2000 Charlotte - Trans Am

2000 marked the 35th season for the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The rights to the series was acquired by Ralph Sanchez and Don Panoz. BFGoodrich tires was the title sponsor. The twelve race season opened at Sebring, Florida in March and ended in November at San Diego, California.

There were a number of technical changes for 2000. The most obvious was the introduction of a spec rear wing. The wing was introduced as a means of equalizing the downforce of the cars while maintaining a more production-based appearance. It was felt that the use of a rear spoiler distorted the car’s original lines.

Along with the new look, there was a return to multi-valve cylinder heads and fuel injection – the first time since 1990. The multi-valve configuration (4-valves per cylinder only) was permitted on 275-cubic inch V8 engines and fuel injection was only allowed on 311-cubic inch V8 and the 275-cubic inch motors.

There was also new eligibility for a broad range of auto manufacturers and models. As a result, the grids which were traditionally filled with Ford and Chevrolet products now included the Jaguar XKR, Qvale Mangusta and the Oldsmobile Aurora.

Round two of the 2000 Trans Am Series was held on the 2.25-mile 10-turn road course at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. The layout was a roval – using almost the entire 1.5-mile oval with an infield road course section. To slow the cars down a temporary tire chicane was positioned just before NASCAR turn-3. The chicane was hit and moved a number of times during the event but there was not any serious damage.

There were 37-entries for the 75-minute race with 21-cars being classified as finishers.

Round two of the 2000 Trans Am series was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Paul Gentilozzi in the No. 1 Jaguar XKR leads a group into turn one following a re-start. Behind him is the No. 28 of Lou Gigliotti in a Corvette, No. 9 Gary Johnson in a Ford Mustang and Tomy Drissi in the No. 15 Mustang.

Brian Simo finished second in the 1999 Trans Am Championship driving a Ford Mustang. Like 1999 champion, Gentilozzi, he switched manufacturers choosing the Huffaker prepared Qvale Mangusta. Simo won round one at Sebring and after 44-laps also took the top spot at Charlotte by just 0.689-seconds.

Turn one at Charlotte is very tight. The cars come off the very fast front straight and funnel into a concrete walled entrance for the road course. Just ask Peter Shea how tight it is. This crash in his Mustang on lap-35 brought out another full-course caution. As a result, he finished a disappointing twenty-second.

The 1999 series champion, Paul Gentilozzi, switched from a Ford Mustang to a Jaguar XKR. Gentilozzi led the first 11-laps at Charlotte before he was passed by Stu Hayner. On lap-17, he was forced to make a pit-stop when his right rear tire failed – the team replaced two tires. He was able to fight his way back to the runner-up spot at the checkered flag.

Veteran Lou Gigliotti qualified his Chevrolet Corvette thirteenth at Charlotte. During the course of the race, he was able to move through the field and finish sixth. A fifth place finish at the opening round in Sebring meant Gigliotti was third in points after Charlotte.

The surprise at Charlotte was rookie Jack Willes driving a Chevrolet Camaro. Willes was the Sports Car Club of America’s 1999 Pro Spec Racer series champion and probably had more laps around the Charlotte road course than any competitor. He started third and ran the entire race in the top-5. At the checker, he was the top rookie and earned a third place finish.

The only Pontiac entered in the event was driven by Leighton Reese. Driving a Grand Prix model Reece qualified seventh and by lap-12 he had moved up to fourth. He found himself in third when he was forced to pit with a flat left rear tire. Reece would finish ninth a second consecutive disappointing result after contact eliminated him while leading at Sebring.

Johnny Miller qualified his very colourful and multi-sponsored Chevrolet Corvette in sixth place - just missing out on the Fast Five. At the start Miller moved up to fifth but 3-laps later was passed by Stu Hayner. Unfortunately, Miller’s race only lasted 7-laps – he retired with an engine failure. This was the second motor he lost at Charlotte.

Making a return to the Trans Am series was Willy T. Ribbs. Ribbs first season was 1983 – in his Trans Am career, he won seventeen races. But his greatest “claim to fame” came in 1991 when he was the first African-American to compete in the Indianapolis 500. At Charlotte, he qualified eleventh and ran as high as fifth when he was forced to retire when the input shaft broke.

In the center of the podium, with his second win of the 2000 season, is Brian Simo. To Simo’s right is third place finisher – rookie - Jack Willes. Gentilozzi was credited with second place, however, he was penalized half his prize money and points for contact. After his pit-stop, Gentilozzi was making good progress when he knocked sixth place Randy Ruhlman into the wall.

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	2	Brian Simo	Qvale Mangusta	44	-
2	1	Paul Gentilozzi	Jaguar XKR	44	-
3	3	Jack Willes	Chevrolet Camaro	44	-
4	12	Chris Neville	Ford Mustang Cobra	44	-
5	15	Tomy Drissi	Ford Mustang Cobra	44	-
6	13	Lou Gigliotti	Chevrolet Corvette	44	-
7	14	G.J. Mennen	Chevrolet Camaro	44	-
8	10	Randy Ruhlman	Oldsmobile Aurora	44	-
9	7	Leighton Reese	Pontiac Grand Prix	44	-
10	20	Jon Leavy	Chevrolet Camaro	44	-
11	17	Bob Ruman	Chevrolet Corvette	44	-
12	22	Steve Pelke	Ford Mustang Cobra	44	-
13	31	Jerry Kinn	Chevrolet Corvette	44	-
14	19	Simon Gregg	Chevrolet Camaro	43	-
15	34	Jim Briody	Chevrolet Camaro	42	-
16	32	Richard La Barbera	Ford Mustang Cobra	42	-
17	28	Jerry Simmons	Chevrolet Camaro	42	-
18	29	Tim Cowen	Ford Mustang Cobra	41	-
19	35	C. David Seuss	Oldsmoblie Cutlass	40	-
20	27	Dan Furey	Chevrolet Corvette	38	-
21	9	John Paul Jr.	Chevrolet Corvette	36	Mechanical
22	21	Peter Shea	Ford Mustang Cobra	35	Accident
23	30	Gary Johnson	Ford Mustang Cobra	33	-
24	5	Stu Hayner	Chevrolet Camaro	30	Accident
25	16	Kerry Alexander	Chevrolet Camaro	25	Mechanical
26	11	Willy T. Ribbs	Chevrolet Camaro	19	Mechanical
27	25	Mike Davis	Ford Mustang Cobra	19	Accident
28	18	Bill Bentley	Chevrolet Camaro	17	Mechanical
29	33	Don Sak	Chevrolet Corvette	16	Mechanical
30	4	Mike Lewis	Ford Mustang Cobra	12	Accident
31	8	Jeff Altenburg	Jaguar XKR	11	Accident
32	23	Craig Shafer	Chevrolet Camaro	9	Mechanical
33	26	Bruce Dewey	Chevrolet Camaro	9	Mechanical
34	6	Johnny Miller	Chevrolet Corvette	7	Engine
35	24	John Macaluso	Ford Mustang Cobra	4	Mechanical
36	36	Chet Williams	Chevrolet Camaro	4	Mechanical
37	37	Dick Greer	Chevrolet Corvette	0	DNS

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