Cindi's Gamble at Mosport Pays Off
BOWMANVILLE, ONT. Canada, August 30, 2007 - NayKid Racing entered Saturday's Grand Prix of Mosport SPEED World Challenge GT event with great hope. The second of a two-race partnership with Dodge of Canada, two of the best prepared and quickest Dodge Viper Competition Coupes and a track so fast that even the most speed hungry driver gets weak in the knee; just the way the driver pair of Cindi Lux (Aloha, Ore.) and Scotty B. White (Lake Tapps, Wash.) like it. All combined the weekend promised NayKid's best shot of success in their first season of SPEED World Challenge. However, what dampened their spirits was literally a grey cloud that seemed to return overhead every time the No. 2 Dodge/Mintex Brakes/Red Line Oil Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Lux and White's No. 3 Corsa Performance/Forgeline Dodge Viper Comp Coupe rolled onto the Mosport International Raceway. The on-again, off-again rain would play the critical role in Lux's rush up-field to an 11th-place finish and White's finish of 15th.
Early in the weekend the rain swept across the Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada track hurting both Lux and White's attempts to learn the ultra-quick track's layout. Each time the GT Series of the SPEED World Challenge was scheduled for testing or practice the rain would fall. It was not until qualifying that the two white, blue and orange V10-powered, American-made machines had a dry line around the 2.5 mile, 10-turn facility. Lux turned the 19th fastest time while White put up the 14th quickest lap on Friday.
A day later, another major storm swept through the area just hours before the race was scheduled to take its traditional standing start. As the start neared the track slowly dried but was far from perfect. On the race's pre-grid, before rolling out to take the green flag, those on rain tires debated whether the wet weather arrangement would be best on the drying track? Or was more rain on the way making their choice the hot hand? That one decision set the diverging courses of the two NayKid Racing Vipers. White went with the rain tires and a stiffer setup on his No. 3 Comp. Coupe while Lux rolled the dice that the track would dry further under the hour-long pounding of 23 high-powered sports cars.
The decision to swap to the dry racing tire would force Lux to take the start from the pit lane once the full field had passed. White held his position on the grid. From there, the gamble paid off for Lux but harmed White. In the early stages, as the track was still damp, White leaped from his usual spectacular standing start up to 11th. An impressive feat. Meanwhile, chasing down the pack from pit lane, Lux found the early going rough as she fought the powerful, front-engined Viper on the dry weather tires and softer setup trying to dodge the slickest areas of the track. Then the sun began to shine even brighter and the asphalt of the Mosport facility began to dry. White started to slip one position at a time as he sought-out the damp areas on the track that Lux was trying so desperately to avoid. Each lap made the track dryer and White fell as Lux ascended up the standings. In the end, the two would cross paths before Lux worked her way up one spot short of the top-10. White struggled on the overheated rubber with no more water to find anywhere near the preferred racing line. He took 15th, one spot below where he started an hour earlier.
NayKid Racing had the privilege of having the latest winners of the Dodge Viper Pit Pass Challenge at Mosport. The Dodge Viper Pit Pass Challenge made James Elgert and Krystal Warren a part of the NayKid Racing crew for the weekend. The winners received free round-trip transportation to Mosport, accommodations for the weekend, team race credentials, a membership in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), official NayKid Racing team-only apparel, time with both Lux and White and $1,000 Canadian spending money.
The tape-delayed broadcast of the Grand Prix of Mosport can be seen on SPEED Channel, Saturday, September 1 at 1pm (ET).
Quotes
Cindi Lux: "The rain was a huge factor this weekend in both qualifying and in the race. At the very last moment the team decided to switch my car to dry tires for the race. It was a risky move but it turned out to be the correct call. The setup on the car was perfect for the damp conditions. I have to be honest; our Vipers were working so well in the dry to have a race in mix wet/dry conditions was disappointing. But every race we are gaining ground on the leaders. Our team is working so hard and it's really, really starting to show."
Scotty B. White: "The Canadian fans certainly didn't disappoint this weekend. We were getting visited in the pits at midnight! Boy, it was a tough one with sunshine mixed with torrential downpours and no possible prediction of when either would come. Our team did a fantastic job with these Dodge Vipers at this tough Mosport track. We rolled the dice to go with a stiff setup on my car and softer on Cindi's and then rain tires on me and dries on Cindi. So, it was kind of a gamble but we figured we had both sides covered. Cindi really came through with a tricky car to drive. I am very proud of this team and very happy about all we learned!"