The Download: Watkins Glen

Authors: mlovecchio

Valiante Proteges Proving Fast but UnluckyIt was a case of the pupils giving their instructor a lesson in Saturday’s Continental Tire 150 at Watkins Glen International. Driving the No. 04 Autometrics Motorsports BBA Accounting/DE Labs Porsche Cayman started by Adam Isman, Remo Ruscitti was leading in the late stages of the race, holding off the No. 93 HART Honda Civic Si of Michael Valiante.

Suddenly, Ruscitti’s race ended with only seven minutes remaining when he ran out of fuel – marking the second straight time the team experienced heartbreak in the closing minutes.Ruscitti and Isman were coached by Valiante, who went on to finish third in the ST race won by Ryan Eversley and Kyle Gimple for Compass360 Racing.“They are new to the series and have only two years of car experience,” said Valiante, who worked with the young Canadians in karting. “I think this demonstrates the great opportunity that this series offers to young drivers.”Isman led the opening portion of the recent race at Kansas Speedway – opening up a 15-second advantage. However, Ruscitti hit pit equipment during their pit stop, giving the team a drive-through penalty. Dropped back to 18th place, Ruscitti charged all the way back to second and had a shot at winning until his clutch failed with 15 minutes remaining.Autometrics will field one car for the upcoming race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, with Ruscitti joining the team’s lead driver and instructor Cory Friedman in the No. 04 Porsche Cayman.Rochester area-based Berg Racing put on a good show for the home crowd. Cody Ellsworth qualified second in the No. 50 Redcom Labs/Vintage Seats Porsche Boxster co-driven by car owner John Weisberg, giving the team its first front-row start. Ellsworth took the lead on the seventh lap, and was able to hold the advantage.An incident resulted in broken hood pins, however, causing the hood to open and slam into the windshield, cracking the glass. With no spare handy, the car was out of the race. While Dinah Weisberg had co-driven at the Glen with her husband for the past two years, last weekend she joined Sam Schultz in the team’s No. 40 Redcom Labs/Monticello Motor Club Porsche Boxster. Schultz, a native of the Watkins Glen area and Monticello’s director of track operations, was forced out with mechanical problems that resulted in a 27th-place finish.A strategy call fell about five feet short for Doran Racing in Grand Sport. With team owner Kevin Doran opting for only left-side tires on the final stop to gain track position for the No. 14 NISMO Nissan 370Z, BJ Zacharias charged through the field in the closing laps – only to fall 0.169 seconds behind winner Robin Liddell’s No. 6 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R.“It all came down to strategy, and I came up about five feet short,” said Zacharias, who joined Brad Jaeger in the second-place car. “I was amazed at my competitors. Over the last 10 laps or so, guys were pointing me by. Normally, you get up alongside somebody and they give you a ‘howdy do’ and a little shove. They let us race on, and it got to be pretty wild the last five corners or so. Robin raced me clean, he gave me racing room. I just came up short.”Jaeger credited the team for listening to the drivers’ calls and making the car a little better after every stop. Look who is leading the GS point standings. After Trent Hindman and John Edwards took a formidable 25-point lead with a win, two seconds and a fourth in the No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 entering Kansas, the team has been struggling over the past two races. A consistent engine misfire led to a 16-place finish at Kansas, while Edwards had contact with Andy Lally’s Camaro at Watkins Glen, resulting in suspension damage and a 19th-place finish.Meanwhile, the No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche 911 team of Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi has worked its way to the front – with Plumb now tied with Hindman for the lead with 154 points each. Plumb finished 14th in the opener at Daytona after stumbling with a misfire while leading in the closing laps. Since then, they won at Lime Rock – leading the final 60 laps – and took fourth at Kansas and third at The Glen.The ST battle also is a toss-up as the season enters its second half. Tyler Cooke and Greg Liefooghe placed 12th at The Glen to have their lead cut to only two points over Daytona winner Eric Foss (146-144). Another point back is Wayne Nonnamaker, coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes for Team Sahlen.