CTSCC // 10 RACE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR 2011

GRAND-AM Road Racing just announced a 10-race schedule for the 2011 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, including returns to two historic facilities, the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California and Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The series' 11th season under GRAND-AM sanction will kick off Jan. 28 at Daytona International Speedway and end the weekend of September 16-17 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. All 10 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge races, scheduled for two-and-a-half hours, will be run on weekends in conjunction with the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. Specific race dates and times will be announced at a later date... [read more]

2011 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge:

Jan. 28
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.

March 4-5
Homestead 200
Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.

April 8-9
Barber 200
Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala.

May 13-14
Bosch Engineering 200 at VIR
Virginia International Raceway, Danville, Va.

May 28
Memorial Day Classic
Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Conn.

June 3-4
Continental Tire 150
Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y.

June 24-25
Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.

July 8-9
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif.

July 23-24
New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, N.J.

Sept. 16-17
EMCO Gears Classic
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio

Photo: Curtis Creager
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

VIDEO // ATTERBURY'S 997 GT3 CUP CAR @ VIR

My good friend Joey Atterbury just sent me some in-car footage from his first lap around Virginia International Raceway in his new Porsche 997 GT3 cup car. And while I'm not sure if this is a fast lap, or a slow one, it appears Atterbury had no trouble sorting out his new race car // [comment]

PREVIEW // CTSCC @ NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK

ColdTrackDays correspondent, Curtis Creager, was at the New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) this weekend for the eighth round of the 2010 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, the Garden State 250. Follow the link for a few photos from Friday's practice session and be sure and stay tuned for additional images and complete results later this week... [read more]













Photo: Curtis Creager
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

VIDEO // ATTERBURY GETS LOOSE @ MID-OHIO

Here is a bit of onboard footage from the #62 Mitchum Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GS.R of Joey Atterbury. As you can see in the video, Atterbury struggled with traction during last months Emco Gears Classic at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he and co-driver Devin Cates finished 35th // [comment]

DRIVER BLOG // JOEY ATTERBURY @ MID-OHIO

After some very encouraging weekends at both rounds 5 & 6 of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge we were headed to Mid-Ohio. Mitchum Motorsports accomplished a lot in the two early races in June; our 8th place finish at Lime Rock Park was the best of the year, and we were running in the top five for the first hour of the race at Watkins Glen before our rear bumper peeled off and we had to stop for repairs. Needless to say we unloaded the trailer in Ohio with high hopes for the weekend... [read more]

GRAND-AM, who is always looking to keep the playing field level, allowed the Camaro’s to drop a bit more weight, down to 3200lbs. The team is constantly working with the officials and this change would certainly help us compete with those M3’s and Mustangs! We had great weather the entire weekend in Ohio, and also had the pleasure of having regular co-driver Devin Cates back in the car. With the sun out and high humidity, I was constantly reaching back to the cooler for yet another water or Gatorade. Staying hydrated in the car for almost two hours during a race is very important, and it starts well before race day.

For qualifying we decided to put Devin in the car and he performed great, giving the Camaro a starting spot of P12 out of nearly 70 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge cars. As Friday was coming to a close at the racetrack, things at the Mitchum Motorsports camp were just starting to get fired up. Chris Mitchum and I had planned a small meet and greet with several young, up and coming drivers to explore plans of racing in GRAND-AM in the years to come. Needless to say it was great to see the ‘new’ drivers in the paddock come and meet the team at Mitchum.

With race day upon us, that also meant the fan walk was drawing near. This is probably my favorite part of the weekend (besides the actual race), meeting our fans and sharing stories is always great! Attendance at Ohio was high - I love to see that people are interested in motor racing and are coming out to see it in person. I was even able to get an autograph of my own from the Sahlen’s ST car sponsor, ‘Hot Dog Boy’!

