In August, Robert Chang scored three overall wins at the wheel of his C-Modified BMW E46 M3 in the Delaware Valley Chapter’s Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing event on the Lightning circuit at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Chang has been on a roll since his return to club racing after a long absence, scoring overall wins at Thunderbolt, Roebling Road, and Summit Point, along with a host of C-Modified victories.
Robert Chang swept all three races at Lightning. [Brian Morgan photo]
At Lightning, drivers ran three sprint races on a nice summer weekend, one on Saturday and two more on Sunday. In the first Saturday sprint, Chang led a quartet of C-Mod racers through the race and across the finish line, with Jared Randall (E46 M3), Adrian Popescu (E30 M3), and Kirk Olsen (E36 M3) chasing him. Randall stayed on Chang’s tail much of the way, as he would throughout the race weekend. Popescu finished third and Olsen was fourth, ahead of the first non-C-Mod runner, PWR4 class winner Andrew Palumbo in an E46 M3. I-Prepared winner Chad Waddell finished next in an E36 M3. Vinh Chau, running his E46 M3 in PWR3, won his class with a ninth-overall finish.
Ryan Zmiewski takes to the track at Lightning. [Brian Morgan photo]
Four class winners finished twelfth through fifteenth: Ryan Zmiewski (M240iR-Class F22 M235iR), Nicholas Somma (I-Sport E36 325i), Johannes Nieman (PWR2 E36 325i), and Chris Sullivan, who won the nine-car Spec E46 class in his 330i. Solo wins went to Bob Martin in a K-Prepared E30 325i and Ross Karlin in an E-Modified E21 320i.
The race was punctuated by a full-course caution period to retrieve two cars from the start-finish straight, one that pulled off with a mechanical malady and the other that spun in his own oil and then came to a stop. It was the only time that a full-course yellow flag came out during the weekend.
Chad Waddell swept I-Prepared. [Brian Morgan photo]
The podium on Saturday morning was again an all-C-Mod affair, with Chang winning ahead of Randall and Olsen. PWR4 repeat winner Andrew Palumbo finished fourth ahead of class runner-up David Ellman (in another E46 M3) and I-Prepared repeat winner Chad Waddell. Mike Dellutri (E36 M3) won PWR3, finishing seventh overall.
Mike Denis-Rohr won I-Sport in two sprints. [Brian Morgan photo]
There was a new class winner in PWR2, Besik Menabde in an E46 M3, and another in I-Sport, Mike Denis-Rohr in an E36 M3. David Pan won the Spec E46 battle, finishing just behind Denis-Rohr, while Martin (K-Prepared) and Karlin (E-Mod) reprised their solo class wins and Zmiewski, running alone in class this time, scored a solo win in M240iR. The race was clean and uneventful.
Spec E46 racers started as a separate group at Lightning. [Brian Morgan photo]
Randall started from pole and led briefly at the start of the Saturday-afternoon feature sprint, but Chang assumed the lead and kept it, again finishing ahead of Randall and Olsen. Emrich Stellar, the third PWR3 winner of the weekend, finished fourth overall, just ahead of Chad Waddell, who completed his sweep of I-Prepared. Palumbo pulled off the course with a mechanical problem, leaving PWR4 to David Ellman, who won the class while finishing behind Waddell. PWR3 runner-up Chau finished seventh, ahead of class winners Zmiewski (M240i), Menabde (PWR2), Pan (Spec E46), and Denis-Rohr (I-Sport), all four scoring repat victories. Martin and Karlin scored their third solo wins of the weekend. While there was a mild contact incident near the end of the race, no full-course caution period was called.
David Ellman won PWR4 in the feature sprint. [Brian Morgan photo]
The Delaware Valley Chapter again hosted parents and children from its charity group, B-Positive. They received lunch and track tours. The chapter also ran a new “Taste of the Track” event for chapter members interested in taking a closer look at a driving school/racing event. The Taste of the Track cars met in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, to caravan to the circuit, where they took track tours and enjoyed track rides in a run group with instructors. They also received lunch along with the B-Positive Group and all driving-school participants and racers.
Tim Bradford, flanked by Wayne Dobson and Phil Abrami, won the Spirit of Club Racing award. [Brian Morgan photo]
The BMW CCA Club Racing series recognized sponsor Red Line Oil, who provided merchandise for the racers. The Spirit of Club Racing flag was awarded to tech steward Tim Bradford for his effort and dedication to the series. Phil Abrami served as the competition steward, Bradford and Warren Brown served as tech stewards, Wayne Dobson served as grid steward, and Larry Fletcher and Michael Saul served as timing-and-scoring stewards.—
Brian Morgan, Roundel
motorsports editor
Lead photo of the feature start by Brian Morgan
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