Michelin Team Challenge Series A&J Recognition Solo Challenge Series May 31, 2009 Blackhawk Farms Raceway South Beloit, IL Round 4 Preview The Michelin Team Challenge Series and A&J Recognition Solo Challenge moves to Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit IL. this weekend in a “homecoming” for several of the teams. The leader in the A&J Solo Challenge is Wisconsin’s Ray Hofman, while the second place rider in the Solo series is Aaron “Doc” Stein from nearby Pekin IL. Throw out the home track advantage for either of these riders as they both have thousands of laps around the nine turn road course at Blackhawk Farms Raceway. Hofman is trying to protect his 33 point lead coming to the half-way mark of the 2009 championship and former CCS Mid-West Overall Champion Stein is determined to turn the tables with a victory at Blackhawk. The GTO class also features two of the Mid-West’s brightest as Calvin Martinez leads his Wisconsin Racing teammates up against the Central States Racin squad led by Matt Flowers. Central States Racin, based out of Pekin IL., trails Wisconsin Racing by just 5 points and hopes to repeat last season’s win here at Blackhawk Farms. That result would guarantee them a share of the class lead after 4 of the 8 rounds in the championship. Also in the hunt is the Sweet Molly’s Motors Team from Menominee Falls WI, led by Christian Meekma, only 25 points back of the class leader and 20 points behind Central States Racin. In the GTU class, it was Team Stiles, from Delavan WI, riding to the win and fourth place in the Overall standings at Road America. Now Meghan Stiles and her team has their work cut out for them if they are going to overtake the class leader Chester Auto Repair, from Hackettstown NJ, who has a 56 point lead over the third place Team Stiles. Second in the class, RnR Repsol GTU from Sterling VA., is only 18 points in arrears and has an excellent record at Blackhawk so the class battle looks to be a good one. For the GTL class, it’s the Grease Monkey Racing Team coming off their first class win of the season at Road America that holds the top position in the championship. The New Jersey based team is 8 points ahead of the second place Design Integrity, from Huntley IL, and 18 points clear of the third place crew of RnR Repsol GTL. This class has a history close racing at Blackhawk in the Michelin Team Challenge Series and last year the top three GTL teams were less than 30 seconds apart after 69 laps. In the Overall Standings, the GTU team of Chester Auto Repair has a solid 25 point lead over Wisconsin Racing, but this is the home track for the Wisconsin team, and they’ll be working to close the gap before the series moves back to the east coast in June. RnR Repsol GTU shares third place with Grease Monkey Racing, just 3 points behind Wisconsin Racing, well within striking distance with a good result from either team at this event. Tickets for the event are just $25 for the weekend and by special arrangement, a concert by Erik Buell and his band will take place on Saturday evening at 6:30pm for just $15. This special ticket also includes admission to Sundays Michelin Team Challenge Final and CCS races starting at Noon. For more information, complete results and points, visit www.asraracing.com