Factory Fives Make History at Re-opened Thompson Speedway
The nation’s oldest road racing course re-opened last weekend, and Factory Fives dominated the field! The event was a NASA Pro Racing road race event which drew four Factory Fives – three Challenge Cars and a GTM Supercar. This weekend (June 28-29), Thompson Speedway will be holding its official grand opening showcasing vintage road race cars from the ’50s, ’60s, and 70’s BUT last weekend was the official first road race, and Factory Five drivers drew first blood.
Factory Five Racing Challenge Series National Champion John George drove the wheels off of his black #48 Challenge Car to win the highly loaded ST2 class AND the overall win for all classes! John’s in-car video shows a vicious battle against a seriously fast ST2 Corvette, but John manages to pass in traffic and take the checkered flag.
John George was the 2012 Factory Five Challenge Series National Champion.
John’s in-car video from Sunday’s race is super fun to watch and his driving is really impressive. John’s driving and his Factory Five Challenge Car would absolutely DESTROY any vintage original Cobra.
GTM builder and racer John Kabacinski made it on the Super Unlimited podium with a third place in his GTM. John’s GTM build has been meticulously documented on The Factory Five Forum, and John frequently answers questions and helps other GTM owners.
Factory Five customer Pat McMahon also made it to the ST2 podium with a strong 3rd place finish.
Pat McMahon leads Factory Five engineer Jim Schenck (blue Challenge Car) with John Kabacinski charging up from behind in his black GTM.
The weather was perfect, and the pits were warm and dry without rain for a change.
Jim’s umbrella was for sun only!
John preps his black Challenge Car before the race with Factory Five engineer Jim Schenck.
Jim has campaigned his blue #52 Challenge Car for almost 10 years! He is definitely due for a paint job, but thankful it wasn’t before this weekend because the new track surface contained a huge number of small asphalt “marbles”.
Above and below: Johnny Kab makes short work of a 911 Carrera in his Factory Five GTM.
Above and below: John earned 3rd place in NASA’s very competitive Super Unlimited (SU) class. John has also worked with Factory Five at the SEMA Show, and has a strong motorcycle road racing background.
The last races at the old Thompson Speedway road course in the ’70s may have seen Cobras and Corvettes. To see modern day versions of these cars battling out on the new track is a special thing. Congratulations to the Factory Five customers and to Jim for their exceptional driving.
Special thanks to Shawn Doucette and Johnny Kab for the great photos. Huge congratulations to John George for a great race win.
