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Grand Am
IN THE COCKPIT: Adam Burrows, Road America CTSCC
If there was ever a doubt, you should know that food is a big part of the race weekend curriculum for Trev and I...
Adam Burrows  |  Posted June 30, 2011  
Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood headed to Road America for the next round of the CTSCC. (Photo: Wes Duenkel)
If there was ever a doubt, you should know that food is a big part of the race weekend curriculum for Trev and I. It’s no secret that we have a close relationship with every Arby’s, In-n-Out Burger and the occasional Culvers in proximity to all of tracks that are visited by the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Even though we are professional racecar drivers, we don’t always stick to most stringent dietary regimen!

So, as you might imagine, when Road America was announced as part of the 2011 Grand Am schedule, there was only one thing on our minds . . . cheese curds. We would, after all, be heading right into the belly of the beast . . . Wisconsin. Home not only to the garden variety, “squeaky” curd, but also the regionally specific deep-fried cheese curd, to be dipped a side of “pizza sauce.”

Another bonus to this weekend was that Trev brought his wife, Casey Sue, out for the race. In addition to being Trevor’s number one fan, Casey Sue is a mother-to-be who’s eating for two. (This is a concept that Trevor is happy to run in the draft of, even if his extra eating doesn’t actually help the baby…) So, of course, curd consumption was paramount the moment she stepped off the plane.

True, yes we weren’t only there for the curds. There was also this four-mile long, legendary road course nestled just below Elkhart Lake, WI that may have captured our interest.

With extensive straights and demanding corners like the Carousel, the Kink and Bill Mitchel Bend, Road America is a giant amongst the road courses of America. Although, I was excited to again race at this facility, Trev was virtually uncontainable. His Twitter account (http://twitter.com/trevorhopwood) was aflutter all weekend and every time he got out of the car, he would turn to me and say, “I love this place! I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get here.” I couldn’t agree more. There is a lot to love about Road America, even beyond the curds.

Admittedly, we kind of looked forward to this event with a bit of trepidation. The Kia Racing Forte Koups have evolved into a fantastic racecar in the hands of Kinetic Motorsports, but there is no question that speed in a straight line has been its Achilles heel . . . and we were sure that the aforementioned straightaways would be Paris’ arrow.

Yet, as we took to the track in some initial practice sessions, we were surprised to see that we weren’t terribly far off the pace . . . in fact, we were in the thick of things. We were kind of scratching our heads because we had struggled to even reach mid-pack at Watkins Glen (another track with fairly long straights), yet something about this track seemed to suit the Koup. This, along with the fact the Kinetic guys had give us a car straight off the truck that was handling beautifully, gave us a bit of reserved optimism for the weekend.

Leading up to qualifying, the weather had give us a mixed bag of rain, wind, clouds and the occasional ray of sun. But, when it came time to deliver, a clear dry track was laid out before Trevor as he rolled out of pit lane. Going out on four sticker tires, the one thing that is vital in qualifying is making sure that first “flying” lap counts. After that first lap, the tires tend to fall off a bit, shaving precious tenths of a second off at every corner. And at a four-mile track like Road America, that can mean quite a bit of time. Even though his lap was compromised by a wayward, spinning car right in front of him and sending him hard on the binders for a moment, Trev dropped the #12 seventh on the grid, a solid starting position on the inside lane for turn one.

This race would be slightly out of the ordinary as a 6:15 green flag meant that we would be racing into the darkness. Both Trev and I enjoy driving at night and we always mention how we miss the traditional six-hour season closer at VIR that used to be art of the Grand-Am schedule. We would have a taste of that this weekend, foretold by the Kinetic boys installing headlights in our Koup.

The race was something to behold. Honestly, I’ve tried to piece together the number of accidents I witnessed, both in pit lane and behind the wheel, but I can’t seem to account for every one. And, admittedly, these were a lot of incidents that you don’t want to see . . . cars seriously damaged,a car upside down. Fortunately, everyone walked away safely.

Trev did an exceptional job in his stint, staying out of trouble and also tucking in behind and working with our #10 sister car to stay towards the front.

Our pit strategy had us staying out slightly longer and coming in on a slightly later yellow that the rest of the ST field. We only have one pit box to share with the #10 car so, as Nic is mixing it up at the top of the championship leaderboard, the preferred strategy must be tipped their way.

Trev moved up to the lead, giving it up only when he came into the pits, but a small miscue in the pitbox had us slightly out of position for fueling, and the repositioning cost us quite a bit of time. Compounded by a packed field that drove by the pits behind the pace car, I returned in 17th position. Not ideal, but certainly not insurmountable.

Fortunately, #12 was fantastic and I was thoroughly enjoying myself as I was pushing to make my way through the field as twilight set in at the track. Racing in the dark has to be one of my favorite things. As visibility declines, the challenge of that extra focus and additional effort required to make sure that every element of your driving is precise is tremendously rewarding.

And, though some attrition aided the process, I was able to make my way well into the top ten in the closing minutes of the race.

However, a late race caution put an end to that forward motion. The Insight Racing BMW of Nicolas Rondet hit the wall at the exit of turn one at tremendous speed. Fortunately, Nicolas walked away, but I could tell from the aftermath of the incident that it was pretty serious contact, as the BMW lay listless in the middle of the track, one of the front tires detached and fluids everywhere. Trev told me after the race that it looked like he had some sort of brake failure, and did a great job to get the car slowed down as much as he could before making contact.

The magnitude of the incident and the extensive clean-up needed would mean that our race would end under yellow flag conditions. While this was a boon to the #10 car, as they were in the lead when the caution came out, we were definitely disappointed not to have more time to claw our way towards the front of the field, knowing exactly how strong our car was on the day.

But this is a huge team effort, and the Road America win was another massive result for Kia, double stamping their make on the 2011 season with a second win. It also propelled Nic into the lead in the driver’s championship and helped push Kia up in the manufacturers championship.

Hardly imaginable, but this season is nearly over. With two races in July and the final race at Mid-Ohio in September, we’ll be packing up our racing suits in the closet before you know it. However, both Trev and I are glad to have turned around our tepid luck from the beginning of the season, and can’t wait to get to Laguna Seca next week.

By the way, the curds . . . were fantastic. To the point that even Casey Sue was trying to get us to stop at Culvers on the way back to Milwaukee after the race. Unfortunately, the late finish meant that the “closed” sign was up and the lights were off by the time we drove by. So, it looks like we’ll have to wait until next year to satisfy our cravings for Wisconsin’s culinary masterpieces.

Off to Laguna after the holiday weekend. Enjoy the 4th!

AB

Adam Burrows won the Continental Tire Sports Car Championship with co-driver Trevor Hopwood in his rookie season. After making the move to front wheel drive machinery in 2008, his race wins made him a threat in the championship battle as he closed out the year second in the year-end standings. The 2011 season will see him once again partner with Hopwood at Kinetic Motorsports in ST competition as part of the factory Kia Forte Koup campaign.

Learn more about Adam at http://konichamps.wordpress.com/
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