Preparation is such a huge part of this type of racing and it can be very frustrating when you are doing all the things that are necessary to avoid unnecessary parts failures, but yet they still happen. Fighting transmission failures has been common practice amongst all the Mustang teams but we have had fewer than most. Well, that came to a quick halt as both our primary and backup boxes had problems at this track. All in all we replaced the transmission four times at this event and did so without ever missing a session. Timing can be everything when it comes to refining the setup of the car and we really needed every one of those sessions so missing a session was just not an option and I am pleased with the team for rising to the occasion.

Sunday came quickly and radical changes in weather and temperature left us behind the eight ball trying to find a fast setup. We were really in a tough spot because the drivers didn’t really have much bad to say about how the car felt we just were putting up the numbers that we needed. We kept trying different things and as luck would have it we fumbled onto a working combination, but it wasn’t until the race that we were able to find it. While it’s good that we found what we are looking for it is never a good feeling going into the race unsure of what times the car is capable of.

John Olsen did an absolutely fantastic time behind the wheel and managed to quickly navigate his way up through traffic. We were given a drive through penalty that I really didn’t agree with but regardless John was able to quickly recover any spots that were lost and had the car running as high as seventh position. I really took a gamble and didn’t pit at lap 27 when the caution came out. I knew our only chance to win this thing was to do so on one stop and that gave us a window of about 5 laps that we would need another caution to fall within. I had us running out of fuel at lap 49 by my math and told John to stay out until it started to stumble. At lap 50 we got the caution we were looking for and pitted for a driver change, fresh tires, and a full load of fuel. We got Ian into the car and back out in 16 th position. This was really a good place to be because nearly all of the cars in front were going to need to pit again for fuel.

I realized that there was an incoming storm and rain was eminent, so before Ian completed his second lap I called him back in. I felt that if we could get the rain tires on before this caution ended we could potentially avoid having to pit under green for rain tires. We got him in, rain tires on, and sent him back out and only dropped three spots. We were the only car on the lead lap with rain tires and a full tank of fuel. It seemed like our luck had finally turned and we were on our way to that podium finish we have been chasing for so long. Unfortunately, three laps later the race was called due to lightning.

I can’t say that this is the way that I like to race, but I am pleased with how the team handled the adversity we were faced with. This is a very hard working group and if we keep placing ourselves in a position to win, we are destined to do just that.

October 23, 2006, Cincinnati, OH

Champion Motorsports operations director Rick Reynolds and MD Motorsports founders Ken Bjonnes and Brandon Alsept are pleased to announce the acquisition of ModularDepot.com as well as the assets and staff of MD Motorsports.

This merger will relocate the operations of Modular Depot to the 15,000 Sq. Ft. facility currently used as a bodyshop by Champion Dealer Group at 2350 Alexandria Pike Southgate, Kentucky.

Rick Reynolds made the following comments on the move: “We are really excited to bring Ken, Brandon, and Matt into the Champion group. We have a lot of plans for the Southgate location and these guys are a big part of it. Our goal is to maintain their focus on the Modular Ford market and combine that with a retail store front as well as the services of our existing body shop and racing fabrication groups. The combined services will provide local customers with a one-stop shop for all of their racing and performance needs. Today Champion's performance business is largely internet based and we plan to significantly expand that offering as well.”

“I'm very excited about this new venture. Rick has a long history with racing Mustangs, both drag racing and road racing. I feel the new facility combined with a greatly expanded parts catalog and the staff to support our mail order and internet sales will take Modular Depot to the next level and beyond.” said Ken Bjonnes, MD Motorsports founder.

Modular Depot will resume scheduling of dyno and performance services on Monday Nov. 13th from the new location. The existing phone number (513-554- 1777) will remain active but will have limited live operators until full operations resume on Nov. 13th.

Background: MD Motorsports was founded in 2004 by Ken Bjonnes and Brandon Alsept. MD quickly became nationally recognized for cutting edge performance in Mustang and Ford Performance with a concentration on the Modular engine platform. MD holds some major records and milestones in Modular Mustang drag racing and is a premiere national tuning facility.

Champion Motorsports was founded by Bradley Lehmann, CEO of Champion Dealer Group and Lehmann Management. Rick Reynolds was appointed to Director of Operations for Champion Motorsports in June, 2005. Rick raced professionally from 2001 – 2004 in the Pro 5.0 class of the Fun Ford Weekend circuit, then switched over to professional sports car racing in 2005 and has managed the Champion Motorsports Grand American efforts since. Prior to his employment at Champion Dealer Group, Rick served as a Program Manager for Hewlett Packard as well as Procter & Gamble. Multi-time NASA American Iron regional champion Greg Brown joined the Champion group in July 2006 and will remain a key resource moving forward.