I just wanted to thank everyone in ITA for a great race on Saturday! That was one hell of a race, and I'm just thankful for finishing the race with a car that resembles what I started it with

Congratulations to Alex for the win, he never gave up! Also, congrats to Kevin Ruck for his 3rd place, I know how hard he has worked all year for that one. Where did that Nissan come from? Great job Greg, you were not easy to get around!

We had a rough weekend, our #36 car (Robert Moser) went through more this weekend than we expected... The car nearly burned to the ground on Thursday's test day. The steel-braided oil cooler lines were rested against the positive starter terminal (The conduit moved aside), creating an arc that burned a hole clear through the lines. The oil spouted out and caused a fire that melted the engine harness, TPS, MAP sensor, battery...etc We had some parts flown out overnight from King Motorsports and got the car back together just before the 2nd Qualifying session on Friday. He got on the track, still jittery from barely getting the car ready on time, and immediately lost both 3rd and 4th gear synchros. He ended up qualifying 12th and I qualified 3rd behind Colin Both (1:42.45) and Alex (1:42.6?).

The race start was hectic to say the least... Alex was fortunate to get out and run away from the melay behind him. We all swapped positions repeatedly for the first several laps... I know I had to pass Kevin Ruck, Greg Amy, and Colin Botha numerous times to get back to second. A double-yellow came out around lap 7 or 8, which did wonders for me I got a second chance at making a run on Alex. The car was beginning to handle very poorly (after some race bumping), but I figured I'd make a run at it. I ended up making a pass on Alex in braking at 10a. I built up a 3/4 of the Front Straight lead on him before the car got very bad. I started loosing about 2 seconds a lap, and got a little nervous. I ended up driving off at 7 two laps in a row, letting him by on the backstraight

Before it was all over though, I got my consolation prize (new ITA record, 1:42.045), but no win! During post-race tech, we realized the handling problem... The right rear lower suspension mounting points had all broken free from the car, and were allowing the wheel to flop all over the place (Thankfully it was the inside wheel on most corners, otherwise it wouldn't have even completed a lap!).

My dad managed to work his way up to 5th place in a car with no gear synchros! Congrats to him, and everybody in ITA for another great ARRC weekend!

Joe Moser