September 24, 2005
NayKid Vipers Take Two of Top Five Spots at Runoffs
Lexington, Ohio, September 24, 2005 - In one of the most exciting Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Touring One (T1) class events in recent memory, NayKid Racing placed its two KUMHO Tires / Woodhouse Auto Family Dodge Viper SRT10s in the top-five at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Kohler (c). Scotty B. White (Puyallup, Wash.), who started from the pole position and led five laps of the 20 lap event, exchanged track record for track record, lap after lap with the eventual winner John Heinricy to finish second in the No. 3 KUMHO Tires / Woodhouse.com Dodge Viper SRT10.
In the process, White took fastest lap honors (one minute, 33.360 seconds) on lap 17 of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Just behind, Cindi Lux (Aloha, Ore.) was in a nail-biting race of her own. In some of the closest competition of the weekend, the No. 78 KUMHO Tires / Woodhouse Auto Family Dodge Viper SRT10 would fall an excruciatingly close .162 seconds short of fourth place at the checkered flag to come home fifth. The week's events made history for Dodge Motorsports, the SRT Division of DaimlerChrysler and Mopar Performance Parts. Never before had a Dodge Viper SRT10 earned the T1 class pole position, set fastest qualifying and fastest race laps, led a T1 National Championship event or placed multiple cars in the top-five at the SCCA Runoffs.
"After the re-start for the first yellow, I opened up a gap on the guys for a couple laps while John [Heinricy] worked his way past the others," reflected White on his race. "With John about a second back, I missed a shift from second to third [gear] allowing him to blow by me on the front straight. From then on it was about maintaining a gap and just running hard. I tried to save a bit for the end. With three laps to go I charged hard and got to his bumper only to hit oil in [turn] 10B dropping me back out of striking distance for the win. All in all it was a great week for KUMHO Tire, Dodge Motorsports / SRT and NayKid Racing."
The accolades for the Viper SRT10 add to those already accomplished earlier in the season as NayKid Racing was the first team to build and develop the Dodge Viper SRT10, in its current iteration, for SCCA use. During the course of this first, developmental season, White earned the SCCA Southern Pacific Division championship for Dodge while Lux added to the trophy case with the Northern Pacific Divisional title.
"It was a great Runoffs debut for the Dodge Viper SRT10," said Dodge Motorsports Road Racing Manager Gary Johnson. "The team has been working so hard to develop the car throughout the season. They have probably done a year's worth of development in three months. What was really impressive was the drive that both Scotty and Cindi showed all year. It was good to see their hard work and effort pay off with such a good result at Runoffs for both of them. Dodge is looking forward to next season, coming back and, hopefully, taking the win.
The third NayKid Racing, KUMHO Tire-shod entry of Ryan Snodgrass (Kirkland, Wash.), started 24th in the race. The young Northwesterner, in his second season of racing with NayKid, ran as high as 21st before falling back to 22nd in the closing laps of the event.
"This race really showed how the SCCA has done an excellent job of making the Corvettes and Vipers very similar in performance," remarked Lux after the race. "Just look at the diversity of cars in the top 10. There were three of us fighting it out nose-to-tail the last two laps of the race. And that's why we come back to Mid-Ohio ... to race! I cannot tell you how proud I am of our crew's effort this entire year but especially these past two weeks. These guys are truly the warriors behind our success. Scotty did a stellar job driving this whole week and I was so jazzed to see his drive to second place. Having two of our cars in the top-five the first year out is something I can definitely live with over the winter. 2006 brings new challenges, new courses and new opportunities to get our NayKid Racing hotrods on the top-two spots on the podium next year."
SPEED Channel will air the T1 class race. It will be shown at 1:00pm (ET), November 26, 2005.
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September 21, 2005
NayKid Racing Brings Viper Strike to SCCA Runoffs
LEXINGTON, Oh., September 19, 2005 - NayKid Racing enters Friday's SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Kohler at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course ready to strike with its pair of Dodge Viper SRT10s in the Touring One (T1) class. Drivers Cindi Lux (Aloha, Ore.) and Scotty B. White (Puyallup, Wash.) each earned class titles in their division- Lux in the Northern Pacific Division (NorPac), White in the Southern Pacific Division (SoPac)- in their first season of racing the formidable V10-powered machine. Now they bring the newest iteration Viper, the SRT10, to the SCCA National Championships for the first time. Having spent much of the year developing the car with Dodge Motorsports, the SRT Division of DaimlerChrysler, Lux Performance Group, LLC and technical partner KUMHO Tires, momentum has the NayKid Vipers coiled and ready. Lux, in the No. 78 KUMHO Tires/Woodhouse.com Viper, and White, in the No. 3 Viper also backed by KUMHO Tires and the Woodhouse Auto Family, will each challenge to give Dodge and SRT their first-ever T1 national titles for the Viper just as they gave the American supercar its first divisional titles last month.
