Day 2 Re-Cap: New Jersey Motorsports Park 2010
By: Mike Bonanni

The sun has set on New Jersey Motorsports Park as the second event in the 2010 Redline Time Attack series draws to a close. The action on and off the track was intense and in true time attack fashion, fans witnessed drama, suspense, entertainment, and victory as competitors from all over the East Coast battled for the top step on the podium.

The biggest story by far in the pits was Brian Lock and the COBB Tuning Nissan GTR.  Yesterday, Lock and COBB Tuning ended the day on top with a blistering fast 1:06.753 in practice. Today crowds gathered to get a chance at watching COBB Tuning try and make time attack history as the first ever Modified Class car to take an overall event win.  The drama and suspense started right off the bat when COBB Tuning ran into electrical gremlins which kept them off-track for nearly every practice session.  Lock fortunately got one timed lap in all day which was a 1:09.762 which qualified him back in 3rd place heading into the first time attack round.  Fans eagerly watched as Lock took to the track in the first time attack session but were sorely disappointed as they watched the COBB Tuning GTR limp in with more mechanical issues.  COBB Tuning worked tirelessly to get the issue fixed and make it back out to the second and final time attack session and as the GTR pulled out of their pits to head to grid the anticipation rose yet again.  The crowd roared as Lock crossed the finish line with a 1:06.768 to take make history as the first Modified Class car to take an overall event win!

The Super Modified class only saw four entrants, but that didn't mean they had it easy.  All weekend long it was a battle of the 240SXs as Ricca Racing's Jeff Ricca and Dent Sport Garage's Bill Washburn went at each other, constantly swapping positions as the fastest Super Modified cars in practice. At the end of the day Jeff Ricca was able to put it together when it counted taking the overall Super Modified and Super Modified RWD titles with a 1:09.945.  Bill Washburn would have to settle for 2nd place in his Dent Sport Garage Nissan 240SX with a 1:11.511. Ben Salasko build his Honda S2000 himself and was able to see the fruits of his labor as he crossed the line with a 1:12.231 which landed him in 3rd place over Steve Tomasso and his Camaro.

The Modified Class seemed to be the dominant force at New Jersey Motorsports Park as the top three fastest lap times of the weekend were all set by Modified Class cars. Second place overall as well as in Modified AWD was 2009 Street Tire AWD champion Tony Weisenhan in the Turn In Concepts Subaru WRX with a blazing fast 1:08.494. Taking third position in the Modified AWD division was Alexander Grabau in the Dent Sport Garage "Pleasure Evo" with a 1:12.216 narrowly edging out number two qualifier Whit Staples in the Fortune Auto Mitsubishi Evo.

The Modified RWD Class was dominated by Ross Miller, 2009 Modified Class champion, however Miller was driving his own personal Corvette as opposed to the PTuning Scion tC he piloted all last season. Miller came across the line with a lightning fast 1:10.868 in the second time attack session to easily take the win. Dave Hary in the S-Max Intercoolers/RT Tuning Nissan S14 came in 2nd place with a 1:17.344 followed shortly by a brief encounter with the guardrail after an off-track excursion in turn 1. Anthony Marianelli in a Honda S2000 rounds out the Modified RWD podium with a 1:24.595.

Jose Marcado in his Acura RSX had the best time in the Modified FWD class with a 1:16.069 beating out Kenneth Fox in the PTuning Scion tC who came across the stripe with a 1:20.655. Taking third in Modified FWD was another PTuning Scion, this time an xA driven by Justin Crenshaw to a 1:21.983.

The Street Tire class consistently delivers some of the closest battles of every event and this weekend was no different as Todd Reid, Cameron Benner, Daniel O'Donnell, and Justin Mathews were all very close to each other in practice. Todd Reid in the beautiful Fortune Auto Mitsubishi Evo took top honors in Street Tire AWD as well as the Overall Street Tire Class win with a 1:12.126.  Daniel O'Donnell in the Professional Awesome Evo VII and Cameron Benner in the COBB Tuning Subaru STI were within two tenths of a second at the end of the day, but COBB Tuning's Cameron Benner narrowly edged out O'Donnell with a 1:13.008. The Professional Awesome Evo came in with a 1:13.298 for third.

