“Rookies to Racers” is an exciting new mini-series documenting the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. You can check out the series premier Saturday, April 2nd at 7pm on the Discovery Channel and Thurday, April 7th at 8pm on the Science Channel!

- Jake Thompson

Testing is tomorrow, with qualifying on Friday, and the 13hrs starts Saturday morning at 9am. Stay tuned for more updates and hopefully some onboard videos.

It has been an up and down year for me, as it always is with spec racing. In these type of situations, a certain amount always comes down to luck, and this year wasn’t my year. I think I can walk away with my head held high though, as I am proud of the way I drove. Last year as a rookie, I was fortunate enough to be in a number of fast cars and almost always fighting for the win, but I made a number of mistakes throwing away good finishes. This year I didn’t seem to have the same luck, and I felt like I hardly ever had the chance to fight for the win, but on numerous occasions I was able to get solid finishes in cars I couldn’t even qualify in the top 10. I finished every race except for the blown tire in Race 1, and I think got the most out of myself at almost every event, so really there’s not much more I could ask for. I had a lot of fun and made a number of good friends so all in all it was a great year.

A huge congratulations to my friend JD Mobley on winning the championship as well as Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle and Wyatt Gooden (top rookie) on finishing 2nd and 3rd. I had singled JD out as one of my toughest competitors at the start of the year, and he drove a fantastic championship never putting a wheel wrong. His dominant performance here in Mexico really showed that he deserved this championship.

I want to say one last big thank you to all of the incredible techs from Volkswagen. They have worked so hard for me over the last couple years and none of this could happen without them. I also want to thank my fellow drivers, the good people at radical media, and everyone else who made this year so fun. Also thanks to everyone who has supported me from back home.

I have no idea what’s next for me in the racing world, but as soon as I have a plan I will be sure to let everyone know!

Cheers

Jake Thompson

The race was scheduled for 1:25 and for the first time in my career I was hoping for rain. Usually rain isn’t my thing, but I knew I didnt have near enough speed in the dry so I was ready to take my chances. Just before we went out it started raining lightly, not enough for rain tires, but definitely enough to make the track pretty slick. My start wasn’t very good as my car didn’t seem to pull off the line, but I managed to fight off a few people and hold my 11th position after the first corner. The first few laps were wild with the rain and everyone fighting for position, and I was able to make a bunch of smart decisions and actually move up into 5th position. For a while I had pretty good pace, but as the track dried I simply ran out of speed. Luckily I focused really hard on getting good exits, and was able to keep my position until the end. In many ways it was a good finish, as I am now only 19 points out of the championship, but realistically I need a win tomorrow, and starting from 11th, not to mention being down on outright speed, it seems like a big hill to climb. Who knows, maybe a big storm will blow through tomorrow and I might have the chance to do something in the rain.

One big positive for the day was I finished 17 laps, and raised $1088 for Right To Play. With one day left we should be able to get over $12,000 for the season. Amazing! Thanks to everyone for their support! Also a big thanks to everyone at VW, and VW Mexico who are hosting an incredible event down here. Everything is really top notch at the track.

Cheers,

Jake

PUEBLA, Mexico (September 24, 2010) – The 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup season is winding down and action for the final race weekend began today at Autódromo Internacional Miguel E. Abed in Amozoc, Mexico.  Amozoc is located just east of the city of Puebla, home of the Volkswagen production facility where the Jetta TDI Cup racecars were fabricated. This afternoon, series veteran JD Mobley earned his first career Jetta TDI Cup pole this afternoon after turning a lap of 1:49.338.   Mobley became the eighth different driver to earn a pole in the season’s nine events run to date and tomorrow, he will look to be the fourth driver to win from the pole in 2010.

“All I can say is what a day,” said Mobley after qualifying.  “I came to Puebla this weekend knowing that I had to give it my all.  I couldn’t leave anything on the table and to have qualified in P1 is awesome.  This is my first career Jetta TDI Cup pole and I couldn’t be more excited.”

