2002 Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant - Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series

The 2002 Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series consists of ten race weekends. The championship kicks off in January with the first of two visits to Daytona International Speedway. Seven weeks later, the teams travel to the West Coast, making stops and California Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway. Then it is back to the East Coast for a race at Watkins Glen International. Watkins Glen was followed by events at Virginia International Raceway, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and, then back to Virginia on the Labour Day weekend. Next on the schedule is a visit to Canada for rounds at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant and Mosport International Raceway. The finale takes place at Daytona in early November.

Most races are 3-hours in length and scheduled as a support event for the Rolex Sports Car series. Mosport was the only weekend when the Grand-Am Cup series competed without the Rolex championship.

The cars racing in the series are relatively unchanged from their road-going versions – modifications are 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 are divided into one of four groups:

Grand Sport (GS I and GS II): Grand Sport is the quicker of the two groups - this division features the larger displacement engines as well as smaller four-cylinder motors with forced induction systems. The power-plants produce between 400 and 500-horsepower. Minimum weights range between 2,900 – 3,300-pounds, which are dependent on the motor configuration and displacement. The GS I category includes cars such as the Porsche 993 Turbo, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper and Saleen Mustang SR. The Acura NSX, Audi S4, BMW M3, Nissan 350Z and Pontiac Firebird are examples of vehicles competing in GS II.
Sport Touring (ST I and ST II): The smaller displacement cars compete in the ST category. Engines in this group typically produce between 220 and 280-horsepower. Popular vehicles found the ST I class are the Acura RSX, Audi A4, Lexus IS300, Porsche Boxster, BMW Z3 Coupe and Acura Integra Type R. The ST II group includes the Mazda MX-5, Honda Civic EX, Chevrolet Cavalier Z24, Acura Integra LS, Dodge Neon and Mazda Protege.

With the exception of Phoenix, Watkins Glen and the second round at Virginia, the four classes compete together.

Round eight of the 2002 Grand-Am Cup Street Stock championship was held at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant. This event would be three-hours in length around the fifteen-turn 2.65-mile road course.

The start of round eight for the 2002 Grand-Am Cup series at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant. Leading the field of forty-five entrants into corner one is the pole-sitter, Scott Maxwell, in the No. 76 Doncaster Racing Porsche GT3 Cup. Behind Maxwell is the Powell Motorsport Chevrolet Corvette, driven by the second-fastest qualifier, Devon Powell. Behind the leaders are the Porsches of G&W Motorsports and Fiorano Racing.

It was a significant weekend for Powell Motorsport’s Doug Goad and Devon Powell. They entered the race at Mont-Tremblant second in the Grand Sport I driver standings and ended the event tied for first place with Scott Maxwell. Powell started the contest in second place. After twelve lead changes and three-hours of competition, the No. 11 Chevrolet Corvette, with Doug Goad at the wheel, crossed the finish line first.

Another team having a fantastic event at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant were the brothers, Wayne and Will Nonnamaker. Their weekend got off to a good start when Wayne put the No. 41 HRPworld.com Acura Integra LS on the Street II pole. The brother’s main opposition, Fenton Motorsports, retired early in the contest, allowing them to capture their second victory of the season. More importantly, they led the class standings.

Capturing the Grand Sport II class victory at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant were Terry Borcheller and Forest Barber. This was the duo’s second win the season, their first was California Speedway. Barber started the contest in the No. 54 Bell Motorsports BMW M3 and moved into the lead on lap-12. After the driver change, Borcheller continued the team’s domination of the race and finished almost full lap ahead of second-place.

The Street Tuner I battle was between Team Lexus and the No. 36 BMW Z3 of Branson Patch and Don Salama. Team Lexus captured the top three positions in qualifying, but it was the BMW that started sixth in class that moved to first place early in the race. Patch advanced to the top spot early and Salama maintained the position earning their first victory of the season after being disqualified at Watkins Glen.

The Grand-Am Cup Grand Sport I podium at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant. In the center are the winners from Powell Motorsport, Devon Powell and Doug Goad. The victory moved them into them a three-way tie with Scott Maxwell for the Driver’s title. Standing on the rostrum’s right side is the runner-up, Joe Nonnamaker - his co-driver, Bill Auberlen, is absent. Completing the podium are Scott Maxwell and David Empringham.

