2000 Mid Ohio - Motorola Cup

The 2000 edition of the Motorola Cup consisted of 10-events (Daytona, Sebring, Phoenix International Raceway, Homestead-Miami, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Toronto Exhibition Place, Mosport, Watkins Glen and Virginia International Raceway) for showroom stock cars. With a few exceptions the races were mainly 3-hours in length. The cars were relatively unchanged from their road going versions – modifications were 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 were divided into four groups:

Super Grand Sport: The quickest of all groups, this class was introduced in 2000 for the fastest mass produced vehicles. Cars competing in this group included the Chevrolet Corvette C5, Dodge Viper, Saleen Mustang SR, Porsche 911 Turbo, etc.
Grand Sport: Was an existing class that included cars such as Pontiac Firebird, BMW M3, Acura NSX, Ford Mustang Cobra R, Porsche 993, etc.
Sport Touring: Another new class was the result of combining the former Sport and Touring into one group. Popular vehicles found in this group were the BMW Z3 Coupe, Acura Integra Type R, BMW 328, Lexus GS 400, etc.
C2K: The previous year this category was called Compact but renamed C2K for 2000. It included the Honda Civic Si, Acura Integra GSR, Hyundai Tiburon, Mazda Miata, etc.

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.

At Mid-Ohio, there was an entry of 54-cars, twice the size of the Motorola Cup race turnout when the series’ first appeared at the track in 1998.

Race leader Randy Pobst made contact with a Grand Sport class car in turn-eleven. The incident forced Pobst to pit for a new left rear wheel. This allowed the No. 19 Porsche now driven by Jean-Francois Dumoulin to take the class and overall lead. At this point in the event, it was clear sailing as Spenard and Dumoulin won by over 20-seconds.

David Brown was on a roll heading into Mid-Ohio. In the previous round at Miami-Homestead he and co-driver John Kohler won the Grand Sport class driving the TF Racing Ford Mustang Cobra R. And, prior to this event, at Phoenix, he won Grand Sport with John Shreiner. Unfortunately, his luck ran out at Mid-Ohio when the car retired with overheating problems.

One of the local entries was Honda of America Racing Team with a crew that included many Honda employees from the manufacturer’s Ohio facilities. Victorious in the C2K class sharing a Civic Si were team members, John Schmitt and Forrest Granlund. The team's other entry driven by Pete Halsmer and Bryan Johnson led the class much of the day but finished sixth in the C2K category.

The Grand Sport class was won by the father and son team of Sam and Brett Shanaman driving a Pontiac Firebird. About halfway through the race, the duo took over the lead from the class pole-sitters in the No. 97 Pontiac Firebird - Joe Kent and Charles Espenlaub. Kent and Espenlaub would finish third in Grand Sport and eighth overall.

The No. 93 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Clint Field and Brian Heggs spun early in the race. Fortunately, all competitors were able to avoid them allowing the team to continue and finish fourteenth in the Grand Sport category.

The Phoenix American Motorsports entry of John Heinricy and Stu Hayner started from the pole and during his stint, Heinricy was among the lead group. When Hayner took over the driving, he was also in the lead pack until a suspected spark plug problem caused him to slow. The team finished fourth but when the Pobst/Pilgrim Corvette was excluded they took the final spot on the podium.

Andy Lally and Howie Liebengood in the No. 49 BMW 328is were able to capitalize on the problems suffered by the Moser Acura Integra Type R to take the Sport Touring class victory. Also benefiting from the Moser's misfortune was Andy Linder and Jason Potter, who finished just 5-seconds behind the BMW.

Entering Mid-Ohio the No. 16 Porsche 993 driven by Al Wortzman and Mike McCalmont led the Grand Sports Driver Championship. The two had earned their first series victory at Sebring when they shared the driving duties with Darren Law. At the Mid-Ohio event the started seventh in Grand Sport but were able to finish second in class.

Ohio brothers Will and Wayne Nonnamaker raced the No. 41 Acura Integra GSR. Wayne’s knowledge of Mid-Ohio allowed him to earn the fastest time during qualifying for the C2K class. At the checkered flag, the brothers finished third in C2K and twentieth overall.

Mike Fitzgerald and Michael Culver in the Franz Blam prepared Chevrolet Corvette had their best race to date. When the Phoenix American Corvette experienced problems and the KAC Technologies Corvette was excluded the pair found themselves with a second overall and in the Super Grand Sport class. In fact, Fitzgerald led for four laps until he was black-flagged for entering the pits when they were closed.

Another team benefiting from the Moser Racing’s bad luck was the Power Racing Team Acura Integra Type R driven by Andy Linder and Jason Potter. The team started the race thirty-second overall and seventh in Sport Touring but were able to finish second in class and fourteenth overall.

One of the quickest cars in the Motorola Cup series was the No. 11 SGS class Powell Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette. Powell Motorsports had a lot of success with Corvettes in the SCCA’s World Challenge Series and the team car had won round one at Daytona. Entering Mid-Ohio Devin Powell and Doug Goad had managed third place finishes at Sebring and Phoenix. Mid-Ohio would not be one their better races as they finished ninth in class and twenty-sixth overall.