Less than half a second behind Mobley was Juan Pablo Delgado (recording a lap of 1:49.769) and rookie Wyatt Gooden rounded out the top three with a lap of 1:49.932. Ryan Ellis, who earned back-to-back wins in Rounds 1 & 2 qualified fourth after a lap of 1:49.999 and rookie Kevin Gleason rounds out the top-five with a lap of 1:50.037.  Series points leader, Jarvis Gennari qualified 15th after a lap of 1:50.785.

On-track activity continues tomorrow with qualifying for Round 10 beginning at 9:00 am CT and Round 9 of the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup takes place tomorrow afternoon when the green flag drops at

1:25 pm CT.

Jetta TDI Cup News & Notes:

Local Knowledge

While the majority of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup drivers took their first laps at Autódromo Internacional Miguel E. Abed today, there are two drivers who have competed here before.  Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle is from the town of Puebla, where the track is located, and has competed here several times over the past few years.  In addition, Juan Pablo Delgado grew up just an hour away from the track in Orizaba, Mexico.  Delgado competed here twice in 2009 in two endurance races behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Jetta.  While the car was similar to the Jetta TDI Cup car he’s in command of this weekend, the one major difference was that the car featured street tires, rather than the Pirelli race tires used this weekend.

It looks like their experience paid off as Delgado qualified second for Round 9 tomorrow afternoon and Sierra Lendle recorded the seventh quickest time.  Will these local drivers be able to maintain an edge over the competition this weekend?  Only time will tell.

Trio of Guest Drivers Compete in Puebla

The 25-car field of drivers in the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup drivers aren’t the only ones that will be taking the track in Rounds 9 & 10 this weekend.  The Series regulars will be joined at Autódromo Internacional Miguel E. Abed by three guest drivers, all who come from a competitive racing background.

Mexico native, Leslie Gonzalez began her career racing go-karts and has experience racing in Formula 3 and the Clio Cup as well.  In addition, Gonzalez serves as a Volkswagen Mexico factory driver having competed in two endurance races last season; one three hour event and one six hour race.  The second guest driver, Fernando Acosta, is also a Volkswagen Mexico factory driver.  Last year, Acosta won the 24 Hours of Mexico behind the wheel of a Volkswagen.  Acosta was also the Formula A Champion in 2006 and in 2007, he drove in Formula Vee under the Volkswagen Motorsport banner.  The third guest driver, Daniel Domit, is also a native of Mexico, but has spent the past year in England competing in the British Formula Ford Series, where he earned two wins and six podium results in ten appearances this season.

Domit led the trio of guest drivers this afternoon as he qualified 16th.  Gonzalez will begin tomorrow’s race in 18th and Acosta will start 23rd.

Follow the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series action on:

www.vwmotorsportusa.com

Volkswagen Online Newsroom: media.vw.com

Live Timing & Scoring: http://livetiming.net/scca/VW

Live Timing & Scoring for your Mobile Device: http://livetiming.net/SCCA/VW/html.asp

Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/JettaTDICup

Twitter: http://twitter.com/VWJettaTDICup

About the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup

The SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup was launched in 2008 as way to introduce clean diesel technology to the U.S. market and develop the best of motorsport’s up-and-coming talent. During the season, young, up and coming drivers (between ages 16-26) compete on road courses around North America in identical factory-prepared clean diesel powered Jetta TDI’s. Each driver competing in the Series earns a professional racing license from SCCA Pro Racing at the conclusion of the season. In addition to more than $50,000 in prize money at stake during the season, the Series Champion receives Volkswagen factory career advancement support with a value up to $100,000.   The Jetta TDI Cup car is powered by a 2.0-liter, 170 hp, four-cylinder TDI clean diesel engine mated to a six-speed, double-clutch, automatic DSG transmission. The car is only slightly modified from stock with Pirelli racing tires, an on-board Race Data system, race suspension and brake components, drivers racing safety seat, FIA roll cage and an on-board fire extinguisher system.  Series sponsors include: Pirelli, Bosch, ViON, Castrol, Oakley, Red Bull, Staubli, Aggreko, defNder, Lamin-X, Volkswagen Driver Gear, Volkswagen Parts & Service, iRacing, Safety-Kleen and Ringer Gloves.

