September 29, 2008

Team Building in Utah

For three years the KONI series has made the trek to Miller Motorsports Park, just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. Every time we go, I’m struck by the simply awesome beauty of the terrain surrounding the track. Nestled inside a bowl created by the massive peaks of the Rocky Mountains, there’s a stunning vista to be seen no matter what direction you’re facing.

Seeing that I’ve taken to the role of team owner (as opposed to driver) for the better part of this year, we took special efforts to make the most of our extended stay in Utah. Saturday of the race weekend proved to be an ideal opportunity to do that, since the Street Tuner class had a grand total of 15 minutes on track that day. Yes indeed, it was qualifying at 8:30am, and then a totally clear schedule until Sunday’s 11am race.

September 23, 2008

C360R Gives Acura Top Finishes in Utah

Compass360 Racing once again delivered Acura’s best result in a KONI Challenge Street Tuner (ST) race, this time at Miller Motorsports Park outside Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the team’s fifth time in succession as the top Acura (going back to Watkins Glen (1st) and including Iowa (3rd), Trois Rivieres (1st) and New Jersey (7th), keeping the manufacturer in a tight battle with Chevrolet for top honors in Grand-Am’s Street Tuner class.

September 22, 2008

Burrows and Hopwood Take Sixth at Miller

TV: Sep 27, 3:00 PM ET—SPEED

Tooele, UT � After taking third on the ST class grid in qualifying on Saturday morning, Trevor Hopwood wondered aloud if the rest of the turbocharged entries hadn’t made full use of their advantage in qualifying.
As the field charged into turn one on lap one of Sunday’s Grand-Am KONI Challenge race at Miller Motorsports Park, he got his answer as a flock of forced-induction machines took advantage of the 4400 foot altitude to swarm the defending KONI Challenge Champions’ No. 76 Fischer Skis Compass360 Racing Acura TSX. But Hopwood fought back and kept the car in the top five through the first half of the two hour and thirty-minute race before turning the car over to fellow Champion Adam Burrows.

September 21, 2008

Billy Johnson Notches Third Straight GS Podium

Congratulations to C360R alumni Billy Johnson for his third straight GS podium this year. On the box at Trois Rivieres as co-driver of Ray Mason’s Rehagen Mustang, then with LP Dumolin in the MTG MZ4 Coupe at Thunderbolt, and back with Mason in Utah.

Billy still wears his Compass360 Racing uniform and we’re looking forward to him being back with us for the season closer at VIR.

September 16, 2008

Silly Season Starts Now

Planning for 2009 While Trying for More Wins in 2008

What a year 2008 has been so far for the Compass360 crew. We’ve had the highs of two race wins. We’ve had three of our cars finish in the top ten in one race. We’ve had podium finishes for two of our four cars, and one of our drivers has finished sixth a remarkable five times.

By most accounts, a great year. But coming off a strong second-place in the championship last year, we are always gunning for the top spot, and so to be fighting for a top-five finish in the Driver’s Championship, and a top-three in the Team’s just shows how very deep the talent pool is in the KONI Challenge.

September 11, 2008

C360R Featured in Inside Track Article

C360R is the subject of a two-page feature story in this month’s (September) issue of Inside Track magazine. “We’re really thrilled with the story,” remarked Team Principal Karl Thomson. “(Author) Wally Nesbitt did a great job with the interview and told a really balanced story of how Compass360 Racing came to be one of Grand-Am’s premier teams.”

“It’s also great for our technical partners Honda, Skunk2 and K&N, all of whom got great coverage,” said Thomson. “And because Inside Track used shots of our #73 Acura TSX, Pure Shampoo and Body Wash who sponsor that car received extra exposure.”

Pick up a copy of Inside Track on newsstands now, and download a high-res JPEG of the article here.

September 04, 2008

C360R Welcomes NASCAR’s Buy-in of Grand-Am

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - NASCAR Holdings today announced an agreement to acquire Grand-Am Road Racing (Grand-Am). The future move will allow for resource sharing between Grand-Am and NASCAR while both organizations continue to operate independently. This is great news for Compass360 Racing, which is currently the largest team operating in Grand-Am’s KONI Challenge.

Grand-Am, one of the world’s most competitive road racing organizations, and NASCAR, the No. 1 spectator sport in the U.S., will combine marketing and communications efforts to include brand management, research, marketing and public relations.

“We’re excited to have access to NASCAR’s research and marketing resources,” remarked Team Principal Karl Thomson. “It’s a win for the teams, a win for Grand-Am and also expands NASCAR’s footprint into road racing.”