VIR 200 GRAND AMERICAN CUP'S SEASON FINALE

Grand Sport (GS) points leader David Empringham looked to wrap-up the GS title in his No. 05 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT. Driver David Empringham held a 15-point lead in the driver’s championship over BMW driver Justin Marks. To clinch the title, the ex-Formula Atlantic and Indy Lights Champion needed only to finish 10th or better in the #05 Mustang to add the Grand Am Cup driver’s title to his resume. “It has been an exciting and challenging season, and it is our intention to finish on a high note,” said Multimatic Vice President, Larry Holt.
 

Despite all of David Emprinhams efforts it was Tom Nastasi qualifying the No. 5 machine ninth overall, surviving an early penalty for rough driving, than ran up front for most of his 10-lap stint, handing control to Ian James during the race's first caution period. Avoiding major trouble during the middle stages of the race, Ian James took the lead when Gunnar Jeanette in the No. 55 Ford Racing/Multimatic Motorsports/Venture Steel Mustang slid off-course on lap number 32. Although the conditions never improved and several other cars ended up off the track and into tire walls, Ian James kept the Blackforest Motorsports Mustang on the pavement to bookend the year with victories for the duo.

Second place for the GS was the No. 28, Porsche 996, Race Prep Motorsports team of Craig Stanton, Spencer Pumpelly and Mike Pickett. Craig Stanton had this to say, “Hoosier Tires and their crew had their workout today, wets to dries and back again. They (Hoosier) did a great.” 
 

Standing atop the podium today for the ST class was the No. 06, BMW Z3, team of Karl Thomson, Daniel Herrington and David Sterenberg. Much like in the GS race, the key to victory in the Sport Touring (ST) class was to avoid major trouble and maneuver carefully on the wet racetrack. They kept all four tires on the ground and crossed the finish line first in class to claim their first victory of the season. 

Sports Touring (ST) class points leader David Haskell and teammate Sylvain Trembla in the No. 70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 in seventh position wanted to send out a big fat thank you to Hoosier Racing Tire. Sylvain Tremblay said “Hoosier thanks for the good work you do, all year long.”

SPEED Channel will carry the VIR 200 for the Grand-Am Cup Series on a tape-delayed basis at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 13.

Live audio web casts are available in both English and Spanish via the official web site of the Grand American Road Racing Association, www.grandamerican.com. The site also features Live Timing & Scoring data from every on-track session and complete coverage from throughout the weekend. 

Hoosier Racing Tire is proud to be the sole tire supplier for the Grand American / Rolex Racing Series. 

Despite Tom Nastasi and Ian James outlasting the rest of the field in a wet and wild finale in the VIR 200 at Virginia International Raceway, fellow Mustang driver David Empringham, Ford and Multimatic claimed the 2005 Grand-Am Cup Series driver, manufacturer and team championships.

David Empringham, coming into the race with a 15-point championship lead over Justin Marks, finished third in the race with teammate Scott Maxwell in the No. 05 Ford Racing/Multimatic Motorsports/Venture Steel, clinching the 2005 GS driver championship. The third place result was fitting for a car that never finished lower than 10th, claiming seven podium finishes in 11 starts. Empringham and Maxwell drove together in all but one race this season, a Mosport 200 victory for Empringham that put him atop the standings for good.

Ford, the Mustang's manufacturer, overcame BMW's three-point lead heading into the weekend to claim its first Grand-Am Cup title with its new Mustang while the No. 05 Mustang also gave Multimatic its second team title since 2002. In total, Mustangs won five races this year.

The No. 70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 came into the weekend having already claimed the team championship. Co-drivers David Haskell and Sylvain Tremblay drove a solid race, finishing seventh in class, knowing that back-to-back titles for both Haskell and the SpeedSource machine were already foregone conclusions.

Mike Kraemer product manager for Hoosier Racing Tire had this to say, “seven years ago we were involved with Grand-Am Cup, hoping we could keep up with you. As of this year we have taken on the huge task of being the sole tire supplier not only to Grand-Am Cup, but also the Rolex series. You (Grand-Am Cup) have taught us what it takes to keep growing, to do more, to continue to grow to the next level. This is a room full of people that excel. We are proud to be associated with you and look forward to moving / growing together.”

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