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GTOAA “takin’ to the track” with Matt Connolly Motorsports
Monday - January, 25 2010 |
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Posted by:
William Vantuono |
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On Jan. 30-31, the only GTO.R competing in the Grand American Road Racing Rolex Sports Car Series ran wheel-to-wheel with other GT Class racecars as well as Daytona Prototypes in road racing’s premier event, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona – and the GTO Association of America was along for the ride!
  The Matt Connolly Motorsports (MCM) no. 21 GTO.R, sporting a striking white with blue and orange accents paint scheme, displayed the logos of two new sponsors – a2z Racer Gear (“Apparel Inspired By Legends”), and the GTOAA – as she roared around the high banks and twisting infield road course of Daytona International Speedway, her LS2 V8 powerplant propelling her at speeds approaching 180 mph, on Pirelli racing tires. GTOAA members and chapters, you can join in the thrills of the Rolex Series and help support one of Grand American’s top-tier teams, and the 21, a remarkable racecar with a remarkable legacy.
  The GTOAA's new-generation logo on the 21 is only part of the Association’s participation in the “big leagues” of Grand Am road racing and professional motorsports. For the 2010 season – the GTO.R’s final under a special Grand Am waiver (normally, GT Class cars can compete for a maximum of three seasons after the factory vehicle has ceased production) – the GTOAA has entered into an exciting partnership with MCM and a2z Racer Gear, which makes an attractive line of retro-style racing apparel. The company has produced a line of MCM apparel featuring the GTOAA’s new-generation logo, including two styles of jacket and a polo shirt. A portion of the proceeds from apparel sales benefits MCM, and also benefits the GTOAA. (There is no cost to the GTOAA for this sponsorship.) In addition, the MCM crew is outfitted in a2z uniforms featuring the GTOAA logo. The merchandise will be sold through the a2z website, the GTOAA Club Store, the Grand Am website, and at the track during races. Click here for the 2010 Rolex Sports Car Series schedule. “We’re thrilled to sponsor Matt Connolly and the GTO.R,” says GTOAA President Bob Alexander. “It’s a great opportunity for the GTOAA to gain additional national exposure and attract new members, and provide enjoyable racing experiences for chapters and individual members. MCM is one of the premier teams in the Rolex Series, and the GTO.R is one of the most successful Pontiac racecars in professional motorsports of all time. I encourage our membership and our chapters to support Matt and his team.” One way to do that, and have an unforgettable experience in the process, is to participate in one of the GTOAA-members-only events that Bill Vantuono is arranging with Grand Am at several races, including Watkins Glen, Virginia International Raceway, Lime Rock Park (Connecticut), New Jersey Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio, and Miller Motorsports Park (Utah). These events, which are being arranged with GTOAA chapters, feature a car corral (show area) and a parade lap of the track, plus hot laps in the pace car with a professional driver. In many cases, race tickets will be included. “Last season, we did an event at Watkins Glen, and everyone had a great time,” says Vantuono. “Our Susquehanna Valley, Western New York, Pioneer Valley, and Garden State chapters were represented, and it was a lot of fun driving our classic and new-generation GTOs on the race course. Matt Connolly was a great host, and he and his team were very appreciative that we came out to support him. He’s really looking forward to seeing his fellow GTOAA members at as many races as possible this season.” Following this season, the 21 will be available to a collector interested in acquiring and preserving a famous racecar. “She’s got a great heritage, winning Rolex Series team and manufacturer titles as the no. 64 in 2006, with Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards driving her for The Racer’s Group,” says Connolly. “This GTO.R is unique: She’s got a GM factory VIN, and is one of only two in the world. (Andy Lally, Marc Bunting, and R.J. Valentine piloted sister TRG GTO.R no. 65 to the driver’s title in 2006. Valentine acquired the 65.) Rather than transform her into a different racecar next season, I want the 21 to remain a GTO. I deeply appreciate the support the GTOAA is giving me. We’re going to do our utmost to have a successful season, and your support will help make that happen.” Coming soon to the GTOAA website: Matt Connolly Motorsports Report, which will provide race results, team news, photos, and other information on MCM and the no. 21 GTO.R. |
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In the January 2010 issue of The Legend
Sunday - January, 03 2010 |
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Posted by:
William Vantuono |
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| Juiced-up GTOs – as in orange juice — fill the pages of this month's issue of The Legend,, starting with Steve Disch's wild Super Mod cover car. Known by several names – “64-06” and “Frankengoat” among them – Steve's hand-built creation is a complete 2006 GTO rebodied with a 1964 convertible skin. With mostly minor modifications (and one major one, relocated front wheel openings to accommodate the ’06’s 109.8-inch wheelbase), Steve’s bright orange creation combines the power, comfort, handling and reliability of the ’06 GTO with the classic lines of the original ’64 GTO. See it in the magazine, and at the 2010 Nationals. It redefines Resto Mod!
