Those of us with a good memory will remember last year’s #Gridlife TrackBattle event at Autobahn Country Club for a few reasons. Namely, the hosting track in Joliet, Illinois, presented a weekend of broken records and scorching heat — and 2019 was no different. Entrants were able to use the 2.1-mile south and 3.5-mile full course, but the south course had the most action and the most records broken.
Despite the elevated mercury levels, track records for almost all classes were re-set. Luke McGrew piloted his Dodge Viper to a Track Modified RWD record of 1:28.701, and the builds for FCP Euro Street Modified Class weren’t far behind. Shawn Krebsbach drove his Mitsubishi Evolution to a new Street Modified AWD record of 1:30.808. The ever-expanding class of Street GT also saw a new record, with a Mustang GT350 topping the timing sheets at 1:33.416.
Other classes sporting a bit less horsepower also got some new records, too. The Powerstop Street Class had both RWD and FWD records re-set, with Chris Neuman’s M3 and James Rauck’s Type R setting times of 1:34.027 and 1:36.720, respectively. A Civic Type R set a record in Street Modified FWD, with Chinchi Chiang crossing the line at 1:35.508. Roadster Modified rounded up the records with Andrew Sonnevil setting the record at 1:38.357
For your podium finishers, Mike Hryckiewicz took the top spot in a Corvette as the one and only Unlimited car entered. Luke McGrew set a new track record in Track Modified, earning gold, with Joel Morrison and Kevin Boehm taking second and third in their Hondas. Street Modified was close as ever, with the largest field of cars entered. Krebsbach’s record put him at the top, with second and third going to Jackie Ding and the team from Evolve Autosport.
In Street GT, an all-American battle played out between Cars and Coffee Survivor Racing’s record-setting Mustang, Coby Shield’s second-place Camaro and the third-place Corvette of Dan Simms. The winning formula for Street class seems to have been found, with all three podium finishers in RWD six-cylinder cars. Chris Neuman’s M3 set the record, Austin Hertel’s 370Z posted the second-fastest time, and his Nissan was joined on the podium by Sam Bosnian’s 350Z Nismo.
Gridlife’s next stop is at Pikes Peak International Raceway for the #Gridlife Alpine Horizon Festival, July 26-28, where the classes and competition are sure to be close as ever. Visit www.alpinehorizonfestival.com for more info. And for all other upcoming Gridlife events, be sure to check out www.grid.life.
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