2001 Mid-Ohio - Grand-Am Cup

The 2001 edition of the Grand-Am Cup consisted of ten events (Daytona (season opener and finale), Homestead-Miami, Phoenix International Raceway, Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Mosport, Virginia International Raceway, Road America and Trois-Rivieres) for showroom stock cars. With a few exceptions the races were primarily 3-hours in length. The cars were relatively unchanged from their road going versions – modifications were 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 four groups:

SGS - 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, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper, Saleen Mustang SR, Porsche 911 Turbo, Porsche 996, etc.
GS - Grand Sport: This class included cars such as Pontiac Firebird, BMW M3, Acura NSX, Ford Mustang Cobra R, Porsche 993, etc.
ST - Sports Touring: Another new class for the 2000 season was Sports Touring. Popular vehicles found in this group were the BMW Z3 Coupe, Acura Integra Type R, BMW 328, Lexus GS 400, Lexus IS 300, Porsche Boxster, etc.
C2K – Compact 2000: It included the Honda Civic Si, Acura Integra GSR, Hyundai Tiburon, Mazda Miata, Mazda Protégé, Mazda 6, 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.

The Mid-Ohio race marked the fifth event of the 2001 Grand-Am Cup season. Sixty-two entries started the three-hour race on the 2.25-mile thirteen-turn road course.

The start of the first lap and the pole winning Speedsource Porsche 911 Supercup leads the field into the 'Esses'. The Phoenix American Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette which started third has already moved to second and will move into the lead. The Corvette maintained the lead until late in the race, when fuel issues dropped the car to third.

In the closing stages of the race the Grand Sport Ford Mustang Cobra R of Shreiner Racing and the Sports Touring class Spirit of Miami Acura Integra Type R were involved in an incident at the 'Carousel'.

One of the front-running C2K entries arrived just in time to become involved in the melee. The No. 27 Honda of Bob Beede and Frank Del Vecchio slips by as the Honda American Race Team (HART) Honda Civic Si shared by Peter Halsmer and Bryan Johnson makes contact with the Shreiner Mustang. The HART and Shreiner cars were forced to retire.

Devon Powell and Doug Goad earned their second straight Grand Am Cup SGS victory and third of the season. The early part of the race was dominated by one of the Phoenix American Motorsports Corvettes but fuel pick-up problems allowed the Powell Motorsport drivers to take the lead and win.

Sylvain Tremblay and David Haskell qualified first the Grand Sport class driving a Speedsource prepared Porsche 911 Super Cup. The pair dominated the race taking the class victory by an incredible one-lap margin.

Two Porsches qualified on the front row for the Grand-Am Cup race. The Speedsource 911 Cup car took the pole and shared the front row with the No. 15 Motorsport Technologies Porsche TT. Dino Steiner and Ian James shared the driving duties in the No. 15 Porsche. They would finish where they started second overall and in SGS.

The Planet Earth Motorsports team finished first and third in the C2K category. The No. 42 class winning Acura Integra GSR was shared by Wayne Nonnamaker, Bill Pate and Mike Fitzgerald. Their second car was driven by Fitzgerald and Will Nonnamaker. Finishing second in C2K was the HART Honda Civic of Kevin Adams and John Schmitt.

The No. 72 BMW Z3 of Team Spartanburg was the fastest qualifier in Sports Touring and captured the class win. The car was driven by Jim Hamblin and Steve Pfeifer. The pair was in a tight battle with one of the Team Lexus IS 300s but gained the upper hand during a pit-stop. The car ran low on fuel late in the race but they were still able to score a victory.

Jean-Francois Dumoulin and Robert Julien qualified and finished second in their Grand Sport class Porsche 993. The pair exchanged second place several times throughout the race will the Turbo Performance Center Porsche 993 driven by Michael Levitas and Freddy Baker. Levitas and Baker were later disqualified.

The No. 35 Phoenix American Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette was shared by John Heinricy and Jeff Altenburg. Taking advantage of cautions early in the race allowed the team to lead the race and build a thirty-second lead. Unfortunately, late in the race the car slowed when it developed fuel pick-up problems. They finished third despite the efforts of their teammates to block the Powell and Motorsport Technology cars.

After the lead HART Honda Civic Si was involved in a late-race incident, it was the job of No. 00 to uphold the team’s honour. John Schmitt and Kevin Adams started the car fifth in C2K – fifty-first overall. Although they finished a lap behind the class winning Planet Earth Motorsports Acura it was good enough for a second in C2K.

