WRPM Race Update 2014

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Copyright: WRPMotorsports.com 

WRPMotorsports Driver Willie Phee Kicks off the 2014 Season with Four Podiums in Four Races at the July Road Atlanta Regional Race.   July 12-13, 2014 – Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia WRPMotorsports driver Willie Phee would finish 2^nd in both Carolina Pro Cup Series Races (CCPS) and 3^rd in both SCCA ITA Regional Races. Phee would qualify on the pole for the Saturday ITA race and 2^nd in class for the CCPS Race.  “It was great to get a pole and a 2^nd place start after being out of the car since the September races last year at Barber Motorsports Park” said Phee. In race one Phee would be unable to start from pole position due to some last minute changes suspension settings on the car and would start last on the field.  “The team wanted to make some changes and unfortunately I was late to the grid and ended up catching the tail end of the field as they were entering turn 10.  I knew I would have to be patient and try to work my way through the field but ended up getting hung up a couple of times in turn 10 with slower traffic” said Phee.   Phee would end up finishing 3^rd in class and 12^th overall after starting last in the 27 car field. In the afternoon 45 minute CCPS race Phee would start 2^nd in class and 3^rd overall.  The CCPS race format was different from the Pro-IT format that the Atlanta Region normally runs in that it included a mandatory 2 minute pit stop. “The pit stop added an element that required a strategy of determining when the best time to pit would be. I decided to pit whenever traffic became an issue and caused my lap times to increase” said Phee. “It actually worked out and when I caught lapped traffic I was able to make my pit stop and come out ahead of the 2^nd place car”.  Phee would go on to finish 2^nd in class and 3^rd overall at the end of the race. For the Sunday races Phee would qualify 2^nd in class and 12^th overall for the ITA race, and 2^nd in class and 5^th overall for the CCPS race. At the start of the CCPS race Phee would maintain his 5^th place position for the first 5 laps but dropped back to 10^th by lap 7.  “I was keeping a good pace and had the leaders in sight but I missed a couple of shifts and that dropped me back.  I decided to go ahead and make my pit stop on lap 8 and would try to make up some time with a clear track” said Phee. Phee would end up dropping back to 23^rd after the pit stop but would eventually fight back to 2^nd in class and 2^nd overall. In the afternoon ITA race Phee would move up to 2^nd in class for the first 4 laps and would have a good battle with his team-mate for the rest of the race.  “I had a good jump on the start and made up a couple of positions but got hung up with a slower ITS car for most of the race. I had a faster pace through the turns but the ITS car had much more speed on the straights. That allowed my team-mate to get by me when I got balked in turn 10 on lap 5” said Phee. Phee would finish just behind his team-mate for 3^rd in class and 8^th overall.  “Overall I’m really happy with 4 podiums in 4 races, especially after not being in the car since September of last year.  It would have been nice to start on pole for the first race but the team decided that we needed to make some changes prior to the start and we were just late to the grid.  Next time we’ll have all the changes sorted out early enough to avoid that problem in the future” said Phee. The next race is scheduled for August 2-3, 2014 back at Road Atlanta for the NASA Championship Qualifier.   The WRPMotorsports team is sponsored by Optima Batteries, Sparco USA and OPM Autosports.  Photos courtesy of Motorsports Photography by Clark McInnis http://cmcinnis.wordpress.com/