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After six hours of competition on the challenging 3.27-mile Virginia International Raceway, the No. 59 ROUSH®/Valvoline Mustang came up less than a quarter of a second from winning their first race in the last race of the KONI Challenge season. For this event, more than double the length of a normal KONI Challenge
race, regular drivers Jack Roush, Jr. and Dean Martin teamed up with
19-year old Ryan Phinny to share the duties behind the wheel. It would
be the first KONI Challenge race for Phinny, but not the first Grand-Am
race as he had a standout season in the Rolex GT Series despite having
limited starts this year.
The team qualified in fourth position with Martin behind the wheel, a
change in strategy from the other events this season which saw Roush as
qualifier. At the green flag Martin quickly moved up to third and
eventually took the lead on lap 28 as the pit sequences began. He paced
the field until lap 33 when he dove into pit lane for fuel, four fresh
tires and a driver change.
Phinny was next behind the wheel and he came out in 17th position.
Still getting a feel for the KONI Challenge Mustang, which is much
different than any type of car he has driven before, Phinny methodically
worked his way through the field by passing cars on the track and as the
different pit strategies played out. He moved into fourth position by
lap 52, and then one more spot by lap 59 where, amazingly, he was
running his fastest lap times despite having well-worn tires at this
point of the event.
On lap 61 Phinny took the point and tallied up his first laps led in
KONI Challenge competition in his very first race in the series. He
pulled into the pits on lap 64 and turned the wheel over to Roush who,
with a fresh set of tires and a full tank of gas, came back into the
fight in 11th place.
Roush began his march to the front by running consistent lap times and
making calculated passes. A full course yellow flew and Roush dove in
for a pit stop on lap 86 when he was running in second place. The
Rehagen Racing team elected to take four tires and fuel, but left Roush
in the car for a second stint. Unfortunately, there was a problem with
the lug nuts on the right rear and Roush came out in 13th, the last car
still on the lead lap.
Cool behind the wheel, Roush took to the challenge and began retaking
the lost spots and eventually took the lead on lap 102. He led for three
laps, and then gave up the top position to Rehagen Racing teammate Matt
Plumb who was on a different pit sequence and had fresher rubber on his
No. 60 Sunset Hills Vineyard Mustang.
Another full course yellow flew on lap 123 and one lap later Roush
pitted and turned the car back over to Martin during a frantic pit road
session that saw all the leaders pitting together in the same section
with cars in front and behind the No. 59 ROUSH/Valvoline Mustang.
Martin came out ninth with just over an hour left in the marathon. He
had the Mustang flying, was posting the fastest lap times of any car on
the track at that point, and quickly sliced his way through the field.
He retook the lead on lap 138 with only 40 minutes left in the race, and
had his teammate Hugh Plumb in the No. 60 Mustang on his bumper running
second.
Martin was running quickly and led for six circuits when the duo came
into Turn 2. Unfortunately, Plumb’s brakes were getting very worn by
then and he was unable to slow his car down quickly enough and hit
Martin’s rear bumper which pushed him out of the groove.
This put Plumb in the lead, and fortunately, Martin was able to recover
quickly and lost just the one position. The two ran nose-to-tail until
the No. 83 Porsche dumped oil through the downhill section of the course
and the yellow flag flew again with less than 10 minutes remaining.
After the clean-up was completed (though many drivers complained the
racetrack was still unsuited for racing) the Grand-Am officials threw
the green flag for a two-lap dash to the finish.
When the checkered flag flew, Plumb was able to hold off Martin by
0.208-seconds making this the second-closest finish in KONI Challenge
history. Though they just missed the victory, it was the season-best
finish for the No. 59 ROUSH/Valvoline Mustang and remarkably all three
of the drivers led the event; Martin headed the field for 11 laps,
Phinny for four, and Roush paced the field for three circuits. No other
team in the event had all their drivers lead the race.
As Martin climbed from the car he was both disappointed to finish as
the runner-up, but happy to have the Regahen Racing cars take the top
two positions.
As for the incident that knocked him out of the lead, he said, “We
were racing hard, and I knew Hugh (Plumb) was light on brakes. I had
brakes, but I was being a little conservative, and Hugh came in just a
little bit deep. I knew he was going too light on brakes at the end, and
I knew that when he hit me. I got crossed up and he got by me. I had
some opportunities to get back around Hugh, but they were all going to
be risky. The last thing I wanted to do was take my teammate out. Having
a Rehagen car win was a team win. It was unfortunate that we got hit and
turned sideways because we might have won it. But Hugh was certainly
fast, and that's the way it worked out. I'm not too upset about it, just
disappointed. Jack (Roush, Jr.) and Ryan Phinny did an awesome job all
day, (and) we all took turns at the front of the field.”
Pleased with his KONI Challenge career-best finish, Roush said, “This
is a nice way to finish, with our best finish of the season. The car
felt very strong out there. At one point, it felt like I was taking
positions at will. It got a little harder at the end, when the tires
went away, but the No. 59 Roush/Valvoline Mustang was awesome all day."
The team has run off six consecutive finishes of seventh or better to
finish off the 2008 season.
Phinny did an outstanding job as the third driver, especially
considering how different the KONI Challenge Ford Mustang handles as
compared to other cars he has raced. He quickly got up to speed and was
able to log lap times comparable with the leaders during his time behind
the wheel.
“This car was very, very new to me,” he said. “I really didn’t
expect the car to handle the way that it did. It took longer for me to
learn the nuances of the H-pattern gear box and how a unibody chassis
reacted. I’ve never been so slow to adapt to any car before, and I
wish that there had been more time to log more laps before the race
began to really get a feel for the car. Still, to get a podium finish in
my first KONI Challenge race was a great experience.”
Overall, it was a tremendous day for the Rehagen Racing team with all
three cars finishing on the lead lap and in the Top-10. The No. 60
Sunset Hills Vineyard Mustang won the race with Hugh Plumb, Mike Canney
and Matt Plumb behind the wheel. The No. 52 Columbus Truck & Equipment
Mustang, driven by Adam Pecorari, Ray Mason and Gene Martindale,
finished in sixth. Overall, Ford Mustangs took five of the top-10 places
in the event.
The No. 59 Ford Mustang, based out of the Rehagen Racing shop in
Livonia, Mich., carries sponsorship from ROUSH Performance and
Valvoline. In 2006, this was the highest-finishing Mustang in the
series.
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