January 7, 2004-Phoenix
International Raceway, Avondale, AZ
Colin Cross
Basks In The Sun In Phoenix........
Instinct Racing's Colin Cross and Marge Lundberg made the trek to Avondale, AZ to compete in round 1 & 2 of the SCCA 2004 Southern Pacific Division Championship.
Day 1 saw the team unload the trailer and pushed out onto the track for a half day of testing and a practice session. In the first test session Marge was involved in an incident on the front straight when a much faster Sports Racer squeezed between her and the wall. A bump from the passing car sent Marge into fellow competitor Mark Edward's of Los Angles. Mark got the worst of it all, when his car jumped wheels and went for a ride. No one was hurt, just Mark and Marge's car. After the session the team was able to fix Marge's car and complete the rest of the sessions. Colin had a trouble free test and practice session, setting the fast time in each session.
Race 1 qualifying was held on Saturday morning. Colin charged out of the pits and worked the draft during the 25 Min qualifier. Around half way Colin posted a lap of 1:10.6 that would be quick enough to grab his first pole of the year, only 2 tenths faster than Bob Neumeister, of Pueblo, Colorado. Marge still struggling with a car that wasn't right after her incident came home 17
th quick.
The race was held later in the afternoon. When the green dropped Colin lost the lead to Neumeister The race broke into a battle between Cross, Neumeister, Brandon Peterson and Mike Palermo from Colorado. The 4 ran nose to tail for most of the race. After a red flag restart, Colin got the jump to 2nd behind Neumeister With 2 laps to go Colin popped Neumeister for the lead and drove it home for his first win of the year. Still learning the track and fighting her car Marge battled for position and finished 10th in her first race in Phoenix. Mike Miller the teams new Team Manager felt good about the weekend ahead. "We are off to a great start. There are a few things we need to work on, but it is only the first race of the year" Said Miller
Sunday afternoon the second race qualifying was held. The track seemed to be slippery, and slower. Colin went out in hopes of putting together another draft to grab the pole. After running by himself for 7 laps, Colin parked it in the pits as someone oiled up the track. Marge continued to work in the draft of several cars for the entire session. Surprisingly she only posted a time quick enough for 10th, as she was running with guys who qualified in the top 5. " Just goes to show that a pop is worth everything" Stated Marge. Much to Colin's surprise, he got the pole. His time of 1:11.1 came on lap 3 of the session.
The final race of the weekend was early Monday morning. With the temperature only in the low 50's at the green, it was important to be smooth. Colin got the jump and pulled away from the field, with Skip Streets, from Los Angeles right behind for the first several laps. Each lap saw Cross draw away from Streets. Colin was unchallenged for the rest of the race, coming home with a comfortable margin. Marge had a coming together in turn 2 early in the race, causing her steering to break, ending her day. In Impound Cross was ecstatic. "That was great. I had Skip right on me. I knew that I had to break his draft and I could drive away. It worked, the car ran Great!" Stated Cross.
Next stop in round 3 in Fontana, CA at the California Speedway in 2 weeks.
