Jeff Courtney in the No. 99 Kenda/TJM IWM/Coins of America Dodge Viper at 2008 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Shooter: Mark Weber

Lexington, Ohio, (July 20, 2008) –Jeff Courtney inched his No. 99 Kenda/TJM IWM/Coins of America Dodge Viper into the third place starting position, his personal best in the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Series. Courtney felt confident, that the adjustments made in practice would give him a great chance for a podium finish.

“As I watched Brandon Davis on the track in the opening laps, I felt I had a better car than him. I’m not sure if I had anything for teammate Tommy Archer, but it would have been fun to dice with him. I really love the track at Mid-Ohio, and my car was running great. I should have made the call to change out the transmission,” said Courtney.

Courtney’s start was clean, but soon trouble began. It is no secret that the Vipers have been plagued with transmission problems this season, and that old nemesis reared its ugly head on the track at Mid-Ohio. Courtney almost immediately had trouble downshifting from 5th to 4th gear; it was in the fourth or fifth lap that Courtney lost 4th gear completely. Soon after, Courtney lost the 3rd gear, followed by the 2nd. Courtney was forced to finish the race using only the 5th gear.

“I may have forced the issue,” said Courtney, “Going into turn one on lap seven and spun the car.”

Courtney did all he could on the track to make up for the loss of gears, but when he needed to downshift, Davis would always pull away from him. After a valiant effort through a spin out and being tagged in the back by Sonny Whelen, Courtney finished 15th.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Courtney, “We could have had a great race. I really feel bad for my Car Chief Eric Mesley, Car Technician Eddie Martin, as well as the whole Woodhouse Team,” said Courtney. “They worked very hard getting the car dialed in and they deserved a better finish.” When the team first arrived at Mid-Ohio, Courtney’s No. 99 Kenda/TJM IWM/Coins of America Dodge Viper had a terrible push from mid-turn out and the team worked on its handling every session. With help from engineer John Mills and driver Tommy Archer, the car was handling great by the final practice.

“For a while in qualifying, Tommy and I were sitting at the 1 and 2 starting position. Davis just nipped me out at the end by only 2 tenths of a second, there wasn’t time to go out for another qualifying lap,” Courtney said.

Tommy Archer, also on the Woodhouse Racing Team, in the No. 13 Foametix/Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper, had an excellent race, starting at pole position he finished first, a second win for him this season.

“I would like to congratulate Tommy Archer and the Woodhouse Team for a great first place finish,” said Courtney. “It was well deserved.”

Courtney is looking forward to Road America in August. “Elkhart is my home track, and although I don’t have a lot of experience there, I’m excited to have a huge showing of support from several sponsors as well as family and friends,” said Courtney.

Road America has been highly anticipated as more than 200 people are expected to be out in support for Courtney. New sponsors for the Road America event, Jim Kacmarcik of Kapco, Inc. and Woody Alverson from Accurate Metal Products will be in attendance as well as regular sponsors Coins of America and Badger Components.

You can watch the Mid-Ohio race on the SPEED channel on Thursday, July 24 at 1:00 pm (EDT).

Catch the next race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Sunday August 10, 2008!