The King Motorsports Acura Integra Type R was shared by Bob Endicott and Mike Van Sicklen. They qualified seventh in class and moved up to finish 3.378-seconds behind the class winning Sports Touring BMW Z3 Coupe of Steve Pfeifer and Jim Hamblin.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS
1	SGS	Devan Powell/Doug Goad	Chevrolet Corvette	Powell Motorsport	104
2	SGS	Dino Steiner/Ian James	Porsche 993 TT	Motorsport Technologies	104
3	SGS	Tony Bartone/Jeff Attenburg/John Heinricy	Chevrolet Corvette	Phoenix American	103
4	SGS	Michael DeFontes/David Brown	Saleen Mustang SR	TF Racing	103
5	SGS	Jeff Altenburg/John Heinricy	Chevrolet Corvette	Phoenix American	102
6	SGS	Sylvain Tremblay/Selby Wellman/David Haskell	Porsche Supercup	Speedsource	102
7	SGS	Trip Goolsby/Dave Russell	Porsche Supercup	Motorsport Technologies	102
8	SGS	David Lacey/Greg Wilkins	Ford Mustang Cobra	Multimatic	102
9	GS	David Haskell/Sylvain Tremblay	Porsche 911	Speedsource	102
10	SGS	Mike Weinberg/Stu Hayner	Chevrolet Corvette	MTI Racing	101
11	GS	Robert Julien/Jean-Francois Dumoulin	Porsche 993	Fiorano Racing	101
12	GS	Michael Levitas/Freddy Baker	Porsche 993	Turbo Performance Center	100
13	GS	Jocelyn Hebert/Benoit Theetge	Acura NSX	Hebert/Theetge Motorsport	99
14	ST	Steve Pfeffer/Jim Hamblin	BMW Z3	Team Spartenburg Racing	99
15	ST	Mike Van Sicklen/Bob Endicott	Acura Integra R	King Motorsports	99
16	GS	Paul Mears Jr./David Shep	Porsche 911	Speedsource	99
17	ST	Matt Connolly/Jeff Trask	BMW Z3 Coupe	Villaconn International	99
18	GS	Jim Seafuse/Bret Seafuse	Ford Mustang Cobra	JBS Motorsports	99
19	ST	Bransen Patch/Davy Cook	BMW Z3 Coupe	Villaconn International	98
20	C2K	Mike Fitzgerald/Bill Pate/Will Nonnamaker	Acura Integra GSR	Planet Earth Motorsport	98
21	ST	Keravich III/ Potter/ Schwartzott	Acura Integra R	Power Racing	98
22	GS	John Lloyd/Howie Liebengood	BMW M3	Competition Preparation	98
23	GS	Matt Dillard/Don Reynolds	Pontiac Firebird	Century Racing	98
24	ST	Mark Sandridge/Scott Schlesinger	Porsche Boxster	Speedsource	98
25	ST	David Tuaty/Mark Underwood	Porsche Boxster	Speedsource	98
26	GS	Donis Horne Sr./Donis Horne Jr.	Porsche 911	Speedsource	98
27	ST	Jason Piscelli/Marc Bunting	Acura Integra R	The Spirit of Miami	98
28	C2K	John Schmitt/Kevin Adams	Honda Civic Si	HART	97
29	ST	Alex Ratcliff/Rick Ellinger	Mercedes-Benz 190E	RC Imports	97
30	ST	Al Rocca/Aurello Lopez/Jason Piscelli	Acura Integra R	The Spirit of Miami	97
31	C2K	Nonnamaker/Nonnamaker/Fitzgerald	Acura Integra GSR	Planet Earth Motorsport	96
32	C2K	Don Velcio/Roy Mitchell II/Will Nonnamaker	Acura Integra GSR	Planet Earth Motorsport	96
33	SGS	John Kohler/Gary Smith	Saleen Mustang SR	TF Racing	95
34	C2K	Michael Mazziotti/Elliot Coyle	Acura Integra GSR	Lucas Motorsports	95
35	GS	Greg Meindl/Jim Briody	Ford Mustang Cobra	DG Racing	95
36	GS	John Shreiner/Hank Mountain	Ford Mustang Cobra	Shreiner Racing	95
37	ST	Ron Pawley/John Ruhlin	Toyota Supra	J Pauley Motorsports	95
38	C2K	Bryan Johnson/Pete Halsmer	Honda Civic Si	HART	95
39	ST	Andy Linder/Jason Potter/Peter Schwartzott	Acura Integra R	Power Racing Team	94
40	C2K	Dennis Baglier/Marty Luffy	Mazda Protégé	Baglieracing	94
41	C2K	Charles Kane/Jim Lucas II	Honda Civic	Lucas Motorsports	92
42	C2K	Larry Funk/Bill Roediger	Honda Del Sol	Lucas Motorsports	92
43	ST	Chuck Goldsborough/Terry Borcheller	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	91
44	GS	Armando Trentini/Ed Paez	Porsche 993	G&W Motorsports	91
45	GS	Emil Assentato/Nick Longhi	Ford Mustang Cobra	D.M.A. Racing	91
46	C2K	Toto Lassally/Johannes Steiner	Acura Integra GSR	Motorsport Technologies	88
47	C2K	Frank Del Vecchio/Bob Beede	Honda Civic Si	Bill Fenton Motorsports	85
48	ST	CR Ramsey Potts/Brian Zalner/John Legg	Audi A4	LM Racing	84
49	GS	Ray Mason/Jeff England	Pontiac Firebird	Kent Motorsports	71
50	ST	Andy Lally/John Norton/Neil Sapp	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	71
51	GS	John Zouzelka/Don Istook/John Rutherford IV	Audi S4	Istook/Aines Motorsport	69
52	SGS	Marty Miller/Eric Curran	Chevrolet Corvette	KAC Technologies	67
53	C2K	Nigel Gleeson/Paolo DalCin/Mark Craig	Hyundai Tiburon	Hyundai Motorsport	62
54	GS	Joe Danaher/Tony Bartone/Andy Koppel	Pontiac Firebird	Phoenix American Motorsports	58
55	C2K	Gord Cullen/Mark Craig/Nigel Gleeson	Hyundai Tiburon	Hyundai Motorsport	52
56	ST	Jerry Spangler/David Chenoweth	BMW 328i	CSL Racing	39
57	GS	Tom Houk/John Kohler	Ford Mustang Cobra	TF Racing	32
58	GS	Steve Pfeifer/Mike Helton	BMW M3	RTG Ltd	24
59	C2K	Forrest Granlund/John Schmitt/Bryan Johnson	Honda Civic Si	HART	24
60	GS	Timothy Pappas/Mark MacLean	BMW M3	Franz Blam Racing	15
61	GS	Michael Baughman/Ted Martin	Pontiac Firebird	Mike Baughman Racing	14
62	GS	Joe Kent/Charles Espenlaub	Pontiac Firebird	Kent Motorsports	11

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