Jay Herbert
Enthusiast
October 17, 2004
Immediate Release
Tommy Archer Wins Speed GT Championship
Englewood, Colorado - 3R-Racing driver Tommy Archer won the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GT series driver's championship today by finishing in third place in the final round of the series at Laguna Seca. The final standings have Archer over Galati by six for the title.
Archer, driving the number 22/c3controls/ Whelen Engineering/3R Viper, dug himself a hole by qualifying tenth - only for that hole to get deeper at the start where he tried a different launch tactic. This misjudgment caused him to fall back four positions to 14th on the first lap, while his competitor for the title, Michael Galati raced by into seventh position before the first turn. "I tried to start with a little lower rpm, which wasn't a good idea. I then thought that the race and championship was gone. Will Moody and I put a setup under the car that was just great. That gave me the confidence to move through the field. The car was the best it has been all weekend. I was able to drive hard the whole race until the tires started to fall off with about five laps to go. The team has worked hard all year, Dodge has been a big help along with c3controls and Whelen Engineering." Archer also won the Remus Power Move of the race by passing the Pobst Audi for third position.
Viper teammate and 3R team owner Tim Wiens, driving the number 33/1st Interstate Inns/3R Viper, finished in tenth with an excellent run from his 14th place qualifying effort. "At the start I almost rear ended Tommy when he was slow to get away on the grid. It took me a little bit to get over the shock of seeing a championship go away. I had a good run today, the car was consistent up until about six or seven laps to go and then it started to fall off a little. The championship is the result of a nice team effort and an excellent drive by Tommy." Wiens consistency throughout the season is rewarded with an eighth place in the season ending driver's point standings.
Phil McClure, piloting the number 73/Aggregate Industries/3R Corvette, started from the fourth row and finished in twelfth today. McClure was able to hold fourth position for half of the race until he made a passing attempt on the Audi heading into the Cork Screw. "I was watching Tommy pick off these cars going into the Cork Screw and I had a run on the Audi up the hill and tried him on the inside but didn't get a good bite with the brakes and spun. We had a good car, we were not very good in practice all week and we took a gamble on the setup and it paid off. We had a better car than where we finished today." McClure finished in sixth place in the final season point standings.
Rob Foster, driving his number 71/LTI Contracting/Foster Motorsports/3R-Viper, had a good race starting in 21st and coming home in thirteenth in his best finish in the series to date. "I was able to get a good start, picking up three places at the start. I was dicing with two Corvettes about half way through the race and then the tires started to go away. We had a good handling car all weekend."
Speed GT Top 10 Laguna Seca Finishers:
1. Wolf Henzler Porsche
2. Boris Said Mustang
3. Tommy Archer 3R Viper
4. Randy Pobst Audi
5. Peter Cunningham Audi
6. Michael Culver Porsche
7. Max Angelelli Cadillac
8. Mike McCann Viper
9. Bob Woodhouse Viper
10. Tim Wiens 3R Viper
12. Phil McClure 3R Corvette
14. Rob Foster 3R Viper
For more information reference the team web site at www.3r-racing.com
Immediate Release
Tommy Archer Wins Speed GT Championship
Englewood, Colorado - 3R-Racing driver Tommy Archer won the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GT series driver's championship today by finishing in third place in the final round of the series at Laguna Seca. The final standings have Archer over Galati by six for the title.
Archer, driving the number 22/c3controls/ Whelen Engineering/3R Viper, dug himself a hole by qualifying tenth - only for that hole to get deeper at the start where he tried a different launch tactic. This misjudgment caused him to fall back four positions to 14th on the first lap, while his competitor for the title, Michael Galati raced by into seventh position before the first turn. "I tried to start with a little lower rpm, which wasn't a good idea. I then thought that the race and championship was gone. Will Moody and I put a setup under the car that was just great. That gave me the confidence to move through the field. The car was the best it has been all weekend. I was able to drive hard the whole race until the tires started to fall off with about five laps to go. The team has worked hard all year, Dodge has been a big help along with c3controls and Whelen Engineering." Archer also won the Remus Power Move of the race by passing the Pobst Audi for third position.
Viper teammate and 3R team owner Tim Wiens, driving the number 33/1st Interstate Inns/3R Viper, finished in tenth with an excellent run from his 14th place qualifying effort. "At the start I almost rear ended Tommy when he was slow to get away on the grid. It took me a little bit to get over the shock of seeing a championship go away. I had a good run today, the car was consistent up until about six or seven laps to go and then it started to fall off a little. The championship is the result of a nice team effort and an excellent drive by Tommy." Wiens consistency throughout the season is rewarded with an eighth place in the season ending driver's point standings.
Phil McClure, piloting the number 73/Aggregate Industries/3R Corvette, started from the fourth row and finished in twelfth today. McClure was able to hold fourth position for half of the race until he made a passing attempt on the Audi heading into the Cork Screw. "I was watching Tommy pick off these cars going into the Cork Screw and I had a run on the Audi up the hill and tried him on the inside but didn't get a good bite with the brakes and spun. We had a good car, we were not very good in practice all week and we took a gamble on the setup and it paid off. We had a better car than where we finished today." McClure finished in sixth place in the final season point standings.
Rob Foster, driving his number 71/LTI Contracting/Foster Motorsports/3R-Viper, had a good race starting in 21st and coming home in thirteenth in his best finish in the series to date. "I was able to get a good start, picking up three places at the start. I was dicing with two Corvettes about half way through the race and then the tires started to go away. We had a good handling car all weekend."
Speed GT Top 10 Laguna Seca Finishers:
1. Wolf Henzler Porsche
2. Boris Said Mustang
3. Tommy Archer 3R Viper
4. Randy Pobst Audi
5. Peter Cunningham Audi
6. Michael Culver Porsche
7. Max Angelelli Cadillac
8. Mike McCann Viper
9. Bob Woodhouse Viper
10. Tim Wiens 3R Viper
12. Phil McClure 3R Corvette
14. Rob Foster 3R Viper
For more information reference the team web site at www.3r-racing.com
Awesome that Four of the Top Ten cars are Vipers! 
