Buffomante V. von Kluge: Fast Five

August 31, 2010

After hundreds of race laps on seven different tracks across the country, the 2010 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Championship is incredibly close. Too close to call, in fact, as championship contenders Tony Buffomante and Jason von Kluge are tied with 443 points apiece with just two races to go.

Before the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge race at the Autobahn Country Club outside of Chicago, two of the fastest moving guys in Mustang Challenge actually stopped—but just for a minute—to talk about the 2010 season to date, and what they are thinking heading into the series and championship finale at Miller Motorsports Park on September 10-12.

There is a lot on the line ahead of the championship-closing season finale double header event….

Beyond the historical significance of taking the final Mustang Challenge Championship, the winner will enjoy a championship package that includes the opportunity to race on the next rung of the ladder with a Series-supported opportunity to race a Mustang in the 2011 season-opening race of the 2011 Continental Sports Car Challenge in support of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Racer Profile: Dan Aweida—Some Guys Just Want to Have Fun

August 18, 2010

A competitor can have many faces. For some, it is a face of grit, focus and resolve. For others, it’s a hearty laugh, a bit of trash talk and the pure joy of going mano-a-mano. Ford Racing Mustang Challenge stalwart, Dan Aweida, is firmly among the latter. For the Boulder, Colorado resident, racing, particularly in the Mustang Challenge, is simply about the race, as in the thrill of competition.

A quick learner, Aweida rates himself a capable racer who on any given day can challenge for podiums. Even though he didn’t grow up behind the wheel of a kart, that’s in no way a deterrent to showing up on the start line. What would be a deterrent is the day it all stops being fun. So the Mustang Challenge provides the ideal home for Aweida. Balanced competition and enduring camaraderie are hallmarks of the series.

“I used to get really stressed out about my performance and car’s performance. But, I’ve learned over the past couple of seasons that going with the flow is more fun. Instead of agonizing about the car’s grip and how to improve it, I’ve learned to drive the problem, to make it an advantage. So if the car is loose, let’s learn how to be as fast as possible with a loose car and turn it into an advantage,” says Aweida.

BUFFOMANTE CONTINUES AUTOBAHN DOMINATION WITH FLAG-TO-FLAG WIN

August 02, 2010

JOLIET, Il, 1 August – With opposing teams pitching in to help a competitor out, close battles up front, and clean close racing through the field for an all-green flag run start to finish, the Autobahn Grand Prix race on Sunday was exemplary of many Ford Racing Mustang Challenge events through the years and set the stage for a dramatic series finale at Miller Motorsports Park as the championship leaders closed the weekend tied for the lead.

Every Ford Racing Mustang Challenge lap run at the Autobahn Country Club has had one name atop the chart—Tony Buffomante. Dating back to last year’s inaugural visit to the semi-private racetrack an hour south of Chicago, Buffomante continued where he left off last year by taking the point for every lap of Sunday’s 45-minute Mustang Challenge race to seal his third win of the year. More importantly, the win ties him with Jason von Kluge, who finished second today, in the lead for the series title with only two races remaining at Miller Motorsports Park on September 11-12.

Rookie Kyle Gimple completed the podium, finishing in third place for the Autowerks/ICY Racing squad once again after having taken a dramatic breakthrough win in New Jersey.

BUFFOMANTE SCORES 4th POLE OF FORD RACING MUSTANG CHALLENGE SEASON AT AUTOBAHN

July 31, 2010

JOLIET, IL, 31 July – Fittingly, Tony Buffomante cruised to a fourth season pole, with a half second advantage over title rival Jason von Kluge. The Ford Racing Mustang Challenge’s penultimate round at the Autobahn Country Club has been Buffomante’s domain all weekend long having resided at the top of the time sheets after every session. On the second of three laps, Buffomante drove the No. 34 Capaldi Racing Ford Mustang FR500S around the 3.5 miles of Autobahn’s full circuit in 2:40.635 seconds. 82 Autowerks/ICY Racing’s Kyle Gimple will line up behind Buffomante in the third starting position fresh off his first series win at the previous round in New Jersey.

