2006 Daytona International Speedway

2006 was the sixth consecutive year of the Grand American Road Racing’s Grand Am Cup Series for American and Foreign sports cars and sedans.

There was a significant restructuring of the classes in 2004. The season debuted with a single Grand Sport (GS) and Street Tuner (ST) class.

Grand Sport (GS): The quicker of the two classes - the group features the larger displacement engines as well as smaller four-cylinder motors with forced induction systems. The power-plants produce between 350 and 405-horsepower. Minimum weights range between 2,730 – 3,250-pounds, which is dependent on the motor configuration and displacement. The top speed for a Grand Sport car is approximately 160-mph. This class includes cars such as the Acura NSX, Cadillac CTS-V, BMW M3, Pontiac Firebird, Ford Mustang GT, Nissan 350Z, Porsche 996 and 997 models.
Street Tuner (ST): The smaller displacement cars compete in this class in which engines typically produce between 170 and 240-horsepower. The top speed of a Sport Touring car is approximately 135-mph. Popular vehicles found in this group are the Acura RSX-S, Acura TSX, Mazda RX-8, BMW Z4, BMW 330i, Chevrolet Cobalt SS and Mini Cooper S.

The cars competing 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 placed in the Grand Sport or Sport Touring group.

The 2006 season consists of ten race weekends and starts in January at Daytona International Speedway. Teams do not compete again until April for the first of two events at Virginia International Raceway. In early May, the series competes at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and stays on the West Coast for races at Phoenix International Raceway. Then the series returns to the eastern United States for weekends at Lime Rock Park, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Barber Motorsports Park. On the first weekend of August, the championship heads north of the border to compete at the Le Circuit Trois-Rivieres. The penultimate round takes place at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, with the finale being contested at Virginia International Raceway.

Separate races for the Grand Sport and Street Tuner categories will be held at Phoenix, Lime Rock Park, Trois-Rivieres and the second race weekend at Virginia International Raceway.

Eighty-seven Grand Am Cup competitors were entered in the Grand Am Cup 200 at Daytona and eighty-two started the contest. Drivers would compete on the twelve-turn 3.56-mile roval in round one of the 2006 championship.

The technical inspection after qualifying resulted in some changes to the starting line-up. The fastest qualifier, Mark Plummer, was moved to the back of the grid for a suspension modification to his Porsche 996. This elevated the No. 55 Hyper Sport Ford Mustang GT of Ryan Pilla to the pole-position. Sharing the front row with Pilla was Eric Lux driving the No. 44 Team Sahlen Porsche 966.

With the disqualification of the BGB Motorsports’ Porsches, the starting position for Grand Sport competitors improved at least one spot. As a result, the No. 44 Porsche 966, driven by Eric Lux and Charles Espenlaub, would be gridded second. Lux drove the opening stint and grabbed first place on lap-3. After the driver change, Espenlaub also led the race but had to hold off a challenge from Bill Auberlen for the victory.

The No. 38 BGB Motorsports Porsche 996 was driven by Mark Plummer during the qualifying session. Plummer recorded the fastest time but modifications to the suspension of the Porsche meant that he and his co-driver, Craig Stanton, would be gridded at the rear. Despite their starting position, they charged through the field and Stanton claimed the lead on lap-52. But a late pit-stop for fuel resulted in a twentieth-place finish.

The Hyper Sport Ford Mustang GT of Ryan Pilla and Joe Foster inherited the top qualifying position with the disqualification of the BGB Motorsports’ Porsche. Pilla started the Grand Am Cup 200 and led the first three laps before being passed by the Porsche of Eric Lux. Pilla and Foster were unable to maintain the pace of the front runners and finished on the lead lap – thirteenth overall and in the Grand Sport category.

It was the same story at the front of the Street Tuner class. Except, in this case, the two fastest qualifiers had to start from the rear of the grid for technical violations. Leading the field of Street Tuner competitors into turn one is the new pole-sitter, Hugh Plumb driving the No. 27 Acura RSX-S. Beside Plumb is the Chevrolet Cobalt of the second-place starter, Eric Curran. Following these two are Will Turner and John Schmitt.

The Grand Sport podium for round one of the 2006 Grand Am Cup series. Standing in the center of the rostrum are the winners, Eric Lux and Charles Espenlaub, who drove one a five Team Sahlen Porsches entered in the event. To the left of Lux and Espenlaub are the runner-ups from Turner Motorsports, Bill Auberlen and Chris Gleason. Completing the podium are Michael McDowell and the team owner/driver, Rob Findlay.

The No. 92 HART Honda Accord, shared by John Schmitt and Dave Roush, moved to the fourth Street Tuner starting position after the disqualification of the two Acuras. Schmitt started the race and was able to dodge much of the on-track trouble. He handed the Honda over to Roush in good condition. Roush escaped serious contact during his stint and scored his first Gran-Am Cup victory and the seventh for Schmitt.

