Super Touring 1 brings out the loud, thundering Vipers and Corvettes and screaming Porsche Cup cars. Their races will get your short hairs standing on end, and at the Western States Championships presented by Toyo Tires, they comprised the biggest field of all ST classes.
Craig Ames started on pole in his Porsche Cup car with last year’s Super Unlimited second-place finisher and Ford Racing School instructor Cindi Lux in second in her SRT Viper. Steven Streimer qualified third in his Porsche Cup Car.
When the green dropped, Ames wanted nothing to do with the rest of the field, so he took off for a lead he would never relinquish.
“It was really slippery out there this afternoon, so in a Porsche you’ve got to be careful because all the weight’s in the back and it wants to slide around a lot when it’s slick,” Ames said. “When I found out Cindi was going to be here, that’s a big deal, right. She’s got a lot of professional experience. I was pretty nervous most of the time running against her.”
William Brinkop started the weekend in ST2, so he didn’t have any races to his credit in ST1, and started third from last. Brinkop methodically clawed his way forward to eventually overtake Lux and finish in second in ST1.
“We had a pretty good start, but they threw the red and yellow flags for a restart, but I got passed by a Viper,” Brinkop said. “Once I finally got around him, it was just a matter of trying to relax and work my way through traffic. It was clean and my spotter was giving me the gaps and they were getting smaller. Finally I caught her, found where I could get her in a tight turn where she was a little bit slower in Turn 7 and made it around, and then I just kept on going.”
Lux ended up finishing third.
“It was great race. It’s really an honor to run with these guys,” she said afterward, “We just didn’t have the grip this afternoon, but that’s no excuse. These guys drove a great race. They deserved to get first and second. I just want to thank everyone at SRT and Dodge. It was a fun weekend.”