The No. 08 Chevrolet Corvette driven by Randy Pobst and Andy Pilgrim led laps 38 through 86. Pobst was leading when he and the Bill Black Pontiac Firebird made contact. After making a pit-stop to replace a damaged wheel, Pobst returned to finish third. However, the team was later excluded from the event due to an irregularity with the car’s flywheel.

FN.	ST.	NO.	CL	PS	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	STATUS
1	2	19	SGS	1	Dumoulin / Spenard	Porsche 911 Turbo	106	-
2	4	22	SGS	2	Culver / Fitzgerald	Chevrolet Corvette	106	-
3	1	37	SGS	3	Hayner / Heinricy	Chevrolet Corvette	105	-
4	8	50	SGS	4	Amick / Varde	Dodge Viper	105	-
5	14	84	GS	1	Shanaman / Shanaman	Pontiac Firebird	102	-
6	16	16	GS	2	Wortzman / McCalmont /Law	Porsche 993	102	-
7	7	30	SGS	5	Conway / Tonelli	Chevrolet Corvette	101	-
8	10	97	GS	3	Kent / Espenlaub	Pontiac Firebird	101	-
9	6	43	SGS	6	Nonnamaker / Pate	Chevrolet Corvette	100	Off Course
10	17	23	GS	4	Snow / Snow	BMW M3	100	-
11	19	45	GS	5	Baughman / Hines	Pontiac Firebird	99	-
12	22	49	ST	1	Liebebgood / Lally	BMW 328	99	-
13	24	74	GS	6	Ackley / Houk	Ford Mustang Cobra R	99	-
14	32	12	ST	2	Linder / Potter	Acura Integra Type R	99	-
15	31	39	GS	7	Yarosz / Zeigelman/ Hayner	Pontiac Firebird	99	-
16	37	69	C2K	1	Granlund / Schmitt	Honda Civic Si	99	-
17	43	27	C2K	2	Fenton / Beede	Honda Civic Si	99	-
18	21	13	GS	8	Black / Danaher	Pontiac Firebird	99	-
19	23	63	ST	3	Moser / Moser	Acura Interga Type R	99	-
20	34	41	C2K	3	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Acura Integra GSR	99	-
21	54	78	GS	9	Thompson / Hitt / Thompson	Pontiac Firebird	98	-
22	26	34	ST	4	Villamil / Connolly	BMW Z3 Coupe	98	-
23	45	6	C2K	4	Herbert / Craig	Hyundai Tiburon	98	-
24	48	48	C2K	5	Magner / Del Vecchio	Oldsmobile Achieva	98	-
25	30	24	ST	5	Colletti / Keravich	Acura Integra Type R	97	Unknown
26	9	11	SGS	7	Powell / Goad	Chevrolet Corvette	97	-
27	36	00	C2K	6	Halsmer / Johnson	Honda Civic Si	96	-
28	28	96	GS	10	England / Mitchell	Pontiac Firebird	96	-
29	47	71	GS	11	Pfeifer / Helton	BMW M3	96	-
30	27	72	ST	6	Trask / Trask	BMW Z3 Coupe	96	-
31	52	67	C2K	7	Kiel / Quinette	Honda Civic Si	95	-
32	29	70	ST	7	Patch / Plumb	BMW Z3 Coupe	95	-
33	40	8	C2K	8	Cullen / Dal Cin	Hyundai Tiburon	95	-
34	51	61	GS	12	McDougall / McGlynn	Audi S4	93	-
35	49	51	C2K	9	Baglier / Luffy	Mazda MX6	93	-
36	38	76	GS	13	Lynch / Fitzgerald	Mazda RX7 Turbo	92	-
37	5	98	SGS	8	Miller / Cox	Chevrolet Corvette	92	-
38	39	90	ST	8	Bunting / Piscelli	Lexus GS400	92	-
39	44	93	GS	14	Heggs / Feild	Chevrolet Camaro	91	-
40	41	9	ST	9	Gleason / Goldsboro	Lexus GS400	87	-
41	35	91	C2K	10	Phillips / Cook	Mazda Miata	78	Transmission
42	33	15	ST	10	Steiner / James	BMW 325is	77	Unknown
43	12	10	GS	15	Bourassa / Stewart	Audi S4	71	-
44	42	92	C2K	11	Whitaker / Kerr	Mazda Miata	68	Mechanical
45	55	29	C2K	12	Speakman / Schwarz	Nissan 240SX	61	Unknown
46	15	17	GS	16	Brown / Kohler	Ford Mustang Cobra R	53	Overheating
47	53	44	SGS	9	DeFontes / Borcheller	Saleen SR	47	Contact
48	25	75	GS	17	Mountain / Schreiner	Ford Mustang Cobra R	46	Clutch
49	13	52	GS	18	Rehagen / Dishaw	Ford Mustang Cobra R	45	Oil Pressure
50	20	18	GS	19	Herzog / Diaz Jr.	Ford Mustang Cobra R	38	Unknown
51	50	42	C2K	13	Starita / Wymore	Acura Integra GSR	29	Accident
52	18	55	GS	20	Schulteis / Gilbert	Ford Mustang Cobra R	9	Mechanical
53	11	32	GS	21	Weinberg / Hayner	Pontiac Firebird	8	Off Course
EXCL	3	08	SGS	10	Pilgrim / Pobst	Chevrolet Corvette	106	Excluded
54	46	60	ST	11	Pawley / Stephens	Toyota Supra	0	DNS

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