Daskalos Earns Fourth-Place Finish, Hard Charger Honors at Jersey
Jason Daskalos advanced nine positions from his No. 13 qualifying spot to earn a career-best fourth-place finish and pace all Mopar-powered Dodge Viper Competition Coupe drivers in the SCCA SPEED GT event at New Jersey Motorsports Park's Thunderbolt Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Daskalos also brought home the Sunoco Hard Charger award for his push to the front in his No. 5 Coastal Pet Products Inc. Viper Comp Coupe. He was joined in the top 10 by Mopar-powered drivers Brian Simo and Jeff Courtney. Simo waged a late race battle with Daskalos for the fourth spot but ultimately settled for a solid fifth-place showing in his Foametix/Woodhouse Performance Viper Comp Coupe. Courtney claimed sixth in his KENDA/TJM/MPI Coin/Badger Viper Comp Coupe.
No. 2 Mopar Viper Comp Coupe driver and Aloha, Ore. native Cindi Lux came into the New Jersey event looking to build on the momentum she gained at the previous SPEED GT event at Detroit's Belle Isle. She finished eighth at Detroit and earned both the Hard Charger and Holeshot race awards. Unfortunately, Lux finished a bit short in her hunt for a fifth top 10 in her '08 campaign, taking 12th-place at Jersey after she was hit going into turn one on the second lap and suffered heavy damage to her Mopar Viper. Always a trooper, Lux never pitted, and though she was dead last at the end of the lap, fought her way back up to finish just outside the top 10.
Lux and her fellow Mopar-powered Viper Comp Coupe drivers will look to finish up strong in the final event of the season, the Road Atlanta SPEED GT Finale. The race is scheduled for Oct. 1–3 at Braselton, Ga. For more info on the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Series, visit http://www.world-challenge.com.