Head of the Nonnamaker clan, Joe Nonnamaker, was entered in the Grand Sport I category driving the No. 23 Team Turbo Performance Porsche GT3 Cup with sportscar veteran, Bill Auberlen. Nonnamaker started the race in eleventh place. After the driver change, Auberlen made steady progress and moved into the lead on lap-23. After battling with the Powell Corvette and Doncaster Porsche, he finished in the runner-up spot.

Emil Assentato and Nick Longhi scored wins at Phoenix and Watkins Glen. Driving the No. 53 Max Q Motorsports /TF Racing Ford Mustang Cobra R, Assentato started third in Grand Sport II and fourteenth overall. This weekend, Assentato and Longhi were no match for the Bell Motorsports BMW and finished a distant second in class. However, the duo gained some championship points and continued to lead the standings.

Team Lexus entered four IS300 models. Sharing the No. 2 car were Andy Lally and Tim Gaffney – their best result to date was a second-place at California Speedway. Lally performed the qualifying duties and was the fastest Street Tuner I competitor – he started twenty-first overall. During the race, the duo fought with their teammates in the No. 3 Lexus and the Villaconn BMW. They were bested by the BMW and finished second.

The Grand Sport II rostrum for round eight of the 2002 Grand-Am Cup series at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant. Standing in the center of the podium for the second time this season are the winners from Bell Motorsports, Terry Borcheller and Forest Barber. On the right are the runner-ups and current class point leaders, Nick Longhi and Emil Assentato. The final position is occupied by Jeff Lapcevich and John Shreiner.

Another team having a particularly good event was DTM Engineering. Scooter Gabel had been paired with several different drivers this season and at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, he was sharing the No. 5 Mazda Miata with a local racer, Pierre Mandeville. During the qualifying session Mandeville, was fourth in the Street Tuner II category. The retirement of the quicker Fenton Motorsports entry allowed the pair to finish second in class.

Gridded fifteenth overall and fourth in the Grand Sport II category for the Mont-Tremblant 250 was the No. 30 Shreiner Racing Ford Mustang Cobra R. Jeff Lapcevich and John Shreiner co-drove the Mustang and entered round eight second in the title chase. They were fourth in class when the Theetge Acura ran low on fuel. The duo inherited a third-place finish but lost ground to the Grand Sport point leaders, Assentato and Longhi.

The Grand-Am Cup Street Tuner I podium for round eight at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant. In the center are the winners from Villacon International, Branson Patch and Don Salama. Standing on the right side of the rostrum and equaling their best performance to date are the runner-ups, Andy Lally and Tim Gaffney. Occupying the podium’s final spot are the third-place finishers, Ian James and Daniel Dror, Jr.

Ian James and Daniel Dror, Jr. shared the No. 3 Lexus IS300 entered by Team Lexus. After the conclusion of the Street Tuner I qualifying session, James was second fastest in class. He was gridded twenty-second overall for the start of the Mont-Tremblant 250. After three hours of close racing, the duo delivered their best result to date, which was a third-place finish.

As usual, HRPworld.com entered a fleet of three Acura Integra LS in the Street Tuner II category. The team’s results in round eight at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant were mixed. The Nonnamaker brothers captured the win, but the No. 44 Acura was the first car to retire from the event. Finishing third in class and thirty-fourth overall was the team’s No. 42 Acura shared by Peter Doane and Michel Shuitemacker.

The Grand Sport I points leader, Scott Maxwell, made his first visit to Mont-Tremblant in 1985 and had raced there several times since. He used his experience to capture the pole position in the No. 76 Doncaster Racing Porsche GT3 Cup. Maxwell shared the driving duties with David Empringham. After three hours of competition, they finished third, which left Maxwell tied in the title chase with Doug Goad and Devon Powell.

