Mopar's Lux Looks to Capitalize on Detroit Success at Jersey
For the second time in as many races Cindi Lux and Team Mopar will face a new race course on the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) SPEED World Challenge GT schedule. Thunderbolt Raceway is the newest, permanent, professional road course in the United States. As part of the New Jersey Motorsports Park, the 2.25-mile, 14-turn Thunderbolt facility has hosted only one professional event leading into this Saturday's 50-minute Thunderbolt SPEED World Challenge GT. Few of the drivers in the Series have ever raced on the course, including Lux, offering another even playing field for the No. 2 Team Mopar Dodge Viper Competition Coupe.
Lux, a 12-time road racing champion, has excelled at new facilities. At her most recent race at Detroit's Belle Isle, she overcame having never seen the course to finish eighth. It was the fourth top-10 finish for Team Mopar's only road racing representative on her abbreviated '08 schedule. Lux also garnered two of the most prestigious performance awards at Detroit: the Racing Electronics Holeshot Award and the Sunoco Hard Charger Award.
Lux, the 1999 American Le Mans Series Women's Global GT Series Champion, visited the New Jersey track to do a shakedown run in a spec series car. The on-track laps and research and development time with the Dodge Viper Comp Coupe have presented Mopar and Dodge engineers valuable insight into maximizing performance for the street. The aerodynamic information garnered and the mechanical conclusions found will be fed back to engineers working on the next generation of Chrysler components. Every component on Lux's Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe — including the car itself — has a Mopar part number that corresponds to the Mopar parts catalog and is available for purchase by the general public.
Lux will play host to several guests at New Jersey, including visitors from local Dodge dealerships. Tickets were also awarded to select Dodge and Mopar customers for the event. The New Jersey round of the GT championship can be seen on SPEED Channel at Noon (ET), October 8. Live timing and scoring can be found at http://www.world-challenge.com.
