From Michael Harker; Grand-Am Series
Craig Stanton passed Billy Johnson on the final of 72 laps of the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series Grand Sport (GS) race Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park - just a lap after drifting off the track to give Johnson the lead - giving himself and Jon Miller the KONI New Jersey 250 victory and putting both drivers in strong contention for the championship with two races remaining. Like their GS counterparts, the Street Tuner (ST) race came down to the wire, with track instructor and Grand-Am regular Matt Plumb holding off Jamie Holtom by 0.381 seconds to give Plumb and co-driver Bob Beede their first KONI Challenge victory of 2008. Stanton, the Fresh From Florida 200 co-winner, also moved within reach of taking the point lead in the next race. He is seventh, but only five points behind the top four drivers, all tied for the lead. It was the best career finish for Johnson and co-driver Louis-Philippe Dumoulin in the No. 18 BMW Z4. It was also the second straight podium finish for Johnson, who drove for Rehagen Racing two weeks ago at Le Circuit de Trois-Rivieres. Bill Auberlen and Matthew Alhadeff finished third in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3, 2.488 seconds in arrears. It marked the duo's third podium finish this season and second this month. In ST, Matt Plumb battled Holtom for the final 15 minutes in putting the No. 29 Honda Civic Si in victory lane. Holtom's co-driver Lawson Aschenbach started second but led the opening 10 laps and 12 overall. Kristian Skavnes finished behind in third in the No. 111 Subaru Legacy shared by Andrew Aquilante, and trails Holtom by four points (217-213). Skavnes' regular co-driver, Chuck Hemmingson, sat the race out after his wife Bernie gave birth earlier in the week. The top 30 cars overall finished on the lead lap. Stanton averaged 64.131 mph in the race which featured five cautions for 36 laps. The longest caution of the day, which lasted for 16 laps, began on a restart, when Shane Lewis hit the guardrail on the front straightaway in the No. 92 Honda Accord. The guardrail required repairs, forcing a 40-minute caution period. In addition, Lewis was transported to the infield medical center, where he was treated and released. However, Lewis was kept out of Sunday afternoon's Supercar Life 250 for the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Round 10 of 11 for the KONI Challenge Series is Sept. 21 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. Recent Articles
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