 Joe Paluch wins 2006 Arizona 944spec title and Mikael Weitze (2006 SoCal 944spec champion) wins Southwest 944spec title.
December at PIR always turns into a big weekend. This year was no different as it would see the crowning of two Champions and the remaining podium spots in the Arizona Regional and Southwest Interregional championships. On top of all that, cool weather make it an ideal time to set track records. Ten 944 spec cars and drivers made the trip to PIR to do battle. There were the five regulars of Paluch, Hamden, Gormley, Sapareto and Vaccaro while Jon Ariano made a return to the series and Chris Christner attended his 2nd NASA weekend. Making the haul from southern California in search of glory in the Southwest title were Mikael Weitze (1st), Tim Comeau (2nd) and Jim Richmond. Also with the racers were Steve Marlow and Hal Dunn cutting their teeth in DE. Saturday held two morning practices and these were vital for those looking to get back to speed or learn the tight twisty PIR. It was cool in the 40's and cold air means power, but also a cold track. Lap times looked good early, but So-Cal Champion and Southwest Title contender Weitze developed a high RPM miss from the start. It was unclear the cause nor the effect and with help from the other 944 racers he began the long process to diagnose the issue. Qualifying saw local hot shoes Hamden and Gormley share the front row with high 1:13 for Gormley and better than track record 1:13.0 for Hamden. The rest of the field had to settle for 1:14's and 1:15's. A split start was given to the 944 group and when the green flag flew the cars went seemingly five wide on the main straight narrowing to two wide at turn 1 and funneling down to single file by the exit of turn 2. By the time the field hit turn 4 it was Gormely in the lead followed by Ariano, Hamden, Weitze and Paluch. This fast five quickly pulled a gap to the rest of the 944 field and started a long battle. Gormley maintained the early lead, but Hamden and Weitze, who seemed to have minimized his engine miss, battled their way to the front. After a few laps the race settled into form with Hamden and Weitze battling the lead follow by Gormley, Paluch and Ariano. In the end it was the local hero "Sideways" Norm that held off Weitze and took the win. The finish order remained Gormley, Paluch, Ariano and Comeau. Post race impound saw the normal scales check, but also the top three finishers were held for flywheel inspections. Hamden, Weitze, and Gormley all had their flywheels checked on their cars 99, 247, and 44 respectively. All were found to be stock steel with no evidence of lightening. Good work guys!
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