Miller looks to wrap up season with ST title

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Christian Miller wasn’t sure how much he was going to run this season in the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge.

Following a solid performance in the 2008 Street Tuner (ST) class, Miller was expected to compete sparingly with Compass360 Racing, one of the top teams in the series, in a Honda Civic Si. He would start off in January’s season-opening Fresh From Florida 200 at Daytona International Speedway, and go from there.

Yet, when the opportunity came for the San Jose, Calif., driver to drive with veteran Randy Pobst, he jumped at it. The pair finished 12th at Daytona, but jumped to the top of the point standings with a victory in March’s Fan Appreciation Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The pair also won at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and Miller has never looked back.

Now, in this Sunday’s season-ending Bosch Engineering Octoberfest at Virginia International Raceway, Miller will try to complete his championship run and earn his first-ever Grand-Am championship. He owns a 31-point advantage (286-255) over Andrew Aquilante and Kristian Skavnes, who also entered last year’s season finale at VIR second in the points.

The four-hour race is scheduled to start today at noon.

With 35 points available for the victory, and Miller holding the victory tiebreaker to Aquilante and Skavnes, Miller would need only to finish 27th.

It doesn’t seem likely that Miller would finish that low. Aside from that 12th-place result at Daytona, he has finished no lower than seventh since. His aforementioned victories are a part of five podium finishes and seven top-10 finishes this season.

They haven’t all come with Pobst, however, who is third in the standings, only 20 points behind Skavnes and Aquilante. Pobst had other commitments running against two of the KONI Challenge ST races, therefore giving Miller an edge over his veteran co-driver.

Miller and Pobst will drive the No. 74 Skunk2/034 Motorsport Honda Civic Si at VIR, while Skavnes and Aquilante drive the No. 111 Subaru of America Subaru Legacy.

If Miller goes onto win the championship, the No. 74 would also give Compass360 its first-ever KONI Challenge team crown. Team owner Karl Thomson and Billy Johnson were second in driver points two seasons ago in the No. 74 Acura TSX. It would also give Canada its second consecutive team owner championship. Last season, Georgian Bay Motorsports won with Canadian driver Jamie Holtom.

Despite such a strong season, Miller and VIR have never completely warmed up to each other. Miller’s best finish in three VIR starts is 13th. Meanwhile,
Pobst have four starts, with a GS II class victory with TPC Racing in 2003.

The championship race became twofold following the race Sept. 18 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. In that race, Ian Baas and Josh Hurley finished second, which was enough for them to grab second in the points. However, officials ruled unauthorized engine modifications on their No. 171 APR/Gunther VW Volkswagen GTI, as well as the team’s No. 181 APR/BBS Volkswagen GTI, were carried out, and neither car nor driver earned championship points. However, APR Motorsport kept its victory, and will be shooting for its fifth victory of 2009. The No. 181, driven by Dion von Moltke and Mike Sweeney, has a season-high three wins, while Baas and Hurley won once in the No. 171.

Pobst and Miller join von Moltke and Sweeney as the only other drivers with multiple victories this season in the ST class.

Grand-Am KONI Challenge ST Notebook
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Compass360 Racing team owner Karl Thomson is ready for his team to finally win a Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge Street Tuner (ST) championship, but he is not stopping there.

At the finale of Sunday’s four-hour Bosch Engineering Octoberfest at Virginia International Raceway, Thomson hopes he has a second car in the top three in points. His No. 74 Skunk2/034 Motorsport Honda Civic Si leads the standings, and his No. 75 Skunk2/Hondata Honda Civic Si is fourth, only one point behind the No. 171 APR/Gunther VW Volkswagen GTI, fielded by APR Motorsport.

Thomson said it is significant for the No. 75 to place third in points. Not only will the team and car be a part of the season-ending banquet Oct. 12 in Hollywood, Fla., but will also help Thomson lure strong drivers for the car next season.

Driving the No. 75 at VIR will be Jack Baruth of Columbus, Ohio, and Scott Nichol of Barrie, Ontario. Randy Pobst, co-driving the No. 74, is also expected to drive some in the No. 75.

ST Driver Tops in Rookie of the Year Points
Josh Hurley may no longer be in contention to winning the ST driving title, but he is looking to win one championship this weekend – the MESCO Building For The Future Rookie of the Year honors. Hurley, driving the No. 171 APR/Gunther VW Volkswagen GTI with co-driver Ian Baas, has one victory and has led five races. He holds an 11-point advantage over karting veteran Bret Spaude.

Both Hurley and Spaude are from Florida and have competed in all 10 races this season, however, Spaude has split his time between his primary team Bill Fenton Motorsports and the championship-leading team, Compass360 Racing.

Hurley’s teammate, Mike Sweeney, is also in contention to take the championship, but must win the race in order to be eligible.

RRT Racing Located in Dulles
The only KONI Challenge ST team located in Virginia is RRT Racing, a first-year team in the series. The team, which fields a BMW 330i, is based in Dulles.
The drivers are Virginians too. Barry Battle was born in Newport News but now lives in Dulles, while Michael Dayton, originally from Frederick, Md., now lives in Culpepper, Va. The duo and team are making their first appearance in KONI Challenge competition since the June race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Burrows Enters Weekend Fresh Off Long Bike Tour
Adam Burrows, the 2007 ST co-champion with Trevor Hopwood, is fresh off a 300-mile bike tour from Central Park in New York City to the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The native of Baltimore, now living in Connecticut, completes the Brida Climate Ride tomorrow, Sept. 30. The ride began on Saturday, and is focused on raising money and awareness for meaningful climate change and renewable energy legislation, as well as to support essential climate and bicycling advocacy projects at three beneficiary organizations.

Burrows wrapped up the 2007 championship at VIR with Hopwood; it marked both drivers’ first season in the KONI Challenge. On Sunday, the pair will co-drive with series debutant Andy Bentinck-Smith.

Odds And Ends
Sarah Cattaneo and Deborah Loth make up the only all-female pairing in the series, driving with Freedom Autosport in a Mazda MX-5. The two first ran together Sept. 18 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. … Five teams have won races this season in ST competition – APR Motorsport (four), Compass360 Racing (three) and Georgia Bay Motorsports, Turner Motorsport and Freedom Autosport – all with one. … All 10 ST races have been determined by less than five seconds this season. … There have been 15 different kinds of cars that have competed in the ST class this season, including the Honda Civic Si, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Volkswagen GTI and Jetta, Subaru Legacy, Mazda MX-5 and RX-8, BMW 328i, 330i and Z4 and Porsche Boxster.