KINETIC SPEED SHOP RETURNS FROM PEACHSTATE MEMORIAL CLUB RACE WEEKEND
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Kinetic Speed Shop Hosted a Full House for the Weekend
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Buford, Ga.
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Kinetic Speed Shop made the short trip to Road Atlanta this weekend for the annual Peachstate Region of the Porsche Club of America club race event. The weekend at Kinetic's home track is always one of the biggest on the calendar for the Speed Shop as Kinetic is both a national and regional sponsor of the PCA. Clients of the local street and motorsports performance shop came in droves with Kinetic hosting 12 cars under multiple awnings in the paddock.
Joining the Kinetic crew at the 2.54 mile road course were Lee Davis, Jorge DeMacedo, Daniel Eastman, Craig Foster, Kim and Paul Gutowski, David Hinkle, Bob Nonneman, Karl Salnoske, Russell Smith, Kevin Violette and Fred Wicks. Several of the drivers were on hand one extra day for the Road Atlanta test day prior to the official PCA events. This marked the first time that PCA drivers had the chance to compete on the freshly paved surface. After testing, many commented that the track was definitely faster than before with several added bumps especially in Turn 5.
Temperatures cooled quite a bit to the lower 70's on Friday with the sun coming in and out throughout the day. The event schedule for Friday was purely for practice where drivers in the four class groups were able to shakedown the cars and prepare for the races rolling starts. Kinetic crew was on hand to provide support for all of the drivers. The day went smoothly for all of the clients and after the on-track events the entire paddock was treated to the traditional Friday Night Social which was again sponsored by Kinetic Speed Shop. The social is always a popular evening allowing drivers and crew alike to enjoy the company of fellow competitors.
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Top Qualifier David Hinkle On-track at Road Atlanta
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Saturday began early with engines firing up promptly at 8:00 am. The Sprint races took place later in the day with warm up sessions and the ever important qualifying prior to the 40 minutes races. Kinetic newcomer David Hinkle posted an incredible qualifying time, taking the first spot overall in run group three. Fred Wicks was able to log a 6th place in class time with Bob Nonneman coming across the line 13th in class. Starting in solid positions, Kinetic clients in Group 3 were able to take three Top 10 finishes. Hinkle finished 4th overall with Wicks and Nonneman posting 4th and 9th in class respectively.
Paul and Kim Gutowski represented Group 2 for Kinetic. Qualifying went extremely for both drivers as Kim went on to claim the top spot in the GT2R class and Paul taking the 3rd position in GT3S. Neither of the two is accustomed to giving up spots during races and it showed during the Sprint event with Kim winning her class and Paul placing second.
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Paul Gutowski On His Way to a 2nd Place Finish (photo credit Bill Ibsen)
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Group 1 competitors under the Kinetic banner managed to take four Top 10 qualifying positions and a Top 15 in class. Russell Smith crossed the line in the 6th spot with a time of 1:29.552 with fellow Kinetic drivers Lee Davis and Jorge DeMacedo just behind in the 7th and 8th positions. Kevin Violette took the Checkered Flag 10th in class and Karl Salnoske managed a 15th spot just over a second behind Violette in the GTC3 class. During the Sprint race Smith, Davis and Violette all took 8th places in class. DeMacedo finished 9th in his Porsche 997 after a hard fought race. Unfortunately, Salnoske did not finish the event due to a broken water pump.
The good weather did not hold out for the competitors on Sunday. Temperatures dropped again with dark clouds opening up throughout the day varying from light to heavy rain. With the compromised conditions, Enduro competitors in Group C for Kinetic which included the faster Porsches elected not to compete as the slick conditions increased the chance for on-track incidents which could have resulted in the inability to compete in upcoming events. PCA made the decision to combine Groups A and B for the Enduro event in order to escape the worsening weather. Fred Wicks and Bob Nonneman took to the track with fresh Rain X placing 2nd and 4th in class respectively.
For More information about Kinetic Speed Shop please visit www.kssmotorsports.com
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