Megenbier looks to maintain the Championship lead in Round 6 of the season
The 2009 SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series has turned the corner into the last half of the season and is once again heading to a new circuit to showcase the only clean diesel racing series in America. On August 14-15, the series’ 24 drivers face one of the toughest tests yet as they prepare for the challenging 14-turn, 4.048-mile track at Wisconsin’s historic Road America road course.
Because Road America is a new track for the series, most of the drivers will be heading into Round 6 of the season with little to no experience on the longest circuit of the season. However, the current series points leader, Timmy Megenbier hopes that the experience that he gained at Road America in 2007 in karting and in Skip Barber will allow him to widen his 24-point lead over the rest of the competition.
‘My earliest memory of Road America is from when I was seven years old,’ Megenbier said. ‘My dad and I went to the Indy car race every year, and I really grew to love the track once I began racing there. It’s really long and fast, but unlike some other circuits that we compete on, there’s not a lot of room for error since there’s limited runoff room in some of the more challenging corners. Hopefully, my past experience there will play into my favor so that I’m able to stay at the top of the standings, but I know that I’m the target for everyone else heading into race weekend.’
Megenbier has had an impressive season so far and leads the series in nearly every statistical category including race wins (2), laps led (33 / 46%), top-five finishes (5), front-row starts (3) and poles (1 / tied with four other drivers). While the Melrose Park, Illinois native currently maintains a strong hold on the Championship lead heading into the race weekend, he is not without challenge. Andy Lee of Maricopa, Arizona has been mounting a charge in the past few races, including his first Jetta TDI Cup win in two seasons at the series’ last race at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois. In addition, Lee has achieved a series-best average finishing position of fifth and has led laps in two races. He hopes that he can carry his current momentum into Road America.
‘Getting my first win at our last race was a really big step for me because it totally changes your mindset heading into an event,’ Lee said. ‘There a big difference between believing you can win and knowing that you can win. Obviously, the Autobahn race was a huge boost of confidence for me, so hopefully that will help me at Road America. We only have five races left this season, so I need to make each one count from here on out in order to close the gap between Timmy and me even further. My main goal is to keep him in my mirrors.’
While Megenbier and Lee have been the series standouts so far this year, the competition for the series Championship and its $100,000 prize remains tight with only 47 points separating the top four drivers. So far this season is the fact that there have been four different winners in five races and each event has had a different pole winner. One other driver hoping to put together a strong run is Renton, Washington’s Joey Atterbury who currently trails Megenbier by 35 points. Atterbury’s season includes one win (VIR – Round 1), one pole position, 12 laps led and three top-five finishes. Like Lee, he also has finished in the top 10 in each race and never crossed the finish line lower than eighth.
‘This season has been a bit of a roller coaster for me, but thankfully the bottoms haven’t been too low,’ Atterbury said. ‘Winning our first race as a series rookie in a totally new car was a huge step for me, but I’ve had a few results in more recent races that I wasn’t totally satisfied with. I’m really optimistic about my chances at Road America because I think the racing that we’re going to see there is more in line with some of my past club racing experience in the Northwest where drafting plays a huge part of your ability to run up front. Given my extensive background with this style of racing, I think that a podium finish is a very realistic goal for me.’
Race Information
2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup – Round 6
Circuit: Road America – Elkhart Lake, WI (14 turns, 4.048 miles)
Date/Time: Practice – Friday, Aug. 14 at Noon CT
Qualifying / Race – Saturday, Aug. 15 at 8 am / 7:10 pm CT
Race Length: 30 minutes
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