Cindi Marks End of Season with Viper ACRX Utah Podium

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Cornelius, OR. November 12, 2012 – As the 2012 season comes to an end, most programs have a party. Lux Performance Group, LLC decided to do that by inviting nearly 50,000 of its friends to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah! What better way to celebrate the passing of a season than to take one of SRT’s track-only Viper ACRXs to challenge American Le Mans Series and GRAND-AM-legal sports cars. Cindi Lux (Aloha, Ore.), who owns the Oregon based operation with husband Fred, put on a clinic of what America’s supercar is capable of on the longest track in the United States. The 4.5-mile, 24-turn, “Outer Loop” at Miller Motorsports Park was the site of the Utah Region of the National Auto Sports Association’s (NASA) season-finale, October 26-27, and the final opportunity of the year for Lux to compete with the road-inspired ACRX racer.

To those looking on at the start of the weekend, the wide-open classes of NASA seemed to give the advantage to the Porsches, Corvettes, BMWs and more, not the Detroit-built Viper. However, Lux, who has spent years as a Dodge, Mopar and SRT factory driver, used the V10-powered machine to upend those brands with an inspired run. Adding to the challenge for Lux was the fact that the SRT Viper ACRX being raced in Utah was fresh from competition in the SRT Viper Cup presented by Pennzoil season finale at Watkins Glen International. Lux Performance Group manages the two-car “Celebrity/Guest Driver” program in the Viper Cup and used one of the two racecars. With limited time and a long haul from New York, the car was fueled and raced with no additional preparation work needed prior to the weekend’s start.

The 12-time road-racing champion’s car qualified second in the 21-car field, alongside her longtime friend Melanie Snow. Snow, a racing champion in her own right, put her ALMS-ready Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car on the pole position but found herself out-braked entering turn-one. Lux’s deep braking maneuver left many on the sidelines open-mouthed and they’d stay that way for several laps. The two women dominated the sharp-end of the field gapping the remaining competition lap-by-lap. Lux would take the checkered flag second in class in her only NASA appearance of the season.

Lux Performance Group and Cindi Lux’s massive popularity on social media – 4,000 Facebook “Likes” and over 46,000 followers on Twitter – helped add to the excitement of the race for all. Through a concerted Twitter and Facebook effort, a significant social media buzz was created around the end-of-the-year event.

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In addition to the on-track action, Lux was using the Miller race as a bully-pulpit for an important cause. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States, which fit perfectly with the conclusion of the 2012 season. The Lux machine featured a pink sunshade on the windshield backing the popular SRT logo. Furthermore, a large National Breast Cancer Coalition sticker on the rear quarter-panel reminded all of the effort to cure breast cancer by 2020. It was a positive conclusion to a season raising awareness and funding for the Coalition. Over the course of the 10-race Viper Cup championship, guest drivers in two Lux-prepped SRT Viper ACRXs raced for the charity with all winnings of the “celebrity” drivers going to the National Breast Cancer Coalition (http://www.BreastCancerDeadline2020.org/). The Celebrity Driver Program donated over $35,000 towards the National Breast Cancer Coalition’s efforts in 2012.

To wrap the season, Cindi Lux will appear on the popular motorsports program “Heels on Wheels” with host Kim Ratcliffe this week. The Performance Motorsports Network program highlights women in the auto industry on www.PerformanceMotorsportsNetwork.com.

Quotes
Cindi Lux
On the race: “The car was on rails! That SRT Viper loves the Outer Loop and kicks ass at Miller Motorsport Park. I know that track well and I have never been in a car that ran as well as the ACRX did! What a great way to end the 2012 racing season! The SRT ACRX is a fan favorite, especially when you can drive the wheels off of it and it keeps giving you more and more. No one gave us much of a chance, not against cars that run in the pro classes, but the best of Detroit showed the rest of the world how we get it done in the States!”

On the huge impact of social media at the race: “It just blows my mind how many people get involved and follow my racing activities through Facebook and Twitter! It’s amazing how many questions I get via Twitter on racing a Viper. It’s just a fun and quick way to interact with the fans. They truly want to learn and stay informed and social media gives us a chance like never before to grow the sport and spread the SRT Viper story.”

Check out the highlight video that Slacker Inc. put together for us.