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| July 26, 2012 |
| Skip Barber: Portante Wins at Lime Rock Park |
LAKEVILLE, CONN. (July 26, 2012) – After a full day of racing at Lime Rock Park a couple Fridays ago, Peter Portante wanted to race his Late Model stock car Friday night at Stafford Motor Speedway. His father said no. So did his driver coach. After leaving Lime Rock Saturday afternoon with four podium finishes, including his first two open-wheel wins, the Plainville, Conn. racer is glad he skipped the 32-lapper at Stafford.
Competing in Rounds Nine and Ten of the 20-race 2012 Skip Barber Summer Race Series at Lime Rock Park, Portante did not have an easy race all weekend. In his first race group Friday afternoon, he ran up against Skip Barber Winter Race Series champion and championship co-leader Jake Eidson, co-leader Adrian Starrantino, and MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver Tristan DeGrand. After qualifying sixth, Portante moved up during the first race, and in a dramatic three-way finish, Portante earned his first podium, falling just .143 sec. short of winner Eidson, and .114 sec. behind Jack Mitchell, Jr., while DeGrand faded to seventh. In race two, Eidson dropped out of the race halfway through with a mechanical issue, while DeGrand charged through the field to take the win from seventh. Mitchell, Jr. took second, while Portante came back from contact part way through the race to take third.
The second race group was just as tough, as Portante again went up against Mitchell, Jr., along with Skip Barber veteran Pat Daly, and fast rookie Ayla Agren. After scoring his first ever road racing pole position, Portante led every lap to take the win by several car lengths over Mitchell, Jr. and Andrew Longe to score his first Skip Barber Race Series win, along with the pole for the second race Saturday afternoon. Race two turned into a walk for Portante, as he was never seriously challenged on the way to a 12 plus second margin of victory over Mitchell, Jr. and a charging Daly.
“It feels great to get my first open wheel win. To do it twice was fantastic, and it was made sweeter by winning at my home track. It was just perfect!”
The 2012 Skip Barber Summer Race Series heads west to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca the weekend of August 4-5, for Rounds 11 and 12 of the 2012 season. Follow the Skip Barber action live on your smart phone with Race Monitor, available at your phone’s app store, or semi-live at http://www.twitter.com by following either @SkipBarberNatl or @altemus_prime.
Before he jumps into a Formula Skip Barber again, Portante will race Friday night at Stafford Motor Speedway in the 30-lap Late Model race as part of the 9th Annual CARQUEST SK Modified 150 Twin 75's. Tickets are available at http://www.staffordmotorspeedway.com or at the Stafford Motor Speedway box office.
Since first getting behind the wheel of a kart in 2003 at the age of seven, Portante has established himself as one of the up and coming drivers in the Northeast. Taking a different path from the norm, Portante graduated from oval and road course karting to stock cars with the ultimate goal of racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. After dipping his toes into road racing in 2011, Portante adds the Skip Barber Summer Race Series and selected F2000 Championship races to his full season of Late Model racing at Stafford Motor Speedway. He would like to thank Spargo Construction, Intercity Lines, Northern Construction, B & R Electrical Contracting, Bell Helmets, Cookie Bar, and Pagliacci's Restaurant for their support.
Away from the track Peter lives with his family in Plainville, Conn., and is a student at Plainville High School. Learn more about Peter at http://www.peterportante.com
Skip Barber Racing School owns and operates two amateur racing series; the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Challenge for Mazda MX-5 based race cars and the Skip Barber Race Series for the open-wheel Formula Skip Barber. Both series offer summer and winter racing schedules and the convenience of arrive and drive racing. As an integral step in the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder, the winner of the 2012 Skip Barber Champion’s Shoot-out will receive a scholarship to compete in a full season of the 2013 Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda. The winner of the USF2000 Championship in turn receives scholarships to compete in the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear, a part of the Mazda Road to Indy. The Skip Barber Race Series also launched the auto racing careers of Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, Scott Speed, A.J. Allmendinger, Raphael Matos and many more.
Learn more about the Skip Barber Race Series at http://www.skipbarber.com |
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