Indianapolis, IN (June 14, 2010) The 2010 Mustang Challenge season is almost to the halfway mark; five races complete and six more to go. Two drivers have been in the cockpits of the No. 44 and No. 45 cars: Chip Scarlett in the No. 44 “Racing to Save Sharks” car for the entire season; and Sloan Urry joined the team at Lime Rock in the No. 45 car. The team has 3 top 10 finishes with Scarlett, and 5 finishes on the lead lap at the checker. Scarlett is currently in 9th place in points with 135. Both Scarlett and Urry will be driving in Race 6 at the 2.258-mile, 13-turn natural-terrain Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, in Lexington, OH, this weekend.
There are still seats available for New Jersey (July 17-18, a double-header), Autobahn (July 31-Aug.1) and Miller Motorsports Park (Sept. 11-12, a doubleheader). Special packages for multi-race arrive-and-drive rentals are available according to team co-owner Peter Parrott. For more information, contact Parrott toll free at 877. 609. 6757.
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Homestead, FL (March 6, 2010) As the old saying goes “sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you” and this last week the SpeedWorks R&D team knows the full meaning of this expression. The team stopped at Virginia International Raceway to test on the way to Homestead and on the last lap of the day, the car met the turn 6 tire barrier resulting in severe damage to the right side of the car. This was not a problem as the team had a back up car loaded in the transporter. However on the way down to Homestead, the transporter developed a seized rear wheel bearing near Jacksonville, FL, which called for another transporter to be deployed from Miami to pick up the race car along with race equipment for the weekend. Once everything arrived in Homestead, Scarlett jumped in the race car and finished 8th in his first-ever Mustang Challenge race and won the “Rookie of the Race” award with a $150 donation in his name. Graciously, Chip matched the donation with a $150 contribution of his own. In Sunday’s race Scarlett improved on the previous day finishing 7th. Scarlett said “I realized that racing could not be mastered in a week, or a month, or even a season. This sport quickly separates the aspirants from the dedicated. Learning to drive a race car to a professional standard will take a great deal of time, concentration and dedication. I have a renewed determination to apply those lessons to the remainder of the season.” The next race for the series is at Virginia International Raceway April 24th and 25th.
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Indianapolis, IN (February 12, 2010) - “The car is almost race ready” said team manager, Peter Parrott, talking about the SpeedWorks R&D Mustang Challenge car Chip Scarlett will drive this year. “The large shark on the side of the car will certainly be an attention getter and attract a lot of media attention this year for sponsor racingtosavesharks.com" said Parrott. Parrott went on to say "We are getting ready to do some testing before the first race at Miami/Homestead Speedway March 6th and looking forward to the upcoming season”. Chip Scarlett, renowned underwater photographer, will pilot the number 45 entry. SpeedWorks R&D is the official arrive and drive team for the Mustang Challenge, one of the participating series in Grand AM. Drivers interested in driving in this exciting series, should contact Peter Parrott at 1-877-609-6757 for complete information.
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Indianapolis, IN (December 14, 2009) SpeedWorks R&D announces, John “Chip” Scarlett, will drive full-time in the 2010 Mustang Challenge Series. Scarlett trained at the Ford Racing High Performance Driving School at Miller Motorsports Park and competed in the Miller Park Racing Association (MPRA) 2009 race series. While this will be Scarlett’s first foray into professional racing, he has made it clear he intends on being a serious competitor by having former Formula One, PPG Indy car, and World Championship Sports Car driver Desiré Wilson as his driver coach. Desiré remains the only woman to win a British national F1 championship event by taking the checkered flag at Brands Hatch in 1980. She also won two World Championship Sports Car events at Monza and Silverstone in 1980. Desiré raced a Saleen Mustang from 1986 to 1988, winning several races and the Manufacturers Championship for Ford.
Scarlett has a long resume of business successes to his credit. A physician-scientist and entrepreneur, he has founded and and served as senior executive at four biotechnology companies. Scarlett’s most recent company, Proteolix, recently merged with Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded biotechnology company specializing in oncology.
In addition to his business interests, Scarlett is an award-winning underwater still photographer. His work has appeared in publications like Ocean Realm, Nature’s Best Magazine, Fathoms, Scuba Diver, and Dive Adventure, and been exhibited at the British Underwater Image Festival in Birmingham, Asian Dive Expo (ADEX) in Singapore and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, among other locations. His video essay titled “Loving Sharks” won the 2009 Ocean Geographic Underwater Photo Journalist Award at the Celebrate the Sea festival in Singapore, while his Web site (www.johnscarlett.com), which includes “Loving Sharks,” won the prize for most artistic underwater Web site at the Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous Marine in Antibes, France.
