2009 Daytona International Speedway - Koni Challenge Series

2009 was the final year of the Grand-Am Road Racing’s contract with KONI. The three-year agreement between Grand-Am and KONI saw the company offer the richest purse in the series history - $100,000 per event. The winning Grand Sport team earned $5,000 with the price fund doubling to $10,000 if the car was equipped with KONI shock absorbers. Street Tuner competitors competed for a similar payout - $3,750 to the winner and $7,500 if the vehicle is fitted with KONIs.

The cars in the series are relatively unchanged from their road-going counterparts – 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 were divided into one of two groups:

Grand Sport (GS): The quicker of the two classes - the group features the larger displacement engines as well as smaller four-cylinder motors with forced induction systems. The power-plants produce between 350 and 405-horsepower. Minimum weights range between 2,900 – 3,300-pounds, which is dependent on the motor configuration and displacement. This class includes cars such as the BMW M3, Ford Mustang, Porsche 997 and Porsche Carrera.
Street Tuner (ST): The smaller displacement cars compete in this class in which engines typically produce between 170 and 240-horsepower. Popular vehicles found in this group are the Volkswagen GTI, Acura TSX, Mazda RX-8, Mazda MX-5, Honda Civic Si, BMW 330i, Subaru Legacy, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Subaru Legacy and Mini Cooper S.

The 2009 season consisted of eleven race weekends and started in January at Daytona International Speedway, which was followed by a second event in Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In May, the series would visit Thunderbolt Raceway in New Jersey then move on to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Lime Rock Park. The teams traveled Watkins Glen International in June and after this event, race weekends took place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. In August, teams made the trip to Canada, where the action would take place on the streets of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The penultimate round was held at Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park, with the finale being held at Virginia International Raceway. The Grand Sport and Street Tuner classes competed separately – the exceptions being Daytona, New Jersey, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen International and Miller Motorsports Park, where they race together.

Round one of the 2009 Koni Sports Car Challenge was held at Daytona International Speedway during the Rolex 24 weekend. Competitors would race around the twelve-turn 3.56-mile roval for three-hours in the Fresh From Florida 200.

The start of round one of the 2009 Koni Sports Car Challenge series for the Grand Sport class at Daytona International Speedway. On the pole is Dean Martin driving the No. 59 Rehagen Racing Ford Mustang GT. Sharing the front row with Martin is the Horsepower Ranch Ford Mustang shared by Jack Roush, Jr. and Hugh Plumb. There were a total of thirty-one Grand Sport entries for the season opener.

Matt Bell handled the qualifying duties for the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3. Sharing the BMW with Bell would be sports car veteran, Bill Auberlen. During the opening stint of the race, Bell kept the BMW in contention. Auberlen drove the second half of the contest and moved the car into the top spot on lap-50. From there, he fought with Hugh Plumb and Ken Wilden for the lead but was in first place when the final caution ended the race.

Jack Roush, Jr. and Hugh Plumb were gridded fourth for the start of the three-hour contest. The duo drove the Horsepower Ranch Ford Mustang. They both took turns leading the event with Roush, Jr. in the top spot for eight circuits and Plumb out front for two laps. Some late-race bumping dropped Plumb from first to third place. He charged back to second but the final caution prevented him from challenging Auberlen for the win.

Joe Masessa driving the No. 38 BGB Motorsports Porsche Carrera qualified thirty-third in a field of thirty-four Grand Sport entries. Sharing the BGB Porsche with Masessa was Nick Longhi. In the caution-filled event, the team took their first opportunity to put Longhi in the driver’s seat. Longhi carved his way through the field and was in the lead on lap-45. By the end of the event, he had gained twenty-one positions to finish twelfth.

In the opening round at Daytona International Speedway, the first wave of Grand Sport cars was followed by the slower Street Tuner category. Leading the field of thirty-two Street Tuner competitors to the Starter is the pole-sitter, Andrew Aquilante driving the Subaru Road Racing Team Subaru. Next to Aquilante, on the front row is the Bill Fenton Motorsports Honda Civic Si with David Thilenius behind the wheel.

