 Miller Motorsports Park:
The Perfect Race Weekend
The return of Team MGR Racing-WOT Performance to ASC Racing competition couldn’t have been more successful. Two poles, two wins and the weekend’s fastest lap time just about sum up what team owner, Manuel Gil del Real, described as “The Perfect Weekend” for the team.
"The car was running great. We were just making some minor setup adjustments to adapt to Willow Springs unique conditions, but other than that, we had no other problems. I started our third test session building up speed gradually. The intent was to limit each session to five or six laps to minimize tire use. On my sixth lap, I had sector times that were the fastest so far, and on pace to record a lap in the 1 minute 25 second range. I entered turn 8 at full throttle and building speed up to around 125 mph. Then, all of a sudden, I felt a brief vibration in the drivetrain and next thing I know, the rear axle locks up, the engine catches fire, and I'm in a series of uncontrollable spins that end up with the car drifting backwards into the run-off area entering turn 9... Let me tell you, that was one wild ride!" said Manuel Gil del Real afterwards.
Fortunately, Manuel was able to walk out of the car unharmed. The car was resting off the pavement with the tires flat as a result of the spins but the initial engine fire that was caused by oil coming in contact with the exhaust headers, extinguished itself just as the car stopped.
This event was highly awaited by all ASC Racing teams. Miller Motorsports is a new facility located in Tooele, UT, about a half hour drive from Salt Lake City. American LeMans, NASCAR, GrandAm and very much any other major auto racing series that has visited the track has given it great reviews. Team MGR Racing-WOT Performance can now add this great track to its own resume with two more visits to Victory Lane. “This was an impressive come back for our team. Pete Andreas (Crew Chief and owner of WOT Performance) was still working on the engine just two days before heading out to Utah… I mean, we both wanted to believe that the engine would hold up throughout the weekend, but a certain level of uncertainty was still there…” said Manuel Gil del Real. “I’ve looked at the gauges this weekend more than any other time before!” he added.
Despite being the team’s first visit to the track, it took Manuel just a few laps to learn the new 3 mile, 14 turn road course as he rapidly appeared on top of the time sheets after each of Friday’s practice sessions. Still, Friday’s times are always ‘unofficial’ and it is hard to tell which teams or drivers are pushing really hard or which are just testing. That question was answered on Saturday morning when Manuel secured the pole position for the first race that would take place later in the afternoon. “It wasn’t a great lap since I ran into a slower car in the last sector but I guess it was good enough for the pole,” said Manuel after qualifying. The #27 WOT Performance Ford Taurus went on to win the first race after leading uncontested from the green flag to the checkered flag.
With Saturday’s fast laps hovering around the two minute mark, Pete Andreas wanted to see a sub 2 minute lap which would be a very fast time for an ASC racecar. After putting his engine tuning skills to work and also fine tuning the chassis to correct a slight understeer condition, Manuel responded on Sunday with a 1:59.767 qualifying lap time, which also ended up being the fastest lap of the weekend among all ASC Racing racecars.
At the drop of the green flag, Frank Emmett driving former NASCAR Winston Cup Car #45 Hardee’s Oldsmobile, surprised all the field by jumping from 5th place to first place by the first corner. “I saw him coming through the field in my rearview mirror and next thing I know, he’s on my left as we both approached turn one at almost 150 mph. We both braked hard and very deep, he went wide into the corner, I went tight, we swapped sides and we exited the corner still side by side, only now he was to my right as we approached turn two. It was the typical horsepower versus handling battle and I knew I had to get by him before the end of the first lap or his horsepower advantage would just beat me down the straight,” said Manuel Gil del Real.
Manuel’s pass would happen in turn 5. Known as the “Black Rock Hairpin” it is a hard braking double apex corner requiring racecars to decelerate from over 130 mph to around 20 mph in just over 150 feet. Taking advantage of the longer braking distance required NASCAR’s steel body cars, Manuel dove inside Frank Emmett under braking and came out ahead of him as they both approached turned 6. From that moment on, Manuel went on to lead the rest of the race to take his second win for the weekend.
“It’s been a very long and frustrating two months trying to get the engine issues that hurt us at Willow Springs figured out but in the end, it all has paid off for us,” said Pete Andreas. “Our next event is at California Speedway which I consider my home track and we expect to have great results there too.”
Indeed, the team’s next race will be at California Speedway in Fontana, CA on July 12-13, 2008. For more information about the Team's 2008 schedule, please visit www.MGRRacing.net or www.WOTPerformance.com.
Team MGR Racing – WOT Performance would like to thank Rancho Performance Machine, DT Graphyx, Perma Cool, AFE (Advanced Flow Engineering), Inland Driveline, T-Phlo, and all the folks at Keystone Automotive Operations for their support throughout the season. We also want to thank the hundreds of fans in the US, Europe and beyond that have followed the Team's performance this year.
About WOT Performance:
Based in Riverside, California, since its inception in 2001, WOT Performance (WOT) has had the privilege of working directly with celebrities' cars, fleets and individuals to provide services from oil analysis and speed limiting to wheels-up drag racing to wheel to wheel short track, dirt, and road racing. Among other features, WOT's facilities include Fuel Injection services and a chassis Dyno bringing their passion for technology and custom tuning to continue "Taking Performance to the Next Level".
© 2008 MGR Racing. MGR Racing and the MGR Racing logo are trademarks of MGR Racing. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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