2005 Factory Five Nationals

Sept 2^nd, 3^rd & 4^th in Virginia!

We have an internet connection here at VIR this year which means we will be trying to bring as much of the action from the big event as we possibly can. So keep checking out Factory Five's site out today and tomorrow as there will be regular updates being posted. And don't forget to check out the extra bit of excitement for this year's Nationals with the addition of the live photo coverage which you can go look at here.

Sunday, September 4th - The Remainder of the Afternoon

Sunday afternoon was great! The race was as exciting as it could get even though it did end up starting a little bit late. But that did not stop the drivers from making the race fun to watch.

Tony Buffomante started in the pole position and stayed out front until the race was over. Spencer Sharp who started second and Bryan Dobyns who started third tried to make things tough, but Tony was in first and didn't plan for that to change at all.

Bob Lawson and Bryan Cates were staying neck and neck with each other throughout the race to see who would come in fourth place, but in the end Bob got in front of Bryan to claim the position.

There were a couple of accidents which caused officials to end the race under the yellow flag. One driver slide of the

track causing a huge cloud of dust to form right by turn two. All of the drivers are ok though and we are thankful for that.

The top three drivers (from left to right): Spencer Sharp, Tony Buffomante, and Bryan Dobyns

After the race, a few of the drivers went over to the Dyno to put their cars to the test and see who has more horsepower. Out of the cars that were Dynoed, they ranged from 208 to 220 HP.

The afternoon brought the 2005 Factory Five Nationals at Virginia International Raceway to an end and we could not have asked for a better conclusion to this already perfect weekend.

Sunday, September 4th 1:24 P.M.

The main racing event of the weekend is about to begin as the racer's are making their way to the race tracks. We wish everyone the best of luck in the race.

Ladies and Gentlemen...Start your engines!

Sunday, September 4th 10:33 A.M.

The official qualifying results are in and scrolling across your screen. Tony Buffomante took the pole position and we have nineteen racers getting prepared to race this afternoon.

John George was trying to relax in between runs on the track (left) while this blue Spec gets ready to go down the main straightaway(right).

The race is scheduled to start around 1:25 P.M. so that should give the racers enough time to get themselves ready to race their hearts out.

Sunday, September 4th 10:07 A.M.

It is another sunny day down here in Virginia and while there are a few more clouds in the sky than yesterday, it is still a great day for racing.

Today is shaping up to be a busy day for the Challenge series as the main racing event will be taking place early this afternoon. The racers finished a qualifying session this morning and we are waiting for the official results from that to come in. Whatever the out come may be, we are certain that the big race is going to be an exciting one.

So stay tuned for more race results and pictures as the Nationals is soon coming to a close with the final race of the weekend for the Challenge cars just a couple of hours away.

Saturday Night, September 3rd - Dinner

The night’s festivities were kicked off with everyone gathering at Sir Richard’s Restaurant around 6:00 P.M. People sat down and ordered a round of drinks as the crowd slowly grew in size over the next twenty minutes. Around 6:30 dinner was served and everyone was happy to be getting food in their stomachs after everything that had gone on today at the race track.

Around 7:30 Wayne Presely introduced the night’s guest speaker, Lee Holman. He gave us a brief history of the Ford Racing company and had a few funny lines in there as well. It was really interesting to hear the evolution of the company.

Following the guest speaker, awards were handed out from the car show that was held earlier in the day. Here is the list of winners:

Best in Show Roadster:
1.Wayne Presley
2. Drew Ports
3. Jay Young

Best in Show Coupe:
1. Paul Haiser
2. Don Gold

Best in Show Challenge Car:
1. Dave Eves
2. Pete LaRose

Best in Show Unfinished:
1. Sherman England
2. David McIntyre

Best Interior:
1. Jamie Blackbud
2. Nevin Tucker

Most Innovative Design:
1. Bill Root
2. Alan Crews
3. Dan Denten

Best Paint:
1. Henry Reanaud
2. Mike Zam
3. Sonny Young

Best Engine:
1. David Ward
2. Larry Adams
3. Al Sylvia

High Mileage:
1. Wade Chanberlan

Best Use of Chrome:
1. Jim Marcus

Most Unique:
1. Brad Drummond

And finally, the Best in Show was given to Mike Gentle.

