The Arizona 944 spec racing season is already well under way and March 8th and 9th saw the 4th and 5th races of the 17 race Arizona season.  It also yielded the 3rd different winner of the season and the 3rd championship leader.  

2007 Champion Norm Hamden won the first two rounds in January of this year, but a short term move to Dubai has created a void at the top for plenty of others to fight for.   Race 3 was in late January and saw Darren Griffith take his first win since 2006.  At this point Jon Ariano (3rd in 2007 championship) took a lead in the season championship due to consistent finishes in the first 3 races.  Unfortunately Jon’s luck ran out and car problems sidelined him this weekend despite his best efforts.  This left the door open for 2007 runner up Glenn Gormley to surge to the front. 

Glenn complete a triple-double this weekend earning pole position, race fast lap and race win both Saturday and Sunday.  It was not easy however as 2006 Az Champion Joe Paluch was nipping a Glenn’s heels all weekend.  In the end Joe pace was only strong enough for 2nd in both qualifying and race finish on both days.

Saturday’s race saw Glen Gormley use his class pole position to put two Honda in between himself and Paluch.   What ensued was a 3 and sometimes 4 car battle between the two Hondas and Glenn’s 924S.  Joe Paluch’s 944 had best seat in the house watching the Honda vs 944 battle while keeping up the pressure from behind.  In the end both Hondas got past Glenn, but he still maintain the most prized position of first in class.

Further down the order Jim Foxx came back from an early bobble to work his way into a solid 3rd place finish.  Kent Buckley came in 4th followed by Dave Hauck.  Cliff Orbach and Vince Vaccaro however had very close battle that came down to the wire.  On the first lap Cliff and Vince got together and the light tap sent Cliff around.  He work worked his way back however and managed to catch Vince, but not quite over take.  Vince beat Cliff to the finish by a mere 0.5 seconds.  Steve Marlow, Hal Dunn and Larry Leaming rounded out the 944 field.

Sunday’s race started in similar fashion with Glenn on pole followed by Joe, and Jim Foxx.  At the start Glenn managed to run 2-3 very fast laps and pull a gap on Joe and Jim who entered in to battle with a Honda.  Joe missed shift and that allowed Jim and the Honda to slip by.  For the next 2-3 laps Joe worked at Jim Foxx until eventually he was able to make a pass stick in turn 9.  Aided by clear track Joe Paluch was able to pull a slight gap to Foxx.   At this point Glenn having reasonable gap let a two car Honda battle go, but in process Paluch gained some ground.  For the next 2-3 laps Glenn lead followed by Joe Paluch and Jim Foxx all close, but not really close enough to pull off  pass.  That was until Jim Foxx got loose at turn 5 and had a minor off.  This allowed Gormley and Paluch to pull a sizeable gap.  These two drivers then stayed tight and even diced a bit before the checker.  Again Glenn earned the win follow closely by Paluch. 

Foxx was able to maintain 3rd and in repeat from Saturday 4th was Kent Buckly in front of Dave Hauck.  Ciff Orbach moved to 6th spot, Hal Dunn leapfrogged to 7th and Steve Marlow and Larry Leaming round out the class.  Unfortunately Vince Vaccaro missed the race due to steering shaft problems.

Gormley now leads the Az championship follow by Paluch. Dave Hauck holds on to 3rd buoyed by 5 solid finishes in 5 races.

Full Race Results are Posted Here