The Street Tuner II podium at Mont-Tremblant. In the center are winners from HRPworld.com, Wayne and Will Nonnamaker. The victory gave the brothers a three-point lead in the driver’s championship with just two races remaining on the schedule. Finishing in the runner-up position are Scooter Gabel and Pierre Mandeville. The final spot on the rostrum is occupied by Peter Doane and Michel Shuitemacker.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS
1	GS I	Powell / Goad	Chevrolet Corvette	Powell Motorsport	91
2	GS I	Nonnamaker / Auberlen	Porsche GT3 Cup	Team Turbo Performance	91
3	GS I	Maxwell / Empringham	Porsche GT3 Cup	Doncaster Racing	91
4	GS I	Lacey / Wilkins	Porsche GT3 Cup	Doncaster Racing	91
5	GS I	Martini / Wagner	Porsche GT3 Cup	G&W Motorsports	91
6	GS I	Dumoulin / Spenard / Julien	Porsche 993 TT	Fiorano Racing	91
7	GS II	Barber / Borcheller	BMW M3	Bell Motorsports	90
8	GS I	Mears / Tremblay	Porsche GT3 Cup	SpeedSource	90
9	GS I	Marshall / Law	Porsche GT3 Cup	G&W Motorsports	90
10	GS II	Assentato / Longhi	Ford Mustang Cobra R	Max Q Motorsports	90
11	GS I	Levitas / Baker	Porsche GT3 Cup	TPC Racing	89
12	GS II	Schreiner / Lapcevich	Ford Mustang Cobra R	Shreiner Racing	88
13	GS II	Kopperl / Espenlaub	Pontiac Firebird	Pegasus Racing	88
14	GS II	Kohler / DeFontes	Ford Mustang Cobra R	TF Racing	88
15	ST I	Patch / Salama	BMW Z3	Villaconn International	88
16	ST I	Lally / Gaffney	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	88
17	GS II	Cunningham / Theetge	Acura NSX	Theetge Motorsports	87
18	GS II	Danaher / Baughman	Pontiac Firebird	Baughman Racing	87
19	ST I	James / Dror, Jr	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	87
20	ST I	Van Sicklen / Endicott / Galatti	Acura Integra R	King Motorsports	87
21	ST I	Heffron / Connolly	BMW Z3	Villaconn International	87
22	ST I	Craig / Gorriaran	Hyundai Tiburon	Hyundai Motorsports	87
23	ST I	Keravich / BJ Zacharias	Acura Integra R	Power Racing Team	86
24	GS II	Shep / Swain	Porsche 911	SpeedSource	86
25	ST I	Wolfkill / Piscelli	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	86
26	ST I	Moorcones / Himes	Acura Integra R	Craftsman Motorsports	86
27	ST I	Dumoulin / Goldsborough	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	86
28	ST I	Linder / Skavnes	Acura Integra R	Power Racing Team	85
29	ST I	Winokur / Haskell	Porsche Boxster	SpeedSource	85
30	ST I	Schlesinger / Tuaty	Porsche Boxster	SpeedSource	85
31	ST I	Ellinger / Ellinger / Coch	Mercedes 190E	RC Imports	84
32	ST II	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Acura Integra LS	HRPworld.com	83
33	ST II	Mandeville / Gabel	Mazda Miata	DTM Engineering	83
34	ST II	Doane / Schuitemacker	Acura Integra LS	HRPworld.com	82
35	ST II	Mori / Lowman	Mazda Miata	Caduceus Motorsports	80
36	GS II	Thornton / Russell	BMW M3	Automatic Racing	72
37	ST II	Luffy / Baglier	Mazda Protégé	Baglieracing	63
38	GS II	Istook / Martin	Audi S4	Istook / Aines Motorsport	62
39	ST II	Fenton / Beede / Curran	Acura Integra LS	Bill Fenton Motorsports	56
40	ST I	Borgeat / Bardieux	Acura Integra R	Team BRT	51
41	ST I	Gaughran / Macleod	Hyundai Tiburon	Hyundai Motorsports	48
42	ST I	Buisson / Dobson	BMW Z3	Villaconn International	29
43	GS II	Jones / Hilliar	Chevrolet Camaro	Precision Motor Werks	28
44	GS I	Weinberg / Hayner	Chevrolet Corvette	Powell Motorsport	21
45	ST II	Velcio / Nuzzo / Lewis	Acura Integra LS	HRPworld.com	1

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