The No. 75 Kensai Racing Acura RSX-S was the fastest Street Turner qualifier but the technical inspection after the session uncovered an illegal fuel system. Slated to start second was the Schwartzott / Thornley Racing Acura TSX but it was too low. Both Acuras were moved to the rear of the field. The Kensai RSX-S would finish twenty-seventh in class while the TSX would be classified in nineteenth place.

Veteran BMW driver, Bill Auberlen, was signed by Turner Motorsports to share the No. 96 BMW M3 with Chris Gleason. The BMW had engine problems in practice and failed to post a time in qualifying. As a result, Gleason started fifty-first in a field of eighty-two cars. Late in the contest, Auberlen was third and closing on the leading Porsches. When the second-place car pitted for fuel, he inherited a runner-up finish.

The biggest beneficiary of the Street Tuner disqualifications was the No. 27 Acura RSX-S. Piloting the Acura were brothers, Hugh and Matt Plumb. Hugh led the opening laps until he was passed by the Chevrolet Cobalt of Eric Curran. At the mid-point of the event, the brothers performed their driver change. Matt had an incident during his stint, causing him to lose contact with the race leading Honda Accord. They would finish second.

Grand Am Rolex competitors, Rob Findlay and Michael McDowell, co-drove the No. 15 Findlay Motorsport Ford Mustang GT. Findlay performed the qualifying duties and was fifth fastest. He maintained his position during his time behind the wheel. McDowell stayed with the leaders but an off-course excursion in turn-one took him out of contention. The pair finished third and were the highest placed Ford Mustang GT.

The disqualification of the Kensai and Schwartzott / Thornley Acuras moved the No. 95 Turner Motorsports BMW 330i to the third position on the starting grid. Racing the BMW was Will Turner and Don Salama, who finished third in the 2005 Grand-Am Cup Street Tuner standings. The duo ran a consistent race and avoided most of the on-track issues to capture the final spot on the class podium.

