1999 Watkins Glen International

The Motorola Cup is a North American Street Stock Championship sanctioned by Professional Sports Car Racing and ASN Canada FIA.

The series, which showcases drivers and manufacturers' vehicles, is televised across North America on Speedvision, CTV Sportsnet and RDS.

The 1999 edition of the Motorola Cup consists of twelve events:

Sebring International Raceway
Road Atlanta
Back to back rounds at Mosport International Raceway
Double-headers at Toronto’s Exhibition Place and Trois-Rivieres
Road Atlanta
Watkins Glen International
Sebring International Raceway
Daytona International Speedway

With a few exceptions, the races were mainly 3-hours in length. The cars are relatively unchanged from their road-going versions – modifications are mandated primarily 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 four groups:

Grand Sport (GS): This category is reserved for the fastest cars and includes the Pontiac Firebird, BMW M3, Acura NSX, Ford Mustang Cobra R, Porsche 993 and Toyota Supra Turbo.
Sport Class – (S): Popular vehicles found in this group are the BMW Z3 Coupe, Acura Integra Type R, BMW 328, Lexus GS 400, Audi S6 and Eagle Talon.
Touring Class – (T): Cars include the Acura Integra, Mazda 626, Mazda MX-6, Audi A4 and Honda Prelude.
Compact - (C): At the bottom end of the performance range are vehicles such as the Honda Civic Si, Acura Integra GSR, Hyundai Tiburon and Mazda Miata.

Close competitive racing with cars that fans could relate to contributed to the popularity of the series. It also provided an environment for automotive manufacturers to test and showcase their products.

To encourage participation and competition, the prize money was distributed based on class size – more cars competing in a class meant that more money was allocated to that group. The series prize fund was also bolstered by a Contingency Awards Program.

Round eight of the 1999 Motorola Cup series was held during Watkins Glen International’s Octoberfest weekend. As usual, teams would compete in a three-hour contest around the eleven-turn 3.337-mile road course.

With just two races remaining in the season, titles were still on the line for the Driver and Manufacturers championship in all four classes.

The last round at Road Atlanta was won by Two Friends Racing team principals, Gary Smith and John Kohler. At Watkins Glen International, the victory went to their teammates, Mark Ackley and Todd Snyder in the No. 17 Zippo-sponsored Ford Mustang Cobra R. Ackley drove the first stint, which included a spin and handed the car over to Snyder in ninth-place. He moved the Mustang into contention and finished first.

Team Spartanburg Racing driver, Andy Lally, was joined by Howie Liebengood at Watkins Glen International. Lally trailed the Sport class leaders, John Bourassa and Lance Stewart, by five markers. The No. 72 BMW Z3 Coupe started twenty-third overall and fourth in class. The pair moved to the front of their category and claimed the victory by a one-lap margin. The result moved Lally into a tie for the points lead.

Bob Endicott and Peter Schwartzott earned their second consecutive Touring category victory at Watkins Glen International’s Octoberfest weekend. They qualified on the class pole in the No. 71 BBS sponsored Acura Integra Type R and started in the twenty-sixth position. The duo moved into the lead early and finished one lap ahead of the second-place Starita / Wymore Mazda MX-6.

Despite this incident at the ‘Outer Loop’ during the opening practice session, the No. 27 Bill Fenton Motorsports Honda Del Sol would capture the Compact class honours. Bob Beede and the team owner Bill Fenton crossed the finish line second in their category after three hours of racing. However, the race-winning Mazda Miata was too light and disqualified, giving Beede and Fenton the victory.

Grand Sport competitors Michael Culver and Jeff McMillin delivered their best result of the season. They started third overall in the Franz Blam Racing prepared BMW M3 but shared the lead many times during the contest. After making a cautionary stop for fuel in the final hour, they chased down the race leading No. 17 Ford Mustang Cobra R. Culver closed the gap to within 0.289-seconds at the finish for a runner-up result.

Team Lexus entered two Lexus GS400. The lead car was shared by Chuck Goldsborough and Marc Bunting; unfortunately, they retired after only twenty laps with a brake issue. Bunting also shared the second Lexus with Chris Gleason. Although the duo started at the back of the grid, they fared much better. Gleason and Bunting advanced thirty-five positions to finish second in the Sport category.

Rick Starita and John Wymore could attribute their success during the 1999 Motorola Cup season to consistency. In the seven previous rounds the pair had five Touring podium results, of which two were runner-up finishes. At Watkins Glen International, they started fifth in class, but while the faster cars encountered problems, they continued to circulate and collected another second-place finish.

Prior to Watkins Glen, Mark Craig and Jocelyn Hebert were paired for four events. Their record included two Compact victories in the No. 6 Hyundai Canada Hyundai Tiburon. The Tiburon qualified forty-third overall and seventh in their division. An excellent strategy and solid driving allowed them to finish in the runner-up spot after the No. 91 Lobo Racing Mazda Miata was disqualified.

The No. 0 Ford Mustang Cobra SVT of Scott Maxwell qualified on the pole. But the car also driven by Greg Wilkins fell out of contention quickly and retired. Multimatic Motorsports hopes rested with the No. 7 entry shared by David Lacey and Jay Malowney. Throughout the race, the pair remained on the lead lap and captured the final position of the Grand Sport rostrum.