About Volkswagen of America

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Golf, GTI, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Eos, Passat, Passat Wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2010 Volkswagens come standard-equipped with Electronic Stabilization Program. This is important because the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America online at www.vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.

About SCCA Pro Racing:

A wholly owned subsidiary of Sports Car Club of America, Inc., SCCA Pro Racing Inc. is a leading sanctioning body for motorsports events in the United States. A member of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS), SCCA Pro Racing operates and sanctions the World Challenge Championships, the SCCA Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, SCCA Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, SCCA Pro Trans-Am Series, Spec Racer Ford Pro Series and Formula Enterprises Pro Series. For more information, please visit www.sccapro.com.

Once in the track I put my new hood graphics on the car for the weekend featuring the names of everyone who pitched in to help raise over $10,000 for Right To Play this year.  Thanks to everyone who made this happen, and I think the car looks awesome. After that my Dad and I went for a track walk. It is a roval, meaning a road course inside an oval, however in this case we run most of the oval as well, with the track diving to the infield for the twistier sections. I took lots of pictures which I will try to add to the bottom of this post  if my internet here ever starts behaving better.

Finally the day finished up with 5 of us drivers (AJ Nealey, Michael Hogg, Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle, Juan Pablo Delgado and myself) going to a local mall for an autograph session. Now I have done a few of these before, but nothing like this. It was pandemonium! I signed at least 300 autographs, and people were waiting over an hour in line just to meet us. Crazy! The line went out the door into the parking lot and had to be controlled by security. I have never felt so important. It was cool though, all the fans got t-shirts, and free race tickets so Im starting to believe there might actually be 40,000 come Sunday.

Anyway, bedtime now, but I will check in again tomorrow after Qualifying!

Autodromo AMOZOC (click for wikipedia page)

Of course the elephant in the room is the championship battle. There are still 6 of us with a good chance of the title and the points stack up as follows: 1. Jarvis Gennari (267) 2. Wyatt Gooden (246) 3. Jake Thompson (242) 4. Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle (234) 5. JD Mobley (223) 6. Arie Ouimet (220). As you can see I have 25 points to make up, but with 120 still available it is definitely achievable. In fact, it is basically anyone’s game, because it will likely take a pair of wins, or at least a win and another podium, just to beat all of the other guys still in contention, and because you get so many points for a win, it actually makes Jarvis’ advantage pretty small. I’m predicting right now, that whoever has the best weekend out of the 6 of us left in the title fight, will walk away the 2010 TDI Cup Champion.

I will have some help with me this weekend, as my #19 car is going to be sporting the names of many of my family and closest friends. Racing for the Right To Play has been a huge success, with over 20 different people contributing to the program, each of whom will have their name on the race car this weekend. All told we have already raised over $10,000 for Right To Play, with the potential to raise a few thousand more this weekend. I have the decals for the car already printed and it is going to look awesome, so I can’t wait to get a photo up here on Thursday night.

Photoshop mock-up with all of our Right To Play supporters on the hood!

Racing in Mexico is going to be very cool as Volkswagen Mexico is really rolling out the proverbial red carpet for us. The AMOZOC race track is located just minutes from the VW factory where all of the Jetta’s in North America are made. We have a factory tour scheduled for during the weekend, which will be very cool, and a black tie banquet at the end of the races Sunday. Not only that, but free tickets have been given out to all of the employees of the plant, so they are expecting up to 40,000 screaming fans. As you can see from the schedule below we are the feature show (with Mex. Porsche SuperCup, and another series as the undercard), so it will be awesome to finally be racing in the middle of the day instead of early morning, or in the evening.

