Trans AM: Persistence Pays for Ave

[NewsBot]

Veteran racer Tony Ave was fast right out of the box last weekend at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT. Driving his #4 Tony Ave Racing/Pro Motor Engines Chevrolet Corvette, the Maiden, NC, native topped Saturday's first practice session and later went on to grab the pole position, with a lap of 1:28.750 (89.239 mph).



This was his second Trans-Am pole position in three outings so far this season. Ave was about an eighth of a second ahead of Mike Skeen, who took P2 with a 1:28.827 (89.162 mph) lap, in the #81 Baker Manufacturing/Next Table Chevrolet Corvette.


Photos: Trans Am

"It went pretty much as expected, except I didn't think Skeen would be that fast," said Ave. "But no, he was fast this morning. I went what I thought was as fast as I could without hurting the tires, and nobody else except Michael was very close. Then, he just beat it, so then I had to go back out and put a couple more laps on it."

Starting immediately behind the pair would be points leader, RJ Lopez, and 2009 Champion, Tomy Drissi. Both were about a second off the torrid pace set by the front runners. This event marks the first time that a Trans Am race has been run at Miller Motorsports Park. The 2.2-mile, 15-turn East Course presents a technical challenge for drivers, including elevation changes and a final, banked turn into the finish straight.



When the green flag dropped, those challenges did little to hold Ave back. His 42nd start in Trans Am racing would also mark his first victory, leading the 40-lap race from start to finish. Next to take the checkered flag was Tomy Drissi in the #5 Jaguar XKR, more than 3.5 seconds behind. Drissi drove a skilled and patient race, jumping from fourth to third in the first lap, then found the opportunity to pass Mike Skeen about half way through the race.

"I think Ave figured how to have a hundred-mile car now and a hundred-mile driver, so we’ve got our work cut out for us," Drissi said. "It took a long time for Ave to win a Trans-Am race, and it’s not like he ran that many Trans-Am races, but he’s been around since ’94."



RJ Lopez finished the race on the last podium spot and ceeded the points lead to Ave. Mike Skeen and Simon Gregg, of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, rounded out the Top 5 places with four Corvettes in total. Skeen set fastest lap of the race with a 1:30.465 (87.547 mph).

"It's awesome," said Ave. "I'm doing this mostly because I like it. I mean, I build and sell cars, so we do it to make some money, but I come and my friends help me with some money and we come and try to have some fun. My buddy, Dave Janz, kept my head on straight. I was so nervous. Every time we're fast, it seems like we find a way to lose. Those guys had to kind of smack me around a little bit this morning."

Round 4 of the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series takes place at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, on June 18-20.




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