2007 Daytona International Speedway

Beginning in 2007, the Grand-Am Cup series was sponsored by KONI shock absorbers and renamed the KONI Challenge Series. The three-year agreement between Grand-Am and KONI called for the company to offer the richest purse in the series history - $100,000 per event. The winning Grand Sport team would earn $5,000 but the prize fund doubled to $10,000 if the car was equipped with KONI shock absorbers. Street Tuner competitors were competing for a similar payout - $3,750 to the winner and $7,500 if the vehicle is fitted with KONIs.

The 2007 season consisted of twelve race weekends and started in January at Daytona International Speedway, which was followed by a second event in Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In April, the series would make their first visit to Iowa Speedway then move on to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Lime Rock Park. In June, the teams traveled north of the border to compete at Mosport International Raceway after this event, race weekends took place Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Watkins Glen International and Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. In August, teams made their second visit to Canada, where the action would take place on the streets of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The penultimate round was held at Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park, with the finale being conducted at Virginia International Raceway. The Grand Sport and Street Tuner classes had separate races – the exceptions being Daytona, Watkins Glen and Miller Motorsports Park, where they competed in a single event.

The cars are relatively unchanged from their road-going counterparts – modifications are mandated mainly for safety – roll cages, window nets, etc. They also use spec DOT-approved tires produced by Hoosier. Based on performance potential, the cars were divided into one of two groups:

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 2,900 – 3,300-pounds, which is dependent on the motor configuration and displacement. This class includes cars such as the BMW M3, Pontiac GTO, Ford Mustang and Porsche 997.
Street Tuner (ST): The smaller displacement cars compete in this class in which engines typically produce between 170 and 240-horsepower. Popular vehicles found in this group are the Acura RSX, Acura TSX, Mazda RX-8, Mazda MX-5, Honda Accord, BMW 330i, Subaru Legacy, Chevrolet Cobalt SS and Mini Cooper S.

The 2007 KONI Challenge series kicked off at Daytona International Speedway in late January. The event titled, the ‘Fresh from Florida 200’, was part of the 45th Rolex at Daytona weekend. There were 106-cars entered, of which ninety-two completed lap-1 of the race.

Paired in the No. 5 Blackforest Motorsports Ford Mustang GT were Tom Nastasi and Canadian David Empringham. The Blackforest team entered five Mustangs, two Mazda RX-8 and a BMW M3. But the fastest combination was Nastasi and Empringham. Nastasi qualified the car and started third on the grid. Empringham drove the final stint and passed Scott Maxwell at the ‘bus stop’ with three-laps remaining for the win.

The 2006 Street Tuner champions, Don Salama and Will Turner returned for another season of Grand Am Cup competition. However, they moved to the Grand Sport division, driving a Turner Motorsport BMW M3. Salama started on the outside of the front row after recording the second-fastest time in qualifying. A spin by Salama in turn one on lap-2, saw the pair drop down the order and fight back for a tenth-place finish.

Winning the Street Tuner division were Karl Thomson and Billy Johnson. Thomson and Johnson co-drove the No. 76 Kensai Racing Acura TSX and started in the 103-position. Thomson qualified second in class, but the car failed the tech inspection after qualifying. The pair moved through the field and by the last half of the race, Johnson was in a four-way battle for the lead. He fought his way to the front and scored the class victory.

Davis Motorsports entered three Acura RSX-S, piloting the No. 144 RSX-S were Californians, Bob Endicott and Ken Dobson. Dobson performed the qualifying duties and was sixty-second fastest overall and third in class. During the race, the pair-maintained contact with the category leaders. Endicott drove the final stint and found himself in a three-car ‘shoot out’ for the win on the last lap. He would finish second by a margin of 0.448-seconds.

Beau Buisson, driving the No. 75 Kensai Racing Acura TSX, captured the Street Tuner pole and would start sixtieth overall. Unlike the Thomson/Johnson entry, Buisson and his teammate, Travis Walker, passed the post-qualifying technical inspection. Walker was racing with the class leaders when the drive-shaft failed with three laps remaining in the event. The pair finished sixty-second overall and twenty-forth in Street Tuner.

In the center are the overall and Grand Sports winners from Blackforest Motorsports, Tom Nastasi and the 2005 class champion, David Empringham. On the right side of the podium are the runner-ups, Scott Maxwell and the Fresh from Florida pole winner, Joe Foster. Completing the rostrum are drivers of the Turner Motorsport BMW M3, Bill Auberlen and Chris Gleason.

Sharing their No. 55 Hyper Sport entry was Joe Foster and Canadian, Scott Maxwell. In qualifying, Foster drove the Ford Mustang GT and was the fastest competitor with an overall with a time of 2:01.846. During the race, he maintained contact with the leaders. Maxwell drove the final stint and took the lead on lap-51 only to be passed by David Empringham late in the contest. Maxwell finished in second place by a 0.475-second margin.

