Hotchkis Races Across the Country
Hotchkis “H-Team” Drivers Race and Win in California & Ohio
SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. (July 2011) – They say competition breeds innovation, so the innovators at Hotchkis Sport Suspension don’t mess around when it comes to pushing new products to the limit. That was certainly the case the second weekend in July, when Hotchkis’ “H-Team” campaigned vehicles in two different events on opposite ends of the country. On the left coast, John Hotchkis and Chief Engineer Aaron Ogawa ran the first ever NMCA/NMRA Hotchkis Autocross at California Speedway in Fontana with over a dozen customer cars in attendance, while H-Team Charter Members Mary Pozzi and Mike Hickman competed in the Goodguys Nationals Autocross in Columbus, Ohio.
Goodguys Rod & Custom Nationals
The Goodguys Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the most anticipated events on the popular Good Guys show schedule. Hosting over 7,000 hot rods and street machines as well as over 100,000 spectators, it is one of the biggest shows of the year. While The Nats have always had an autocross component, this year Goodguys introduced a new twist: a sponsor shootout pitting vehicles from every Autocross Sponsor against each other in a ladder-type shootout.
Hotchkis was represented at the autocross in several classes including Street Machine, Truck and Vendor. "Fast" Mary Pozzi put Hotchkis on the podium both Saturday and Sunday in her Hotchkis-equipped 2ndGen Camaro, claiming 2nd place on Saturday in the Street Machine class and, due to a wayward cone, 3rd on Sunday in the shootout. This was Mary’s first Goodguys competition with her newly rebuilt car, featuring an all-new Hotchkis Total Vehicle System set to debut at the 2011 SEMA Show. Considering how early this race is in the car’s development phase, we are tremendously proud of the result.
Mike Hickman didn't disappoint either, debuting his “G-10” 1968 Chevrolet C10 pickup in Columbus after a complete ground-up rebuild on-site at Hotchkis Performance. This included stitch-welding and gusseting the frame, a new off-the-shelf Hotchkis C10 Total Vehicle System, a brand new GM Performance Parts E-Rod LS3 crate engine and 4L65E transmission and more. Hickman ran hard all weekend and finished a very close second in the Truck class. G-10 was completed mere days before the race, and with more R&D time it will continue to rack up wins.
The Hotchkis team is also proud to note that Vendor class winner, Brandy Morrow of Spectre Performance is also running Hotchkis suspension on the Spectre 1970 "Carbon Camaro".
NMCA/NMRA West Coast Nationals
Closer to home, Hotchkis joined forces with Baer Brakes to host an Autocross and SpeedStop Challenge at the first ever NMCA/NMRA West Coast Shootout. The event was a stunning success with over 50 participants running all weekend. With classes for Modern Muscle, Street Machine, Muscle Machine, Truck, Street Rod and Turn & Burn, there was a great array of cars, trucks and customs running the cones and locking up the tires on the autocross and SpeedStop courses.
Competition in some classes was fierce and the results very close. Deanna Marengo narrowly took the win in Muscle Machine with a 36.25 over 2nd place Kyle Newman's 36.47. Deanna runs a full Hotchkis 2nd gen TVS on her stunning cherry metallic F-body.
Another hotly contested class was Modern Muscle, with over 20 entries. Bruce Cambern placed 1st in his '05 Ford GT. Bruce did very well in the SpeedStop Challenge as well getting the best time overall. Hotchkis was represented in 3rd place on the Modern Muscle podium by Camaro5 member and enthusiastic H-Team member, Rob Byrd.
Charter H-Team member Rob Phillips got his first ever win in the Truck class on Saturday and backed it up with a smokin' quick time of 38.01 on Sunday. Rob had some stiff competition in his C-10, as several talented drivers from Street Trucks and Truckin' magazine were running their project vehicles on both days.
The Street machine class was won by O. Newman in a very quick Corvette. Hotchkis components were easy to find in this class too, as 3rd place winner, Gerald Synegal runs Hotchkis sway bars on his methanol injected '83 El Camino. Hot Rod editor Rob Kinnan took the win in Street Rod, and fellow editor Steven Rupp got the trophy for "Turn and Burn", which awards the best combined autocross and drag strip time.
Winners took home Hotchkis sway bar sets, Nitto Tires, Centerforce clutches and discounts on TCI, NMCA and K&N products. Overall the event was an outstanding success and the Hotchkis team is pleased to see and encourage car owners to upgrade their vehicles and test them on the track.
About Hotchkis Performance
Founded by former professional racecar driver, John Hotchkis, Hotchkis Performance was one of the first to design and track test performance suspension for muscle cars. Nearly two decades later, John and the Hotchkis team remains dedicated to high-quality, track-tested, suspension that is Made in the USA with domestic materials. Dare to Compare: Hotchkis offers complete bolt-on systems that are designed in-house and rigorously street/track tested for maximum performance, durability and value. Each system is tuned for high performance handling, a sporty yet comfortable ride and improved traction on the street and track. Don't settle for pieced-together systems or foreign sourced parts. The Hotchkis Philosophy is simple: Buy it once, bolt it on, and have fun! To preview the entire line of Hotchkis Sport Suspension components, please visit www.Hotchkis.net, email sales@hotchkis.net, or contact Hotchkis Performance, 8633 Sorenson Ave, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670, 877-4-NOROLL.
Contact: Dan Kahn – Kahn Media
818/881-5246 Dan@KahnMedia.com
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