plus 1, Johnson, Roush Win Continental Tire Challenge - The Auto Chanel

Johnson, Roush Win Continental Tire Challenge - The Auto Chanel

Posted: 07 Mar 2010 08:05 AM PST

HOMESTEAD, March 7, 2010: Jack Roush Jr. left Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday night displeased with losing his first GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge pole position.

But Saturday, he left the track in a completely different mood, as he and Billy Johnson won their second Grand Sport (GS) race together, the two-and-a-half hour, 91-lap Homestead 200, in the No. 61 ROUSH Performance Products Ford Mustang GT. For Johnson, it was his second consecutive victory at the 2.3-mile, 11-turn road course, in a car that advanced 33 positions from start to finish.

In the Street Tuner class, Tom Long led Lawson Aschenbach by 0.103 seconds in a reversal of the top two cars from the class race last year at Homestead-Miami. Long was joined by Derek Whitis in the No. 25 Aventura Technologies/PFC Mazda MX-5.

Roush originally set a track record Friday but his time was disallowed following post-qualifying technical inspection, an unapproved part to blame. But that didn't deter Roush, who was among the fastest in every session during the weekend. Starting 34th, he passed 10 cars on the first lap and was up to 21st after two laps. He finally took the lead on Lap 35.

Johnson took over on Lap 39, and kept the duo among the top five and eventually into second as late as the final half hour. That's when Johnson was attempting to catch Matt Plumb, co-winner of this season's opening race at Daytona.

Plumb took over from Miami native Gian Bacardi during the race's first caution period, around the 30-minute mark, and pitted again with enough fuel and solid tires to go the remainder of the race. But with 20 minutes remaining, he went from leading to retired.

Driving the No. 13 RumBum.com BMW M3, Plumb hit the rear of Eric Curran's No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 in Turn 1, as Curran got bottled up behind slower traffic. The impact forced the hood of the No. 13 to come up, and Plumb in a precarious position, driving cautiously around the track with his windshield covered.

Plumb managed to make it to the final turn before hitting barrels filled with sand at the pit entrance. The sand and debris from the barrels forced the final of four caution periods, and put Johnson in front. He never looked back when the green flag flew on Lap 87, and charged to a 2.561-second victory.

It marked Johnson's seventh series victory and third in the Grand Sport class..

"Jack did have quite a bit of fun today," said Johnson, who led twice for nine laps. "He did an amazing job in qualifying. He went through the entire field today, which is no easy feat with the caliber of drivers at this track. He handled it like a pro. He kept the fenders clean and just moved through everyone. He turned the car over in one piece for, gave us good track position and I took it from there. I had to work through a few people myself, but I was able to come out on top again."

For Roush Jr., who celebrated with his father, Jack Roush Sr., in Victory Lane, it was a complete turnaround of emotions from close to 24 hours earlier.

"It was real exciting race for us," Roush Jr. said. "I can't be more proud of my team and all the work they've done. It was a real privilege to be part of history with the Roush Racing group. I also have to hand it to my co-driver, Billy Johnson. He did an awesome job today. I'm looking forward to many more races."

The win was also Roush Sr.'s 400th as a car owner. In nearly 40 years as an owner, Roush Sr. has also won in NASCAR's three National series, Trans-Am and IMSA.

Finishing runner-up for the second time in three races were Terry Borcheller and Andrew Hendricks in the No. 45 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3, while third were Joey Hand and Michael Marsal in the No. 97 Turner Motorsport BMW M3.

Defending driver champion Ken Wilden leapt five positions during his stint in the No. 59 Stay-Nu/RehagenRacingProducts.com Ford Mustang GT was fourth with co-driver Bob Michaelian, pushing the car's top-10 streak to 19 consecutive races, while No. 48 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 co-drivers Charles Putman and Charles Espenlaub were fifth. Putman and Espenlaub left the track with a seven-point advantage (64-57) over Borcheller and Hendricks in the standings.

In ST, Long took the victory on the last lap from Aschenbach, who was trying to give Compass360 Racing its second straight victory both in a race and at the track. Instead, it was Long, who battled tooth-and-nail with Compass360's No. 74 Skunk2/HPD Honda Civic Si a year ago, coming up with a pass on Aschenbach and his second victory in three races with Whitis, who started fourth.

Long first took the lead on Lap 45, and battled for several laps with Sam Schultz and James Clay. After Long assumed the lead following the final caution period, he led for two laps, before Aschenbach got by for a lap. Long made the final of 13 ST lead changes on Lap 88, and held on by just 0.103 seconds.

Last season, Long finished 0.129 seconds behind the No. 74, which was piloted by Randy Pobst and Christian Miller; the car went on to win the championship.

"It was like déjà vu, but this time, our Mazda came out on top," Long said. "The MX-5 handled well in the infield, and the parity in the class made for a great race."

Whitis also won with Long in last season's finale at Virginia International Raceway. He is a team owner of Freedom Autosport with Rhett O'Doski.

"We fought the entire way, and it was a little nerve-wrecking in those final laps, waiting to see if the race would finish the same or different from last year," Whitis said. "Everything worked out though."

It appeared another Compass360 machine was going to dominate the race. Rookie Zach Lutz, in only his second series start, mustered the lead away from polesitter Sarah Cattaneo in Turn 1 and led the opening 35 laps of that race's 88 circuits.