Saturday was the hottest day of the weekend, which made for an awesome crowd for Round seven of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. I don’t think the drivers or teams have let down the fans yet, every race has been action packed and Ohio did not disappoint. Devin made good work of his opening stint in the car moving all the way up to 5th position. I was able to get in the car just about half-way through and found myself 19th after the all the pit strategy worked out. Unfortunately I made a mistake with about 10 minutes left and spun the car, this resulted in another car clipping the front-end after I had come back on track to resume the race.

The damage was enough to force us to pit to check the car out before I could continue. Nothing could be repaired in pit lane but I was able to limp the car home to the checkered flag. It was a disappointing end to what seemed to be a great break-through weekend for the Mitchum Motorsports team. I made sure to apologize to the crew for the mistake I made and have learned from it so it will never happen again. With about a month before our next race at New Jersey, I’m confident that you will see the Black/Yellow #6.2 Mitchum Motorsports Camaro back at the front!



Photo(s): Curtis Creager
Editorial: Joey Atterbury

VIDEO // JOEY ATTERBURY @ WATKINS GLEN

Our good friend Joey Atterbury just sent us this video from the start of the sixth round of the 2010 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC), the Continental Tire 150 at Watkins Glen. Watch as Atterbury takes his #6.2 Mitchum Motorsports Camaro from P13 to P4 in just a few laps! // [comment]

CTSCC // EMCO GEARS CLASSIC @ MID-OHIO

ColdTrackDays correspondent, Curtis Creager, was at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last weekend for the seventh round of the 2010 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC), the Emco Gears Classic. Collecting the win in the Grand Sport (GS) class was the TRG Porsche 997 of Bertheau and Pumpelly, while the Magnus Racing Porsche Cayman of Keen and Potter finished second. In the Street Tuner (ST) class it was the BimmerWorld GearWrench BMW 328i of Heumann and Thomas that crossed the line first, followed shortly thereafter by Hurley and Stadtlander in the APR Motorsport Volkswagen GTI.

Follow the link for additional images and complete results... [read more]








Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge // 2010 Emco Gears Classic @ Mid-Ohio:

