2014 Nationals

 2014 Cup Nationals:

October 10-12
 Monticello Motorsports Park

 

 The 944 Cup Nationals took Monticello Motorsports (MMC) park by storm for the inaugural club race in the history of the track.  Over the course of the three days, close to 40 drivers from all over the US came and put their driving skills to the test.
 
The track, which proved to be one of the most challenging tracks the 944 Cup has visited, with corners reminiscent of great European tracks, over 1.5 miles of straights, 450 feet of thrilling elevation changes, and a total of 22 turns.
 
Friday was a full day of practice, with most drivers getting their first look at the track. Laps time were dropping with each session as the drivers got into their comfort zone.

For Saturday, drivers were met with a wet track and a light drizzle. Drivers who adapted quickest to the conditions found the outside edge of the track to hold the key to grip. As the day progressed, the track began to dry as did the lines through the turns.

A short practice, followed by a qualifying session would set the stage for Race 1 and 2 later in the day. These races counted towards regional point standings and would determine the local champions.

Dan Martinson took the first Super Cup race with Canadian Ernie Jakubowski holding off Michal Stach for 2nd place. Martinson in his Gear Tie 944S2 repeated the win in Race 2 on Saturday along with the best time of the day putting him on pole for the National Championship, closely followed by Jakubowski in an Mantisport S2, while Stach's 951 blew a clutch and was gone for the weekend. Denny Hiffman and Rob Branthover in their 968's would fill out the 2nd row for Sunday's championship start.

For the Cup class races on Saturday, the Canadians continued to make their presence felt with Randy Smith and Rodrigo Herrera taking the front row to start the Cup class in Race 1. Herrera held on to take the top spot in the opener, with Robbie Provost out of New Jersey 2nd and Canadian Robert Bethiume with fastest lap, and Virginian Bob Page in tow. In Race 2, Herrera continued his dominance and appeared set to take the National crown. Smith climbed his way back into 2nd, with Provost and Van Svenson staying in the hunt.

In the Super Cup finale on Sunday morning, Martison led the entire race until a loose wire on his kill switch came loose and stopped him one lap short of the checker. Jakubowski broke a shock mount on lap 2 and watched the race from the infield. That left Hiffman and Branthover and somewhat forgotten Henry Kane in his 951 to battle it out for the podium.

Branthover seemed to come from nowhere in his 968 to take the lead late in the race and take the title. He started off the front row and had not had a win all season, but a closer examination shows he finished 3rd in the North Chapter standings with 4 podiums, the potential was there.

  
For the Cup class Championship race on Sunday, towo time Canada regional champion Smith started on pole by virtue of the fastest lap in the qualifiers the day before. The first two rows were filled out by Svenson, Herrera, and Provost in that order.

Svenson managed to shadow Smith for much of the race, but as the laps progressed and tire grip became an issue, Smith gapped Svenson, who fell back into the grips of Herrera and Provost. These 3 went bumper to bumper lap after lap, all in their orange 944's, making them hard to identify as they rounded the corners.

Smith drove to maintain a safe gap and won the Cup class National crown,with the orange cars crossing the line with less than a second between the three. Svenson held on for 2nd with Herrera taking the last spot on the podium.

 
 

944 Cup 2014 Nationals Results

 