Team co-owner, Hayden Harris said, we're extremely happy that Chip will be driving for us nest year. He’s a remarkable individual with a strong desire to compete”. Peter Parrott echoed Harris’s comments by adding, “When Scarlett tested with us earlier this year, he came up to speed very quickly. I think he will adapt to this series very well given his will to excel".
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Indianapolis, IN (November 5, 2009) - SpeedWorks R&D is already gearing up for next season in the Mustang Challenge series. The team has been testing drivers at the Putnam Park road circuit located thirty minutes west of their Indianapolis race shop. Peter Parrott, team manager said “We are testing drivers interested in running in the Mustang Challenge series next year and will continue testing as long as the weather cooperates with us. Putnam Park is very convenient for us to test as it’s only about thirty minutes from our shop. It makes it a lot more economical to test there than making a trip south to test”. Anyone interested in being in the series next year should contact Parrott as soon as possible to learn more about the series and the SpeedWords R&D team. Next year will be the third year for the Mustang Challenge and SpeedWorks R&D has been the factory team since the series started. The team has been very successful with all the drivers that have raced with the team. Ben Crosland, the sixteen year old rookie ran this season with SpeedWorks R&D and looks to be a serious contender for the championship for next year. Ed Lever, an instructor at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and a Physics Lecturer, from La Jolla, CA also ran with SpeedWorks R&D this year.
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Indianapolis, IN (September 30, 2009) Sixteen year old Ben Crosland surpassed expectations in his inaugural Ford Racing Mustang Challenge 2009 season with five Top 10 finishes in his “age shortened” eight race season.
The high school junior wrapped up the 2009 schedule at his home track on September 19 as he secured his career best qualifying position with his run to fifth in the Interbank FX sponsored No. 45 car. Driving a race that team co-owner Peter Parrott claimed was Ben’s finest performance of the year, the young driver showed patience and maturity after being hit twice from behind on the first lap, pushed off the track and forced to rejoin the race in 26th position. Showing persistence and experience beyond his years, Ben drove through the field and finished 9th.
Crosland was the youngest competitor in the Series and did a remarkable job all season of holding his own against the older, more experienced competitors. He missed the first two races of the season because of the 18 year old age limit in Florida. His season started at Barber where he finished 18th in race No. 1, and then parleyed that experience into a run up the ladder finishing 12th, 7th, 6th, 5th and 7th in the next five races.
Ed Lever rejoined the SpeedWorks R&D team for the second time this season to race the challenging 4.486-mile natural-terrain, 24-turn road course at Miller Motorsports Park. Ed qualified in 23rd position, them drove a steady race, bringing the car home 19th.
Also driving for SpeedWorks R&D team was nineteen-year old Michael DeNino from Gaithersburg, MD, who jumped into the 21 car and took his first turn ever around the challenging road course on Friday before the race on Saturday. Michael proved himself to be a quick study running 21 and then 15 in P1 and P2 respectively. He qualified 15th and brought the car home in the same position. “Considering Michael had never been to the track before, he turned in a very respectable performance,” said co-owner Hayden Harris. “He’s got talent and we’d like the opportunity to run him again.”
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Tooele, UT (September 19, 2009) Ben Crosland, running at his home circuit, had his career best Mustang Challenge qualifying position qualifying fifth in the Interbank FX/Speedworks R&D number 45 car at Miller Motorsports Park. Crosland, competing in his first year in the series is from Salt Lake City. Ed Lever, driving the SpeedWorks R&D number 44 entry, qualified twenty third.
Andrew Caddell locked up the pole position in qualifying and Ted Anthony Jr. will start on the outside of the first row. Caddell and Anthony Jr. are one-two in points and Crosland is thirteenth heading into the final race of the season.