Soon after relinquishing the seat to co-driver Ryan Eversley, however, the No. 75 Skunk2/HPD Honda Civic Si's engine let go in Turn 1, ending a promising day for the front row starters. They finished 30th.

Aschenbach and Thilenius now lead the standings by seven (67-60) over fourth-place finishers Seth Thomas and Bill Heumann in the No. 81 Performance Friction/RAYS Engineering BMW 328i. Thomas led seven laps during the race. Third were BJ Zacharias and Craig Conway in the No. 198 Cruise America/Four Winds RV Mini Cooper S, the first-ever podium finish for RSR Motorsports. Teammates Cattaneo and VJ Mirzayan in the No. 197 Cruise America/Four Winds RV Mini Cooper S finished 27th.

APR Motorsport drivers Josh Hurley and Kevin Stadtlander advanced a race-high 27 positions to finish fifth after starting 32nd. Both are Miami area residents - Hurley from Copper City and Stadtlander from Miami. The next race for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge will be April 10 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.

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NWI Forum president: Illiana Expressway is 'critical' - NWI.com

Posted: 06 Mar 2010 09:56 PM PST

The president and chief executive officer of the Northwest Indiana Forum is not surprised legislation clearing the way for a public-private partnership to create the Illiana Expressway is headed to the governor's desk. Mark Maassel says it is "one of the very critical pieces of infrastructure" for the region. He says the project will create thousands of construction jobs, enhance traffic flow and open areas to further economic development.

Auto seat maker expanding in Lake County

Automotive seat systems manufacturer Lear Operations Corp. plans to add more than 285 jobs in Hammond by the end of the year. The company says it will invest more than $2 million to upgrade its facility to make seats for the Ford Explorer. The Michigan-based company currently employs more than 160 in Hammond.

Brinegar: Two-year delay possible for tax hike

The president of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce is "cautiously optimistic" a deal will be reached to delay a tax increase on businesses to support the state's bankrupt unemployment insurance fund. Kevin Brinegar believes a two-year delay in implementation is the most likely scenario. He says there are still some "differing views" that need to be worked out, including issues such as higher benefit levels, automatic benefit increases and paid family and medical leave.

Bright Automotive partnering with U.S. Postal Service

The U.S. Postal Service is awarding Anderson-based Bright Automotive Inc. a contract to develop an electric postal delivery vehicle. A standard USPS Long Life Vehicle will be retrofitted with Bright's electric drive train and tested for one year in the Washington, D.C. area. President and Chief Executive Officer John Waters says "an electrified fleet will save the USPS millions of dollars annually, eliminate tons of emissions and reduce dependence on oil."

Mendoza tops annual rankings, Kelley moves up

The University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business has topped the fifth annual Bloomberg BusinessWeek rankings of the best undergraduate business schools. The college was ranked second last year. Indiana University's Kelley School of Business is also in this year's top 50, moving up one spot from last year.

Dow AgroSciences continues to build Indiana presence

The president and chief executive officer of Dow AgroSciences LLC tells Inside INdiana Business the company's recent expansion announcement continues the momentum it has been building at its global headquarters in Indianapolis. Antonio Galindez points to a new research and development building that will open in June, a collaboration with the Purdue Research Park and the addition of more than 150 people over the past year. He says the more than 550 new high-tech jobs are expected to pay between $65,000 and $90,000 per year. The $340 million investment will likely be a top five life sciences deal in the nation this year, according to Larry Gigerich, managing director, at Indianapolis-based economic development firm Ginovus.

Southern Indiana to get broadband boost

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is awarding Sunman Telecommunications Inc. an $11.3 million grant to fund a major rural broadband project in southern Indiana. The company is proposing construction of a 700MHz Broadband Wireless Access network. Sunman says it will eventually be able to provide service to more than 52,000 households, 11,000 businesses and 135 community institutions.

Elkhart tops in nation for new investment in 2009

A new national study lists the city of Elkhart as the top destination for new corporate investment in 2009 among metropolitan areas with populations less than 200,000. Conway Data Inc.'s New Plant Database also ranks Fort Wayne 8th among metropolitan areas with populations ranging from 200,000 to one million. Overall, the state of Indiana ranks 10th.

Jayco to reopen LaGrange County operation

An Indiana-based recreational vehicle manufacturer says it will reopen facilities in Topeka starting in May. Jayco Inc. in Middlebury says the Starcraft RV operation has been closed for more than a year due to the weak economy. The resumption of production in Topeka is expected to create 50 jobs this year.

Local ownership key for new Canterbury Hotel

The new owner of the Canterbury Hotel in downtown Indianapolis says customers can expect a unique, "non-corporate" property that will have a local warmth and flavor. Indianapolis entrepreneur Turner Woodard is buying the Canterbury, rescuing the landmark 99-room hotel from an uncertain future. Woodard believes the Canterbury can compete nicely as a locally owned boutique hotel, like those seen in other major U.S. cities.

ExactTarget acquires California social media company

Indianapolis-based ExactTarget Inc. has purchased a San Francisco company that provides a Twitter tool to several major brands. CoTweet will become a unit of ExactTarget, maintain operations in California and lead the company's overall social media product development.

State revenue drops again

Indiana revenue collections have missed projections for the 17th consecutive month. The State Budget Agency says revenues for February were 10 percent lower than the same period last year. Total collections were $86 million below the forecast issued in December.

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