The No. 32 i-Moto Racing prepared Acura TSX was driven by brothers, Kuno and Nick Wittmer. Nick handled the qualifying and was third fastest in the Street Tuner category. However, the Acura failed the post-qualifying technical inspection and Nick started in gridded in 104-position. That seemed to be of little consequence - by the end of the race, the brothers were in contention for the victory. At the finish, they were third in class.

The second Turner Motorsport Grand Sport class entry was driven by sports car veterans, Chris Gleason and Bill Auberlen. Gleason would drive the opening stint in the No. 96 BMW M3 and qualified the car twenty-first overall. At the end of the contest, Auberlen chased the leaders, David Empringham and Scott Maxwell but was no match for them on the banking. The pair finished 0.892-seconds behind the winner in third place.

Gridded third for the Fresh from Florida 200 was the No. 80 Kinetic Motorsports prepared BMW M3 raced by Bryan Ortiz and Boris Said. Said won an event last year that helped his previous co-driver, Anders Hainer, capture the 2006 Grand Sport title. Ortiz drove the first half of the contest. The pair fell out of contention and retired. At the checkered flag, they were twenty-nine-laps behind the leaders – seventy-eighth overall.

The 2007 Street Tuner podium at Daytona International Speedway. In the center are the class winning drivers, Karl Thomson and Billy Johnson from Kensai Racing. Taking the runner-up spot on the left side of the rostrum is Davis Motorsports’, Bob Endicott and Ken Dobson. The final position of the podium is occupied by the third-place finishers and brothers, Kuno and Nick Wittmer.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS
1	GS	Nastasi / Empringham	Ford Mustang GT	Blackforest Motorsport	64
2	GS	Foster / Maxwell	Ford Mustang GT	Hyper Sport	64
3	GS	Gleason / Auberlen	BMW M3	Turner Motorsport	64
4	GS	Murry / Prewitt	Nissan 350Z	Playboy Racing	64
5	GS	Thornton / Segal	BMW M3	Automatic Racing	64
6	GS	Goad / Conway	Pontiac GTO	Spirit of Daytona	64
7	GS	Seafuse / Ackley / Snyder	Ford Mustang GT	JBS Motorsports	64
8	GS	Martin / Mason	Ford Mustang GT	Rehagen Racing	64
9	GS	Pumpelly / Aschenbach	Porsche 997	Marcus Motorsports	64
10	GS	Turner / Salama	BMW M3	Turner Motorsport	64
11	GS	Seafuse / Gue	Ford Mustang GT	JBS Motorsports	64
12	GS	Glazunov Jr / Harris	Porsche 997	TRG	64
13	GS	Hamblin / Stanton	Porsche 996	BGB Motorsports	64
14	GS	Jonsson / Price	BMW M3	Kinetic Motorsports	64
15	GS	Pobst / Eversley / Sterenberg	Porsche 996	Race Prep Motorsports	64
16	GS	Wellon / Ellis	Porsche 996	LNS Motorsports	64
17	GS	Long / Russell	BMW M3	Automatic Racing	64
18	GS	Heniff / Johnson	Porsche 997	LNS Motorsports	64
19	GS	Weinberg / Oberto	Pontiac GTO	Spirit of Daytona Racing	64
20	GS	Safina / Feinberg	Ford Mustang GT	Blackforest Motorsports	64
21	GS	Bibbo / Schroeder	Porsche 997	TRG	64
22	GS	Becker / Masessa	Porsche 996	Team Sahlen	64
23	GS	Rossi / Grande	Porsche 996	LNS Motorsports	64
24	GS	Arnold / Robichaud	Porsche 996	ASC Motorsports	64
25	GS	Avenatti / McCrackin	Porsche 997	Synergy Racing	64
26	GS	Krohn / Hand	BMW M3	Kinetic Motorsports	64
27	GS	Thompson/ Sharp	Porsche 996	Horsepower Ranch	64
28	GS	Ballou / Lally	Porsche 997	TRG	63
29	GS	Yeakle / Collyer	Pontiac Firebird	Michael Baughman Racing	63
30	GS	Sterenberg / Pickett / Dougherty	Porsche 996	Race Prep Motorsports	63
31	GS	Connolly / Halpin / Hoyt	BMW M3	Southwest Racers Group	63
32	ST	Thomson / Johnson	Acura TSX	Kensai Racing	63
