Casa de Amigos Racing » ITB

Janoska Scores First Podiums at VIR

jjjanoska — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:10:57 +0000

May 11, 2009 – Danville, VA – Amigo Jeff Janoska scored his first two MARRS podium finishes at the 2009 SARRC/MARRS Challenge. Janoska, who started fifth in the MARRS ITB field, ran as high as fourth in the first half of Saturday’s 39-mile race. Failing brakes, however, caused him to drop back to fifth. “I moved into fourth on lap five, but when I got on the brakes at turn 1 the next lap, the car just wouldn’t stop,” said Janoska. “I went off and managed to come back on the tail of fourth place, but I quickly realized the brakes were being inconsistent and I never knew when they would grab.” He added.

Janoska’s dogged insistence to bring the car home in one piece, however, paid off. On lap 8, Janoska moved past the ailing car of Tristen Herbet and into fourth. “At that point, I was just hoping to pressure third and force an error, because I didn’t think I could out-brake him,” said Janoska. Hanging onto the tail of third place, the two managed to catch the second place ITB car and on the last lap, Janoska made the move into third.

Sunday’s race saw Janoska starting third. A first lap incident left the field jumbled and after the shuffle, Janoska emerged in third, again on the tail of Colburn. On lap 3, Janoska attempted to outbrake Colburn going into Rollercoaster, but realized that his inconsistant brakes were back. “I had him going into the corner, but the car wouldn’t woe and it didn’t stick,” said Janoska. As in the previous day’s race, Janoska hung onto Colburn, hoping to force an error.

On lap five, the opening was there and Janoska moved into second. “James went wide in Hog Pen and I just moved right and kept my foot in it,” said Janoska. Janoska managed to open a gap on Colburn. With a wounded car and no hope of catching first, Janoska’s goal for the the second half of the race was avoiding an unforced error. On the penultimate lap, Colburn had managed to close the distance, but Janoska used a slower car to hold up his rival and brought his Allsports Grand Prix CRX to the checkered flag in second place.

B. Burkhard Takes 6th in First ITB Outing

jjjanoska — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:21:50 +0000

April 21, 2009 – Summit Point, WV – In Saturday’s 20-mile heat race, Beth Burkhard put in a strong performance culminating in a sixth place ITB finish. Burkhard, who started 7th in the ITB field for the race, quickly moved into 6th after the green flag. “This was our first race with the car as an ITB,” said Burkhard. She went on to add, “Unfortunately, converting the car took longer than we anticipated and, while we made the track this weekend, we were unable to get the car into full ITB-fighting trim.”

Burkhard had a tougher time in Sunday’s 40-mile feature race when she spent the race fighting an ill-handling car. During the fourth lap, Burkhard went off-course in turn 10 and lost considerable time. “We got aggressive on tire pressures to compensate for being down on power and maybe we were too aggressive,” said Burkhard.

30 Days Until the Green Flag

jjjanoska — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:05:42 +0000

19 March 2009 – Washington, DC – With one month until the Casa de Amigos Racing Team takes to the track for the first time in 2009, activity at the casa has hit a feverish pace and anticipation is running high. The April 28-29 event will be held at Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point and is the first race of the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series.

With six drivers planning full seasons and a partial season, team principle Roger Troxell is busy ensuring that the off-season builds and pre-season checks are completed. Troxell is putting in what can only be called a Roger-like performance to get the work finished.

“Even when the previous weekend went without a hitch, I won’t put a car on track without going over it first,” said Troxell. That attention is a major factor in the multi-year success of the Amigos. A trouble-free race (about 60 minutes of track time) usually results in four to six hours of labor to ensure the car is ready for its next outing. Troxell is matter of fact about this attention to detail. “It’s all part of being ready to race. Would you rather find a problem in the garage or when the part fails at race pace?”

Burk and Burkhard Moving to ITB

jjjanoska — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:11:17 +0000

March 13, 2009 – Charles Town WV – Cada de Amigos Racing announced today that Amigo Martin Burk and Amiga Beth Burkhard would be contesting the 2009 MARRS Championship in the Improved Touring “B” class. Both drivers will be racing first generation Honda CRX Si’s. The two multi-race-winning drivers will be joining teammate Jeff Janoska in the class.

“We think the CRX is an excellent car for ITB,” said Burkhard, the 2007 MARRS ITC champion. The MARRS ITB class has been dominated by 1970s European touring cars for a number years. Burk and Burkhard’s entry into the strong ITB field is likely to upset that dominance.

Burk will be competing in a long mothballed Si that is being freshened and overhauled by him and Roger Troxell. Burkhard will be competing in her ITC Honda CRX that is being converted to an Si by Troxell.

The first MARRS race of the 2009 will be held April 18-19 at Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, WV.