With the pole, Buffomante claws back one point from von Kluge in the season standings, narrowing his deficit to just 5 points with three races yet to go in the 2010 championship.

Mustang Challenge qualifying took place at the end of a long day of activity. With six other series having had use of the track before the Mustangs took their turn, it was dirty, greasy and layered with a variety of different tire compounds. That made generating heat in the BF Goodrich tires a tall order with the result being very low amounts of useful grip to go fast. Unusually, that meant qualifying times slower than practice times.

Buffomante Tops Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Practice at Autobahn

July 31, 2010

JOLIET, IL, 30 July – Tony Buffomante took his No. 34 Capaldi Racing Ford Mustang FR500S to the top of the time sheets in the first of two practice sessions at the Autobahn Country Club in preparation for the penultimate race weekend of the 2010 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge. Using the club’s long circuit at 3.5 miles, Buffomante circulated quickest on his final practice lap of the morning, recording a time of 2:39.604 seconds.

In the second practice, Buffomante, who calls nearby Napierville, Illinois home, backed up his effort by setting the best time for the session, just shy of his morning best. His quickest lap was recorded at 2:39.981 seconds. All in all, Buffomante clearly had the pace of the field, being the only driver to post a sub 2:40-second lap.

“We were more dialed in during the morning. The set-up for the afternoon practice was not at all to my liking, but it’s still good to have the best time in spite of it. We need to go all out for qualifying and get on the pole, and get as many points out of this weekend as we possibly can,” said Buffomante.

Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Racer Profile: Brad Adams

July 22, 2010

Millville, NJ—15 July, 2010—Even those with a pedestrian knowledge of automobiles understand what 0-60 times mean. Race cars can reach the magic 60 mph mark in under a couple of seconds, sports cars in less than 5 and the zoomiest family trucksters in less than 10. If there were a way to measure how quickly Ford Mustang Challenge driver Brad Adams went from not being interested in motorsports to passionate competitor, it would be the 0-60 equivalent of ‘race car fast.’

Adams, who hails from the Big Easy, works as the vice president and general counsel of the family oil and gas business. As suppliers of the tooling needed to drill wells in the Gulf of Mexico, he is a long-time friend of Tracy Krohn, another oil man who is passionate about auto racing. It turns out that one Saturday night in 2004, while at a party, Adams “popped the question,” so to speak.

Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Set to Close at Miller Motorsports Park

July 20, 2010

Tooele, UT—(20 July 2010)—When the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge field takes the green flag for the final round of the 2010 championship at Miller Motorsports Park September 12, it will mark the end of an era as the series stages its final race on home soil. Formed through an innovative partnership between Miller Motorsports Park and Ford Racing, the Mustang Challenge ran for three racing seasons and enjoyed significant sponsorship support from BFGoodrich Tires.

The Mustang Challenge, which was first announced at the SEMA show November, 2007, was the first national race series to be run by a track as Miller Motorsports Park developed and managed the program under the leadership of Series Director Lynda Randall. Sanctioned by GRAND-AM from the outset, Mustang Challenge visited classic tracks across the continent from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to Watkins Glen to Mosport to Lime Rock Park.

With racers of almost every age, Mustang Challenge fostered the careers of several young up and coming racers as well as attracting established racing names including Jack Roush, Jr., Andy Lally, Bucky Lasek, and Vaughn Gittin, Jr., through three years of racing operation. The racers in the series enjoyed the coaching and advice from Ford Racing High Performance Driving School during the race weekends.