33	GS	Corso / Riefner	Nissan 350Z	Eastern Competition Promotorsports	63
34	ST	Endicott / Dobson	Acura RSX-S	Davis Motorsports	63
35	ST	Wittmer / Wittmer	Acura TSX	i-MOTO Racing	63
36	ST	Lamb / Thilenius	Acura RSX-S	Bill Fenton Motorsports	63
37	ST	Bocchino / Foo / Niffenegger	Acura TSX	i-MOTO Racing	63
38	ST	Armengol / Allen	Mazda RX-8	SpeedSource	63
39	ST	Hopwood / Burrows	BMW 330i	Turner Motorsport	63
40	ST	Grahovec / Kleinubing	BMW Z4	Classic BMW	63
41	ST	Roach / Lepper	Chevrolet Cobalt	Team Cobalt California	63
42	ST	Holtom / Curran	Chevrolet Cobalt	Georgian Bay Motorsports	63
43	ST	Gelpi Jr / Wehrheim / Gonzalez Jr	Chevrolet Cobalt	Team Cobalt California	63
44	ST	O'Toole / Speck	BMW 330i	V-Pack Motorsport	63
45	GS	Wilson/ Brannon	Ford Mustang GT	Blackforest Motorsports	63
46	GS	Tucker / Zabinski	Ford Mustang GT	Blackforest Motorsports	62
47	GS	Hennessy / Gimbert	BMW M3	Blackforest Motorsports	62
48	GS	Ende / Maiman	Porsche 997	TRG	62
49	ST	Trenery / Briody	Acura RSX-S	Davis Motorsports	62
50	ST	Leroux / Leroux	Acura TSX	LRT Racing	62
51	GS	Biskup / Longhi	BMW M3	Fall-Line Motorsports	62
52	ST	Bilodeau / Borgeat	Hyundai Tiburon	GT Racing	62
53	ST	Papineau/ Dion-Viens	Hyundai Tiburon	GT Racing	62
54	ST	Kent / Schmidt / Danyliw	Chevrolet Cobalt	GS Motorsport	62
55	ST	Hall / Karlson	Mazda MX-5	BSI Racing	62
56	ST	Pritiko / Powell	Acura RSX-S	Kensai Racing	62
57	ST	Scarbrough / Brumbaugh	Mazda RX-8	Roar Racing	62
58	ST	Lewis / Alvis	Volkswagen GTI	GSM Motorsports	61
59	ST	Givogue / Boyer	Chevrolet Cobalt	Predator Auto Sport	61
60	ST	Smellie / Zuccarelli III	Mazda RX-8	Rotary Power Motorsports	61
61	GS	Baker / Cobb	Porsche 996	ASC Motorsports	59
62	ST	Walker / Buisson	Acura TSX	Kensai Racing	57
63	ST	Schultz / Thomas	BMW 330i	Fountain Motorsports	59
64	ST	Cosmo / Stoddart	BMW 330i	Fountain Motorsports	59
65	ST	Webb / Van Vurst / Whitener III	Mazda RX-8	Roar Racing	59
66	ST	Buras / Garcia	Mazda MX-5	BSI Racing	58
67	ST	Smalley / Congleton	Mini Cooper S	RSR Motorsports	58
68	ST	Schmitt / Lewis	Honda Accord	HART	56
69	GS	Jenkins / Boden	BMW M3	Fall-Line Motorsports	55
70	GS	Grigsby Jr / Heath	Porsche 997	Cardiosport Racing	53
71	ST	Serra / Abello	Acura TSX	Davis Motorsports	50
72	GS	George Jr / Argetsinger / Russel	BMW M3	Automatic Racing	46
73	ST	Sahlen / Nonnamaker	Dodge SRT-4	Team Sahlen	45
74	GS	Canney / Nonnamaker	Porsche 996	Team Sahlen	44
75	GS	Mahre / Mahre	Ford Mustang GT	Team Centurion	38
76	GS	Espenlaub / Dempsey / Kapudija	Ford Mustang GT	Hyper Sport	38
77	GS	Plumb / Sabol	Porsche 996	Horsepower Ranch	36
78	GS	Said / Ortiz-Soto	BMW M3	Kinetic Motorsports	35
79	GS	Rehagen / Kofskey	Mustang Cobra SVT	Rehagen Racing	35
80	ST	DiMeo / Matz / Oliva	BMW 330ci	Competition Marketing Motorsports	33
81	GS	Riddle / Wilson / Pechnik	Porsche 997	C-MAX Racing	31
82	ST	Schlesinger / Tremblay	Mazda RX-8	SpeedSource	31
83	GS	Limoges/ Tagliani	Ford Mustang GT	Blackforest Motorsports	30
84	ST	Giovanis / Moorcones	BMW 330ci	T Giovanis Motorsport	30
85	GS	Lacy / Zacharias	Ford Mustang GT	Champion Motorsports	24
86	GS	Click / McGovern / Slone	Ford Mustang GT	Jim Click Racing	21
87	ST	Sliwa / Yano / Bethea	Dodge SRT-4	SDS Performance Racing	20
88	ST	Flint / Dennard / Hayes	Chevrolet Cobalt	Team Cobalt California	20
89	ST	Lira / Kennedy	Mazda RX-8	Blackforest Motorsports	19
90	GS	Bavaro / Burke / Fox	Porsche 997	Bodymotion Racing	13
91	GS	Miller / Trinkler	BMW M3	Automatic Racing	3
92	GS	Traver / Miller	Porsche 997	BGB Motorsports	3

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