P R E S S   R E L E A S E

For immediate release

March 11, 2002

Jeff Hecox wins first race of 2002 Season of the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge Series 

Willow Springs International Raceway, CA  Jeff Hecox of Campbell, CA piloted his 1967 BMW 2002 Tii to a win at season opener of the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge at Willow Springs International Raceway near Rosamond, CA.  At the drop of the green a field of 22 small bore sedans was led into the first turn by the potent Ford Cortina of Timo Passi closely followed by the Datsun 510 of Steve Link, Hecox in the BMW, and a pack of Alfa Romeo’s driven by Alan Ward, Bob Wass and Kevin McKee. 

Sunday’s final race saw 22 cars make the field.  Although Hecox had started on the pole, Timo Passi took the lead using a classic late braking maneuver at the entry of turn three.  Near the end of the first lap, Passi went off the track in the somewhat infamous and challenging turn 9 giving the lead back to Hecox.  On the next lap Kevin McKee slipped by Steve Link just after the start-finish line and seemed to have his sights set on Hecox but before the lead pack completed the next lap a red flag condition was created by a single car incident that brought the field to a stop.  The resulting restart put McKee back in third position and when the green came down again it was clear that Link was determined to hold onto second.  The resulting battle between Link and McKee for that position lasted quite a few laps and allowed Hecox build almost a 4 second lead.  With three laps to go McKee nosed his Alfa by Link’s Datsun but he was not able to close the gap and Hecox went on to take a well deserved win.

Saturday's qualifying race was a real dogfight and proved to be a good indication of how close the Sunday's race would be.  After a few laps a lead pack of seven cars were running nose to tail around what is billed as the “Fastest Road in the West”.  Twenty-five cars took to the track for Saturday’s qualifying and it was clear early on that there was a group of determined drivers behind the wheel of some very fast sedans.  This year’s lap times had dropped almost 3 seconds from last years race at this track.  No less than five cars turned in fast lap times in the 1:35 and 1:36 range, which compared to the fastest times last year of 1:38.  Clearly there had been a lot of work done on the many of the small sedans over the winter break.

The Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge features cars that were eligible for the original Trans-AM 2.5 Challenge.  The original series was contested in 1971 and 1972 and is now recognized by many as the predecessor of modern Touring Car racing in the United States.  Eligible cars for the original and current series include Alfa Romeo GT’s, BMW 2002, Datsun 510, Lotus-Ford Cortina and many other small bore sedans produced prior to 1973.  The Magnaflow series has quickly gained a reputation for close racing between cars that are required to be prepared to the same level as those of the of the original series. 

The next race of the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge will be with HSR-West on May 18-19 at Thunderhill Raceway, a 3.1 mile road course in the Sacramento area.  The popular vintage race series was developed by the Vintage Sedan Racers Group (VSRG) of Vista, CA.  Complete information on the VSRG and the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge can be found at VSRG’s web site located at www.bsedan.com.