All in all I am super excited, so make sure to check back all weekend. I will do my best to have a report and photo’s up every night, and will be updating my twitter account (twitter.com/jakethompson19) from the track (cell phone service permitting). The full Volkswagen preview is below, as well as weekend schedule and a link to live timing.

SCHEDULE

Practice: Friday September 24th, 2010 – 9:50AM (CST)

Qualifying 1: Friday September 24th, 2010 – 1:20PM (CST)

Qualifying 2: Saturday September 25th, 2010 – 9:00AM (CST)

Race 1: Saturday September 25th, 2010 – 1:25PM (CST)

Race 2: Sunday September 26th, 2010 – 1:25PM (CST)

http://livetiming.net/scca/VW

All Times Central

Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Prepares for
2010 Season Finale in Mexico
–
Championship Comes Down to Final Two Races

Race Information

2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup – Rounds 9 & 10
Circuit: Puebla, Mexico – Autódromo Internacional Miguel E. Abed (16 turns, 2.09 miles)
Date/Time: Practice – Friday, September 24th at 9:50 am CT
Qualifying – Session 1 – Friday, September 24th at 1:20 pm CT
Session 2 – Saturday, September 25th at 9:00 am CT
Races –  Round 7 – Saturday, September 25th at 1:25 pm CT
Round 8 – Sunday, September 26th at 1:25 pm CT
Race Length: 30 minutes

About the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup

The SCCA Pro Racing Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup was launched in 2008 as way to introduce clean diesel technology to the U.S. market and develop the best of motorsport’s up-and-coming talent. During the season, young, up and coming drivers (between ages 16-26) compete on road courses around North America in identical factory-prepared clean diesel powered Jetta TDI’s. Each driver competing in the Series earns a professional racing license from SCCA Pro Racing at the conclusion of the season. In addition to more than $50,000 in prize money at stake during the season, the Series Champion receives Volkswagen factory career advancement support with a value up to $100,000.

The Jetta TDI Cup car is powered by a 2.0-liter, 170 hp, four-cylinder TDI clean diesel engine mated to a six-speed, double-clutch, automatic DSG transmission. The car is only slightly modified from stock with Pirelli racing tires, an on-board Race Data system, race suspension and brake components, drivers racing safety seat, FIA roll cage and an on-board fire extinguisher system.  Series sponsors include: Pirelli, Bosch, ViON, Castrol, Oakley, Red Bull, Staubli, Aggreko, defNder, Lamin-X, Volkswagen Driver Gear, Volkswagen Parts & Service, iRacing, Safety-Kleen and Ringer Gloves.

What sets the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup apart from other racing series?

·     The Series is the only clean diesel racing series in the United States, and Volkswagen is the only auto manufacturer participating in motorsports full time with diesel powered cars in North America.
·     The TDI engine technology improves fuel economy over gasoline engines and reduces sooty emissions by 95 percent, even under demanding race conditions. The Series will consume approximately two tanks of fuel during its ten races this season.
·     The Jetta TDI Cup features a vehicle similar to what consumers can buy at their local Volkswagen dealerships.
·     Cars are maintained by Volkswagen of America, which creates a level playing field for all drivers.

News & Notes:

Volkswagen Motorsports Manager, Campbell, on the 2010 Season

“We’ve had an impressive season thus far and I think the final two rounds will prove to be an exciting conclusion to a successful year,” said Clark Campbell, Motorsports Manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “We have rookies sitting in first and second in the Championship hunt and we have at least six drivers overall with a real shot at winning the Series title.  This year, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup has seen closer competition than ever before and our goal of developing young, up-and-coming talent is certainly coming to fruition. All of the racecars used this season were produced at the Volkswagen factory in Puebla, so it’s definitely fitting that the city will host the Jetta TDI Cup’s debut in Mexico. I’m looking forward to seeing how the points battle will play out and I can’t think of a more ideal venue to host the finale, as it will provide a great way to highlight the Series, as well as the benefits of clean diesel technology.”