The night was a good one and every one at the dinner appeared to be having a great time. There were lots of laughs, unfortunately some at the expense of some one who was put in the spotlight. None the less, it was a huge success. Even the youngsters who attended were having a good time.

Sunday is the big day and it is sure to be a good race. Good luck to all who are going to participate in the big event.

Saturday, September 3rd 4:45 P.M.

This afternoon's exhibition race is officially in the books. Above you will find he results scrolling across the screen. It was an exciting race with lots of battles between cars to out do the others. For a while there, it was seeming like David Riha was going to take the checkered flag but Tony Buffomante had another idea and with only a few laps to go he passed Riha. The two battled for the top spot but Buffomante was able to hold Riha back and took the checkered flag.

Sadly some people did not finish the race but that is bound to happen when you have such competitive drivers like the ones who were out on the track this afternoon.

As of right now officials are inspecting the cars to make sure they are all following the rules of the Challenge series. There are a few rumors going around that some driver's may be disqualified due to it being slightly underweight. No official word as of yet if any one has been disqualified.

Today's events went quite well and it is safe to say that it was a huge success. Tonight is the dinner where awards will be handed out. Tomorrow is the big race and everyone is really excited about that.

Saturday, September 3rd - 1:15 P.M.

The car show is in full swing. Judges are attempting to make difficult decisions in numerous categories. Each person who has entered a car in the show has produced a vehicle worthy of an award so this will be a tough contest for judges to decide who deserves to win one.

A great shot of the cars in the show (left) and Jay Young's 390 FE Roadster (right).

Paul Kaiser's 427 Coupe (left) and the Whitby Motorcars Crew (right).

The parade laps just finished a little bit ago and it was a lot of fun. Everyone who participated in the laps seemed to have a really great time and there was only one lost hat during the 5 laps around the track.

The cars as they were being lined up to begin the parade laps.

All of the driver's were reminded numerous times the parade laps were just for fun and to please keep it around 60 mph. While the 60 mph mark was probably broken on some of VIR's straight-aways, everyone kept it to a reasonable speed.

The cars were lined up and ready to go (left) so we were given the thumbs up (right) to get the show on the road.

The parade laps were a huge success. Some go-karts are presently running around the track and the

Saturday, September 3rd - 11:05 A.M.

It is a beautiful day down here at VIR and the day is expected to be a great one. The Challenge cars are scheduled to be on the track again at 3:20 this afternoon continue checking the site for the latest details.

The people and cars have been coming in at a steady rate and everyone is anxious for the day to be in full swing with the car show this morning, parade laps at noon and then the races this afternoon. We have people setting up and polishing their cars, racers are putting the last minute touches to their cars, vendors getting booths set up and lots of people are dropping their jaws at the site of everything we have going on down here.

Linwood George with his family Anne, Buddy, and Charlie set-up his tent for FFMetal.com while other people polish up their cars.

Also at the track today is other races with stock cars and go-karts making VIR a busy place.

We will continue to bring you as many pictures and as much information from today's event as we can so stay tuned to the Factory Five site.

Craig and Dave Eves along with Brigitte and Wayne Wall check out the GTM while Paul Kaiser sets his Coupe into place for the car show.

Presently the racers are doing another practice run around the track. Also the Factory Five booth and the car show itself are packed with spectators. Everyone is having a blast.

Friday, September 2nd

Today was the slow day of the weekend. There were not too many people at the track. Mostly there were drivers for this weekends bug race putting final touches to their Spec Racers in hopes it will lead them to a victory. Other people were taking it easy and some even appeared to be sleeping.

Unfortunately, some people found some big problems when looking at their cars today. Cheney found some problems with his engine that brought his weekend to a halt.

Cheney tried fixing his car and even the help of one of our techs, Joe, couldn't improve his situation.

The Factory Five crew was there to set up their booth, cars, and chassis’s. People were immediately flocking over to ask the crew questions on the various cars. The GTM was getting a lot of attention as people continue to find its sleek design overwhelming and cannot wait till more information is available on it.

Jim Schenk and Eric Jacobs go over one of our Challenge cars (left) while Mark D. talks to Wayne Presley (right) about some last minute event details

While Friday was a relatively slow day we can tell already that this weekend will be a busy yet fun one.