B-Spec: Looking to Get Back Into GRAND-AM, Magner to Race Mini in Sportsman Showcase

Steve · Feb 16, 2012

Grand-Am B-Spec races to be called "Sportsman Showcase"...unfortunately. Oh well, it's only a name, I guess.

Looking to Get Back Into GRAND-AM, Magner to Race Mini in Sportsman Showcase (Grand-Am.com)

Feb. 16, 2012

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. â€“ Long-time Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and street stock driver Ed Magner was looking for a way to get back into GRAND-AM competition. When he heard the announcement that GRAND-AM would sanction a new level of racing, he was the first to contact GRAND-AM to register for a car number for the Sportsman Showcase.

GRAND-AM recently announced plans for a new competitive level through a six-race schedule featuring sub-compact cars â€“ cars commonly referred to in the racing industry as B-spec.

The six sprint races - planned for between 30 and 45 minutes in length - will run in conjunction with GRAND-AM weekends at Homestead-Miami Speedway (April 27-29), New Jersey Motorsports Park (May 11-13), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (June 8-9), Watkins Glen International (June 29-July 1), Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (Sept. 7-9) and Lime Rock Park (Sept. 28-29). Each of those weekends will also feature North America's most popular forms of sports car competition - the GRAND-AM Rolex Series and the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

"Sportsman Showcase is a perfect fit for me,â€ said Magner, who works on automated truck transmissions at Eaton Corporation in Galesburg, Mich. â€œI raced for many years in what was then the GRAND-AM Cup series but it got to the point in 2006-7 where I was on the outside looking in and it was no longer affordable for me. I reluctantly backed away and have been racing my Olds Achieva in vintage racing for the past few years but have always missed the level of competition in GRAND-AM.â€

Magner formerly raced in the ST II class behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Cavalier Z-24. For Sportsman Showcase, he will field his familiar No. 48 on the doors of a new Mini Cooper.

â€œThe B Spec rules package is right on target and GRAND-AMâ€™s implementation of the series has addressed many of the cost issues that led to my â€˜sabbatical,â€™â€ Magner said. â€œI started racing in the 1980s in the IMSA RS Series and then the Firehawk series. In my mind, the Sportsman Showcase combines the best of those series.â€

After college, Magner worked as an engineer at Oldsmobile and began crewing on Dennis Weglarz Kelly American Challenge car. He then bought a Dodge Colt and raced in the RS from 1984 through 1986, when he moved to the Firestone Firehawk series. He helped develop Oldsâ€™ Quad 4 for competition, racing with drivers including Irv and Scott Hoerr, Frank DelVecchio and Buddy Norton.

Sportsman Showcase features showroom stock racing cars utilizing stock engines and chassis, fitted with a competition roll cage, racing seat and other safety equipment; and manufacturer-approved suspension components, tires and wheels. Weight and other variables will be used to balance performance among competing manufacturers. In addition to Mini Cooper, Mazda 2, Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta and Kia Rio are eligible for competition, with additional future manufacturer entries expected. Cars will be 4-cylinder models, with a target cost range of $20,000-$30,000.
Click to expand...

Jason Montague · Feb 16, 2012

:fingerscrossed::drool:cornut:

Jason

Forums

B-Spec: Looking to Get Back Into GRAND-AM, Magner to Race Mini in Sportsman Showcase

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Jason Montague New Member
Lifetime Supporter

Share This Page

Useful Searches

B-Spec: Looking to Get Back Into GRAND-AM, Magner to Race Mini in Sportsman Showcase

Steve Administrator Staff Member Articles Moderator

Jason Montague New Member Lifetime Supporter

Share This Page

Steve Administrator
Staff Member Articles Moderator

Jason Montague New Member
Lifetime Supporter