Racecars Return Home

Autódromo Internacional Miguel E. Abed is located in the town of Amozoc, less than 20 miles east of the city of Puebla, Mexico. The circuit opened in 2005 and has become one of Mexico’s premier racing facilities. Autódromo Internacional Miguel E. Abed houses a road course as well as a 1.25-mile oval.

In addition, Puebla is home to the Volkswagen factory at which the racecars competing in the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series are produced.  The 14,000-employee plant, one of 62 Volkswagen facilities in the world, serves as the sole supplier to the United States for different Volkswagen models including the New Beetle, New Beetle Convertible, and the All New 2011Jetta.  Since opening its doors in 1964, the Puebla the facility has produced nearly 8 million vehicles.

Inaugural Event in Puebla

Next weekend, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup will be making its inaugural visit to Autódromo Internacional Miguel E. Abed, marking the first time in 2010 that the Series will visit a track at which it has not previously competed.  Needless to say, it will be a learning experience for all of the drivers as the Series veterans will not have the advantage of past track experience. Talk with some of the drivers, both veterans and rookies, to see how they approach an unfamiliar track and what their game plan will be throughout the weekend.

Down to the Wire

There are just two races left in the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup and rest assured, the title will come down to the final lap next weekend.  Series rookie, Jarvis Gennari, heads to Mexico as the current points leader (267 points) after earning back-to-back wins in Rounds Seven & Eight three weeks ago at Road America.  Just behind him with 246 points is another rookie, Wyatt Gooden, who led the standings after Round Six. Jake Thompson sits in third, with 242 points and Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle is in fourth place with 234 points.  After leading the Championship after Rounds Three through Five, Sierra Lendle has dropped back in the points battle, but with one win and three top-five finishes under his belt this season, he’s definitely not out of the running.  JD Mobley and rookie Arie Ouimet are fifth and sixth in the Championship with 223 and 220 points respectively, and with 60 points available for a win; they could be right back in it as the season draws to a close.  With six drivers within 50 points of the points lead, it’s anyone’s guess who will walk away with the title next Sunday.

Virginia Tech students earn their racing stripes with the Jetta TDI Cup

There’s no better experience than on-the-job training, which is why nearly 20 engineering students from Virginia Tech University are taking part in the 2010 Jetta TDI Cup season. The Volkswagen Motorsports Jetta TDI Cup program allows Virginia Tech students interested in pursuing a career in motorsports an opportunity to experience it first-hand. The students provide technical support at Volkswagen’s race shop at VIR and on the road at the Series’ ten race events. During the season, up to fifteen students will travel to each race and work alongside the Series technicians getting hands-on experience with every aspect of motorsports from changing tires to downloading data.

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup program is an ideal way for students interested in a career in motorsports to learn about the industry and it provides them with the advantage of real-world experience before they enter the workplace.

Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Point Standings (Through Eight Rounds)

Driver Points
1.   Jarvis Gennari (R)   267
2.   Wyatt Gooden (R)   246
3.   Jake Thompson   242
4.   Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle   234
5.   JD Mobley   223
6.   Arie Ouimet (R)   220
7.   Kevin Gleason (R)   188
8.   Ryan Ellis   176
9.   AJ Nealey   157
10.  Taylor Broekemeier   129
11.  Chris Wehrheim   123
12.  Michael Hogg (R)   118
13.  Nate Norenberg (R)      115
14.  JJ Tomlinson (R)      115
15.  Andrew Cordeiro      96
16.  Juan Pablo Delgado     81
17.  Rafael Navarro IV (R)   81
18.  Andrew Novich     68
19.  Mike Mineo-Nardacci (R)   54
20.  Brian Whitmire (R)     51
21. Taylor Tzouanakis (R)   50
22.  Colin Thompson (R)   47
23.  AJ Severino (R)            21
24.  Jenna Wagner (R)       8
25.  Justine Jackson (R)       6

Follow the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series action on:
www.vwmotorsportusa.com
Volkswagen Online Newsroom: media.vw.com
Live Timing & Scoring: http://livetiming.net/scca/VW
Live Timing & Scoring for your Mobile Device: http://livetiming.net/SCCA/VW/html.asp
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/JettaTDICup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/VWJettaTDICup

About Volkswagen of America:

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Golf, GTI, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Eos, Passat, Passat Wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2010 Volkswagens come standard-equipped with Electronic Stabilization Program. This is important because the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America online at www.vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.

