Pro Drive Hosts Regional SCCA Races as Championship Points Battles Tighten



The Pro Drive Regional Races led off Portland's Independence Day holiday this weekend with a series of 12 regional championship races at Portland International Raceway. This is the fifth of six event weekends comprising the 2007 Oregon Region SCCA Road Racing Championship presented by Fluge Global Adventures.

Sanctioned by the Oregon Region of the Sports Car Club of America, nearly 150 race drivers will compete in eight Regional Championship race groups on the 1.967-mile road course in North Portland. Race cars range from purpose-built sports racers and open-wheel formula cars, to GT, sedan and vintage car classifications.

Formula Mazda is a closely contested class, as these open wheel, rear engine race cars have drivers Matt Kurdock, Melvin Kemper Jr., Lucian Pancea, Sean Mataya, and Ross Wolf all within 39 points of each other. In GT2, Jim Walsh narrowly leads Jay Audia, James Yozamp and Mark Powell. Nick Fluge has a commanding lead in the ITE class after his convincing win in the recent Festival Trophy Race at the 47th Annual Rose Cup races at PIR.

Qualifying for the race classes begins Saturday at 1:15 p.m. and concludes at 4:15 p.m. Sprint racing starts Sunday at 9 a.m. with feature racing beginning at 1:00 p.m. General Admission, seating and parking are free for the weekend, courtesy the Pro Drive Racing School.

Saturday's festivities are capped off by a rally run at 4:45 p.m. as part of the Oregon Region SCCA's Rally Against Parkinson's presented by Fluge Global Adventures.

Portland International Raceway is owned and operated by the City of Portland through its bureau of Parks and Recreation. The raceway is operated as an Enterprise Fund, meaning that its operating expenses and capital improvements are covered by the revenues that it generates, as Portland International Raceway receives no general fund tax dollars. The raceway's varied, year round activities contributes over $45 million and 690 jobs to the surrounding community each year.

Individual event sponsors all hail from the Portland metropolitan area, including Monte Shelton Jaguar, Temp-Control Mechanical Corp., Gran Prix Imports, Pro Drive Racing School, Brewer Construction and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

About Pro Drive

The Pro Drive Driving School is the official driving school of Portland International Raceway. It was founded in 1987 to provide advanced driver training using modern teaching methods and technology. Over nearly 20 years, the Pro Drive Driving School has offered a variety of driving programs dedicated to building a drivers confidence and skill whether it is on the street or the racetrack.

By combining a full fledged racing school with high performance driving courses, SkidCar courses and corporate events, Pro Drive has become the premier driver training destination in the Pacific Northwest. Pro Drive is passionate about driving and dedicated to training and entertaining everyone who loves to drive.

Todd Harris, winner of this month's 47th Annual Rose Cup trophy, is the president of Pro Drive, Inc., and has been competing in a variety of motor racing events throughout North America over the past 15 years. Pro Drive's Web site is at http://www.prodrive.net and may also be reached at 1.866.511.8014.

2007 Race Calendar

March 4

Fluge Global Adventures Regional Races

April 21-22

Monte Shelton Jaguar Regional Races presented by Fluge Global Adventures

May 11-13

Gran Prix Imports National and Regional Races presented by Fluge Global Adventures

June 1-3

40th Annual Rose Cup Races Presented by Temp-Control Mechanical Corp.

June 30- July 1

Pro Drive Regional Races presented by Fluge Global Adventures

August 25-26

Enterprise Rent-a-Car Regional Races presented by Fluge Global Adventures

About Fluge Global Adventures

Fluge Global Adventures consists of a series of events and adventures sure to please anyone wishing to rekindle their relationship with adrenaline and excitement. These include a 19,000 foot summit run at Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, a cross country road race in The Cannonball Run 2007, a very serious hike to Base Camp at Mt. Everest in Nepal, a full scale onslaught on the World Series of Poker, and High Octane Adventures in the SCCA behind the wheel of full-on Super cars. These are just some of the events already in progress for 2007 with more to come. Their Web site can be found at www.flugeadventures.com.

About Oregon Region SCCA

The Oregon Region of the SCCA was established in the 1960's and has grown to its present membership of over 1,200 members. The Region obtained its charter from SCCA in 1962. It is a member oriented, member operated club with the primary purpose of "promoting, maintaining and improving automobile sports and interest in the ownership, operation of, and safety of sports cars."

The roots of SCCA and Oregon Region run deep in racing history. The origin of SCCA can be traced back to the pre-World War II "Auto Racing Club of America" which disbanded because of World War II. Originally, the State of Oregon was included in the territory of Northwest Region, SCCA (NWR), and it remained that way until the official creation of Oregon Region in 1962.

From its beginning, Oregon Region SCCA has been organizing and administering sports car/club racing events at Newport, Goshen (South of Eugene) and Portland's West Delta Park (now Portland International Raceway - PIR). The Region's first race was held at the Newport municipal airport (an ex-WWII air base) in 1962.

Currently, Oregon Region has active programs in Club Racing, Vintage Racing, Road Rally, Rallycross, and in Solo II - SCCA's autocross program where competitors compete against the clock in a controlled atmosphere. The Oregon region also provides workers and officials to major professional international racing competitions here in Oregon and across North America. Their Web site is www.oregonscca.com and may also be reached at 503.224.9469.





Pro Drive Hosts Regional SCCA Races as Championship Points Battles Tighten