I understand that the writers in SportsCar had a late June deadline, which means they had a limited number of race results from which to make predictions. They also had no clue who had any intention of actually competing for the GT-1 National Championship (but that could have been determined by a few e-mails). While I have little disagreement with their top three picks (Cowen, Ervin, Ebben), this is the article that SHOULD have appeared. Feel free to make comments and/or your own predictions as you see fit:

Gold: Cliff Ebben, Corvette

Silver: Jeff Ervin, Mustang

Bronze: Phil Simms, Corvette

Central Division is easily the toughest division in the country for GT-1 racers, which is why their drivers occupy the top two spots on my imaginary podium. Cliff Ebben and Lamers Racing have taken advantage of the Comp Board’s (short-sighted) decision to add 130 pounds to the Fords rather than legalize the SB-2 heads for GM cars. After two years of doing the Runoffs with their Mustang, this year they’ve switched over to the Corvette, won the June Sprints (again) and seem loaded for bear going into September. It’s a tough call, but his switch to wearing a bowtie has me picking Cliff.

SportsCar picked Tim Cowen to edge two-time (and defending) National Champion Jeff Ervin, but I pick Jeff to have the best shot from the blue oval brigade. Jeff certainly knows his way around Mid-Ohio as evidenced by second, first and first place finishes the last three years, plus he tends to manage his tires just a bit better than Tim does. Given the extra weight the Fords have to carry this year, tire management becomes even more important and I give Jeff the nod.

Phil Simms in the ex-TWC Corvette has the talent, car and budget to win the whole thing. He has absolutely dominated in SEDIV, setting lap records at almost every track we run here. When he hasn’t won it’s been due to really bad luck (how many times does a brand new trailer lift gate break?) or horrendous weather (the flood at Road Atlanta), and they've certainly learned how to change engines in record time (three times - so far). The only thing holding him back is a lack of familiarity with Mid-Ohio, but he plans on doing the test day and August National to rectify that situation. If he wins, you saw it here first.

Any upsets of my top three will probably come from CENDIV drivers. Tim Cowen (Mustang) is capable of running at the front (most laps led the last two years), but besides the extra weight they’ve also been running selected Pro events the last couple of months and that may have diverted their attention. Being able to go home and take a nap between warm-ups and the race (he’s 20 minutes from the track) doesn’t hurt though. Rob Giorgi (Mustang) is certainly quick enough (winner at the April National) and can’t be counted out of a top three. Tom Sloe is the current CENDIV points leader and capable of a top five finish, but unless they’ve jacked up the radiator cap and rolled a new Corvette under it I don’t see him breaking into the top three without some major help from others. And what’s up with Tony Ave? Is he trying to qualify for the Runoffs or is he just getting test time for the TransAm series? If he shows up (and lasts), he’ll be a serious podium contender.

Missing in body will be Bob Kasik and his familiar blue and orange #4 Camaro, but he will be in the hearts and minds of all the GT-1 competitors, their crews and the fans.

Outside of CENDIV, the Northeast is probably the next best place to be from. Jack Busch and his taxicab are always tough, capable of a podium finish and can take the whole show if he keeps all the bodywork intact. Based on the last two years, however, that’s a pretty big "if". Bill Hopwood and his ex-Rocketsports Corvette have run well in the past at Mid-Ohio and is easily capable of a top five. If you’re going to finish on the podium you’ll have to pass him sometime during the week. Finally there’s the world-famous salad dressing maker P.L. Newman in an updated derHaag Camaro that will be second to none in the budget and preparation department. The car carries the same number as his age (77), but that should not be a factor. I was behind him for a restart in the rain at Road Atlanta and there’s NO question that Cool Hand Luke can still punch the button.

The only entry so far from MWDIV is (former GT-4 champion) Richard Grant in his R/S-92 (?) Camaro. Richard runs well, is very consistent and will pounce if you make a mistake, but I think there are simply too many guys with better cars for him to finish on the podium. So far former champion Bill Gray has not entered, but he may just be laying low after the seemingly endless replays of last year’s mugging of Ray Irwin were shown on Speed Channel. Of the far west cars, Andy Porterfield and Mike Rockett appear to have quality cars capable of running at the front, but will they (or any others) make the l-o-o-o-o-o-n-g tow?

Leading candidate for "race within a race" is the BP/AS championship to be decided between Jim Brown (Corvette), Boris Tirpack (Corvette) and Dave Fershtand (Mustang). All three of these guys started out with real streetcars rather than a pile of tubing and it will definitely be interesting to see which of the three prevails.

Finally, my leading candidate for dark horse contender is your faithful scribe (Butch Kummer). We knew early on we did not have the budget to run an all-out effort from the beginning of the season (which in the Southeast starts in January!), so we decided to run a limited program to earn an invitation and learn more about the (Johnny) Miller Racing-built Corvette, then focus our efforts on the Runoffs. We finished eighth after starting 16^th in the car’s debut in 2000 and stayed home last year, but for 2002 we’re coming back with more horsepower and tire than we’ve run with all season. The crew has finally been turned loose to deliver a weapon set on "kill" rather than "stun", so if the driver can keep it pointed remotely near the right direction we might just have something for ‘em. We’ll definitely know more after the test day on Aug. 23.

As I said, feel free to add your comments and predictions. You can also suggest where my head might be, but only if you’re willing to put your neck on the line as well.

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Last modified: February 02, 2009