Primetime Viper Earns 7th Place in Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach
- Apr 22, 2009
The Primetime Race Group competes in its Viper in the American Le Mans Series GT2 Class. Primetime is a privateer team
from Florida that decided to compete in The Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach, California despite the cost of a cross country trek.
Primetime Race Teams Dodge Viper has a V10 engine and was developed for the ALMS GT2 Class
Primetime Team Owner and Driver Joel Feinberg at the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series in Long Beach, California
Factory teams come to race tracks with money. They have huge crews and the latest technology and
expensive parts for their vehicles. Privateer Teams are smaller and have to think long and hard about attending every race.
Primetime Viper made its way through the ALMS Series at Long Beach and passed a Riley built Corvette and a Doran built Ford GT
Primetime Team co-driver Chris Hall used his driver coaching skills to keep the Viper off the wall in Long Beach, California
“We had problems in the St. Pete Grand Prix in Florida,” said Primetime owner and driver Joel Feinberg. “But my crew got the Viper all back together and ready for Long Beach. We made the commitment to go and booked our tickets from Florida to California the day before the race.”
It was an expensive gamble for the team. “The race is an hour and forty minutes,” said Feinberg. “It’s a street venue that has no room for escape and has the ALMS as a second tier event to the IRL. We knew that if we finished the race we would score some big points for our underdog program.”
On Thursday, Primetime co-driver Chris Hall was running at 147 mph and a tire blew out on the front straight. Fortunately he was able to keep the Viper off the wall. “The car sat in the turn one runoff on a flatbed with a wrecked diffuser and a mangled quarter panel,” said Feinberg. “It stayed there for an hour while the IRL ran its two-seater Indy experience.”
During the second 45 minute session the Viper was dropped off in the penalty box. The Primetime Racing crew pushed the car back a hundred yards to its pit area. They were on the track within ten minutes. In the end Hall’s time did not hold up during qualifying, but the team figured out what the Viper needed in time for the race.”
“When the green flag dropped we had the best times of the week,” said Feinberg. “My homemade Viper passed a Riley-built Corvette and a Doran built Ford GT.”
An hour or so into the race Feinberg came in for fuel, tires and a driver change, “It was the perfect pit stop,” he said. “It was done in less than one minute, Chris was in the drivers seat and I was out."
Primetime racing uses K&N products. "We are continuously pushing our K&N filters to be used in their most demanding conditions," said Feinberg. "They have proven to be the best high performance filters out there. K&N is a valuable partner to Primetime Race Group. We appreciate their support and look forward to building our relationship with the brand and the K&N Team.”
In the end, the Primetime Team logged a 7th in class and first checkered flag of the season. “We also earned the second place trophy given to privateer teams,” said Feinberg. “In the end, the gamble of making the trip paid off.”
The next race for Primetime Racing will be at the Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.
Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.
Primetime Race Teams Dodge Viper has a V10 engine and was developed for the ALMS GT2 Class
Primetime Team Owner and Driver Joel Feinberg at the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series in Long Beach, California
Primetime Viper made its way through the ALMS Series at Long Beach and passed a Riley built Corvette and a Doran built Ford GT
Primetime Team co-driver Chris Hall used his driver coaching skills to keep the Viper off the wall in Long Beach, California
“We had problems in the St. Pete Grand Prix in Florida,” said Primetime owner and driver Joel Feinberg. “But my crew got the Viper all back together and ready for Long Beach. We made the commitment to go and booked our tickets from Florida to California the day before the race.”
It was an expensive gamble for the team. “The race is an hour and forty minutes,” said Feinberg. “It’s a street venue that has no room for escape and has the ALMS as a second tier event to the IRL. We knew that if we finished the race we would score some big points for our underdog program.”
On Thursday, Primetime co-driver Chris Hall was running at 147 mph and a tire blew out on the front straight. Fortunately he was able to keep the Viper off the wall. “The car sat in the turn one runoff on a flatbed with a wrecked diffuser and a mangled quarter panel,” said Feinberg. “It stayed there for an hour while the IRL ran its two-seater Indy experience.”
During the second 45 minute session the Viper was dropped off in the penalty box. The Primetime Racing crew pushed the car back a hundred yards to its pit area. They were on the track within ten minutes. In the end Hall’s time did not hold up during qualifying, but the team figured out what the Viper needed in time for the race.”
“When the green flag dropped we had the best times of the week,” said Feinberg. “My homemade Viper passed a Riley-built Corvette and a Doran built Ford GT.”
An hour or so into the race Feinberg came in for fuel, tires and a driver change, “It was the perfect pit stop,” he said. “It was done in less than one minute, Chris was in the drivers seat and I was out."
Primetime racing uses K&N products. "We are continuously pushing our K&N filters to be used in their most demanding conditions," said Feinberg. "They have proven to be the best high performance filters out there. K&N is a valuable partner to Primetime Race Group. We appreciate their support and look forward to building our relationship with the brand and the K&N Team.”
In the end, the Primetime Team logged a 7th in class and first checkered flag of the season. “We also earned the second place trophy given to privateer teams,” said Feinberg. “In the end, the gamble of making the trip paid off.”
The next race for Primetime Racing will be at the Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.
Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.