"I am not going to sit here and make promises on how we are going to run this year at the Runoffs because so many things can happen," said Lux. "All I am going to say is the cars are ready and the drivers are super-eager and very hungry. KUMHO has great tire underneath these cars that is really getting the job done. My hat's off to them once again. I think it would be appropriate to stamp a NayKid Racing driver's name in the record books as winning the last Runoffs at Mid-Ohio. I feel 100% physically and I'm ready to get back up on the wheel of the number 78 car."
The SCCA Runoffs is a unique event in the world of motorsports. Unlike other series that crown their national champion from a season-long collection of points earned at each event, the 13-race NayKid schedule only served to win the division titles and an invitation to the Runoffs. Here at the week-long National Championships, the 21 class titles- three of which Dodge is represented- will be decided in one race. The added pressure is something that NayKid Racing has become accustom to.
"It's really a weird feeling going into Runoffs as a dark horse," offered White about the position of the team in the season's premier race. "We have been going into the event the past several years with people predicting us as the ones that could finally steal one away from the GM Factory team. Now, here we are starting from scratch with a brand new car and people are so worried about us getting it done. Who in their right mind would expect anything better than a top-10 in a brand new car in this tough, talent-rich field? We have had amazing support from KUMHO Tires. I love this hot rod and I love workin' with the guys from Dodge/SRT and Mopar. It's so awesome to visit with any of these guys and they are actually excited for you when you make progress! They are passionate about the hot rods they build and it just feels so right to have the honor of flyin' their colors!"
"Having Dodge now in the hunt for the championship is great and it adds diversity for the fans," Lux picked-up White's thought. "That is what it's all about. I wouldn't be surprised to see more Vipers out there next year. But you know what? We were the team that took the chance with this car, rolled the dice and hopefully we will win the jackpot."
The KUMHO Tires/Woodhouse.com Vipers will take to the track for the first round of qualifying at 1:50 PM (EDT) on Tuesday, Sept. 20th. Second-round qualifying will take place on Wednesday at 4:15 PM while the final field will be set on Thursday at 9:50 AM. A final warm-up will take place at 9 AM, Friday, Sept. 23rd with the race scheduled for the green flag at 3:20 PM (EDT). The race will be 40-minutes or 20 laps of the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course. Ryan Snodgrass (Kirkland, Wash.) will pilot a third NayKid Racing entry at the Runoffs. Snodgrass will run the No. 75 KUMHO Tires Chevrolet Corvette in T1 competition alongside Lux and White.
NayKid Racing is set for the challenge of the Runoffs and welcomes all comers. "We know we have a lot of work to do and we also have the chance to prove our mettle as a team," concluded White. "I can tell you one thing though; this team has a fire in their belly like I haven't seen in a while. They have the desire to shut some people up who think we forgot how to build hot rods or the shoes forgot how to drive on this team. This team will do everything necessary to prove the doubters wrong! Even with the phenomenal strength of NayKid Racing as a team, a top-five or a podium would be a dream season."
"Ya know what?" asked White as a final thought. "The last time the team was in this position we won the biggest race of the team's career."
SPEED Channel will air each event at this year's SCCA Runoffs on a tape-delay basis. The T1 class race will be shown at 1 PM (EST), November 26th, 2005. Live timing and scoring of each session can be found at:
www.NayKidRacing.com.
For more on Lux Performance Group, LLC please see www.CindiLux.com.
Visit www.KumhoUSA.com to see the latest from KUMHO Tires.
To visit the Woodhouse family of dealerships on the web, please click onto www.Woodhouse.com.
To follow the latest from Mid-Ohio, please log onto www.SCCA.com and follow the links.
Posted by ryans at 10:14 AM | TrackBack (0)
September 16, 2005
NayKid At Runoffs
Lexington, Oh. - NayKid Racing has landed in Ohio and is preparing to run their KUMHO Tires / Dodge Motorsports / SRT / Mopar Performance Parts / Forgeline Wheels / CORSA Exhaust / Moton Shocks Dodge Viper SRT10s in the winner take-all National Championship event. All the information you need to know is here. Cindi Lux will be providing frequent updates on the goings-on as well.
NayKid Racing is competing for the first time in Dodge Viper SRT10s at the Runoffs. According to the official schedule, here is when the NayKid machines will be on the track:
Monday, September 19, 2:25pm (Eastern): T1 Practice
Tuesday, September 20, 1:50pm: T1 Qualifying
Wednesday, September 21, 4:15pm: T1 Qualifying
Thursday, September 22, 9:50am: T1 Qualifying
Friday, September 23, 3:20pm: National Championship T1 Race
The race will be 20 laps or 40 minutes, whichever occurs first.
Live timing and scoring will be available.
Posted by ryans at 07:48 PM | TrackBack (0)