It also proved to be an ideal competitive outlet for drivers like George Winkler, Pete Crosby, and Steve Phillips, who had little racing experience before joining the series in 2008. More experienced drivers including Pratt Cole, Dan Aweida, Tony Buffomante, and Jim Click also found the racing to be both fun and competitive as the championship grew from eight rounds in 2008 to eleven races in 2010. Running on the same tracks with the same rule structure saw several drivers take the experience they gained with them to move up the GRAND-AM ladder, with Andrew Caddell, Ted Anthony Jr., Zach Lutz, Brad Adams, Steve Phillips, and Andrew Hendricks just a few of the drivers to make that progression.

GIMPLE SCORES FIRST PRO WIN IN MUSTANG CHALLENGE AT NJMP

July 18, 2010

MILLVILLE, NJ, 18 July – Scoring a win is always sweet. Scoring a first win is sweeter still. Scoring a first pro win in flag-to-flag domination is the sweetest of all. That is exactly what Kyle Gimple accomplished on Sunday in round 8 of the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Taking the lead from the outside pole in turn 1, Gimple put his head down behind the wheel of the No. 81 ICY Racing/82 Autowerks Mustang, and never looked back.

“I’ve learned to keep a close eye on the starter and watch for the first flinch of the green flag and it worked in my favor this time as I was able to get a jump on Devin (Cates). From there, I had my dad and my crew chief on the radio, keeping me calm and focused on the lead. I knew I had the car to win if I could keep from using up the tires to early. The last 10 laps I knew I had the win,” said Gimple.

Behind, Jason von Kluge salvaged what had been thus far a disappointing weekend by his usual standards, finishing in second place. The final place on the podium went to the race’s polesitter Deven Cates, who impressed in his Mustang Challenge debut weekend.

CATES SCORES POLE FOR 2ND NJMP RACE ON SERIES DEBUT AS GIMPLE COMPLETES ALL-ROOKIE FRONT ROW

July 18, 2010

MILLVILLE, NJ, 18 July – It won’t be the usual suspects for the second Ford Racing Mustang Challenge race of the weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park. On his debut race weekend, Deven Cates laid down a scorching lap to match the scorching temperatures, securing his first pole in Mustang Challenge competition. On his first flying lap, he put in a lap of 1:32.530 seconds, easily the fastest lap of the entire weekend. Lining up alongside is rookie Kyle Gimple who fell a tenth of a second shy of claiming the pole for himself as both drivers vie for not just Sunday Group Mangement “Rookie of the Race” honors to benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation, but also the overall win to close out an exciting double-header race weekend.

Newly minted championship leader, and the first of the usual suspects, Tony Buffomante will start from third on the grid. Race 1 polesitter Dan Aweida completes row two in fourth position.

“I’m getting a more used to the car,” said Cates who has experience in other production-based series and now drives the No. 68 Mustang for Capaldi Racing, “and I managed to pull out a good first lap. Now, if I can focus on pulling ahead a bit in the opening laps, maybe I can convert this to a win. This may be our last race of the season, but a good finish could change that.”

CROSLAND CAPTURES FIRST WIN; BUFFOMANTE RETAKES CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

July 17, 2010

MILLVILLE NJ, 17 July – Seventeen year-old Ben Crosland scored his first win in Ford Racing Mustang Challenge competition with a decisive flag-to-flag tour de force on Sunday. Behind him, Tony Buffomante settled for second place and the title lead after starting third and moving up to shadow Crosland for nearly 20 laps. Polesitter Dan Aweida, had also challenged Crosland early before eventually having to defend from teammate Kyle Gimple late in the race, went on to finish in third place, matching his career best Mustang Challenge result.

For the second consecutive year, the Mustang Challenge race ran entirely under green conditions from start to finish for the first of two races on the weekend.

Starting from the outside of the front row, Crosland got the jump in the Interbank FX Mustang to take the lead into turn 1 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Aweida hounded Crosland for the first 10 laps, but the young driver defended more like a wily veteran, taking away the inside lane into turn 1 lap after lap. After 10 trips around the 2.25-mile circuit, Aweida’s challenge in the No. 17 Mustang dimmed, which allowed Buffomante to take over second place.

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