 Round 7 - NJMP TeamDI Pro IT – New Jersey Motorsports Park – Round 7 by Ben Phillips Sunday morning broke overcast but dry. There was no morning practice and all cars were gridded by 8:45 for the 9AM start. In honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11 every car made a pace lap with an American flag flying to show our respect and remembrance of our fallen comrades and heroes. The memories of Joe Deluca and Linda Gronlund who were longtime SCCA members, drivers and volunteers were on the minds of many during that parade lap. Joe and Linda were both on Flight 93 where the passengers selflessly took heroic action that saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives.  A second warm-up lap was followed by the green flag. Eric King was on the pole in his ITS Mazda RX7 and had performed an outstanding qualifying effort in miserable conditions. I again started 46th with a new driver, Bill Ball running alongside me in an ITR M3 BMW. Bill took off and never looked back charging to the front to win ITR and nearly take the overall win, finishing 2nd to Matt Rooke in the Ridge Speed Racing ITS Mazda RX7. I finished 9th overall and 5th in class, passing 37 cars. I did have one off in the NJ Devil turn; the decreasing radius right hander is not a place to attempt an outside pass unless you wish to continue straight off the course for the wall! Huge compliments to the drivers in the TeamDI Pro IT Series. There was not one major incident throughout the weekend and despite some incidental bumps and bangs, nobody had any major damage. The series had a fantastic podium celebration on both days using the professional NJ Motorsports Park podium. Awards also included the beautiful Erin DeHaven, "Miss TeamDI," who presented the trophies and handed out TeamDI Pro IT programs to the onlookers. The end of the day festivities had just as much Champaign flying as the victory celebration by Patrick Long, Winner of the ARCA Re/Max race held only hours later. Overall this had to be one of the most incredible race weekends I’ve attended. From the muck and mire on Friday to the victory celebrations Saturday and Sunday, right down to the ARCA race complete with flybys by stunt planes pluming smoke over the crowds of thousands – what an outstanding TeamDI Pro IT series event! I personally had some fun when I saw Matt Rooke and John Hansworth (who took a third place in ITS this weekend) standing before a huge grandstand packed with fans, waiting for the start of the ARCA race. I bellowed to the crowd that before them was the overall winner of the TeamDI Pro IT race and let’s give him a cheer! The stands responded with a hearty cry for Matt as he waived his cap to the fans! Congratulations to all the drivers, teams and sponsors. |
