cool.

I just discovered it flipping through the channels..

Haven't seen the RSR cars yet..

 

A little disappointing. Great race but not too much air time for the Mini's.

Oh well . . .

 

I only caught the last 15 min. I must have missed the MINI's ! Anything worth trying to see later on a rerun?

 

....But good coverage in the PRI show right after!

 

..of the RSR cars???????? I saw the show and it was a big infomercial for Holley, Edlebrock and others....

There were a few glimpes of the RSR cars, but nary a word from the announcers.

 

There was a segment devoted to the mini's about 20 minutes in. It was pretty good.

 

Yes it was good to see you guys get some good PR on Speed Channel.

For those that missed it I'm sure the show will be rebroadcast multiple times.

 

Thats great news.

I'll have to catch it the next time its on.

 

Almost 4 months 'til Lime Rock!

 

Help me out if you guys know when it be repeated. I missed out...

 

I checked Speed's website and neither show is currently scheduled for a repeat . . . yet.

If you have a Tivo, use the keywork 'Koni' and 'PRI' and you will get them when they run again.

I guess endless reruns of 'Pinks' and NASCAR analysis shows is the current programing of choice . . .

Randy

 

...let's not forget the exciting world of Bobsleding! Yikes.... when did that become a motorsport? Oh, yea, ... I did see thay had lawn mower races the other day.

 

I saw those things, they were FAST !!!! Bobsleds were a joke.

 

http://www.grandamerican.com/koni/ne....cfm?cid=13927

For Immediate Release:
Mesa, Arizona
February 8, 2008


The two Koni Challenge, ST Class Mini Cooper's of RSR Motorsports began the 2008 season with a successful outing at the Fresh from Florida 200 in Daytona. The cars finished a respectable 31st and 36th after both cars suffered cut tires in the last 20 minutes of green flag racing.

Randall Smalley, team driver and owner of RSR said, " We knew Daytona would be a challenge for the team. Our aerodynamic profile is not Daytona friendly. We could go through the infield with the best of them, but gave it up on the high speed banking." Smalley continued, "Our plan to run consistent laps, stay out of trouble and be with the front runners at the end was dashed when both cars experienced flat tires. We were disappointed as a potential top ten finish evaporated for the #198 as team driver, Owen Trinkler, was forced to limp to the pits for an unscheduled stop in the last twenty minutes."

"Rick Johnson, 2nd stint driver of the #197 suffered the same fate shortly thereafter. Rick was pushed off course at the bus stop, flattening a tire and pushing him back 15 positions. Rick took the wheel from Mark Congleton at the halfway point with the car just out of the top 20. Congratulations to Mark and Rick for a great drive."

Smalley added, "The cars showed a dramatic improvement over last year's Fresh from Florida event. New Koni suspension and better engine management improved our best lap times by over 5 seconds. We spent much of last year sorting the cars as they were new to the series in 2007. We've made a lot of progress and are looking for our first podium soon."

RSR Motorsports campaigns two Mini Cooper S race cars in the Grand America Koni Challenge series. The familiar bright red Mini's are a crowd favorite with their 'Spirit of America' graphics featuring photos of America's most patriotic and recognizable landmarks.

The team thanks it’s sponsors:

Cruise America RV Rentals
Fours Winds International RV Manufacturing
Casetech Reusable Shipping Cases
Miniusa.com
Onan RV and Mobile Generators
Hawk Performance Racing Brakes
Midway Ford Truck Sales
Marren Fuel Injection
Mini North Scottsdale

For additional information contact:

Randall Smalley
www.rsrmotorsports.com
randy@rsrmotorsports.com

 

Guessing the OEM runflats would have helped

(I kid I kid!)

Great job Randy & team!

 

Actually, both flats were caused by the stupidity of two drivers on the same Chevy Cobalt team.

Owen drove a spectacular race only to be taken out by the #183 Cobalt who hit the front wheel of the #198 Mini at turn two, causing the flat that did us in. It's 3 miles from turn two to the pit. By the most conservative calculation this was the third incident that the 183 Cobalt had that weekend.

Rick was pushed off course by the team mate, #138 Cobalt at the bus stop suffering the same fate . . . a front flat. . . a few laps later. Rick and Mark drove a great race only to have it evaporate through no fault of theirs.

You may ALSO recall that the #138 Cobalt was the car that drove straight through the Bus Stop a few laps later causing a multi car mess that ultimately caused the race to end under caution. This was caught on Speed TV and frankly, was one of the dumbest driving stunts I have ever seen.

The irony of these incidents is that the #138 Cobalt was the same car that spun at VIR last year and hit Peter London in the #197 Mini on almost the LAST lap doing extreme damage to the driver's door area.

YES, these guys are a wrecking crew and should be banned from the track. I made a protest about them with Grand Am.

The BGB winning Porsche (GS class) owes his win to the these guys who took out the two leaders during the incident discussed above.

Very, very bad luck.

 

Lot of hard work and money to have a bunch of Ding Dongs mess it up...

 

Randy, I noticed your ruffling some feathers at the Grand Am board.

I hope you can stay away from those Cobalts in teh future.

 

Randy, did anyone get any good action (or sleeping crew member ) pics in the pits?

I know that Mick got his picture taken with Patrick Dempsey .....

 

Dang! Did not realize those Cobalts did that. I could not see from where I was sitting. Stay away from those bozos! lol

 

Pedro:

Thanks for posting all those pictures on the other site....

We had a minor mechanical problem on the #198 early in the race. I was driving and the power steering was cutting out. It turns out the main electrical power switch was not locked on (my fault!) causing intermitant electrical power loss.

You were in the stands taking pictures when I totally lost power and coasted to a virtual stop at the international horseshoe . . . even with a quick diagnosis and getting the engine re-fired . . . the #198 went down a lap.

Owen got that lap back at a caution flag later in the race. We had a good pit strategy and with 1/2 an hour to go, we were fueled and racing for the finish. Owen was now up to 17th and then the incident with the 138 . . . the car dropped to 36th after the tire change . . . eventually finishing 31st.

As they say . . . I would rather be lucky than good.

Oh well . . next time!

 

With the kind of improvement you had over last years times and if that translates to the rest of the year, i'd say you guys are in for some very good finishes!!!

 

agreed!

 

http://www.grand-am.com/koni/teams/team.cfm?tid=1511

New RSR team website on the Grand Am Koni site.

Randy

 

Grand Am has posted the preliminary event schedule for Lime Rock.

ST race is scheduled for Saturday, May 24th at 3:00 PM.