The Grand Am Cup Sport Touring rostrum for round one at Daytona International Raceway. In the center are the winners, Dave Roush and John Schmitt. Schmitt was also the class winner at Daytona in 2004. Standing on the left side are the runner-ups, Hugh and Matt Plumb. Completing the podium are Don Salama and Will Turner, Turner Motorsports’ team principal.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS
1	GS	Lux / Espenlaub	Porsche 996	Team Sahlen	57
2	GS	Gleason / Auberlen	BMW M3	Turner Motorsport	57
3	GS	Finlay / McDowell	Mustang GT	Finlay Motorsports	57
4	GS	Seafuse / Seafuse / Gue	Mustang GT	JBS Motorsports	57
5	GS	Nastasi / James	Mustang GT	Blackforest Motorsport	57
6	GS	Barber / Borcheller	Mustang GT	Blackforest Motorsport	57
7	GS	Bourdais / Bourdais	Mustang GT	Multimatic Motorsports	57
8	GS	Hainer / Said	BMW M3	Turner Motorsport	57
9	GS	Wellon / Ellis	Porsche 996	Knobel Racing	57
10	GS	Bernheim / Dement	Porsche 996	Bernheim Racing	57
11	GS	Halsmer / Miller	Mustang GT	Stealth Racing	57
12	GS	Martinelli / McMillen	BMW M3	Martinelli Motorsports	57
13	GS	Pilla / Foster	Mustang GT	Hyper Sport	57
14	GS	Pumpelly / Lally	Porsche 997	Marcus Motorsports	57
15	GS	Traver / Miller	Porsche 996	BGB Motorsports	57
16	GS	Sahlen / Nonnamaker	Porsche 996	Team Sahlen	57
17	GS	Bavaro / Price	Porsche 997	Bodymotion Racing	57
18	GS	Kohler / Smith	Mustang GT	TF Racing	57
19	GS	Keravich III / Trinkler	BMW M3	Power Racing Team	57
20	GS	Plummer / Stanton	Porsche 996	BGB Motorsports	57
21	GS	Mullins / Thornton	BMW M3	Automatic Racing	57
22	GS	Pickett / Fox / Faulkner	Porsche 996	Race Prep Motorsports	57
23	GS	Faulkner / Pickett	Porsche 996	Race Prep Motorsports	57
24	GS	Rossi / Courtney	Porsche 996	Knobel Racing	57
25	GS	Ortiz / Gonzalez Jr	Porsche 996	Team Sahlen	57
26	GS	Olson / Lehmann / Lacy	Mustang GT	Champion Motorsports	57
27	GS	Sabol / Sahlen / Nonnamaker	Porsche 996	Team Sahlen	57
28	GS	Martini / Long	Porsche 997	Synergy Racing	57
29	GS	Goodbody / Krueger / Vong	Porsche 997	Group 88 Motorsports	56
30	ST	Schmitt / Roush	Honda Accord	HART	56
31	ST	Plumb / Plumb	Acura RSX-S	Bill Fenton Motorsports	56
32	GS	Skelton / Dempsey	Mustang GT	Hyper Sport	56
33	ST	Turner / Salama	BMW 330i	Turner Motorsport	56
34	ST	Curran / Holtom	Chevrolet Cobalt	Georgian Bay Motorsports	56
35	ST	Liebl / Beede	Acura RSX-S	Bill Fenton Motorsports	56
36	ST	Schlesinger / Dobson	Mazda RX-8	SpeedSource	56
37	ST	Haskell / Tremblay	Mazda RX-8	SpeedSource	56
38	ST	Holtom / Colembie	Chevrolet Cobalt	Georgian Bay Motorsports	56
39	ST	Potter / Tuaty	BMW Z4	Performance Motorsports	56
40	GS	Law / Cunningham	Porsche 997	Marcus Motorsports	55
41	GS	Lapcevich / Camp	Mustang Cobra	Frederick Motorsports	55
42	ST	Himes / Piper / Briody	BMW 330i	Piper Motorsport	55
43	ST	Huffmaster / Huffmaster	Mazda RX-8	SpeedSource	55
44	ST	Malgren / Magner	Chevrolet Cobalt	Powell Motorsport	55
45	ST	Roach / Lepper	Chevrolet Cobalt	Team Cobalt California	55
46	ST	Abello / Armengol	Mazda RX-8	SpeedSource	55
47	GS	Masessa / Rehm	Mustang Cobra SVT	Rehagen Racing	55
48	GS	Zavodsky / Mason / Martin	Mustang Cobra SVT	Rehagen Racing	54
49	ST	Buras / Linder / Piper	BMW 330i	Piper Motorsport	54
50	ST	Stewart / Sapp	Acura TSX	Stewart Motorsports	54
51	ST	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Porsche 996	Team Sahlen	54
52	GS	Pappas / Fitzgerald	Porsche 996	Fastmetal Motorsports	54
53	GS	Moorcones / Legg	Acura Integra R	Radial Motorsports	54
54	ST	Gurucharri / Whitener III / Nett	Mazda RX-8	Roar Racing	53
55	ST	O'Shaughnessy / Schwartzott	Acura TSX	Schwartzott / Thornley Racing	53
56	ST	Shaw / Schultz	BMW 330ci	Fountain Motorsports	53
57	ST	Nuzzo / Pattee	Mini Cooper S	Nuzzo Motorsports	52
58	ST	Sliwa / France / Hendricks	Dodge SRT-4	Performance Racing	52
59	ST	Baglier / Luffy	Mazda 6	Baglieracing	50
60	ST	Mirzayan / Lepper	Chevrolet Cobalt	Team Cobalt California	50
61	ST	Mitchell III / Robinson	Mazda RX-8	Play Therapy Racing	49
62	ST	Bishop / Toussaint	Mini Cooper S	Nuzzo Motorsports	47
63	GS	Segal / Russell	BMW M3	Automatic Racing	46
64	GS	Grand / Brown	Porsche 996	Grand Motorsport Racing	46
65	ST	Walker / Theetge	Acura RSX-S	Kensai Racing	44
66	GS	Assentato / Longhi	BMW M3	Automatic Racing	43
67	ST	Futrelle IV / Addison	Mazda RX-8	Roar Racing	43
68	ST	O'Dell / Alvis	Mazda RX-8	Roar Racing	42
69	ST	Mueller / Diedrick	Nissan Sentra	DEI Racers Group	40
70	GS	Scattolin / Turner	Mustang GT	Blackforest Motorsports	33
71	ST	Sweeney III / Dewey	Mazda 6	S&D Motorsports	27
72	GS	Gaughran / MacLeod	BMW M3	Power Racing Team	23
73	GS	Conway / Goad	Pontiac GTO	Spirit of Daytona Racing	23
74	GS	Constantine / Borkowski	Nissan 350Z	Playboy Racing	19
75	GS	Riddle / Wilson	BMW M3	Automatic Racing	18
76	GS	Michaelian / Michaelian	Mustang GT	Rehagen Racing	17
77	GS	Rosser / Murry	Nissan 350Z	Playboy Racing	16
78	GS	Weinberg / Collyer	Pontiac GTO	Spirit of Daytona Racing	16
79	ST	Sofronas / Munson	BMW 330	Anchor Racing	16
80	ST	Giovanis / York	BMW 330ci	T Giovanis Motorsport	8
81	ST	Do Couto / Shaffer	Audi A4	Auto Centro Racing	5
82	GS	Yeakle / Baughman	Pontiac Firebird	Michael Baughman Racing	3
83	GS	Limoges / Empringham	Mustang GT	Blackforest Motorsports	0
84	ST	Stoddart / Fonte	BMW 330ci	Fountain Motorsports	0
85	ST	Matz / Olivq	BMW Z4	Performance Motorsports	0
86	GS	Munson / Kapudija	BMW M3	Anchor Racing	0
87	ST	Allen / Buisson	Mazda RX-8	Roar Racing	0

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