August 9, 2021
Grissom Aeroplex in Peru, Indiana, was the location of the final “regular season” Tire Rack CAM Challenge Series Powered by SCCA event of the year with more than 140 drivers in attendance. And there was certainly no shortage of Classic American Muscle to be observed over the course of three days.
On Saturday, Steve Waters and his 2017 Chevrolet Corvette claimed a 0.115-second victory in CAM Sport (CAM-S) which boasted 30 entrants. In second was Justin Peachey driving a 2007 Corvette Z06, a car which was also shared by Eric Peachey who finished third. The Corvette march continued on down through the trophies with Jimmy Vajdak finishing fourth in a 2003 Z06, Alek Tziortzis fifth in a 2002 Z06, Ron McManus sixth in a 2003 Z06, John Fink seventh in a 2017 Grand Sport, and Tom Regganie was eighth in a 2002 Z06 which Brian Regganie also drove to a ninth-place trophy finish.
In the 33-driver CAM Contemporary (CAM-C) class, Sam Strano walked away with a 1.048-second win in a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1. Randy Adkins finished second in a 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 after co-driver James Thomas coned away his morning lead and dropped to third. Mustang drivers weren’t horsing around as they took home five of the remaining six trophies. Dave Whitworth finished fourth in a 2012 Mustang, Robert Gosda was fifth in a 2013 Mustang, and John Ward was sixth in a 2010 Mustang GT500. Karl Riggs broke up the Mustang parade by finishing seventh in a 2020 Chevrolet Camaro SS. Keith Lamming then finished eighth in Strano’s Mach 1, and Jae Hun Choi closed out the trophies with a 2016 Mustang.
Next, we have the largest CAM class of the weekend, which was CAM Traditional (CAM-T). Competition was close, but of the 37 entrants it was Matthew Braun who emerged victorious by 0.212 second in a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle. Sean Aldinger finished second in a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, Nicholas Zelisko was third in a 2000 Chevrolet Camaro, Brian Harvey fourth in a 2000 Chevrolet Camaro SS, Brian Coney fifth in a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, J.J. Mallrich sixth in a 1999 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, Nathan Popp seventh in a 1995 Chevrolet Camaro, Cameron Bidwell eighth in a 1965 Ford Mustang, and Mike Trenkle was ninth in a 1982 Ford Mustang. Closing out the trophies was Donny Freise who finished tenth in a 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle.
The largest Index field of the weekend belonged to Index Class 3 (Race Tire Index) which saw Jason Frank come home a winner in a 2004 Audi S4 over a 1982 Ford Mustang driven by Robert Lewis. Robert Chrismas finished third in a 1989 Honda Civic Si, Nick Newcome was fourth in a 1998 Honda Civic, and Darren Daubenspeck drove a 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 to the fifth and final trophy position.
Sam Strano qualified first in the CAM-C Challenge and bested 15 other drivers to take the win Sunday, and Randy Adkins fished second. Matthew Braun took the CAM-T Challenge win by beating Nicholas Zelisko in the final. And the CAM-S victory went to Alek Tziortzis over Jimmy Vajdak. And of those three winners, Braun emerged as the overall victor in head-to-head-to-head competition.
On to Lincoln!
Next on the CAM calendar is the Tire Rack SCCA CAM Challenge Invitational taking place Sept. 9 at Lincoln Airpark in Nebraska. And if you haven’t heard, a little something special is planned this time around for the end-of-year faceoff. Don’t delay and be sure to register today!