Endurance Race 2018

This was the 4th year for the Kozo Raceway Park SportsCar Endurance Race, and the format was the
same as last year. The teams would race through four rotations on the KRP road course, over 3 hours of racing and totaling over 1100 laps. The entries were down to three teams, versus the four teams of last year.

Returning teams were Drive Fast Take Chances and Team S&S. Both teams were favored to contend for the win last year, but electrical and mechanical problems had Fast in the garage multiple times in 2017. Team S&S would find themselves defending the 2017 overall win. The Intimidatiors would be a new team, established just for this race. Team S&S consists of Sam Barbose, Jr. as team principal and co-drivers Clem O'Jevich and Dave Kennedy, both new to the team for 2017. Drive Fast Take Chances had both Scott Kozokas, principal, and Chric Chubbuck returning with Mike Troy joining. The Intimidators featured Dean Kirkpatrick as principal, Bill Zaremba, and Mark Kornish.

Track conditions were stellar all night, with not much need for tires to be cleaned. S&S would set the pace early as Sam Jr. would complete 97 laps in the first heat, and they never looked back. The Intimidators held on to second place through the first half of the evening, but either fatigue or the car caused them to slow. Fast would fall behind early on, but a rally through the middle of the race found them making laps up on the 2nd place Intimidators. In the last two rotations, Scott would be able to gain a few laps back from S&S as he completed 98 laps in both heats. This would prove to not be enough as the clock reached the final seconds.

In the end, Team S&S would go back-to-back race winners. Fast was able to shake off the mechanical/electrical issues and have a clean race to finish 2nd. The Intimidators faded in the late stages of the race for 3rd place.

1st and 2nd place would both eclipse the 2017 race win laps total of 1113, S&S with 1133 and Fast with 1120. The Intimidators would complete 1101 laps, marking the first time all teams hit the 1100 mark. Fastest lap of the race was set by Clem in the white lane in the night stint at 7.471, just shy of record lap 7.41 set by Sam Jr. in 2016.

Click on the image below to zoom in on the results.

Kozo Raceway Park thanks everyone who participated in the race, including Tom Gunshannon II and Sam Barbose, Sr for marshaling and Dave Kennedy for his photography work.