Team Velocity Racing Wins Heavyweight Superstock in Night Race at Nelson Ledges

GARRETTSVILLE, Oh. Chuck Ivey, Mark Crozier and Reuben Frankenfield rode the Team Velocity Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 to the Heavyweight Superstock victory during Saturday’s six-hour WERA National Endurance Series race at Nelson Ledges, moving up to second overall under cover of darkness.

Team Velocity Racing (TVR) has now gotten the class win in eight of the nine rounds this season. They also finished second overall, allowing the team to maintain the lead in the overall championship.

The race began late in the afternoon, and Crozier led the field for a few laps before settling into second place. He built up a long lead over third place as he settled into one of the quickest paces on the track. With Nelson Ledges’ long straights, gas consumption was higher than usual and Crozier pitted after just 48 minutes.

Ivey went back out on the track in third but was able to put TVR in second overall again before he pitted to hand the Yamaha over to Frankenfield.

Frankenfield maintained TVR’s lead in Heavyweight Superstock and second overall, but a red flag came out just before the end of his stint. Frankenfield took the restart still in second but he had to pit immediately for fuel, and Crozier returned to the track in third.

The sun was setting by the time Crozier pitted, and he had put the team into second overall once again. Ivey then went out for his stint in the dark and was often the fastest rider on the track as he adapted to the challenge of racing with only headlights as illumination.

“I knew I definitely wanted to ride in the dark after practice last night,” said Ivey. “Riding at night really helped me smooth out my lines. We were fortunate to get good headlights and get them aimed properly. We weren’t so sure about that last night. I learned a lot while I was out there.”

Crozier rode the final stint, re-entering the race in third. He was able to pass for second, building up enough of a gap in the final hour that a stop for a splash of fuel made no change in the running order.

“I told the guys I felt like a first-time novice out there in the dark,” Crozier remarked. “It’s different, but it was a lot of fun because it really tests your skill. My first stint was good, too. I got into traffic but was able to stay consistent. The crew did a great job, as always.”

After six hours of racing, including two hours of riding in total darkness, TVR crossed the finish line second overall and first in Heavyweight Superstock.

“It’s good to get back on top of the class where we should be,” commented Frankenfield, who crashed during last year’s race at Nelson Ledges and broke his foot. “I was the third rider out on a set of tires again, but it was an uneventful stint.”

TVR has just two more rounds before the end of the season. Their next event will be a four-hour race at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, where they will be defending their overall win from 2004.

More information about TVR can be found online at www.TeamVelocityRacing.com.

More, from a press release issued by Bell’s ARNCHU Racing:

Round 9: Nelson Ledges Road Course, September 9-11, 2005 Bell’s ARNCHU returns to podium, 3rd Overall, 2nd in Class.

Bell’s ARNCHU Racing PIAA rode to a podium finish of 3rd overall and 2nd in the Heavyweight Superbike class in this past weekend’s WERA Dunlop National Endurance Series at Nelson Ledges Road Course. The 6-hour event finished at 10pm, making all teams ride with lights in the final 2 hours of darkness.

Randy Sherman started the race in P6, but by the 2nd corner was P3. On the front straight Vesrah, Velocity, and ARNCHU sped past with a sizable gap on the first lap. Randy, on an essentially stock GSXR750, caught up to Team Velocity’s 1000cc R1, posting the 3rd fastest team lap at 1:08.395. Randy let Velocity’s fuel stop on lap 42 allow ARNCHU to assume P2.

Rick Knuckles took the controls for the second hour, but was forced into an unplanned pit-stop due to a throttle cable bracket that loosened on the right clip-on. Losing close to a minute, it took the team until Lap 138 to return to P2. Dressman rode one stint mainly in P2.

Bell’s ARNCHU ran P2 for 110 laps, but finished 3rd overall due to a nagging electrical issue that arises in 6-hour events. Though no official diagnosis, a heat-soaked fuel pump is suspected.

Randy rode into the night hours with a PIAA-upgraded stock headlight and PIAA P1100X Dichroic driving lamps. The lap times dropped by about 4 seconds as the track and tire temps came down significantly. Rick would have to finish the race by resetting the ignition every 10 laps or so. He brought the bike in to a bitter-sweet 3rd overall.

Go to http://www.arnchu.net for a complete blog and pics.