| The Blackforest Motorsports team and co-drivers | | | | for Tom and his three-in-a-row, and two-in-a-row for |
| Tom Nastasi and Ian James maintained their perfect | | | | me." |
| record in the first-ever Grand-Am KONI Challenge | | | | "It hasn't been easy," Nastasi said of the race. "Last |
| Series visit to Iowa Speedway. The team is proud to | | | | week, having to start 30th and work my way up to |
| take home another victory in Saturday's Grand Sport | | | | the front and then today spinning on the second lap, |
| (GS) race. The Blackforest No. 5 team has won all | | | | and I had to do it all over again. I told everybody, 'I'm |
| three of the season's races. | | | | giving up qualifying. I'm just starting dead last.' That |
| Going into the weekend's Grand Am event, Nastasi | | | | seems to be the only way I can do it." |
| and James were uncertain that it would be a race | | | | He added, "I drove the car hard, and I really put my |
| dominated by the Mustang - a powerful race car | | | | head down and drove the wheels off it. We did not |
| equipped with reliable and the best racing parts that | | | | change tires, and the car just kept getting better and |
| are far better than the Hummer cold air intake and | | | | better and better. We won our first race together |
| other traditional car parts. The assumption banished as | | | | without changing tires. We learned fast this weekend |
| the car occupied five of the top ten spots. The victory | | | | and we figured, 'Let's keep the same tires on it, and |
| is the third straight for Nastasi and the Blackforest | | | | see what happens.' It worked. Thumbs up to Hoosier |
| team, and it is the second in a row for James. | | | | Tires for lasting as long as they did, and to be able to |
| Co-driving the No. 5 USG Sheetrock/Ramset Tools | | | | go to the front. My partner here did the rest. He did the |
| Mustang FR500C with Nastasi, James took the lead | | | | hard part. I just saved myself." |
| from Charles Espenlaub on the oval portion of the | | | | Joe Foster started 11th in the No. 55 machine and |
| 1.3-mile road course with 13 laps remaining and held off | | | | drove the first stint in the race before turning the car |
| late challenges from both Espenlaub and Jeff Segal to | | | | over to Espenlaub. The latter led 38 laps before |
| win by 2.551 seconds over Espenlaub in the No. 55 | | | | James' late pass. It was Foster's second runner-up |
| Supercuts/Hyper Sport Ford Mustang GT. The victory | | | | result in three races. It can be recalled that foster also |
| was James' second consecutive KONI Challenge win | | | | finished second in the Fresh From Florida 200 season |
| and the third straight for Nastasi, the Blackforest team | | | | opener at Daytona while co-driving with Scott Maxwell. |
| and the Ford Mustang. | | | | Foster said, "It was obviously a great run for Hyper |
| "Obviously, when we first came here in the first | | | | Sport and the Supercuts No. 55. To be honest, we |
| session, we didn't think it would potentially be a | | | | struggled at the beginning of the weekend, setup-wise, |
| Mustang track," said James. "But a lot of times, the | | | | and it was a bit of a comeback for us to get the car |
| actual time sheet is misleading. Although we may not | | | | fast for the race. It took us a couple days to figure out |
| be the fastest car at the start, it's a very good race | | | | in this case that the older the tires got, the better the |
| car. It's very good in traffic. You don't have to be quite | | | | car was for us. Also, the (No.) 5 car figured that out as |
| as precise in some of the other cars like the BMWs | | | | well. It was a great race. Certainly, up front, it was |
| and the Porsches. They can get really fast laps, but as | | | | clean. It was hard racing with these guys and I enjoyed |
| soon as they have a little hiccup or the tires start to go | | | | watching it." |
| away, they can't really use that great potential so | | | | "It makes me realize why I do this, because it was a |
| much. We just worked on our setup. That was our | | | | lot of fun," intimated Espenlaub. "I've got to thank Joe |
| strategy." | | | | Foster for bringing me in to do this. Joe left me with a |
| James, who led twice for 21 laps, said, "We decided to | | | | great car, and we ran as hard as we could. We were |
| go and practice on old tires, and we did the whole | | | | a little bit conservative the setup. It was an interesting |
| race on one set of tires. The car was good at the | | | | last couple of laps. These guys are professionals, and |
| end. We had a few minor problems, but no more than | | | | we had a good battle out there. I really respect them |
| anybody else. The battle at the end with Jeff and | | | | for that. You don't want to see a BMW going into a |
| Charles was fun. It was a lot of fun. These guys were | | | | hard braking zone on the last lap, and I made it a little |
| clean and we managed to get by. I'm just really happy | | | | wide for him. |