The American City Racing League (ACRL) was founded in 1988 for race cars that compete in the Sports Car Club of America’s Sports 2000 category. In a unique format, teams of two to five vehicles represent different cities. During a race weekend, a team's score is the sum of the team's three leading drivers' points, one of which must be a Sports 2000. Competitors compete for both individual and team awards.

The ACRL began as a West Coast series and made its East Coast debut in 1999 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

This year’s Eastern division schedule consists of six races at four different venues. The season kicks-off in May at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Next on the calendar is the ACRL’s only doubleheader, which takes place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in conjunction with the Grand-Am series. In early July, the teams travel to Road America for round four. The penultimate event sees the series return to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for a weekend with CART. The finale is conducted at Watkins Glen International.

In the Eastern division, there are three classes.

  • Sport 2000 (S2) – The cars competing in Sports 2000 are open-cockpit, mid-engine sports racing vehicles, typically utilizing an aluminum monocoque chassis, composite bodywork and four-speed racing transmission. Chassis’ are manufactured by Carbir, Swift, Lola, Doran, Mallock, Van Dieman and Shrike. The cars in this category are powered by a Ford four-cylinder, 2-liter, single-overhead camshaft motor. The Sports 2000s have a minimum weight of 1,310-pounds with the driver and a top speed of approximately 150-mph.
  • Classic Sports 2000 (CS2) – These vehicles in this group are constructed to the same chassis specifications and rules as the Sports 2000 category. They also use the same engine, but this class is for cars built before 1985.
  • Sports 1600 (S16) – The Sports 1600 is for the World Sports Racer’s that used to compete in an IMSA support series. The Sports 1600 are powered by a four-cylinder 1.6-liter, double-overhead camshaft motor, used in the Toyota MR2 and is tuned to produce 150-horsepower. The cars also use the MR2 transaxle and approximately thirty-percent of the suspension components, including the brakes.

All competitors race on Hoosier tires and use 101 Octane racing fuel.

Rounds two and three of the American City Racing League were held the first weekend in June at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Drivers would compete in two twenty-lap events around the thirteen-turn 2.258-mile road course.

The reigning Sports Car Club of America Sports 2000 National Champion, John Fergus, drove the No. 00 Carbir CS98 and was a member of Team Columbus. Fergus qualified second for race one and led fifteen-laps before overheating front tires forced him to surrender the lead and finish second. On Sunday, he started third but moved into second-place early. When the leader, Andy Lally, retired, Fergus, scored the victory.
Duke Johnson was unable to participate in rounds two and three at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Filling the seat in the No. 4 Carbir CS98 for Team St. Louis was Andy Lally. This was Lally’s series debut. He qualified on the pole for Saturday’s contest but lost the lead to John Fergus. When Fergus encountered tire issues Lally, grabbed the win. In round three, he started first but retired with a broken CV joint.
Team Boston’s Adam Burrows swept the Sports 1600 category at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course doubleheader. The driver No. 43 SVC qualified on the class pole for race one and started thirteenth overall. Burrows advanced one position to finish twelfth overall. The next day, he started from the top spot in his class and was ninth overall at the end of the event. After three victories, Burrows led the category with 306-points.
Another former Sports Car Club of America National Champion competing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was 1997 and 1998 Sports 2000 titlist, David Downey. After a seven-month layoff, Downey returned to competition. Driving the No. 14 Team Chicago Lola T89/90, he qualified third fastest. But he was no match for the leaders and finished third. On Sunday, Downey inherited a runner-up finish when Lally retired.
The No. 42 Team Boston SVC was piloted by Darius Grala. Grala didn’t compete in the opening weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway but proved to be on pace at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. During the qualifying session for round two, he was fifteenth fastest and started second in Sports 1600. Grala captured a runner-up result in his category. The next day, he battled with John Faulkner for a third in class.
The third former Sports Car Club of America National Champion competing at the doubleheader was A.J. Smith. Smith earned the 1995 C Sports Racer crown driving the No. 92 Pratt-Miller. In the first race of the weekend, the Team Philadelphia driver qualified and finished fourth. In round three, Smith started fourth but was one of the beneficiaries of Andy Lally’s misfortune and captured the final position on the podium.
The third member of the Team Boston squad was John Faulkner in the No. 44 SVC. At the conclusion of the first qualifying session, Faulkner was eighteenth fastest. He started and finished third in the Sports 1600 category. On Sunday, Faulkner fared better. During the twenty-lap contest, he passed his teammate Darius Grala for second-place and finished 19.042-seconds behind the winner, Adam Burrows.
The Mid-Ohio doubleheader attracted only one Classic Sports 2000 competitor. The No. 90 Swift DB2 was driven by Jack Banha. Banha was collecting points for Team Philadephia. During the qualifying session, he recorded the twelfth fastest time but finished in the seventeenth position. In the finale, Banha was gridded fourteenth for the start and was in tenth place at the checkered flag.

FINISHSTARTCLASSDRIVERCITY / CARLAPSRETIREMENTS
11S2Andy LallySt. Louis / Carbir CS9820-
22S2John FergusColumbus / Carbir CS9820-
33S2David DowneyChicago / Lola T89/9020-
44S2A.J. SmithPhiladelphia / Pratt-Miller20-
55S2Dan DubrovichNew York / Doran20-
66S2Craig ChimaColumbus / Lola T91/9020-
77S2John BurkeNew York / Carbir CS9820-
88S2David DullumWashington DC / Lola T88/9020-
99S2Jeff ClintonSt. Louis / Lola T87/9020-
1014S2David FergusonSalinas / Swift DB520-
1111S2Bob LiebertColumbus / Miller RM-219-
1213S16Adam BurrowsBoston / SVC19-
1317S2Darryl ShoffPhiladelphia / Swift DB519-
1415S16Darius GralaBoston / SVC19-
1518S16John FaulknerBoston / SVC19-
1619S16Steve KnightPortland / SVC19-
1712CS2Jack BanhaPhiladelphia / Swift DB218-
1816S16Mel HawkinsPortland / SVC18-
1910S2Jim BallardPhiladelphia / Lola T89/9011Mechanical

FINISHSTARTCLASSDRIVERENTRANTLAPSRETIREMENTS
13S2John FergusColumbus / Carbir CS9820-
22S2David DowneyChicago / Lola T89/9020-
34S2A.J. SmithPhiladelphia / Pratt-Miller20-
46S2Dan DubrovichNew York / Doran20-
58S2John BurkeNew York / Carbir CS9820-
611S2Jim BallardPhiladelphia / Lola T89/9020-
77S2Jeff ClintonSt. Louis / Lola T87/9019-
813S2Bob LiebertColumbus / Miller RM-219-
912S16Adam BurrowsBoston / SVC19-
1014CS2Jack BanhaPhiladelphia / Swift DB219-
1118S16John FaulknerBoston / SVC19-
1215S16Darius GralaBoston / SVC19-
1317S2Darryl ShoffPhiladelphia / Swift DB519-
146S2Craig ChimaColumbus / Lola T91/9018-
158S2David DullumWashington DC / Lola T88/9018-
161S2Andy LallySt. Louis / Carbir CS9817-
1716S16Mel HawkinsPortland / SVC6Did Not Finish
1819S16Steve KnightPortland / SVC5Did Not Finish
1914S2David FergusonSalinas / Swift DB54Did Not Finish


Copyright Notice:
All content (photographs and text) appearing on this website are the exclusive property of © www.zoompics.com and are protected under International copyright laws. The subject matter on this website may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated.

© Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019

Return to home page.