About SCCA Pro Racing:

A wholly owned subsidiary of Sports Car Club of America, Inc., SCCA Pro Racing Inc. is a leading sanctioning body for motorsports events in the United States. A member of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS), SCCA Pro Racing operates and sanctions the World Challenge Championships, the SCCA Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, SCCA Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, SCCA Pro Trans-Am Series, Spec Racer Ford Pro Series and Formula Enterprises Pro Series. For more information, please visit www.sccapro.com.

Sure there were cars on track, but the real action took place inside the casino

It all started in early February, as 50 or so hopefuls descended on Sin City in Las Vegas for Driver Selection. From the outset it was clear that 3 drivers were a cut above on this particular weekend, namely Andrew Cordeiro, AJ Nealey, and Jake Thompson. Sure there were other drivers competing as well, and they put forth a modest effort, but no one else showed these guy’s dedication towards being at the tables gambling during every single spare moment. Without fail, you could find Cordeiro sitting at the Roulette table, steadily building on his mountain of chips, while a few feet away Nealey and Thompson rode the emotional roller coaster that is craps. In the end, Cordeiro dominated like it was a rain race, taking the win and huge windfall home to Canada. Thompson was able to snatch second away from Nealey at the last possible moment, as he stopped by the table for one last roll of the dice, literally while walking out the door to catch a cab home. AJ was still an impressive 3rd considering it was his rookie gambling outing.

Cordeiro: Rain master, Casino King, Fitness god

Two months later, the TDI Cup circus kicked the season off at it’s home track, Virginia International Raceway. 9 Veterans and 16 Rookies, descended upon the 3.2 mile circuit ready to compete for diesel sedan supremacy. The veterans definitely came to play, sweeping the top 6 in qualifying for both races, and locking out the podium each day as well. Ryan Ellis would take both wins, with Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle grabbing a pair of seconds. AJ Nealey, would thrill the thousands that make up his considerable fan club with a 3rd on Saturday, while Jake Thompson would grab the final podium spot on Sunday.

The season gets underway at VIR

A couple weeks later the series would be back in action, this time at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The series vets arrived with a significant swagger after their dominant performance at VIR, but that would all come unglued. Collectively the veterans got together and decided for a risky tire strategy, running their old tires from VIR on the rear, to help rotate the notoriously under-steery cars. Brilliant this was not, as Broekemeier, Ellis, Nealey, Thompson, Cordeiro, Novich and Mobley would qualify 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 20th and 24th, as the VIR tires left the cars feeling like the rear end was on ice. The two Juan Pablo’s from Mexico would make a smarter tire choice and be left alone at the front of the field to fend off a hungry pack of rabid rookies. Sierra Lendle would grab the win from Arie Ouimet and Chris Wehrheim, while the rest of the vets were left shaking their heads at a missed opportunity to gain some points on the rookies early in the year.

Gooden Pwning Noobz, FTW!

Noteworthy from New Jersey was the 2nd place qualifying effort of “that video game guy” Wyatt Gooden, who had earned his seat by dominating the online world of Iracing. Going into the year most assumed Gooden would be a World of War Craft type, fat, overweight, bad haircut, and pale white skin having been protected from the sun by the confines of his parents basement. They were wrong. Here he was, at the front of the grid in only the 3rd race. But there were whispers that he had been training in Iracing on a “pre-release” version of NJMP that gave him the upper hand. Well then, no worries, Round 4 was at Miller Motorsports Park, which wasn’t on Iracing. Except, he qualified 2nd there too, crap, apparently he actually could drive.

