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Jun 9, 2010 / reports

C360R TAKES FIRST AND SECOND AT WATKINS GLEN

Historic Track Proves A Charm for Team, Winning Three Races in Last Four Years

Team-mates Lawson Aschenbach and Ryan Eversley, in the #74 and #75 cars respectively, took advantage of a late-race scuffle between the leading cars of Josh Hurley and Jamie Holtom to give Compass360 Racing the top two spots on the Street Tuner podium at last weekend's Continental Tire 150 at Watkins Glen Raceway in upstate New York.

After strong runs from all four of Compass360's starting drivers (David Thilenius in #74, Zach Lutz in #75, Carlos Tesler-Mabe in #76 and Alex Kirby in #77), which saw the team's iconic orange cars leading their pack for much of the first stint, the team's Honda Civics were in a good position to get on the podium.

For the last half hour, Hurley in his VW GTI was in the lead but was being mercilessly hounded by Holtom's Chevy Cobalt. Aschenbach and Eversley were behind in third and fourth, with the team's main championship rival, the BMW of Seth Thomas, slicing its way through the field after a mix-up with pit strategy.It was set to be a grand battle, and the fans weren't disappointed, with the top two causing most of the action. With only a few laps to go, Holtom lost his brakes going into the toe of the boot, spinning Hurley and allowing Aschenbach and Eversley through. Hurley was able to gather his VW up and continue, but the Cobalt was destroyed, bringing out a caution period that would see the race end under yellow, with Compass360's Hondas taking the top two podium positions. It continues a streak of strong results at the track for C360R, which won with their Acura TSXs in 2007 and 2008.The #76 car had another strong result, with closing driver John Kuitwaard bringing the Carmen&Camille-sponsored car across the line in 10th. Greg Liefooghe, Kirby's co-driver in #77, was forced to make an additional pit stop due to a fuel pick-up problem, which meant they finished a disappointing 21st which belie the great drives from both pilots.
The next Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race is at Mid-Ohio on June 18-19.

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Enjoy these photos, courtesy of Michael and Leslie at Sideline Motorsports Photography:A fan snaps a photo of her friend with Alex Kirby (left) and Ryan Eversley.

Ryan talks a little pre-race strategy with co-driver Zach Lutz.

As 2009 Champions and current points leaders, C360R is a busy place during the fan walk!

Team Principal Karl Thomson gets a little face time with the SPEED cameras, wondering out loud how the Bimmerworld guys were able to get their lap back.

Lee Niffenegger, Senior Engineer at Honda Performance Development HPD, chats mid-race with Championship Leader David Thilenius.

Post-race SPEED interview with winners Thilenius and Lawson Aschnbach, with 2nd-place finisher Lutz looking on.