS2.0 National Champ Bucky Lasek
Where Will You Be Winning in 2014?
Contact us with what your racing goals are and we will develop a program to meet your parameters. 

World Speed Motorsports provides arrive and drive services for the Formula Car Challenge, the Pro Mazda Championship, and the SFR and CalClub Region SCCA. Let us know where you want to race, and we will develop a successful program just for you.