R A C E  R E P O R T

Phoenix International Raceway
Goodyear, AZ
November 22-24, 2002

Jeff Hecox Crowned Vintage 2.5 Challenge Champion for 2002

In one of the most exciting sedan races of the 2002 season, Jeff Hecox piloted his beautifully prepared 1972 BMW 1600 Tii to a win at PIR and with that win he became the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge Champion for 2002.

It’s no surprise that the final race of the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge for the 2002 season turned into a real shootout at Phoenix International Raceway.  Going into the final event the points race for the championship Kevin McKee, the reigning 2.5 Champion, was leading Jeff Hecox by a slim two point margin and the “Rookie-of-the-Year” race was even closer with Mickey Cohen leading Bob Wass by a single point.

The fireworks started with a wild qualifying race between McKee and Hecox.  From the drop of the green flag they were running neck and neck on every part of the course with Steve Link always within striking distance.  In addition to racing with each other they had a pack of screaming sedans close behind that were just waiting for any miscue.  Mickey Cohen had moved into third early on when Steve Link’s Datsun 510 developed transmission problems.  Bob Wass worked his way around Jim McAdory to take fourth and close on McAdory was Jim Speer in his first 2.5 Challenge race with his beautiful 1967 Alfa Romeo GTV.  This was a close pack of cars as only a second back were the Alfa’s of Al Bourdet and Jake Grubb. 

Near the mid-point of the race Bourdet started the first round of excitement when he spun between turns five and six.  Al found about the only patch of dirt near the track and kicked up quite a dust cloud before coming back onto the racing surface the wrong way!  As Al tells it; “I got a little disoriented with the spin and all of the dust but I saw a worker whom I thought was waving me back onto the track so I took off.  I only went a short distance when I realized I was going the wrong way so I pulled off and waited until I could get turned around.”  For the remainder of the weekend and probably for sometime to come he has picked up the nickname “wrong way Bourdet”.

Only a couple of laps later in exactly the same spot, the 510 of Jim McAdory was enveloped in a thick cloud of blue smoke caused by what turned out to be a minor oil leak near the header.  McAdory got off the track quickly but not before suffocating every insect in the area and into the haze he left behind came the leaders.  As they exited turn 6, they were side by side entering the tight chicane that left no room for error.  McKee had to take to the FIA curbing to hold his position but in doing so the car became unsettled and clipped the side of Hecox sending Mckee on a real tank-slapper from which he quickly recovered.  At this point the steward thought they could stand a quick trip to black flag to see if he could throw a little cold water on the two!  It was a good try but once back on track they hooked up again and ran nose to tail and door to door for the rest of the qualifier. 

While this show was going on the top two rookie drivers of the 2.5 Challenge, Mickey Cohen and Bob Wass, had taken over the top positions and held them to the checkered flag.  Cohen’s moved his nimble Datsun 510 into the lead and held on for a win and his first pole.  The extra point he picked up as the top qualifier meant the Wass would need to make up a two-point deficit on Sunday.

Sunday dawned cold and clear in the Arizona desert and the VSRG group took to the track early for their warm-up session.  Even though a number of cars had dropped out during the course of the weekend due to mechanical failures, there was every reason to believe that the final race was going to be a real “barn burner”.  A crowd began to gather trackside as Cohen and Wass led the field out of the hot pits and onto the racing surface.  As the pace car pulled off the field was in perfect alignment and closely spaced.  The flagman held the green until the last possible moment and when it finally fell it was a real drag race to the first turn.  In a brief moment of four-wide racing, both McKee and Hecox got around Cohen and Wass before the first turn and immediately set in for a long stretch of bumper-to-bumper racing. 

Hecox seemed to have the edge on the straight and would pull a few car lengths on McKee going into turn one.  On the other hand McKee had a slight advantage in the turns and would make up the lost distance by the entrance of turn two.  From turn two until they were back on the straight they often appeared to merge through the twisty bits.  The tight nature of the PIR track and Hecox’s power advantage on the straight meant that McKee was going to have his hands full to get around the BMW.  For lap after lap the McKee-Hecox train rounded the track in this same pattern when near the end of the race McKee spun at the exit of turn six.  He quickly recovered but unless Hecox made a major mistake, it was all over.  The mistake never came and Jeff Hecox drove another flawless race to win the final round and become the 2002 Champion of the Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge.

Meanwhile Cohen and Wass were locked in a dual to the finish.  Wass needed to finish two positions higher than Cohen to take the “Rookie of the Year” honors and he drove a great race but in the end the Cohen was a tick faster and finished in third.  For Cohen it was his third podium in a row out of only four starts and an impressive overall fourth position of in the series.  Bob Wass had also had a great first year with five top ten finishes and fifth overall for the year.  Even though Steve Link had retired early in the final race, his strong finishes at prior races kept him in a solid third overall for the season.

During only it’s second season, the Vintage Sedan Racers Group had a total of 68 different 2.5 legal cars compete in the popular series.  VSRG is looking forward to it’s 2003 season which will feature races at tracks from Portland to Los Angeles.  The first race next year is scheduled for March 8-9, 2003 at Willow Springs.

 -O-