Monday, May 02, 2005 News Item 1 – Race in Front of a Big Crowd at Watkins Glen June 9 – 11
News Item 2 – Details of the 2005 East & Midwest Triple Crown

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Race in Front of a Big Crowd at Watkins Glen June 9 – 11

For the first time ever, the Skip Barber Race Series has been asked to race at Watkins Glen International (full course) as a support event for the Rolex Sports Car Series / Grand-Am Cup ”Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.”

Yes! You can race in front of thousands of spectators, during a professional race weekend, June 9 – 11! There will be two races (round 1 on Friday, June 10, and round 2 Saturday morning, June 11), with practice and qualifying sessions Thursday and Friday.

Any Skip Barber Competitor who has competed in at least one Regional, National or Masters National race can enter (if you are 18 or over; that’s New York State law). The races will be run under Skip Barber National Championship rules, but we are going to charge only $4,500, which is almost a $1,000 less than the National entry fee.

This is not a points-scoring weekend for the Eastern or Midwestern championships, but you will be racing for a unique, prestigious “Watkins Glen Invitational” championship. And, being able to race under National rules, in front of a big spectator count, is its own reward! Plus, for those of you with professional aspirations, clearly this is a unique, exciting opportunity to get your name “out there” in front of major team owners and managers.

Here is the schedule (as of May 2, 2005), for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. Remember, professional race weekends are “time certain,” which means sessions begin and end as shown!

Watkins Glen International
Rolex / Grand-Am Race Weekend

Thursday, June 9

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 Skip Barber Race Series
9:40 – 10:25 Rolex Sports Car
10:35 – 11:20 Grand-Am Cup
11:30 – 12:00 Skip Barber Race Series

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 Rolex Sports Car
1:55 – 2:40 Grand -Am Cup
2:50 – 3:20 Skip Barber Race Series
3:30 – 4:15 Rolex Sports Car
4:25 – 5:00 Grand-Am Cup

Friday, June 10

8:45 a.m. – 9:15 Skip Barber Race Series
9:30 – 10:00 Rolex Sports Car GT
10:00 – 11:00 Rolex Series
11:00 – 11:30 Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes
11:40 – 12:00 Skip Barber Race Series

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 Grand-Am Cup
2:15 – 3:15 Rolex Series
3:25 – 3:55 Skip Barber Race Series Race 1
3:30 – 4:15 Rolex Sports Car
4:05 – 5:00 Grand-Am Cup

Saturday, June 11

9:0 a.m. – 9:45 Grand-Am Cup
10:00 – 11:00 Rolex Series
11:10 – 11:25 Grand-Am Cup ST qual.
11:30 – 11:45 Grand-Am Cup GS qual.
11:45 – Skip Barber Race Series Race 2
1:00 p.m. – 1:15 Rolex Series GT qual.
1:25 – 1:40 Rolex Series Daytona Prototype qual.
2:00 – Start, The Chemung Canal Trust 200 for Grand-Am Cup

Sunday, June 12

10:00 a.m. – Start, The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen for the Rolex Sports Car Series

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Details of the 2005 East & Midwest Triple Crown
There are six titles up for grabs!

Here are the details of the Skip Barber Midwestern & Eastern Race Series Triple Crown championship-within-a-championship. We think it’s pretty cool — and the prize is, too.

There are actually six Triple Crown honors up for grabs: three each in the Eastern and Midwest Series. Each Region will recognize and award a Sportsman division Triple Crown winner and a Championship division winner and a Masters division winner, based on drivers’ results at specific tracks.

In the Midwest, the Triple Crown weekends are Road America, July 2-3; Mid-Ohio, September 3-4; and Road America, October 1-2.

In the East, the Triple Crown races are all at Lime Rock Park: May 13-14, July 15-16 and October 14-15.

The idea is that Skip Barber drivers who are unable to contest an entire Eastern or Midwestern season still have an opportunity to win a championship and a valuable prize: a fully paid Friday/Saturday/Sunday Race Weekend in the 2005-2006 Western Race Series. That’s worth a cool $3,445.

The scoring is like a round of golf — the fewer “strokes” you accumulate the better. For each of the six races (there are, of course, two races per weekend), your finishing position equates to the number of points you get. Finish first, you get one point. Finish 15th, you get 15. Shoot “birdie golf” over the three Race Weekends and you might be the Triple Crown champion!

There’s only one eligibility requirement for the Triple Crown — you need to enter all three designated weekends (or all six, if you want to try to win both!).

Think Fast!

Todd Snyder