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Indianapolis, IN (August 28, 2009) The 2009 edition of the Mustang Challenge will wrap up September 19th at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. The Ford Racing Mustang Challenge, sanctioned by Grand Am Road Racing Association, will complete its second year of exciting road racing at the Utah facility. The Mustang Challenge is an affordable, challenging platform for racers who want to compete in a V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive car on a level playing field that showcases driver ability in high-profile events. Ben Crosland, driver of the SpeedWorks R&D car number 44 will be racing at his “home track” as he lives in Salt Lake City. Crosland, the youngest driver in the series at sixteen, currently sits thirteenth in the points heading into the final race. Crosland said “It’s been a great year this year racing in the Mustang Challenge with the SpeedWorks R&D team and I’m real excited to be racing this close to home where a lot of my friends will be rooting me on”. I made a little error at the last race at the Autobahn and I really want to do a great job at Miller”. Practice for the Mustang Challenge will be on Friday prior to qualifying on Saturday morning and the race scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 1:30.
Team manager, Peter Parrott, has announced that the SpeedWorks R&D team has another Mustang FR500S car available for anyone wishing to compete in this event. For complete information, call 8oo-609-6757.
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Joliet, Ill (July 26, 2009) Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. This weekend the bear got young Ben Crosland. Crosland, who qualified ninth failed to complete a lap today at the Autobahn Country Club circuit, when he and Gunter Schaldach tangled in turn two. “I got bumped from behind and I checked my mirrors and I was just in the corner too deep. It probably was my fault” claimed Crosland. Crosland was on the inside going into turn two, when he and Schaldach driving high, made contact going for the same piece of real estate and both ran off the track onto the tire barrier knocking both cars out of the race. Meanwhile, Crosland’s driver coach James Burke, was driving the SpeedWorks R&D car number 44 as a replacement for driver George Biskup. Starting at the rear of the grid, Burke drove as high as eleventh before finishing twelfth and earning him the BFGoodrich “Take Control” Award for improving his position. Tony Buffomante won today’s race with Ted Anthony, Jr, and Andrew Caddell finishing second and third respectfully. The final round of the 2009 Mustang Challenge takes place at Miller Motorsports Park outside of Salt Lake City, Utah on September 19.
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Indianapolis, IN (July 15, 2009) SpeedWorks R&D travels to the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois for round nine of the Mustang Challenge next weekend. Ben Crosland, with four top ten finishes in his last four starts will again be driving the number 45 SpeedWorks R&D Mustang. Crosland, the youngest driver in the series at sixteen, is sponsored by Interbank FX, a leading provider of trading services and offering proprietary technology and tools to trade spot foreign currency online. The Mustang Challenge will share the track with The Speed World Challenge, Atlantic Championship Series, Mazda Series, Volkswagen Jetta Cup, Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup and the Patron GT3 Challenge. Harrah’s Casino will sponsor the weekend of road racing at the Autobahn Country Club, July, 24-26 on the full 3.6 mile, Alan Wilson designed road course.
Drivers interested in participating in the Mustang Challenge with SpeedWorks R&D, should call or email Peter Parrott at (317) 241-3664 or parrott@speedworksracing.com, as soon as possible.
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Mansfield, OH (June 20, 2009) Ben Crosland, the young man from Salt Lake City, had another impressive race today finishing seventh in the Mustang Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. With limited track time, as a rain storm washed out the Friday morning practice, Crosland found his way around the course quite quickly running in P3 in the first practice session. Crosland, starting ninth on the grid, ran two abreast through the first several turns in an exciting race. The young driver drove a consistent race battling Jason von Kluge for position most of the race. “Ben adapted to this very technical track quickly and was fast in practice” said team co-owner, Hayden Harris. Andrew Caddell won the race with Ted Anthony, Jr. and Tony Buffomonte joining him on the podium. The series moves to the Autobahn Country Club course for round nine, July 26th. The Autobahn Country Club is located in Joliet, Illinois.
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Bowmanville, ONT (14 June 2009) Ben Crosland, the sixteen year old rookie from Salt Lake City, had his best finish of the season, finishing fifth today at Mosport International Raceway. Crosland, driving for SpeedWorks R&D, improved on his seventh place finish at New Jersey Motorsports Park and his sixth place finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in his last two outings. “Ben drove a solid race today as he is improving with each race” said team co-owner, Peter Parrott. “We’re all looking forward to the next race at Mid-Ohio , as Ben is really coming in to his own”. The race was won by Tony Buffomante, with Andrew Caddell second and Jason von Kluge rounding out the top three. Next race will be at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, June 20th.
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Monterey, CA (May 17, 2009) – Ben Crosland, improving with each race, started eighth and finished sixth today at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, CA. The race was won by Ted Anthony Jr., who started on pole. Andrew Caddell came from the back of the field to finish second and Mike McGovern rounded out the podium finishing third.
The series moves to Mosport International Raceway for round seven June 14th.
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