Scott Knott in his Lotus Elise sat on the top step in Street Tire RWD with a 1:17.426 over 2nd place finisher Joseph Richichi's Nissan 350Z which he piloted to a 1:22.330. A 1:23.212 was good enough to land Raphael Santos a 3rd place finish in his Honda S2000 to round out the Street Tire RWD podium.

The Enthusiast Class in New Jersey saw an influx of first time competitors who all took advantage of the free professional driving instruction offered at each event from racing legends Stu Hainer and Allan Crocket. A number of the students saw their lap times decrease over ten seconds from the beginning of the weekend! Although the students did very well with some even finishing on the podium, it was a more experienced Anderson Tanoto who took top honors for the overall Enthusiast Class as well as the Enthusiast RWD class in his new BMW M3 with a 1:17.638, being the only Enthusiast Class car to break the 1:20.000 barrier. Jonathan Weir and Bryan Hedian battled head to head for 2nd place in Enthusiast RWD with Weir coming out on top with his Honda S2000 coming in at 1:20.689.  Hedian finished just one tenth of a second behind Weir in his Honda S2000 with a 1:20.772 for 3rd.

Enthusiast AWD was also a closely contested battle of Mitsubishi Evolutions with the top two finishers just a half second apart. Michael Oromaner came out victorious in his Evo X with a 1:23.045 with John Torres coming in a close second with a 1:23.504 also in an Evo X.  Representing the previous generation of the wildly popular Mitsubishi Evo was Leo Angel with a 1:26.026 for 3rd in an Evo IX.

The Super Session was again a crowd favorite and as usual provided plenty of action.  Looking for back to back wins, Lock and the COBB Tuning GTR sat on pole position with Tony Wiesenhan in the Turn In Concepts Subaru WRX next to him, both going for the extra Modified class points. On the second row, Ross Miller and his Corvette lined up next to Jeff Ricca and the 240SXMotoring.com/Ricca Racing Nissan 240SX for Super Modified.  Cameron Benner in the COBB Tuning Subaru STI started at the tail end in the third row for the Street Tire Class.  The green flag dropped and it was an all out brawl up front between COBB Tuning's GTR and the Turn In Concepts WRX. Wiesenhahn stuck to Lock's back bumper for nearly the entire race attempting to get by Lock a number of times in the braking zone at the end of the front straight. Unfortunately for Wiesenhahn, he could not get past the blazing fast COBB Tuning GTR.  Lock and COBB Tuning took the checkered flag in the Super Session putting the icing on the cake for a great weekend. Tony Wiesenhahn crossed the line in 2nd place with Ross Miller in 3rd, Jeff Ricca in 4th, and Cameron Benner in 5th.

The Redline Time Attack Spokes Model Competition was just as hot as the action on track as a number of lovely ladies signed up for a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas for Round #3 of the 2010 Redline Time Attack series. The current Redline Time Attack Spokes Model Novella Nicole and the winner of the Buttonwillow modeling contest Tiffany Tay stood alongside six models hoping to become the season's second winner. Millville local Erin Dehaven won the hearts of the New Jersey crowd taking the win.  You can see the beautiful Erin Dehaven at Round #3 of the Redline Time Attack season in Las Vegas, NV in just a few weeks and again in Fontana for the 2010 Redline Time Attack finals as she will compete with the rest of the 2010 Spokes Model Contest winners to be crowned the 2011 Redline Time Attack Official Spokes Model.

As the dust settles and the paddock clears out, the excitement of the weekend will not soon wear off for the fans and competitors as the history, records, drama, and excitement they witnessed here at New Jersey Motorsports Park will surely be re-played over and over again in their minds. Coming up April 23rd - 25th, the 2010 Redline Time Attack Series heads back out west to the glimmering Nevada desert as teams will duke it out at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Round #3 of the 2010 Redline Time Attack Series!

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