Despite a miserable race, the Sport point’s leaders from Team Hurricane, John Bourassa and Lance Stewart, were able to salvage a third-place finish in class. The No. 10 Acura Integra Type R started second in their category. However, Bourassa spun the Acura exiting the ‘Chute’ early in the event, which resulted in a full-course caution period. They lost a lap but fought back to capture the last spot on the podium.

Showroom stock endurance veterans Terry Earwood and Gary Blackman shared the No. 59 Ti Racing Honda Prelude. Round eight at Watkins Glen would be the first event of the Motorola Cup season for both drivers. Earwood started sixth in Touring and maintained the pace of the leaders. Blackman was in fourth when the second-place Mazda stopped on the final lap allowing the pair to inherit the final spot on the podium.

After their teammates, John Phillips III and Peter Tonelli, were disqualified Matt Whitaker and Mike Speck collected the final position of the Compact class rostrum driving the No. 92 Lobo Racing Mazda Miata. This would be Whitaker’s first and Speck’s third visit to the podium during the 1999 Motorola Cup season.

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	16	GS	Snyder / Ackley	Ford Mustang Cobra R	71	-
2	3	GS	Culver / McMillin	BMW M3	71	-
3	4	GS	Lacey / Malowney	Ford Mustang Cobra SVT	71	-
4	8	GS	Miller / Hayner	Pontiac Firebird	71	-
5	14	GS	Kahn / Bender	Pontiac Firebird	71	-
6	22	GS	Weinberg / Hayner	Pontiac Firebird	71	-
7	7	GS	Powell / Goad	Pontiac Firebird	71	-
8	2	GS	Borcheller / Lapcevich	Ford Mustang Cobra R	71	-
9	23	ST	Lally / Liebengood	BMW Z3 Coupe	71	-
10	6	GS	Tonelli / Conway	Pontiac Firebird	71	-
11	10	GS	Kohler / Smith	Ford Mustang Cobra R	70	-
12	11	GS	Camp / Gilbert	Ford Mustang Cobra R	70	-
13	48	S	Bunting / Gleason	Lexus GS400	70	-
14	20	S	Bourassa / Stewart	Acura Integra Type R	70	-
15	21	S	Murry / Van Sicklen	Acura Integra Type R	70	-
16	26	T	Schwartzott / Endicott	Acura Integra Type R	70	-
17	30	GS	Lancaster / Thompson	Pontiac Firebird	69	-
18	32	T	Starita / Wymore	Mazda MX-6	69	-
19	33	T	Earwood / Blackman	Honda Prelude	69	-
20	31	T	Silva / Chaboudt	Acura Integra Type R	69	-
21	40	C	Fenton / Beede	Honda Del Sol	69	-
22	43	C	Craig / Hebert	Hyundai Tiburon	69	-
23	28	T	Shanaman / Shanaman	Mazda MX-6	69	-
24	39	C	Speck / Whitaker	Mazda Miata	69	-
25	25	GS	Mountain III / Angping	Ford Mustang Cobra R	69	-
26	27	T	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Mazda 626	68	Accident
27	19	GS	Geck / Hacker	Ford Mustang Cobra R	68	-
28	52	C	Fenton / Greenisen	Hond Civic Si-R	68	-
29	34	C	Himes / Moorcones	Mazda Miata	68	-
30	46	S	Henderson / Pawley	Toyota Supra	68	-
31	49	C	Wanner / Sprinkle	VW Golf GTI VR6	67	-
32	24	GS	Schuler / Duke	Ford Mustang Cobra R	67	-
33	45	C	Keravich III / Colletti	Mazda Miata	67	-
34	47	S	Lynch / Fitzgerald	Mazda RX-7	66	-
35	29	GS	Ruhl / DelVecchio	Ford Mustang Cobra R	65	-
36	37	T	Baglier / Luffy	Mazda MX-6	65	-
37	50	C	Pfiefer / Richard	Mazda Miata	64	-
38	1	GS	Maxwell / Wilkins	Ford Mustang Cobra SVT	59	-
39	38	C	Magner / DelVecchio	Oldsmobile Achiva	59	Mechanical
40	36	T	Linder / Colleti	Acura Integra Type R	58	Suspension
41	7	GS	Gilbert / Schultheis	Ford Mustang Cobra R	58	Did Not Finish
42	7	T	Hein / Green	Honda Prelude	54	Suspension
43	35	C	Schraenen / Cullen	Hyundai Tiburon	48	Mechanical
44	7	GS	Fitzgerald / Pfeffer	BMW M3	47	-
45	7	GS	Peter Czepka	Ford Mustang Cobra SVT	39	Accident
46	18	GS	Thompson / DeFontes	Pontiac Firebird	27	Suspension
47	48	S	Bunting / Goldsborough	Lexus GS400	20	Brake
48	18	GS	Joe Danaher	Pontiac Firebird	10	Power Steering
49	11	GS	Rehagen / Dishaw	Ford Mustang Cobra R	7	Fuel
50	41	S	Heffron / Brew	Eagle Talon TSi	0	Fire
-	4	C	Phillips III / Tonelli	Mazda Miata	69	Disqualified

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