The best racing in this run group had to be in ST2. Fourteen cars started, and the top five all were within one second of one another, and all of them started ahead of the faster ST1 field.
William Brinkop started from pole in his Z06 Corvette, with NASA Midwest racer Greg Vanucci in second in his Lotus Exige Cup car. Chuck Matthews started from third in his C6 Z06 with Mark Klenin just behind in fourth in his Aston Martin GT4. James Burke started from fifth in his C5 Z06.
Brinkop locked the brakes and went off track going into Turn 1 on lap two and was done for the day, leaving Matthews and Burke to battle for the lead. Matthews began to pull away from the pack till a full-course caution closed up the field, leaving Burke to battle with Matthews for the lead. But they didn’t battle, Matthews explained.
“The yellow flags came out and bunched everybody up, and the car behind me was just monitoring what I was doing, finding my weak spots back there,” Matthews said. “It was very smart running the race back there, keeping the pressure on, but not doing anything crazy.”
Then, on the second to last lap, Burke had learned where Matthews’ weak spot was, in the Attitudes. Burke went in on the inside, out-braked Matthews and made a beautiful clean pass with one lap to go. Burke held on to take the win.
“He did a great job,” Matthews said. “It was really, really good racing, a lot of fun.”
Vanucci finished in third, one spot back from where he started. After the race, Burke was elated.
“What a race. From start to finish I was fighting someone,” he said. “I would like to dedicate this Championship win to my dear friend Roger Miller, who gave me a chance to race with him in Grand Am. I’d also like to thank my wife Bradi and my kids Joey and Zoey, JR Smith, JDP Motorsports, Pfadt Racing, Wheelwerks and our AiM Data system, for their continued support.”
