Jordan Musser of Coppell, TX, was making his professional racing debut last weekend at the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of Utah. He may not have been terribly impressed when Friday’s qualifying session was canceled due to a lack of visibility. The problem was not wildfires in the mountains as happened a few years ago, but a passing snowstorm that left conditions impractical for racing.
Musser was the only Camaro running in the GTS class, now dominated by Mustangs, with the odd Acura, Porsche and BMW participating. Previous Chevrolet participants apparently chose not the make the trip west to Miller Motorsports Park.
The grid for Saturday’s race was set by SCCA Pro Racing Regulations, which use driver’s points to determine staring order. For Musser and anyone that had not scored points, their position would be based on based on combined practice times. As a result, Paul Brown would start as the GTS-class polesitter in his #50 Lucas Oil/K&N Filters Ford Mustang Boss 302S. Musser was gridded at P13.
Despite being it’s first time out, Musser’s #05 Momentum/Race Fuel Energy Drink Chevrolet Camaro had been quickest in each of the two Friday practice sessions.
When the green flag fell on the 15-turn, 3.048-mile circuit in Tooele, UT, 49 cars in three classes occupied the pavement. Musser’s Camaro picked off three positions on the opening lap prior to a full course yellow coming out due to a starting line incident. When the course cleared on lap 6, Musser managed to grab another four positions, putting him in contention.
As the race wore on, Musser passed Eric Foss in the No. 73 Traxxas/St. Jude Hospital/SPX Ford Mustang FR500S, who had been leading the GTS class action. He was then able to hold off Foss for a 0.413-second win. Musser also turned in the fastest GTS lap of the race with a time of 2:01.779 (90.104 mph).
The World Challenge series next moves to the Canadian track in Bowmanville, ON, for a double header event at Mosport International Raceway, on May 20 through 22, 2011.
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