WebbRacing.com

I thought I'd let everyone know about the annual Cal Club/SCCA Pacific Nights Enduro at Buttonwillow Raceway Park on Saturday, July 24. The race starts at 5 pm and ends at 11 pm, providing a unique spectacle of sports cars racing into the night.

Blazing headlights, glowing brake rotors and flame-throwing exhausts light up the night as California's best amateur endurance racing teams fight for overall and class honors. Cars range from exoitc open-cockpit sports racers and high-dollar sports cars (like the 2003 race-winning Porsche 911 GT-3 Cup) to everyday coupes and sedans.

I'll be there driving the Team Automobile Magazine Nissan 240SX, the 2002 overall race winner. Buttonwillow provides excellent access to all the racing and pit action. Grandstands are located at a few of the key turns, and the control tower provides a birds-eye view of the entire track. Facilities include permanent restrooms, live timing & scoring, and a snack bar (not sure how late it will be open).


Buttonwillow Raceway is located just off the 5 freeway at the Lerdo Highway exit, about 2 hours north of Los Angeles and two exits north of the Buttonwillow/Hwy 58 exit.

Come on up Saturday afternoon and root for the Nissan team, especially if you'll be participating in the Buttonwillow Performance Driving Clinic the next day.

l2aine

good luck!

WebbRacing.com

If anyone comes up to the race on Saturday, be sure to stop by our pit area to say hello. We expect to pit next to another team with a 1st-gen 300ZX. Should be pretty easy to find.

WebbRacing.com

Team Automobile Magazine Takes 1st in Class and 2nd Overall

After six hours of hard-fought racing, a black flag, and a blown tire, the Team Automobile Magazine Nissan 240SX driven by Preston Lerner, John Norris and Scott Webb captured the E2 class victory, 18 laps ahead of second place, and nearly running down the overall race-winning E1 Van Dieman sports racer. Only three laps and less than two mph separated the two class winners as the checkered flag flew at 11:00 PM, PDT. Drivers Lerner and Norris put in inspiring performances over the first four hours of competition to put the Nissan in second position early on, but with a 23 second difference in lap times between the two cars, it didn't look like an overall victory was in the cards. However, gearbox problems plagued the race leader, enabling Webb to begin closing the gap in the final two hours. A mechanical black flag for "sparks" (exposed tire belts), and the subsequent tire failure a few laps later, slowed the progress of the Nissan, and in the end there just wasn't enough time. "Although I didn't have communication with the crew, I'd guessed that the leader was in trouble when I didn't see the purple sports racer come by every few laps," commented Webb. "Thanks to the Star Shield headlight film, all the lights lasted the entire race, and the Technosquare-prepared car just ran flawlessly, so I was able to concentrate on smooth, consistent laps in pursuit of the lead. I had a blast right to the end!"

Team Automobile Magazine would like to thank sponsors Nissan Motorsports, Technosquare, Toyo Tires, PIAA, Hawk Performance and Star Shield Armor for their support.

Kanavas Kompetition Snags 2nd Place in Final Turn

12/1000ths of a second was all that separated second and third in class E3 at Cal Club's annual 6-Hour Enduro, sponsored by See Ya! Motorhomes. In what's been acknowledged as the the move of the race, entering the final turn side by side, the number 3 Kanavas Kompetition and number 7 Team Red Miatas bumped momentarily before Kanavas edged slightly ahead to take the position at the line. The fourth-place number 97 Miata was only another 1.3 seconds back, putting all three cars within 1.5 seconds after 145 laps of the 2.92-mile Buttonwillow circuit. Webb started the race behind the wheel of the Circuit City/Red Bull Miata in the heat of the day, and was scheduled to drive for two hours. But after opening up about half a lap gap over the next car in class, temperature, heat and dehydration forced a change in plans, and Webb brought the Miata into the pits just over an hour after taking the wheel. Kanavas took over next, and spent the next hour braving the heat as well, before handing over to Richard Beard (filling in for Peter Stark), who had never driven a Miata before the race itself. Thanks to wings supplied by Red Bull, both Kanavas and Beard turned fast and consistent lap times for the remainder of the race on a single set Hankook Tires, keeping the Protomotive Miata in contention, and setting up the aforemention photo finish.

Kanavas Kompetition would like to thank Team Protomotive, Circuit City, Red Bull, Racer Magazine, SportsCar Magazine, Sylvania, IPF, Star Shield Armor, eprodius.com and Hankook Tires for making this race possible.

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Webb Racing Limited – www.webbracing.com
Automobile Magazine – www.automobilemag.com
Nissan Motorsports – www.nissan-motorsports.com
Technosquare – www.technosquareinc.com
Toyo Tires – www.toyo.com
PIAA – www.piaa.com
Star Shield Armor – www.starshieldarmor.com
Hawk Performance – www.hawkperformance.com
Kanavas Kompetition – www.kanavaskompetition.com
Team Protomotive – www.protomotive.net
Circuit City – www.circuitcity.com
Red Bull – www.redbullusa.com
Racer Magazine – www.racer.com
SportsCar Magazine – www.sccasportscar.com
Sylvania – www.sylvania.com/auto
IPF – www.arbusa.com
eprodius.com – www.eprodius.com
Hankook Tires – www.hankooktireusa.com
See Ya Motorhomes – www.alfaleisure.com
Buttonwillow Raceway Park – www.buttonwillowraceway.com
Cal Club/SCCA – www.calclub.com