Team Pennzoil’s Chris “Opie” Caylor and Scott Harwell won the second round of the 2001 WERA National Endurance Series, a 4-hour at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway in Talladega, Alabama Saturday by a margin of 21 seconds. A total of 43 teams entered the race.

Team Pennzoil had to overcome the loss of 2nd gear. Meanwhile, a problem that cost an extra 60 seconds at the second pit stop made by Vesrah Racing set the stage for Team Pennzoil to cruise to victory.

A Vesrah crewman had a problem with a cocked brake pad during the team’s front-wheel change and didn’t have a screwdriver handy to pry the pad back into position, setting off a disorganized scramble in the Vesrah pits.

Back on track, Vesrah almost but not quite made up the deficit in the final 60 minutes of the race, with Vesrah’s Mark Junge closing up to within 21 seconds of Pennzoil’s Harwell at the finish.

Junge and teammates Glenn Szarek and Chris Ulrich rode a Suzuki GSX-R1000 while Pennzoil’s Caylor and Harwell rode a GSX-R750, as did third-place Loudoun Motorsports Racing. Paramount Racing finished fourth overall on a GSX-R1000 with Army of Darkness fifth overall on a GSX-R600.

Harwell is an endurance veteran who in past seasons has ridden in long-distance races for Arclight Suzuki and before that Tapeworks.

Pennzoil and Vesrah ran on Metzeler slicks. Loudoun Motorsports, which won in the Heavyweight Superstock class, ran on DOT-labelled Metzeler treaded tires.

Army of Darkness won in the Mediumweight Superbike class on Michelin slicks.

Finishing eighth overall, Team Chaos won in the Mediumweight Superstock division on a GSX-R600.

Intrepid Racing won in the Lightweight Superbike class at 17th overall on a Suzuki SV650.

Racersupply.com had been third overall for the first half of the race but retired with a transmission problem.