'Mosh pit' weekend at PIR showcases young drivers
Crowds sparse, but inaugural Mazda Grand Prix gets thumbs-up from competitors
JEFF ZURSCHMEIDE / THE PORTLAND TRIBUNE
Liam Kenney gets up on two wheels as he tries to regain the lead in the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup at Portland International Raceway.
Champ Car didn’t make it to the 25th anniversary party, but a new series of events provided plenty of action at Portland International Raceway over the weekend.
The attendance was disappointing, but the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland put rising stars in minor league professional racing in the spotlight.
When Champ Car folded its tent in February, PIR manager Mark Wigginton and Mazda Motorsports manager Jim Jordan put their heads together and decided to throw a 25th anniversary event with as much action as they could pack into a long weekend.
“It’s a mosh pit of motorsports,” Jordan says.
Professional motor racing is moving toward series that use identical cars. By removing the advantage of huge car development budgets, the drivers become the central figures. Almost all of the racing at PIR last weekend took place in large fields of matched cars.
The Great American Stock Car Series, organized by Portland businessman Chris Evans. uses a standard NASCAR-style chassis, and drivers can choose between Ford, Chevrolet or Dodge engines. All the engines have been tuned to produce the same horsepower, however.
Jeff Smith of West Linn won the race at PIR in his Snapware Dodge. Smith spun on the pace lap and worked his way up from the back of the pack. Second place went to Jeff Mincheff of Portland.
The Playboy MX-5 Cup series features identical Mazda MX-5 roadsters. The series also is part of Mazda’s “Racing Ladder” program, in which the series champion is awarded a full season at a higher-level series the following year.
Brad Rampelberg of San Jose, Calif., and Andrew Caddell of Graham, Wash., were among the leaders at PIR. The two are used to racing each other – Caddell narrowly beat Rampelberg for the 2006 SCCA National Championship in Spec Miata, and Rampelberg barely beat Caddell for the honor in 2007. Rampelberg took the checkered flag at PIR, with Todd Buras of Florida in second place and Caddell a close third.
The Mazda Grand Prix of Portland couldn’t really be an anniversary of Champ Car without a good open-wheel race, and so the Star Mazda series put on a doubleheader, with races on Saturday and Sunday.
Star Mazda has identical rotary-powered formula cars that use wings to produce downforce. Because the suspension and wing technology in a Star car is similar to that used in major league racing, young drivers gain experience in car setup and development through their participation. The series also is part of the Mazda ladder program and draws talented young drivers from all over the world.
Tom Gladdis, 17, of Gibraltar won Saturday’s Star race. Gladdis already has an impressive racing history in Europe and high hopes for the future.
Sunday’s race went to John Edwards of Cincinnati, Ohio. Edwards had a secret weapon for the weekend in his race engineer, Eric Purcell. Purcell is based in Portland and participated in last fall’s PIR track redesign and repaving project. “A little bit of local knowledge never hurts,” Purcell says.
The Mazda Grand Prix also afforded local racers a chance to shine alongside the pros. Spec Miata is a popular class for do-it-yourself racers. The recipe is simple: take an older Mazda Miata, put a standardized roll cage, suspension and other parts on the car, and go racing. While not strictly identical machines, the class rules keep the cars close in performance. Ken Sutherland of Sherwood won both Spec Miata races last weekend, bringing home a check for $1,100 from event sponsor www.miatacage.com.
The Mazda Grand Prix also included a Wednesday evening Beaches Cruise-In, a Thursday motocross, Friday night drag racing and a Driving Sports Time Attack event on Saturday evening. Time Attack involves newer, import “Tuner” cars working alone on the race track to set a fast lap. “It’s a way to go racing in your street car without the risks of side-by-side cornering,” Driving Sports founder Ryan Douthit says.
The highlight of the weekend for many racing fans was the all-new Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup race. The series uses factory-prepared identical Jetta Turbo-Diesel race cars. With just a few modifications to the engine, brakes and suspension, the cars are the same as this year’s Jetta TDI street cars. VW limited the driver selection to ages 16 to 26.
The first thing fans noticed about the TDI series is how quiet the cars are when racing. The squeal of tires is louder than the engines, and the entire race is less noisy than a Portland city bus going by. Yet the drivers get the cars up on two wheels at several corners around the track, and everyone races hard, because the prize is a chance to get noticed and move up in the racing world.
In a race of inches, Josh Hurley of Cooper City, Fla., won Sunday’s TDI Cup. Close on his heels, however, was Liam Kenney of Sterling, Va. Kenney led the race for several laps, but a late-race crash brought out an early checker and closed the book on his chances.
“It was just crazy busy out there,” Kenney says. “You couldn’t but help get caught up in all the dicing for position that was going on.”
The Mazda Grand Prix drew full fields for each of the participating series and enthusiastic praise from the drivers and crews, yet fan attendance was disappointing. Even a weekend of perfect racing weather did not help draw large crowds to the track.
However, die-hard racing fans were on hand to support the drivers. Malcolm and Leslie McDougall brought their sons, Cameron and Duncan, from Vancouver, British Columbia for the event.
“Both of our boys race quarter-midgets back in Canada, and we wanted to come down and visit Portland to bring them to the show,” Leslie McDougall says.
Despite the light gate, Mazda officials were upbeat about continuing the program next year.
“We’re already talking to the racing series about coming back,” says Dean Case, communications officer for Mazda Motorsports. “We just need to figure out how to draw more people to the event. But this was a solid start.”