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Buffamonte scores second consecutive Championship Win
2005 Challenge Series Nationals champion repeats the feat in 2006 |
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East Coast favorite Tony Buffomante took the checkered flag barely
ahead of 24 Challenge Series competitors in the largest championship
race in series history. |
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Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course played host to
NASA’s first-ever National Championships over the weekend of Sept.
15-17, featuring spectacular run-offs in each of its racing series.
Not
surprisingly, the Factory Five Challenge Series was one of the
marquee series, and featured one of the largest fields at the
massive racing event. |
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Although Buffomante had the entire field
gunning for him throughout the weekend, trying to unseat the
reigning champion, he consistently turned some of the fastest times
in practice and qualifying runs.
The
championship race started off in spectacular fashion as 26 of the
fastest Challenge Cars in the country started in a grid for a
standing start. |
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Brian Cates, 2006 East Coast champion and one
of the pre-race favorites, qualified to start just a few feet behind
his East Coast rival, and was gearing himself for the battle for the
checkered flag against Buffomante.
West
Coast stand-out Spencer Sharpe was also among the top four
qualifiers, and was poised to make his mark on the Championship
race. |
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The East Coast drivers have dominated the
Challenge Series championship races, and Spencer represented their
best hope to bring the trophy back west.
Behind
them were 12 other racers who traveled from the West Coast to make
their mark, as well as 10 other East Coasters, each with a gleam in
their eye, hoping for an upset. |
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As the
light tree started its cycle to signal the start of the race, all
eyes were on the track ahead –the racers’ hearts were pumping,
adrenaline flowing, strategies were flowing in each competitor’s
brain, grips were tightened and engines racing in anticipation of
gears meshing and a successful launch. |
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When the light signaled the start of the race,
Cates was ready to go too. He had already earned the third fastest
qualifying time, and he was perfectly positioned to capitalize on
the standing start configuration.
In the
heat of the excitement, however, he had forgotten one crucial
component to a good start – his transmission wasn’t firmly in gear.
As he released the clutch, the tranny slipped out of gear, costing
Brian a crucial second as the other cars screamed off. In a flash,
it seemed that his dreams of a Championship win came crashing into
the reality of a missed opportunity and a missed shift. |
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He quickly battled his way back to the front
pack, and although he wasn’t yet where he wanted to be, he was in
the thick of the hunt.
The
rest of the lead pack included Buffomante, who had established a
slight lead ahead of the rest, included Spencer Sharp, Dan Elam,
Donnie Edwards, Paul Kaiser, Tony Johnson and John George (the
latter two being sophomore Challenge Series racers). |
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The middle pack, which was comprised of most of
the field, was tight, and featured multiple passes, bumps and
battles.
Bryan
Dobyns (2004 National Champion) suffered early car troubles and
driving a borrowed car, had to start at the back of the grid.
Showing the talent that makes him one of the most feared drivers in
the series, he methodically picked off a half dozen competitors
before most of them even knew where he had come from. |
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Many of the driver’s commented that this was
the most competitive field in Series history, and certainly one of
the most exciting to watch For the spectators.
Although Buffomante and Sharp had established
early leads, the chase was on and the rest of the pack was closing
in fast.
Determined to overcome his mistake at the start, Brian Cates proved
to be one of the fastest cars on the track, each lap pulling a bit
closer to Tony’s lead car. |
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Toward the end of the race he finally passed
Spencer and was firmly positioned as the only man who could upset
Buffomante.
Brian’s last lap, the fastest of all the
competitors that day, pulled him close, but still fell just short of
Buffomante as the bright blue car reached the finish line less than
a second ahead of Cates.
The
stats for the race are impressive, and are a testament to how
exciting and close the Championship Race was. |
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Congratulations go out from Factory Five to
2006 Champion Tony Buffomante, as well as all those who participated
in the 2006 NASA Championships.
Special thanks to Cates Engineering and
Finish Line Productions
for race details and photos. Race statistics courtesy of
www.MyLaps.com.
We also have a bunch of videos from the event in our
video gallery. The clips were provided by Brian Sanders, John George, and the guys
from
Finish Line
Productions and
Cates Engineering.
Thanks for sharing the videos guys! |
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Results of Group B - Factory Five Racing
- Grp B - National Championship Race |
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Best Lap Tm |
1:40.161 |
In Lap |
19 |
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Best Speed |
86.261 |
by |
Brian Cates |
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