2002 Watkins Glen International - Grand-Am Cup Street Stock

The 2002 Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series consists of ten race weekends. The championship kicks off in January with the first of two visits to Daytona International Speedway. Seven weeks later, the teams travel to the West Coast, making stops and California Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway. Then it is back to the East Coast for a race at Watkins Glen International. Watkins Glen was followed by events at Virginia International Raceway, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and, then back to Virginia on the Labour Day weekend. Next on the schedule is a visit to Canada for rounds at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant and Mosport International Raceway. The finale takes place at Daytona in early November.

Most races are 3-hours in length and scheduled as a support event for the Rolex Sports Car series. Mosport was the only weekend when the Grand-Am Cup series competed without the Rolex championship.

The cars racing in the series are relatively unchanged from their road-going versions – modifications are mandated mainly for safety – roll cages, window nets, etc. They also used spec DOT-approved tires produced by Hoosier. Based on performance potential, the cars are divided into one of four groups:

Grand Sport (GS I and GS II): Grand Sport is the quicker of the two groups - this division features the larger displacement engines as well as smaller four-cylinder motors with forced induction systems. The power-plants produce between 400 and 500-horsepower. Minimum weights range between 2,900 – 3,300-pounds, which are dependent on the motor configuration and displacement. The GS I category includes cars such as the Porsche 993 Turbo, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper and Saleen Mustang SR. The Acura NSX, Audi S4, BMW M3, Nissan 350Z and Pontiac Firebird are examples of vehicles competing in GS II.
Sport Touring (ST I and ST II): The smaller displacement cars compete in the ST category. Engines in this group typically produce between 220 and 280-horsepower. Popular vehicles found the ST I class are the Acura RSX, Audi A4, Lexus IS300, Porsche Boxster, BMW Z3 Coupe and Acura Integra Type R. The ST II group includes the Mazda MX-5, Honda Civic EX, Chevrolet Cavalier Z24, Acura Integra LS, Dodge Neon and Mazda Protege.

With the exception of Phoenix, Watkins Glen and the second round at Virginia, the four classes compete together.

Round four of the 2002 Grand-Am Cup season was held at Watkins Glen International. Street Tuner competitors would race around the eleven-turn 3.337-mile road course for three-hours during the Sports Car at the Glen Weekend.

The start of round four at Watkins Glen International for the Grand Am Cup Street Tuner competitors. Leading the field into turn one is the pole-sitter, Jim Hamblin, in the No. 72 Team Spartanburg BMW Z3. Challenging Hamblin is the other front row starter, Beau Buisson, driving the Villaconn International BMW Z3. Also in the mix are the King Motorsports Acura Integra Type R and a similar model from the Power Racing Team.

Sharing the No. 34 Villaconn International BMW Z3 in the Street Tuner I class were Beau Buisson and Ken Dobson. Buisson handled the qualifying and started the Twin 250 in the second position. As the contest came to an end, Dobson passed the second place Team Lexus IS300 and followed his teammate to a runner-up result. However, the winner was disqualified and Buisson and Dobson were awarded the victory.

Bill Fenton Motorsports led the Street Tuner II category entering round four at Watkins Glen. Drivers, Bob Beede and team principal, Bill Fenton, shared the No. 27 Acura Integra LS. Their season included two victories. Fenton qualified on the class pole, he and Beede battled with the No. 41 HPRworld.com Acura of the Nonnamaker brothers, Wayne and Will. The Fenton team prevailed and captured the win.

Finishing second overall and in the Street Tuner I category were the defending race winners, Bob Endicott and Mike van Sicklen. The duo shared the No. 64 King Motorsports Acura Integra Type R and started the race in third place. In the closing stages of the event, they caught and passed the No. 0 Lexus IS300 for a third-place finish. The winning car failed post-race inspection and the pair inherited the runner-up spot.

The Street Tuner I podium for the Twin 250 at Watkins Glen International. In the center, before their disqualification, are Villaconn International’s Brandon Patch and Don Salama. Standing on the rostrum’s right side are Ken Dobson and Beau Buisson, who would be declared the winners after the post-race technical inspection. Also, moving up a spot in the finishing order would be Bob Endicott and Mike van Sicklen.

HPRwould.com entered three Acura Integra LS in the Street Tuner II category. The quickest of the bunch was the No. 41 Acura shared by the brothers, Wayne and Will Nonnamaker. Wayne clocked the second-fastest time during the qualifying session. In the race, the Nonnamakers chased the class-leading Bill Fenton Motorsport Acura but fell out of contention during the final rounds of pit-stops and finished in second-place.

