IMPRESSIVE SEASON FOR JEFF COURTNEY IN WORLD CHALLENGE GT
Season Recap: No. 99 Kenda Tires/ProMPI/Karavan Trailers/Badger/JG
Wheels/ Foerster Signs/Eibach Springs Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe
SLINGER, Wis. (Oct. 29, 2007) -- Jeff Courtney and the No. 99 Kenda
Tires/Pro MPI Dodge Viper posted a solid season in the SPEED World
Challenge Series, finishing seventh in the overall standings and
impressing in his first season in the GT division.
Courtney, nabbed to drive for Woodhouse Performance after impressively
winning Rookie of the Year in the Touring Car division in 2006, made a
successful and notable transition into the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe,
a completely different animal than his AWD Audi in the Touring Car
Series. And it had its challenges within the series. The Woodhouse
Performance team worked hard all season to overcome the competition
deficit with the Viper in a series where domination by Cadillacs,
Porsches and Corvettes kept them from competing for the win each week.
Although frustrating, it was fuel for the fire for Courtney, who, despite
the difficulties with the levelness of the playing field, impressed with
his consistency.
The opening race of the season was telling for Courtney, as he posted an
11th place finish right out of the box. A monsoon-like rain hit the
Sebring International Raceway the morning of the race, forcing Courtney
to make his first start in a Viper in wet track conditions. But the
combination of challenges didn't phase him. The new team, new car, new
division, new group of competitors and slippery racetrack couldn't keep
him from his signature clean, consistent racing. Starting off the season
just outside the top-10 in points? Not bad.
At Long Beach, a new set of challenges arose: A tight street course, a
group of folks from sponsor company ProMPI/MPI Coin to impress and
limited track time to prepare for the race. But the resilient Courtney
was awarded the Sunoco Hard Charger Award, after picking up 16 positions
on his way to a 13th-place finish.
The third round of SPEED World Challenge GT competition took place at
Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City. It was the site of Courtney's
first top-10 finish, of both his GT career and the season. He left 11 th
in the championship standings, just four points out of 10th. The next
race would help him break into the coveted top-10.
That next race featured NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series star Kasey Kahne joining
in the World Challenge festivities as teammate. Courtney would make the
best of Round Five on the modified oval of Lowe's Motor Speedway and
finish fifth in the No. 99 Kenda Tires/ProMPI Dodge Viper. It was his
first top-five of the season and it was also a finish one spot higher
than the celebrated Mr. Kahne -- something to write home about. Heading
to Round Six at Watkins Glen, Courtney was sitting 10 th in the season
standings, on-track to start the second half of the season in prime
position.
The next three races, taking place at Watkins Glen International, on the
streets of Toronto, Canada and at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, would
produce solid top-15 finishes and confirm his newly-tabbed nickname 'Mr.
Consistency.' Through the finishes he maintained his spot in the top-10
in points, while at one event hosting a special group of 100 sponsor
guests. At Mid-Ohio Kenda Tires associates cheered Courtney on from a
frontstretch hospitality tent, watching their No. 99 Dodge Viper race its
way to the front after one of their associates gave the command to start
engines to the entire SPEED World Challenge GT field.
With two races remaining in the season, SCCA made a competition
adjustment to the entire field that helped the Vipers become more
competitive, and it showed in Courtney's results. It was just the ticket
Courtney needed to level out the playing field and kick his performance
into high gear.
Round Nine took place at the historic, super-speedy Road Atlanta. The
race itself could only be summed up in one word: Craziness. But for
Courtney, it was one of his best of the season. He started out the
weekend by posting his best qualifying effort to date, a seventh, and
making his way through the multi-car wreckage resulting from a downpour
of rain that came about midway through the race. He came out of the
carnage cleanly in second, and had it not been for a
first-time-in-SCCA-SPEED-World-Challenge-history extension of the race,
Courtney would have gotten the first podium of his GT career. Still, the
strategy and skill of Courtney and the direction of crewmen Erik Messley
and Eddie Martin led him to a sixth place finish at Road Atlanta, one of
his favorite tracks on the circuit. Again, Courtney left sitting inside
the top-10 in the championship points, one solid finish away from
solidifying a spot there in his opening season of GT racing.
Then came the finale, at none other than Laguna Seca Raceway, in the
beautiful hills of Monterey, Calif. The challenging road course and
well-known corkscrew has given drivers funny feelings in their stomachs
for years. The track was one Courtney knew he could tame, in part because
of his confidence in the preparation of the Viper by Rick Maxwell and
Ashley Wick. Qualifying saw consistent Courtney post his best qualifying
run of the year, a fifth. Courtney told the team he felt like he had a
chance to give the leaders a run for their money. But an unfortunate
weight penalty after qualifying forced him to start at the back. An
aggressive drive to the front found Courtney gaining 15 positions in the
opening laps of the race and in the battle for 12 th before the mid-point
of the race. Much to his dismay, a mechanical issue would slow his drive,
forcing him to nurse the Viper home to an 18th place finish. However the
championship points position was not in jeopardy, and Courtney would hold
his place in the top-10 in points.
The Slinger, Wis. native and former Panoz Series champion finished
seventh in the SPEED World Challenge GT championship points standings,
scoring 151 overall. He finished in the top-10 four times, the top-five
once and the top-15 in each of the rest of the races, with the exception
of Laguna Seca.
At the banquet, Courtney thanked his sponsors Kenda Tires, ProMPI, MPI
Coin, Badger Tire and Wheel, Karavan Trailers, Foerster Signs, JG Wheels,
and Eibach Springs for giving him the opportunity to race in the SPEED
World Challenge series in 2007. He placed emphasis on the fact that he
wouldn't be racing without their support.
"Despite some fighting with the series to make our cars competitive, and
a few driver mishaps, I felt like we put together a good season and
learned a lot this year," Courtney said. "I'm really looking forward to
going racing next year, whether it be in SPEED World Challenge, American
LeMans or another professional series. The high competition level in
World Challenge GT and the great support from the crew at Woodhouse
Performance helped me raise my game this season to a level where I am
confident that I will be competing for wins and possibly a championship
next season."
-credit: jc/dh