In the center are the overall and Grand Sport winners from Turner Motorsport, Matt Bill and Bill Auberlen. This was Bell’s first professional victory and the twelfth Koni win for Auberlen. On the right side of the podium are the runner-ups and drivers of the Horsepower Ranch prepared Ford Mustang, Hugh Plumb and Jack Roush, Jr. Completing the rostrum are the pole-winning team of Dean Martin and Kenny Wilden.

Georgian Bay Motorsports entered two very quick Chevrolet Cobalt SS. Racing the No. 00 entry was Lawson Aschenbach and Pat Iannucci. In qualifying, Iannucci was the twenty-second fastest Street Tuner driver and started fifty-sixth. In the first round of pit-stops, Aschenbach jumped behind the steering wheel and by lap-49, he was in the class lead. From there, Aschenbach battled with Travis Walker and Kristian Skavnes before taking the victory.

Claiming the Street Tuner class pole was Andrew Aquilante in the Subaru Road Racing Team Subaru Legacy. This was the only Subaru in the field but the car proved fast last year by scoring a second place at Mosport and taking a victory at Mid-Ohio. Also driving the Subaru at Daytona was Kristian Skavnes. Aquilante and Skavnes led a total of thirty-one-laps. Skavnes was leading but could not hold off Lawson Aschenbach and finished second.

In qualifying for the Fresh From Florida 200, Dean Martin driving the No. 59 Rehagen Racing Ford Mustang GT won the pole position by 0.614-seconds and was the only driver to eclipse the two-minute mark. Sharing the Mustang with Martin for the three-hour event was Kenny Wilden. Wilden drove the final stint and was in a three-way battle with Bill Auberlen and Hugh Plumb. He was in third place when the race ended under caution.

Compass 360 Racing entered three very quick Honda Civic Si. Sharing the No. 76 Honda was Matt Pritiko and Travis Walker. In qualifying, Pritiko was fortieth fastest and sixth in Street Tuner. During the event, the pair moved into contention with Walker taking the top spot on lap-50. He would trade the position back and forth with Lawson Aschenbach until the end of the contest. The Compass 360 drivers would finish third in class.

The 2009 Street Tuner podium at Daytona International Speedway. In the center are the class winning drivers, Lawson Aschenbach and Pat Iannucci. The pair improved the most places in the Street Tuner category during the race, they gained thirty-nine positions. Taking the runner-up spot, on the right side of the podium, are Kristian Skavnes and Andrew Aquilante. The final place on the rostrum belonged to Tyler Walker and Matt Pritiko.

