More Than a Dozen Feature Race Winners Crowned as 46th HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Comes to a Competitive Conclusion
April 30, 2024 by HSR![More Than a Dozen Feature Race Winners Crowned as 46th HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Comes to a Competitive Conclusion](images/articleimages/46th-mitty-michelin-raceway-400.jpg)
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Saturday's third B.R.M. Endurance race winner was Benjamin Myers who scored Historic-class honors and an impressive seventh overall finish in a packed 47-car field in his Wolf Motorsports 2001 No. 29 Carbir CS2 sports 2000. The weekend's final B.R.M. Endurance victor was Craig Watkins who finished just behind Treffert in second overall while securing the Vintage division victory in his 1968 No. 46 Porsche 911 prepared by the 901 Shop. Following up on Friday's Sasco Sports International/American Challenge race for bigger classic GT cars, Saturday's Sasco Sports 'B' race was a showcase of small-bore sports cars delivering some big excitement. The overall and Porshe class win went to Gary Stanberry who pulled off a last-lap pass in the downhill run to the checkered flag for one of the most thrilling finishes of the weekend. Stanberry led only the final few hundred feet of the race but it was enough for the win in the 1988 No. 77 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup series car prepared by DAS Sport. Michael Leveque was the first non-Porsche finisher to the line in his No. 23 1966 Yenko Stinger Corvair. Leveque secured the Sasco Sports American division win in addition to a stout seventh-place overall finish in the 41-car field. Sasco Sports 'B' International-class honors went to John Bibbo who broke through for his first HSR race win in his 1976 No. 208 BMW 2002 prepared by Motorsport Services and run out of Heritage Motorsports in the paddock. Reigning Gene Felton Memorial Challenge winner 'Front Row' Joe Nemechek went a perfect three-for-three in the annual tribute race for Felton, the late Georgia-based driving star and 2019 HSR Mitty Grand Marshal. Winning both the Saturday and Sunday HSR Group 8 Historic Stock Car races in his NEMCO Motorsports 2007 No. 47 Toyota Camry, Nemechek amassed enough points to keep a personal lock on the perpetual Lanier Technical College Gene Felton Trophy as the only driver to win it in the Pro category each of the three years the race has been run. Matt Tifft finished second on track to Nemechek in Sunday's final Group 8 sprint in his No. 39 2006 Dodge Charger to clinch Amateur-class Gene Felton Memorial Challenge honors for the first time. Saturday's highlight Cars of Japan Feature Race was an exhibition run for the more than 40 entered cars of all types from Datsun/Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Honda/Acura and more. Although no trophies or points were awarded, Mazda Heritage Collection drivers Jonathan Bomarito and Tom Long definitely stole the spotlight. Moving the mighty 1989 Mazda 767B into the 'lead' from the 'pole' at the start, Bomarito was soon joined by Long, who was at the wheel of the 1991 Mazda RX-7 GTO. After Long went to the front for a few laps, the Mazda duo formed up to take the checkered flag side-by-side in a nearly perfect photo finish. The Mazda Heritage Collection cars and drivers were on track and on display all weekend and were one of the most popular attractions in what was the program's first and hopefully not last appearance at the HSR Mitty. The Grand Marshal of the 46th HSR Mitty was recently retired and longtime HSR President David Hinton who gave the traditional 'Drivers Start Your Engines' command for Saturday's Cars of Japan Feature Race. Hinton, who is also the owner and principal of race and championship-winning historic and vintage racing team Heritage Motorsports, remains a popular fixture in the HSR paddock. He was also presented during Friday night's Mitty competitor social mixer at the track with the HSR Mitty Award for the competitor that best typifies the adventurous spirit of the fictitious daredevil daydreamer, Walter Mitty, who is the namesake and inspiration for the 46-year-old HSR Mitty extravaganza. Next up for HSR on the 2024 schedule is the second annual HSR Classic 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, June 6 - 9, at Watkins Glen International. Please visits www.HSRRace.com for information. About HSR: An International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) property, Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) was formed in the mid-1970s with an event at Road Atlanta. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate the race cars from the past. As a 'time machine' of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at race tracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions eight vintage and historic racing events at some of the world's most renowned race tracks, including Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Daytona International Speedway and more. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR's website at www.HSRRace.com. Look for the HSR Channel on YouTube and follow HSR on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HSRrace/ and on Twitter and Instagram at @HSR_race.
posted on conceptcarz.com
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