Cindi Lux-Team Mopar Set to Debut at New Jersey Motorsports Park
Detroit Success Ramps-Up Expectations for Mopar Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe in SPEED GT
For the second time in as many races Cindi Lux (Aloha, Ore.) and Team Mopar will face a new race course on the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) SPEED World Challenge GT schedule. Thunderbolt Raceway is the newest, permanent, professional road course in the United States. As part of the New Jersey Motorsports Park, the 2.25-mile, 14-turn Thunderbolt facility has hosted only one professional event leading into this Saturday's 50-minute Thunderbolt SPEED World Challenge GT. Few of the drivers in the Series have ever raced on the course, including Lux, offering another even playing field for the No. 2 Team Mopar Dodge Viper Competition Coupe.
In her career, Lux, a 12-time road racing champion, has excelled at new facilities. At her most recent race, Detroit's temporary street course laid out on Belle Isle, Lux overcame having never seen the course to finish eighth. It was the fourth top-10 finish for Team Mopar's only road racing representative on her abbreviated '08 schedule. Lux's driving also garnered two of the most prestigious performance awards at Detroit: the Racing Electronics Holeshot Award and the Sunoco Hard Charger Award. The successes at Detroit - which came with no advance testing and very little on-track time - have continued to ramp-up expectations for Lux and Team Mopar as they enter the final two events on the 2008 SPEED GT schedule. The Dodge Viper contingent is hoping that the New Jersey track will help offset recent restrictions put on America's supercar by series' officials. In order to try and counteract the choking of the Mopar V10, NayKid Racing, Dodge Motorsports and Mopar have spent time working on aerodynamic efficiency and knowledge of the suspension. While unable to address the key element of weight and air restrictor placed on the Viper Competition Coupe, these efforts will help maximize performance elsewhere in an effort to close the gap to the Porsches and Cadillacs. Doing her part, Lux, the 1999 American Le Mans Series Women's Global GT Series Champion, visited the track to do a shakedown run in a spec series car. While not the horsepower or performance of her Mopar Viper, the seat time offered Lux key insights to a track she had never seen before.
The on-track laps and research and development time with the Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe have presented Mopar and Dodge engineers valuable insight into maximizing performance for the street. The aerodynamic information garnered and the mechanical conclusions found will be fed back to engineers working on the next generation of Chrysler components. In fact, motorsports continues to be one of the key elements in which Mopar, the official parts supplier of Chrysler LLC., uses to test and develop new aftermarket and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts to be used on Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep products. Since 1929, Mopar has used its "Authentic Performance" concept to bring racing technologies to the real world. Every component on Lux's Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe - including the car itself - has a Mopar part number that corresponds to the Mopar parts catalog and is available for purchase by the general public.
Lux and the Team Mopar SPEED GT will play host to several guests at New Jersey. Local Dodge dealerships took part in a contest to select an honorary crew person to join the No. 2 Mopar Viper Competition Coupe effort. Tickets were also awarded to select Dodge and Mopar customers for the event.
The New Jersey round of the GT championship can be seen on SPEED Channel at Noon (ET), October 8. Live timing and scoring can be found at: World-Challenge.com.
QuotesCindi Lux: "Anytime we get the chance to go to a new track it always brings some surprises. It's a game of how fast the drivers can get up to speed and a game of how well the engineers can take a stab at the car setup with minimal testing. I think our Mopar team steps up to this type of challenge extremely well so I am excited. The facility is still somewhat under construction so the dust level is crazy. It is pretty scary when cars drop a wheel and kick up dust in the air. We are super-excited about these last two races of the year. We've learned so much working with Mopar this season. We are really combining our 'A' game with theirs right now. What they bring to the table is incredible. It is all coming together here in these last few races and that is really exciting for the whole team right now."
Sunil Lahoti, Senior Manager - Mopar Marketing and Brand Strategy, Chrysler LLC.: "Just off her impressive Top 10 finish at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, Millville fans will love to see Cindi behind the wheel of a vehicle with great heritage - our Mopar Dodge Viper Competition Coupe. This will be a great weekend of firsts for Cindi, Mopar and the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT at Millville. Cindi's a great addition to our Team Mopar family."
