NASA Great Lakes region opened its season at the new National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Ky. The Grand Full Course is a 3.2-mile configuration that includes 23 turns, the Sink Hole area and a chicane at the end of the front straightaway. This challenging course was difficult, even for those who had driven this configuration last year.
In American Iron qualifying, Jeremy Moen was on pole, followed by Todd Rogers, Jason Lakomiak, Todd Davis and Mark Adams. At the start, Moen got the lead and the other cars followed in order. Rogers got past Moen, but then spun in Turn 3. Moen pushed too hard in Turn 7 and spun in place. Lakomiak and Rogers stayed outside, just missing the spinning Moen. Lakomiak kept the lead, but a car stuck in Turn 8 brought out the double-yellow flags and bunched up the field. On the restart, Rogers and Moen made their way through traffic and by Lakomiak. Rogers was in the lead with a lot of pressure from Moen. Rogers spun way off of track in Turn 7, going almost completely out of sight. Leaving Lakomiak to chase down Moen. Moen put in some fast laps with clear track and warm tires. Lakomiak suffered a miss in the engine and fell back on last lap. The miss luckily turned out to be a spark plug wire that fell off! Rogers was somehow able to get back on track and was pressured by Adams for third with Davis just behind. Rogers held on to third, Adams was fourth and Davis in fifth.
In American Iron Extreme, Jeff Henderson got the win. In Spec Iron, Steve Revelette got the win in his beautiful burgundy red Mustang.
Sunday quickly turned into a rainy day. The rain moved in just like the weatherman predicted and stayed around for the race. Qualifying was extremely wet, with lots of rain coming down and lots of rain on the track. The smooth and consistent pavement helped drivers find the rain line among the 23 turns! Drainage at the new facilities is excellent. But any track with elevation will have water running downhill, and that created a few streams drivers had to ford. The rain calmed down a little for the race. We also had more cars on track before the race, clearing a rain line.
Moen was on pole, followed by Davis, Lakomiak, Revelette and Henderson. Moen spun in Turn 3 soon after the start. Davis picked up the lead, followed by Lakomiak, and Revelette in Spec Iron. Lakomiak pressured Davis, but the spray from following too close kept him back. Revelette pressured Lakomiak, but held back, looking for grip. The CMC field caught Revelette, Lakomiak and Davis after a few laps. The spray from the passing cars was a serious issue. Lakomiak had to pit because of windshield fogging. Davis spun and gave the lead back to Moen. Lakomiak came back on track after a few laps away with a clear windshield. He picked up the pace and had some good laps at the end of the race. Davis spun and gave the lead back to Moen. Moen kept the car on track and got the win in American Iron. Davis came in second with Lakomiak in third. Revelette cruised to a win in Spec Iron. Jeff Henderson got the win in AIX.
