FEDERAL TIRES SPEEDSF CHALLENGE @ BUTTONWILLOW RACEWAY PARK - OCTOBER 28, 2018 - ROUND 13
For those coming from NorCal/Bay Area, the driver to Buttonwillow Raceway Park, the drive to this particular track can be considered grueling. A long drive down the less-than-stellar Highway 5 makes the 3.5 hour trip feel like half the day had already passed. Most people opt to drive down the night before and stay at any one of the area’s finest rooms with beds, but for the most part, others decide to make a day trip out of it. No matter how one decides to end up at Buttonwillow, the feeling of relief erases all the grief from the trek down.
Buttonwillow surely tests beginners and experts alike, but with the generous runoffs and lack of walls, mistakes are mostly forgiven and minimal consequences allow for those who have the gusto to try to find and exceed their limits. The drivers who were part of the SpeedSF Challenge were those drivers willing to put their ego and car on the line and win their class on this day, some attempting to extend their lead in the championship points, while others were looking to catch up.
Group X
Patrick Chio and his beastly C7 Z06 were at the top of the list again this round with a blistering 1:51.332 lap time. So as long as the car can properly plant its tires on the ground, all of that surging power definitely translates into fast lap times! 2nd place winner was Khanh Hoang in his Honda S2000 who laid down a 1:54.892 lap time. Very nice! In third place was Savanna Little in her Enjuku Racing Nissan 350Z who had a 1:57.37 lap time. Good job to everyone in Group X.
Group S1
Another group of very fast drivers in the low 1:50s, but this time, the top three drivers were piloting Chevy-powered vehicles! Chad Armstrong drove a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to 1st place by putting down a 1:53.760 lap time, while 2nd place Sean Cagle also drove a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and earned a 1:54.311 lap time. Maybe the 3 extra letters made Chad that much faster? Gordon Peng blew the doors off its competitors in a car 16 years older than the 1st place winner’s car by laying out a 1:54.691 lap time in his 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Ridiculously good performance from an experienced driver!
Group S2
Ah yes, S2, where it starts to get a bit more dicey! Gary Yeung and his Dirty Mango S2000 were once again at the top of the S2 chart. With his 1:54.473, he’s looking at some S1-type driving here! Ivan Hung drove his 2008 Honda S2000 to 2nd place with a resounding 1:56.390, while the 3rd place winner decided to break up the Honda party by bringing his 2004 BMW M3 into the mix and put in a 1:59.050 lap time, narrowly being beaten out by 4th place winner Geoff Richards who had a 1:59.900 lap time in his 2008 Porsche 997S.
Group S3
Group S3’s podium was a Honda S2000 and BMW E46 sandwich, featuring 1st place winner Martin Riente in his Honda S2000 who posted a great time of 1:56.996 in his Honda S2000, while 2nd place winner Sam Huang had a 2:00.052 lap time. Ming Kai placed his S2000 in 3rd place by putting down a 2:01.247 lap time. Great driving by everyone in S3!
GROUP S4
The group with the most amount of drivers that day, it was a hotly contested bunch, with a Civic, S2000, and Miata locking out the top 3. Daniel Kirby and Sohan Kota, 1st and 2nd place winners respectively, were relying on the power of VTEC to get them across the line. Cars released 10 years apart, yet finishing within .3 seconds of each other, it was a great battle to watch. Daniel took his 1990 Honda Civic to a class win with his 2:00.324 lap time while Sohan did his best to gain his 2:00.663 lap time. Chris Willard in a Miata put down a 2:02.449 lap time!
CONCLUSION
A great job to the drivers who won their places and THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the SpeedSF Challenge!
As we look forward to Round 14 of the SpeedSF Challenge back at Buttonwillow Raceway Park for our famous BLACK FRIDAY we want to say that we truly appreciate our sponsors and participants as it would not be possible without them!
We thank our Challenge sponsor Federal Tires, as well as SpeedSF Track events sponsors Wine Country Motorsports, G-Loc brakes, DBA USA, Titan7, and Necksgen.
Our next SpeedSF Challenge will be held at Buttonwillow Raceway Park on Friday, November 23. Again, please check out the event website by clicking here. We will see you at our next event!