Pos PIC No. Name Class Laps Total Tm Diff Best Tm In Lap Color Description Region
1 1 71 ROB BRANTHOVER SP3 15 40:18.697   2:38.485 2 BLACK P 95 968 NNJ
2 2 141 DENNIS HIFFMAN SP3 15 40:44.553 25.856 2:40.395 2 YELLOW P 95 968 FIREHAWK CHO
3 3 103 HENRY KANE SP3 15 41:01.182 42.485 2:41.684 3 BURGUNDY P 88 951 NNJ
4 4 86 TOM COLLINS SP3 15 41:15.750 57.053 2:43.755 4 BLACK P 92 968 FIREHAWK CHO
5 1 78 RANDY SMITH SP2 15 42:03.573 1:44.876 2:46.188 3 WHITE/BLUE P 87 944 UPC
6 5 525 DAMON DeCASTRO SP3 15 42:10.173 1:51.476 2:46.782 10 RED P 87 951 NNJ
7 2 7 VAN SVENSON SP2 15 42:10.467 1:51.770 2:46.386 3 ORANGE P 86 944 HCP
8 3 47 RODRIGO HERRERA SP2 15 42:11.031 1:52.334 2:46.787 13 ORANGE P 85 944 REN
9 4 119 ROBERT PROVOST SP2 15 42:11.354 1:52.657 2:47.145 13 BLACK P 87 924 S SCH
DNF DNF 89 DANIEL MARTINSON SP3 14 38:23.355 DNF 2:37.614 2 RED P 89 944 NST
11 5 888 DANIEL MONGRAIN SP2 14 40:22.688 1 Lap 2:49.645 12 BRONZE P 83 944 REN
12 6 219 ROBERT PAGE SP2 14 40:24.375 1 Lap 2:51.209 4 BLUE P 87 944 POT
13 7 3 STEVE RANDOLPH SP2 14 40:34.887 1 Lap 2:52.222 9 WHITE/BLACK P 88 944 POT
14 8 84 JAMES BEIRNE SP2 14 40:43.411 1 Lap 2:52.337 7 BLACK P 88 924 S NNJ
15 1 677 DAVID NAGLER SP1 14 41:00.353 1 Lap 2:53.880 3 BLACK P 88 944 CTV
16 9 186 DEREK FAWCETT SP2 14 41:21.982 1 Lap 2:52.971 7 BLACK P 86 944 UPC
17 10 14 JOHN BRANDENBERGER SP2 14 41:32.898 1 Lap 2:54.680 2 ORANGE/WHITE P 83 944 RTR
18 11 419 DAVID DUNIGAN SP2 14 41:34.446 1 Lap 2:55.173 3 ORANGE P 87 924 S SCH
19 12 585 JOHN BARNA SP2 14 41:34.566 1 Lap 2:55.106 7 RED P 86 944 HV
20 2 719 BILL MULLER SP1 14 41:36.572 1 Lap 2:55.263 13 WHITE P 83 944 CTV
21 13 90 MARTIN OKUN SP2 14 42:05.964 1 Lap 2:55.537 8 RED P 86 944 NNJ
22 14 124 JEFFREY MULLER SP2 13 41:33.501 2 Laps 2:53.495 5 BLACK P 87 944 SCH
DNF DNF 46 STEPHAN LINZ SP3 9 25:58.422 DNF 2:50.056 2 BLACK S 95 968 NNJ
DNF DNF 576 VITO VALENTINO SP2 6 17:27.507 DNF 2:50.387 3 BLUE P 88 924 S CTV
DNF DNF 91 MARGARET JAKUBOWSKI SP2 5 14:52.452 DNF 2:52.426 4 YELLOW P 88 944 UPC
DNF DNF 16 AARON PINCUS SP1 4 12:34.956 DNF 2:55.905 2 RED P 84 944 CTV
DNF DNF 183 JAMES ROTHENBERGER SP2 3 10:56.035 DNF 2:51.645 2 ORANGE/GRAY P 85 944 RTR
DNF DNF 001 ERNIE JAKUBOWSKI SP3 1 2:46.303 DNF 2:43.691 1 WHITE P 88 944 S2 UPC
DNF DNF 778 MICHAEL STRELBISKY SP3   5.901 DNF   0 RED P 89 951 UPC
DQ DQ 43 ROBERT BERTHIAUME SP2 15 44:13.719 DQ 2:49.259 4 GREEN P 86 944 REN
DQ DQ 76 ALLAN COHEN SP2 14 41:19.736 DQ 2:50.886 4 GREEN/BLACK P 84 944 CTV