AJ Nealey demonstrates TDI Cup wheel hop of death

At Miller, Gooden would share the front row with veteran Jake Thompson, who was looking to avenge a botched start from pole at the same track a year before. The race would see carnage early, as AJ Nealey spun after suffering the dreaded “TDI Cup wheel hop of death” and was collected by Chris Wehrheim. After a lengthy full course caution, Thompson would hang on for the win, with JD Mobley taking his first podium in 2nd and Gooden grabbing 3rd.

At Mid Ohio the rookies would strike a significant blow to the veterans in qualifying, sweeping the first four spots with Arie Ouimet, Gooden, Kevin Gleason and Jarvis Gennari, all outpacing top veteran JD Mobley in 5th. In the race, Gooden and Ouimet would continue to establish themselves as championship contenders grabbing 1st and 2nd, while Mobley maintained some honor for the beleaguered veterans by grabbing the final podium spot.

Rookies, nerdy as hell, but fast

At the mid point of the season, Sierra Lendle would hold the championship lead, over Ouimet, Thompson, Mobley and Gooden. Heading to Autobahn in Chicago though, the momentum was squarely with Ouimet and Gooden, however it would be another rookie, Kevin Gleason grabbing his first pole in the series during Qualifying. Mobley would continue his championship push in 2nd, with Gooden 3rd. Thompson would hurt his chances in qualifying after a flat tire caused by “TDI Cup wheel hop of death”, with Ouimet and Sierra Lendle down in 13th and 14th. The race would prove wild as Mobley would fall back after contact, and Chris Wehrheim would be undone with a flat tire while racing for the win. Gooden would thrill interwebz racers worldwide with his 2nd straight victory, followed home by the impressive Jarvis Gennari who had charged from 9th to 2nd. Unknown at the time, he was really setting the tone for what was to come in the 2nd half of the season. Gleason would hang on for his first podium in 3rd, while Thompson and Nealey, staged an epic battle for 4th, with Thompson eventually ending up the top Veteran. Once again, the rookies had left their mark, with Gooden jumping all the way to the championship lead.

Don't mess with these guys

With the points race heating up, the series headed to historic Road America for a double header weekend. Dubbed the Talladega of TDI Cup due to it’s long straights and the massive draft effect, the 2009 event at Road America saw 4 caution flags, one car flip over a tire wall and several lead changes. So there was a good chance it would be an exciting weekend. It started out with an early morning practice session (The TDI’s being the perfect car to run at 7:20AM so as to not wake up any campers) on a damp track, in thick fog, with slick tires. Do you know how many cars got wrecked? Zero. This is still the single most amazing thing that has happened all year, even Novich didn’t crash (Just kidding Andrew, you know I got your back). Qualifying for Race 1 would see Chris Wehrheim, fast but massively unlucky all year, grab pole, with Mobley right behind in 2nd. JJ Tomlinson and Rafael Navarro IV would both show impressive speed to grab 3rd and 4th, with Thompson 5th.

Thompson: Veteran Maturity

Qualifying for Race 2, would go at 6:00 in the evening, again in an effort to keep the noise down so the campers could enjoy a quite dinner at the race track. Turns out what would be required for this session was an Arc, as a biblical storm hit about 4 minutes into the session. Tents blew over, rain fell sideways, Jetta’s spun, it was mayhem. The only people struggling harder than the drivers to get back to the pits, were the aforementioned campers, who were clinging to trees in an effort not to get washed into Lake Michigan. As it was, the grid was turned completely upside down, as some drivers got two laps, some only one, and those brave enough to charge full speed on their outlap were rewarded. Gooden grabbed pole, from Gleason, Ellis, Hogg and Wehrheim. The storm was so severe that the Driver’s debrief was canceled, and everyone was spared the wrath of chief instructor Jan Heylen, who had to wait until the follow morning, to calmly explain how stupid you must be to take it easy on our out lap when a storm was approaching. Apparently if your Belgian, when you arrive at the 120mph kink on your first lap and see rain hitting your windshield the obvious thing to do is keep your foot in it.

Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Saturday’s race would include all the action that was expected including a flip from Juan Pablo Delgado Soots (apparently being punished by the karma gods for being too nice of a guy) and the lead changing on almost every lap. Jarvis Gennari would storm from 10th on the grid to take the win, and in 30 minutes managed to immediately throw his hat into the championship ring. Wehrheim ended up 2nd, with Gleason scoring his 2nd straight podium in 3rd. The post race driver’s briefing was a highlight of the season, including the phrase “I just don’t get it” coming from Heylen at least half a dozen times, and easily the best rant in TDI Cup history from the always mild-mannered Sierra Lendle. After verbally unleashing a few months of frustration, he finished with a climactic “I cannot win in this car, period”. It made for outstanding TV, and Heylen summed it up best when he turned to the Documentary Crew and muttered “well that was good for you guys”.

Heylen: "This corner is easy flat"

As a completely side note, “I just don’t get it” is pretty much a catch phrase now for head instructor Jan Heylen. During the season the phrase has been used to reference: Bad driving lines, contact between cars, passing under yellow, not using data acquisition, running close together in qualifying, blocking, failure to use launch control, all inquiries about sport mode, braking points, lack of preparation, fitness, and showing up late to meetings. I think the truth is that he is generally bewildered every time the drivers screw up. Not only is it unintentionally hilarious, but it helps get the point across, as his incredulous response to any of the things mentioned above, makes the drivers believe that it’s easy to actually do it right, even though bad lines, constant contact, and the failure to hit a braking point might be ingrained in their DNA.

Anyway, back to the season. Heading into round 8, the championship was still completely up in the air between 6 drivers: Gooden, Gennari, Sierra Lendle, Thompson, Ouimet, and Mobley. Gooden was starting on pole with Sierra Lendle back in 22nd and everyone else in between. Gennari was back in 14th, but given his run from 10th to 1st a day earlier, everyone expected him to contend, and he did not disappoint. Gennari would go to the front with ease, scoring his 2nd straight win, letting the action take place behind him. Over the course of 12 laps, the championship contenders were all racing each other, with Thompson ending up 3rd behind Gennari and Wehrheim, Mobley 4th, and Sierra Lendle an amazing 5th from 22nd on the grid. As the dust settled, the points race is the tightest it has ever been heading heading to the final two rounds in Puebla, Mexico. Gennari leads by a slim 21 points over Gooden, with Thompson a further 4 back. Sierra Lendle has to be considered a strong contender as he is only 33 points behind and has the advantage of home track knowledge, while both Mobley and Ouimet are still within 50 points. No matter what, it promises to be an exciting final weekend.

www.righttoplay.ca

The final design for the hood decal that will feature the names of everyone who pledged their support is due in by Friday, September 10^th, so you will need to sign up before then if you want the chance to have your name traveling at over 200km/hr. The pledge form is available online at www.jakethompson.ca/righttoplay.

Through all of the season’s up and downs, I head to the final event 3^rd in points, and still with a great opportunity to win the championship. After two incredible years, Puebla will be my final races in a Jetta TDI Cup car so it promises to be a hard fought and emotional weekend. I am glad that I will have so many of my family, friends, and supporters on the hood of the car, hopefully pushing me to another victory!

I have included a photoshop below of just how awesome the car is going to look like when it hits the track in Mexico! Thanks again to everyone for their amazing support of this program!

- Jake Thompson

About Racing for the Right To Play

For the 2010 Racing Season, Jake Thompson Motorsports has partnered with Right To Play to help raise money and awareness for children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Companies and individuals will have the opportunity to pledge a small donation for every lap Jake completes as part of the 2010 TDI Cup Season. In return for their support, at the final event of the year the #19 car will have the name of every contributor proudly displayed on the hood. To learn more about the program or to follow along with our progress please visit www.jakethompson.ca/righttoplay