Racing Lines: Three winners in four races as Club Racing runs at Watkins Glen

The Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing series returned to New York’s Watkins Glen in May where more than 40 racers contested an enduro and three sprints in a Genesee Valley Chapter event. Frank McGleneghen won the enduro in his M2 Spec F87 M2 CSR, Steve Barnett won the first two sprints in his B-Modified F82 M4, and Robert Chang won the final sprint in his C-Modified E46 M3.

Racing was intense up and down the field. McGleneghen won the Friday enduro ahead of EXB Porsche racer Richard DeAsis and third-place finisher Emrich Stellar, who scored a class win in the nine-car PWR3 field in his E36 M3. Matthew Poth was the next class winner in the finishing order, coming in sixth overall and taking B-Modified in his E90 335d, the only diesel in BMW CCA Club Racing. Poth, proprietor of eMpower Automotive in New Jersey, rescued the car from a junkyard and turned it into a 500-horsepower, 750-pound-feet-of-torque monster that is very competitive in B-Mod and gets extra high fuel mileage to boot.

Aiden Baker Crouse won the eleven-car strong Spec E46 group in his 330Ci, beginning what would be a sweep of the highly competitive class. Just behind him was Job Nieman, who won I-Prepared in his E36 M3. Adrian Popescu (E30 M3) won C-Modified, Bill Mellott (E36 M3) won I-Sport, Mirril McMullen (E36 325is) took a solo win in PWR2, and Ryan White (E46 M3) won PWR4. Many racers ran only part of the enduro, using the race to get track time and set up their cars for the rest of the weekend.

On Saturday morning, the B and C-Mod cars that had either held back in the enduro or sat it out came to the fore. Robert Barnett (B-Mod F82 M4) took the overall win ahead of C-Mod winner Kirk Olsen, who dominated the class in his E36 M3. The two battled throughout the race. White and Sri Haputantri (E36 M3) finished first and second in PWR4, crossing the line just behind Barnett and Olsen. McGleneghen, fifth overall, won again in M2 Spec; he had held off White and Haputantri until his tires started to go away late in the race. Sean Dwyer (E46 M3) won PWR4, finishing just ahead of EXB repeat winner DeAsis.

David Woodward, who had exited the enduro with a wiring problem, returned to win I-Prepared in his E36 M3. Baker Crouse repeated in Spec E46, Greg Martin (E36 M3) won I-Sport, and McMullen won PWR2. An incident near the end of the race brought out a caution flag; the race was shortened, and finished under yellow.

Racers were watching the skies in advance of the Saturday-afternoon feature sprint. Those who went with wet-weather tires guessed wrong, while those who chose slicks had to do a delicate dance when the rain came out near the end of the event. Barnett and Olsen battled at the front of the pack until C-Mod racer Robert Chang passed Olsen at around the halfway point in the race; Chang, returning to the Glen for the first time in thirteen years, was running on a rookie license. At the finish the order was Barnett, Chang, and Olsen.

Haputantri and White battled throughout, swapping positions in the rain on the final lap, with Haputantri taking the class win with a scant 0.054-second margin over White. PWR3 winner Dwyer was next, finishing just ahead of M2 Spec winner Michael Kerner, whose choice of slicks gave him the edge over McGleneghen’s intermediate treaded tires. Just behind Kerner were the dueling second- and third-place PWR3 cars of Ron Hougham (E46 M3) and Emrich Stellar. Hougham, who had flat-spotted his tires in the enduro, was running competitively thanks to Stellar, who supplied him with a fresh set of rubber. Woodward won again in I-Prepared, Porsche Cayman racer Justin Dexter took EXB, and Baker Crouse scored his third win in Spec E46 with Jesse Clark (330Ci) and Ben Hostetler (330i) close behind. Mellott won again in I-Sport and Yakov Bielak (E46 328i) won PWR2.

While a number of racers exited before the Sunday sprint race, those who remained enjoyed a crisp, dry day on a fast track. Chang took the overall and C-Mod wins, with M2 Spec winner Kerner second and PWR4 racer Haputantri third. Dwyer won PWR3 with a fourth-place finish, coming home just ahead of class competitors Stellar and Greg Miceli (E36 M3). Job Nieman won I-Prepared, Baker Crouse completed his sweep of Spec E46, Mellot won I-Sport, Bielak won PWR2, and Dexter repeated in EXB.

Kevin Van Valkenburgh of the Little Speed Shop, longtime-supporter of the Genesee Valley Chapter and supplier of the M4 pace car for the Watkins Glen race, was recognized with the Spirit of Club Racing award.

Martin Bullen and Bruce Heersink served as competition stewards, Tim Bradford and Warren Brown served as tech stewards, and Roland Nieves served as the timing-and-scoring steward,

Thanks to the Watkins Glen club racers and officials who supplied information for this report; it could not have been written without their stories and insights!—Brian Morgan, Roundel motorsports editor, with input from racers

Lead photo of Spec E46 start by Susan Dobson

Tags: Club Racing Watkins Glen