Team Lexus entered three Lexus IS300 in the Street Tuner I category. Sharing the No. 0 IS300 was Jean-Francois Dumoulin and Charles Goldsborough. The car was running second during the final thirty-minutes of the contest when a brake issue required an emergency pit-stop; the duo finished fourth. As luck would have it, the winner was disqualified and the pair earned the final position on the class podium.

Sharing the No. 36 Villaconn International BMW Z3 were Bransen Patch and Don Salama. They ran with the leaders during the event and were the first team to cross the finish line at the conclusion of the Twin 250. Unfortunately, the post-race technical inspection of the BMW uncovered a fuel tank irregularity. The capacity exceeded specifications and Patch and Salama were disqualified.

Finishing eighteenth overall and third in the Street Tuner II class were Andrew Kopperl, Scooter Gabel and Carlos De Quesada. The trio shared the No. 5 DTM Engineering prepared Mazda Miata. They started twenty-fifth overall and third in their category. They were a lap behind the class leaders at the checkered flag but managed to capture the final position on the class podium.

The Street Tuner II podium for the Twin 250 at Watkins Glen International. In the center are the winners, who increased their championship points lead, Bill Fenton and Bob Beede. On the right side of the rostrum are the runner-ups from HPRworld.com, Wayne and Will Nonnamaker. Occupying the final position on the podium are the third-place finishers, Andrew Kopperl and Carlos De Quesada.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS
1	ST I	Buisson / Dobson	BMW Z3	Villaconn International	74
2	ST I	Van Sicklen / Endicott	Acura Integra R	King Motorsports	74
3	ST I	Dumoulin / Goldsborough	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	74
4	ST I	Craig / Gorriaran	Hyundai Tiburon	Hyundai Motorsports	73
5	ST I	Hamblin / Pfeffer	BMW Z3	Team Spartanburg Racing	73
6	ST I	James / Dror, Jr	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	73
7	ST I	Heffron / Connolly	BMW Z3	Villaconn International	73
8	ST I	Lally / Gaffney	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	73
9	ST I	Adams / Gilsinger	Acura RSX	Honda of America Racing Team	72
10	ST I	Moorcones / Himes	Acura Integra R	Craftsman Motorsports	72
11	ST I	Fitzgerald / Schuitemaker	Acura Integra R	HRPworld.com	72
12	ST I	Winokur / Haskell	Porsche Boxster	SpeedSource	72
13	ST II	Fenton / Beede	Acura Integra LS	Bill Fenton Motorsports	71
14	ST II	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Acura Integra LS	HRPworld.com	71
15	ST I	Genoa / Tetreault / Hughes	BMW Z3	Team Spartanburg Racing	71
16	ST I	Linville / Colletti	Acura Integra R	Colletti Motorsports	70
17	ST II	Kopperl / Gabel / De Quesada	Mazda Miata	DTM Engineering	70
18	ST II	Gabel / Lowman	Mazda Miata	DTM Engineering	70
19	ST I	Schmitt / Halsmer	Acura RSX	Honda of America Racing Team	69
20	ST II	Velcio / Nuzzo	Acura Integra LS	HRPworld.com	68
21	ST I	Linder / Skavnes	Acura Integra R	Power Racing Team	67
22	ST II	Turner / Royce	Ford Focus	Team Ford Focus Racing	67
23	ST I	Ellinger / Ellinger / Matz	Mercedes 190E	RC Imports	66
24	ST II	Ablondi / Lisa	Mazda Protege	ICY / SL Motorsports	66
25	ST I	Chenoweth / Spangler	BMW 328i	CSL Racing	62
26	ST I	Schlesinger / France	Porsche Boxster	SpeedSource	60
27	ST II	Luffy / Baglier	Mazda Protege	Baglieracing	49
28	ST I	Danaher / Legg	Audi A4	LM Racing	42
29	ST I	Wolfkill / Piscelli	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	40
30	ST I	Pawley / Van Cleef	Toyota Supra	J Pauley Motorsports	34
31	ST II	Martin / Harrell	Ford Focus	Team Ford Focus Racing	28
32	ST I	Del Vecchio / Potter	Acura Integra R	Colletti Motorsports	26
33	ST I	Keravich / BJ Zacharias	Acura Integra R	Power Racing Team	23
34	ST I	Gaughran / Macleod	Hyundai Tiburon	Hyundai Motorsports	4
35	ST II	Del Vecchio / Pate / Shanaman	Acura Integra LS	HRPworld.com	2
DNS	ST II	Daniels / Payson	Mazda Miata	RCP Motorsports	-
DQ	ST I	Patch / Salama	BMW Z3	Villaconn International	74

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