Awesome Bill on Winning Form at Road Atlanta
In the final race meet for Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) competitors before back-to-back "HSR Classics" at Daytona and Sebring in November and December, official on-track action at this weekend's HSR Fall Classic at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta hit full swing in the first two days of competition on the 2.54-mile Georgia road course.
With Sunday's final day of competition still ahead, more than a dozen different race winners have been crowned in the opening two days of competition Friday and Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Among this weekend's winners is NASCAR Legend Bill Elliott who took the overall and American-class victories in Friday's Sasco Sports International/American Challenge sprint race. Driving a Ray Evernham-owned 1965 No. 19 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster, Elliott topped a field of 29 entries with a 3.473 second margin of victory.
Elliott's win was his fourth HSR feature race victory of the season in three different race cars. He swept the Stock Car feature races at this past April's HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and earned his first Sasco Sports overall race win in May at the Barber Historics. The stock car wins at The Mitty were in a more-than-familiar red 2006 No. 9 Dodge Charger while the Barber Sasco Sports victory came at the wheel of the Vintage Race Car Restorations 1970 No. 9 Ford Mustang Boss 302.
On Friday, Elliott shared the overall Sasco Sports podium with runner-up and Porsche class winner Todd Treffert in his Speedconcepts 1974 No. 14 Porsche 911 IROC. Treffert built on that success today with an overall and GT Classic (GTC) class win in the featured B.R.M Chronographes Endurance Challenge race.
Treffert was followed across the line by B.R.M. Challenge Vintage class winner Jamie Busby, who finished a solid second overall in his 1970 No. 88 Porsche 914/6 prepared by the 901 Shop.
Robert Albino finished third overall and second in the Vintage division in the B.R.M. race in a strong follow up to a victorious performance on Friday. Winning the International division, Albino joined Elliott and Treffert as class winners in the Sasco Sports race.
The Friday victory was Albino's second-straight Sasco Sports International class win in his Hudson Historics 2000 No. 99 BMW Z3 Coupe, one race after taking the same honor in the Le Sommet des Légendes HMSA/HSR event at Circuit Mont-Tremblant this summer. Albino also scored the overall victory in his BMW in the special Sasco Sports Race B for small-bore cars last April at The Mitty.
Other podium players in Friday's Sasco Sports race included Craig Ross who was third overall and second in the American division in his 1970 No. 72 Cross Ross Boss Racing Ford Mustang Boss 302.
The overall Sasco Sports top five was completed by the final two podium-placing Porsche-class competitors. Mike Banz was fourth overall and second in class in his Heritage Motorsports 1974 No. 13 Porsche 911 RSR. Phil Gilsdorf took the final top-five overall finishing spot and was third in class in his 1968 No. 61 Porsche 911.
Third in Friday's Sasco Sports American class went to Mike Levine in his 1965 No. 4 Chevrolet Corvair.
Ernie Wilding and Aaron Nash joined Albino in an all-BMW sweep of the Sasco Sports International class in their Crucial Motorsports BMW M3s. Repeating his runner-up showing in the Sasco Sports race at The Mitty, Wilding was second in his FAS Autosports 1995 No. 82 BMW M3. Nash finished third in his Crucial Motorsports No. 83 1997 BMW M3.
Wilding returned to victory lane Saturday with a runner-up GTC finish behind Treffert and just ahead of Banz and co-driver Kathy Blaha in third in the 1974 No. 40 Porsche 911 RS prepared by Heritage Motorsports.
The B.R.M. Vintage-class podium was completed by co-drivers Jerry Peters and Brady Refenning in the 901 Shop 1970 No. 8 Porsche 914/6.
The HSR Atlanta Fall Historics is the first of three race weekends closing out the 2019 season. This year's schedule concludes for the third-straight year with back-to-back runnings of the HSR Classic Daytona presented by IMSA, November 13 - 17, and the Classic Sebring 12 Hour, Pistons and Props, presented by the Alan Jay Automotive Network, December 4 - 8.