1 41 GS 1 Bertheau / Pumpelly TRG / Porsche 997 84 1:33.461 37 75.493
2 44 GS 2 Keen / Potter Magnus Racing / Porsche Cayman 84 1:33.471 63 75.460
3 48 GS 3 Espenlaub / Putman Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3 Coupe 84 1:33.970 61 75.440
4 61 GS 4 Johnson / Roush Roush Performance / Ford Mustang GT 84 1:33.733 56 75.427
5 23 GS 5 Carroll / Ende BGB Motorsports / Porsche Cayman 84 1:33.971 83 75.418
6 52 GS 6 Michaelian / Wilden Rehagen Racing / Ford Mustang GT 84 1:34.162 81 75.389
7 96 GS 7 Auberlen / Dalla Lana Turner Motorsport / BMW M3 Coupe 84 1:34.533 58 75.378
8 16 GS 8 Jeannette / Montecalvo Multimatic Motorsports / Mustang Boss 302R 84 1:35.268 18 75.272
9 99 GS 9 Hillestad / Waddell Automatic Racing / BMW M3 Coupe 84 1:34.532 64 75.267
10 37 GS 10 Gue / Seafuse JBS Motorsports / Mustang Boss 302R 84 1:34.384 35 75.264
11 60 GS 11 Mason / Pecorari Rehagen Racing / Ford Mustang GT 84 1:35.604 68 75.234
12 07 GS 12 Heath / Sellers Euro Motorworks Racing / Porsche 997 84 1:33.274 49 75.232
13 35 GS 13 Aquilante / Spaude Subaru Road Racing Team / Subaru WRX-STI 84 1:34.414 74 75.193
14 88 GS 14 Ellis / Wellon Ranger Sports Racing / Porsche 997 84 1:35.413 74 75.178
15 19 GS 15 Adams / Phillips Capaldi Racing / Ford Mustang GT 84 1:36.065 71 74.851
16 46 GS 16 Cameron / Finlay Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3 Coupe 84 1:35.084 60 74.847
17 81 ST 1 Heumann / Thomas BimmerWorld/GearWrench / BMW 328i 83 1:37.633 54 74.331
18 171 ST 2 Hurley / Stadtlander APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI 83 1:37.905 23 74.325
19 75 ST 3 Eversley / Lutz Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic SI 83 1:37.522 67 74.321
20 80 ST 4 Clay / White BimmerWorld/GearWrench / BMW 328i 83 1:37.635 11 74.317
21 18 ST 5 Gerrard / Jensen RRT Racing / BMW 328i 83 1:37.937 54 74.309
22 31 ST 6 Bocchino / Lamb i-MOTO / Mazda Speed 3 83 1:38.199 79 74.285
23 22 ST 7 Lepper / Schmidt GS Motorsports / Chevrolet Cobalt SS 83 1:38.469 58 74.245
24 92 ST 8 Gilsinger / Johnson HART / Honda Civic SI 83 1:38.607 55 74.238
25 94 ST 9 Cabrera / Leroux LRT Racing / Acura TSX 83 1:38.538 24 74.195
26 74 ST 10 Aschenbach / Thilenius Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic SI 83 1:37.543 82 74.193
27 197 ST 11 Cattaneo / Mirzayan RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S 83 1:38.629 82 74.182
28 26 ST 12 Carbonell / O'Doski Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5 83 1:38.288 68 74.181
29 93 ST 13 Cunningham / Wittmer RealTime Racing / Honda Civic SI 83 1:38.560 47 74.174
30 181 ST 14 Baas / Halpin APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI 83 1:37.624 83 74.163
31 86 ST 15 Prey / Sigal Prey Racing / Boxster 83 1:38.594 54 74.140
32 34 ST 16 Bosch / Kennedy Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330 83 1:39.241 56 74.047
33 43 ST 17 Nonnamaker / Sahlen Team Sahlen / Mazda Speed 3 83 1:39.028 80 74.039
34 12 ST 18 Burrows / Hopwood Kinetic Motorsports / KIA Forte Koup 83 1:40.384 54 74.000
35 62 GS 17 Atterbury / Cates Mitchum Motorsports / Camaro GS.R 83 1:34.709 37 73.796
36 6 GS 18 Bell / Bucknum Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GS.R 82 1:34.170 72 73.435
37 196 ST 19 Congleton / Trinkler / Zacharias RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S 82 1:37.892 79 73.395
38 69 ST 20 Milarcik / Wise Pirate Motorsports / Mazda RX-8 82 1:39.463 18 73.158
39 10 ST 21 Jonsson / Lally Kinetic Motorsports / KIA Forte Koup 82 1:39.405 55 73.108
40 42 ST 22 Leroux / Leroux LRT Racing / Honda Civic SI 82 1:38.978 12 73.074
41 97 GS 19 Hand / Marsal Turner Motorsport / BMW M3 Coupe 81 1:33.729 81 75.147
42 77 ST 23 Kirby / Liefooghe Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic SI 81 1:38.259 56 72.403
43 59 GS 20 Anthony Jr. / Winchester Rehagen Racing / Ford Mustang GT 78 1:35.075 35 69.627
44 25 ST 24 Long / Whitis Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5 77 1:38.277 44 73.739
45 15 GS 21 Foster / Maxwell Multimatic Motorsports / Mustang Boss 302R 75 1:34.763 36 67.144
46 32 ST 25 Hacquard / Kleinubing i-MOTO / Mazda Speed 3 72 1:37.985 68 73.271
47 76 ST 26 Miller / Theetge Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic SI 70 1:38.295 60 71.508
48 45 GS 22 Borcheller / Hendricks Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3 Coupe 67 1:34.445 57 59.924
49 13 GS 23 Bacardi / Plumb Rum Bum Racing / BMW M3 Coupe 59 1:33.491 24 71.683
50 89 GS 24 Freile / Rossi Ranger Sports Racing / Porsche 997 56 1:35.279 45 72.009
51 83 GS 25 Cosmo / Tetreault BGB Motorsports / Porsche Carrera 54 1:33.598 43 68.053
52 36 ST 27 Brown / Olson Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330 47 1:39.632 18 71.274
53 55 ST 28 Beede / Grahovec Marren Motor Sports Inc. / Honda Civic SI 32 1:41.000 15 68.602
54 9 GS 26 Carter / Plumb Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GS.R 27 1:35.084 15 63.582
55 38 GS 27 Dumoulin / Jenkins BGB Motorsports / Porsche Cayman 25 1:35.702 18 71.916
56 05 GS 28 Altenburg / Musser Momentum Race Group / Camaro GS.R 19 1:35.751 17 70.281
57 29 GS 29 Buford / Gutierrez Racers Edge Motorsports / Mustang Boss 302R 19 1:36.350 7 47.857
58 21 ST 29 Danyliw / Holtom GS Motorsports / Chevrolet Cobalt SS 14 1:38.714 11 60.398
59 90 ST 30 Galati / Schmitt HART / Honda Civic SI 1 2:21.274 1 44.567
60* 02 ST 0 Smith / Taylor Maxwell Paper Racing / Mazda RX-8 0 0 0.000
61* 198 ST 0 Congleton / Zacharias RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S 0 0 0.000
62* 14 GS 0 Anthony Jr. / Edwards TC Motorsports / Mustang Boss 302R 0 0 0.000