FINISH	CLASS	DRIVER	TEAM / CAR	LAPS
1	GS	Auberlen / Bell	Turner Motorsport / BMW M3	74
2	GS	Plumb / Roush	Horsepower Ranch / Ford Mustang GT	74
3	GS	Martin / Wilden	Rehagen Racing / Ford Mustang GT	74
4	GS	Buffomante / Johnson	Motorsport Technology Group / Porsche 997	74
5	GS	Gue / Seafuse	JBS Motorsports / Ford Mustang GT	74
6	GS	George Jr / Stanton / Tecce	BGB Motorsports / Porsche Carrera	74
7	GS	Gleason / Hand	Turner Motorsport / BMW M3	74
8	GS	Ende / Pumpelly	TRG / Porsche 997	74
9	GS	Collyer / Mason	Rehagen Racing / Ford Mustang GT	74
10	GS	Caddell / Click	Hyper Sport/Jim Click Racing / Ford Mustang GT	74
11	GS	Herr / Willsey	Kinetic Motorsports / BMW M3	74
12	GS	Longhi / Masessa	BGB Motorsports / Porsche Carrera	74
13	GS	Segal / Thornton	Automatic Racing / BMW M3	74
14	GS	Hickham Jr / Hickham Sr	Hickham Motorsports / Ford Mustang GT	74
15	GS	Davis / Smith	Kinetic Motorsports / BMW M3	74
16	GS	Igdalsky / Mattioli	JBS Motorsports / Ford Mustang GT	74
17	ST	Aschenbach / Iannucci	Georgian Bay Motorsports / Chevrolet Cobalt SS	74
18	ST	Aquilante / Skavnes	Subaru Road Racing Team / Subaru Legacy	74
19	ST	Pritiko / Walker	Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic Si	74
20	ST	McCalmont / Spencer	Georgian Bay Motorsports / Chevrolet Cobalt SS	74
21	ST	Spaude / Thilenius	Bill Fenton Motorsports / Honda Civic Si	74
22	ST	Baas / Hurley	APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI	74
23	ST	Beede / Cullen	Bill Fenton Motorsports / Honda Civic Si	74
24	ST	Salama / Turner	Turner Motorsport / BMW 328i	74
25	ST	Barrett / Sweeney	APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI	74
26	ST	Roach / Schwartzott	Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic Si	74
27	ST	Nonnamaker / Sahlen	Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8	74
28	GS	Kozarov / Rossberg	CA Sport / Ford Mustang GT	74
29	ST	Miller / Pobst	Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic Si	74
30	ST	Danyliw / Schmidt	GS Motorsports / Chevrolet Cobalt SS	73
31	ST	Kennedy / London	Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330	73
32	ST	Meyer / Wilson	Meyer Motorsports / Mazda RX-8	72
33	ST	Carbonell / White	Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5	72
34	GS	Grigsby Jr / Heath	Cardiosport Racing / Porsche 997	72
35	ST	Arnold / Schultz	V-Pack Motorsport / BMW Z4	71
36	GS	Panzer / Snyder	CMA Motorsports / Ford Mustang GT	71
37	GS	Boden / Jenkins	Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3	70
38	GS	Taylor / Webb	Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330	70
39	ST	Harding / Milarcik	Pirate Motorsports / Mazda RX-8	69
40	GS	Espenlaub / Putman	Automatic Racing / BMW M3	68
41	GS	Ellis / Wellon	Ranger Sports Racing / Porsche 997	63
42	ST	Smalley / Toussaint	RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S	61
43	ST	Long / Whitis	Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5	61
44	ST	Davis / Smith	Maxwell Paper Racing / Mazda RX-8	59
45	GS	DiLeo / Sellers	Maxwell Paper Racing / Porsche 997	58
46	ST	Bovenberg / Lepper / Perez	Team Cobalt California / Chevrolet Cobalt SS	56
47	GS	Hillestad / Waddell	Automatic Racing / BMW M3	55
48	ST	Flint / Marquardt	Meyer Motorsports / Mazda RX-8	54
49	ST	Burrows / Hopwood	RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S	52
50	GS	Bengoa / Ortiz	Rehagen Racing / Ford Mustang GT	52
51	GS	James / Nastasi	Blackforest Motorsports / Dodge Challenger	48
52	ST	Burdette / Friedman	V-Pack Motorsport / BMW 330	43
53	ST	Leroux / Leroux	LRT Racing / Acura TSX	42
54	ST	Foster / Skelton	Hyper Sport / Mazda RX-8	38
55	GS	Lally / Potter	TRG / Porsche 997	37
56	GS	Bocchino / Lamb	Kinetic Motorsports / BMW M3	36
57	GS	Canney / Plumb	Horsepower Ranch / Ford Mustang GT	33
58	ST	Gilsinger / Schmitt	HART / Honda Civic Si	20
59	GS	Ackley / Turner	CMA Motorsports / Ford Mustang GT	13
60	ST	Leverone / McHaffie	Flatout Motorsports / Mazda MX-5	10
61	GS	Gullatta / Reen	Rehagen Racing / Ford Mustang GT	5
62	ST	Buford / Trinkler	RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S	5
63	ST	Charbonneau / Van Steenburg	Runwhatyabrung Racing / Dodge SRT4	2
64	ST	O'Doski / Said	Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5	Did Not Start
65	ST	Cohen / Istook	Istook's Motorsports / Audi TT	Did Not Start
66	GS	Ellis / Wellon	Ranger Sports Racing / Porsche 997	Did Not Start
67	GS	Barretto / Kahangi	Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3	Did Not Start
68	GS	Jeannette / Jonsson	Kinetic Motorsports / BMW M3	Did Not Start
69	GS	Slone / Woodman	Hyper Sport / Ford Mustang GT	Did Not Start

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