The orange theme continues with “Orange Peel Out,” 757GOAT chapter member Steve Cauffiel’s Carousel Red ’05 Super Mod. Steve says his twin-turbo, 500-plus-hp GTO is “worthy of The Judge namesake.”
Speaking of The Judge, the legend lives on in the Jim Wangers Signature Edition GTO, a Carousel Red (a.k.a screaming orange) creation from Big 3 Performance. It's a new car utilizing 1969 GTO sheet metal, a Corvette C6 front suspension and a 505 cubic inch, 680-hp Butler Performance Pontiac mill, among other goodies.
Also in this issue: A Convention Corner 2010 feature on this year's GTOAA Nationals, Little GTOs, and an article on 1968 walnut shift knobs.
All this and more in the January 2010 issue of The Legend, the GTOAA's award-winning monthly magazine, available exclusively to GTOAA members. |
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757GOAT is GTOAA’s Newest Chapter
Wednesday - November, 18 2009 |
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Posted by:
William Vantuono |
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| The GTO Association of America is pleased to welcome its newest chapter, the GTO Owners Association of Tidewater, more commonly known as 757GOAT. This chapter, based in beautiful Virginia Beach, is the only GTOAA chapter located in Virginia. 757GOAT officers are President Ernie Forn, Vice President Robert Jensen, Secretary Scott Brauer, and Treasurer Jerry Klaus, who is also the GTOAA's 2004-2006 Technical Advisor. With the addition of 757GOAT, the GTOAA now has 46 chapters. 757GOAT (www.757goat.org) is “the home of Hampton Roads’ premier Pontiac GTO club, founded by dedicated GTO enthusiasts,” says Jerry Klaus. “In addition to regular meetings and cruises, 757GOAT is an active participant in automobile events across the region. We're a family-oriented club, and genuinely encourage you to bring your significant other, children, friends—whoever is a car enthusiast! We're growing, currently serving the greater Hampton Roads area, including many area codes besides 757.” 757GOAT welcomes members who own or who are enthusiasts of any model or year GTO. According to GTOAA National Chapter Coordinator Bill Vantuono, “It's encouraging that we now have two chapters—757GOAT and Nor Cal Goats—that were initially organized by owners of 2004-2006 GTOs. I've found that their interest and appreciation of all things GTO is quite broad, and that they welcome opportunities to bridge the 30-year production gap between the classic, 1964-1974 cars and new-gen cars. Now that Pontiac is gone from GM’s lineup, it’s especially important that the traditions, knowledge base and great GTO automobiles that form the GTOAA’s foundation be carried forward, from generation to generation.” |
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Gurney, Fogarty give Pontiac its final championship
Tuesday - October, 06 2009 |
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Posted by:
William Vantuono |
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| Two Pontiac factory-supported teams raced to success in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series 2009 season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway, one of them ironically bringing GM’s storied, discontinued nameplate a final, bittersweet championship. GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing drivers Alex Gurney (son of motorsports icon Dan Gurney) and Jon Fogarty brought the no. 99 Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype home to a fourth-place finish to capture their second DP championship—Pontiac’s final racing championship, ending a tradition of victory that dates back to stock car and drag racing in the early 1960s. It was the second DP championship for Fogarty and Gurney in the no. 99. They finished six points ahead of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, who finished second in the no. 01 TELMEX Lexus Riley. Pontiac factory drivers Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards took the checkered flag in GT class, registering their first victory of the 2009 season in the no. 07 Team Drinkin’ Mate Pontiac GXP.R. There was no championship for Pontiac this year in GT class—that honor went to a Porsche team—but the Edwards/Collins victory was a fitting ending for a long string of triumphs for the GXP.R and its predecessor, the GTO.R. In the modern era, Pontiac-based racecars have captured championships and set records in several categories—NASCAR Sprint (Winston) Cup, NHRA Pro Stock, Grand-Am Rolex GT and DP classes, and Formula D drifting. The modern GTO has been a standout: Greg Anderson and Jason Line won Pro Stock championships in 2005 and 2006, respectively. In 2006, the no. 65 GTO.R campaigned by TRG and driven by Andy Lally, Marc Bunting and R.J. Valentine captured the Rolex Series GT class driver’s championship, and with sister TRG GTO.R no. 64 piloted by Paul Edwards and Kelly Collins, gave Pontiac the team and manufacturer’s championships. The GXP.R will be transformed into a Camaro-bodied racecar by builder Pratt & Miller Engineering for the 2010 Rolex Series season; it will compete with Ford Mustang- and Dodge Challenger-based cars. But there will be at least one Pontiac competing, and it will be a GTO: the no. 21 Matt Connolly Motorsports GTO.R (the former no. 64), the only one of its type remaining in competition. |
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