August 15 & 16 2009 Pocono International Raceway will host the 1st Annual Showroom Stock & Touring Car Festival of Speed. This event is the brainchild of SCCA racer and owner of RaceLabz Motorsports Shop, Joel Lipperini.
“I wanted to choose an event to showcase Showroom Stock and Touring Car racing within SCCA. The Pocono event seemed to be a natural. Not only is it close to our race shop, it also has several great features. Pocono remains one of the fastest road race tracks in the country. Not only does it give drivers a chance to run flat out in top gear, it provides the unique opportunity to utilize high speed drafting – something you simply can’t do at most road race tracks. Pocono also features a challenging infield and a number of braking zones and passing opportunities. From a spectator standpoint, it is one of the few tracks that has corner viewing just a few feet from the edge of the track! There is ample paddock space for competitors and spectators…all around I feel that this event could grow into one of the largest SCCA events in the country”, Lipperini stated.
So the question is, How is this race different than any other SCCA National Road Race? Well the answer is simple, Lipperini is opening his company’s “Piggy Bank”! For this 1st annual event, RaceLabz will pay show money for every Showroom Stock car entering and starting the event. “I know it’s not much, but we had to start somewhere. We felt that providing a monetary amount for racers would help offset the cost of attending the event. We are also working on a contingency package from various automotive vendors. These incentives, along with the desire of Showroom Stock and Touring drivers to keep their classes alive within SCCA, should make an event like this grow. I personally am very excited about this event and the possibility of sponsoring a Showroom Stock & Touring Car Festivals of Speed Series at various tracks around the country”, Lipperini stated.
During a recent interview, Lipperini indicated that RaceLabz will provide monetary compensation in the following forms for this inaugural event. He hopes to extend this payout to the Touring Classes in the future.
Eligible Classes: Showroom Stock B, Showroom Stock C, Touring 1, Touring 2, Touring 3
Monetary Start Compensation: $50 per entry
Finishing Payout: $100 1st Place SSB class Day 1
$100 1st Place SSC class Day 1
$100 1st Place T1 class Day 2
$100 1st Place T2 class Day 2
$100 1st Place T3 class Day 2
Conditions: Driver must enter and start both National races during the weekend. Only out of division
(non-NE division) competitors are eligible to collect the $50 start contingency payout.