CRA: Known Hooligans Win 5-Hour Endurance by 3.2 Seconds!!!
The Worldwide Machining & Welding 5-hour endurance race, held September 25 on Brainerd International Raceway’s Donnybrooke Course, came to a dramatic end with Known Hooligans rider Scott Stall holding off Lennon Stevens on the TPL Racing #1 entry by a miniscule 3.223 seconds! Fading brakes were almost the undoing of the Known Hooligans during Stall’s final stint and TPL Racing #1 did their best to capitalize on their rival’s reduced pace by continually eating into the gap during the final stages of the race. Lap after lap, tension grew as Stevens put in a massive final push for the win on his Suzuki GSX-R1000, at times cutting into the lead by more than a second per lap! It was anyone’s race with two laps to go and the anticipation throughout the crowd was intense as the leaders encountered lapped traffic. The two combatants were fully aware of each other’s proximity and approaching the white flag and Stall was spurring his Suzuki GSX-R750 on as if he had a horsewhip for his final blast down the mile-long straightaway! As Stall powered out of turn 10 on his way to the checkered flag, he peered behind over his shoulder to see his gap to Stevens was enough to make it to the line and take the win. In taking the overall win, the Known Hooligans (Adam Purves, Eric Purves, Cole Speer and Scott Stall supported by Dunlop, Silkolene and Momentumphoto.net) also took home top honors in the GP4 class over TPL Racing #1 (Fred Marriott, Rod Snyder, Lennon Stevens supported by Dunlop).
The race for the final overall podium position was a lonely affair with GP3 class winner Team Worldwide (John Anderson, Kaleb DeKeyrel, Nate Massa, Kris Skellenger supported by Michelin, Graves Motorsports, Worldwide Machining & Welding, Silkolene, HJC and Cortech) bringing home third overall with no other finishers on the same lap. Team Worldwide put together a flawless race and their quick pitstops and consistently fast laps put them far out of reach of any other competitors.
Surprisingly, the GP2 class featured the most entries by a long shot with nine teams battling for the win. Team Tyson Berger (Brent Bixby, Brad Zajic supported by Michelin, EBC and Schmalenberg Racing) named after a fallen CRA rider dominated proceedings by running close to two seconds per lap quicker than second place GP2 team Red Dragons (Kenneth Earl, Derek Gilbertson, Paul Oleson supported by Dunlop, ZARS and DS Powersports) and Snakes In Pants (Eric Fox, Derek Gallion and Dean Nemitz supported by Michelin, Silkolene, EBC, Momentumphoto.net). Snakes In Pants put in a solid effort in their attempt to wrestle second place in GP2 from Red Dragons, even running their rear Michelin down to the cords, but they didn’t have enough to meet the challenge brought forth by the Red Dragons.
The lone finisher in the GP1 class was 3D Racing (Aaron Collins, Geoff Egerman, Sheldon Nelson supported by Dunlop).
Congratulations to all teams that participated in the season ending event and a special thank you needs to be said to John Anderson of Worldwide Machining & Welding. The combined efforts of the CRA Board of Directors and John Anderson brought more than 120 racers to Brainerd International Raceway to compete, a number that hasn’t been seen in many years. Participation of that level in the current economy is a testament to the hard work the CRA has put in behind the scenes in 2011. Look for more great things to come in 2012!