Photo: Curtis Creager
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

CTSCC @ MID-OHIO // PROMOTER DAY

ColdTrackDays correspondent, Curtis Creager, is live at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the seventh round of the 2010 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Follow the link for images from Thursday's 'Promoter Day,' and be sure and stay tuned for continued coverage throughout the weekend... [read more]






Photo: Curtis Creager
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

CTSCC @ LIME ROCK PARK // RACE RESULTS & PHOTO GALLERY

The fifth round of the 2010 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge took place last weekend at Lime Rock Park in Lime Rock, Connecticut. ColdTrackDays correspondent, Curtis Creager, was trackside all weekend and was able to capture some spectacular shots of both the Grand Sport and Street Tuner class cars, as they battled it out for two and a half hours around the 1.5-mile circuit.

Leading the way in the Grand Sport (GS) class was the Turner Motorsport BMW M3 of Joey Hand and Michael Marsal, who were able to finish ahead of Jack Roush Jr.'s Roush Performance Ford Mustang GT to collect their second win of 2010. In the Street Tuner (ST) class, it was the BimmerWorld BMW 328i of Heumann and Thomas that took the win, finishing ahead of Aschenbach and Thilenius in the Compass 360 Racing Honda Civic SI.

Follow the link for additional images and complete results... [read more]

















Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge // Grand Sport Class:

1 97 GS 1 Hand / Marsal Turner Motorsport / BMW M3 Coupe 147 57.699 79 89.488
2 61 GS 2 Johnson / Roush Roush Performance / Ford Mustang GT 147 57.622 142 89.485
3 48 GS 3 Espenlaub / Putman Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3 Coupe 147 58.245 113 89.180
4 52 GS 4 Michaelian / Wilden Rehagen Racing / Ford Mustang GT 147 58.182 111 89.170
5 35 GS 5 Aquilante / Spaude Subaru Road Racing Team / Subaru WRX-STI 147 57.943 77 89.066
6 83 GS 6 Cosmo / Tetreault BGB Motorsports / Porsche Carrera 146 58.211 100 88.867
7 9 GS 7 Carter / Plumb Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GS.R 146 58.260 79 88.858
8 62 GS 8 Atterbury / von Moltke Mitchum Motorsports / Camaro GS.R 146 58.515 103 88.798
9 38 GS 9 Dumoulin / Jenkins BGB Motorsports / Porsche Cayman 146 58.400 133 88.790
10 45 GS 10 Borcheller / Hendricks Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3 Coupe 146 58.372 102 88.677
11 59 GS 11 Mason / Winchester Rehagen Racing / Ford Mustang GT 146 58.860 74 88.312
12 47 GS 12 MacNeil / Schaldach Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3 Coupe 145 58.728 99 88.047
13 16 GS 13 Jeannette / Montecalvo Multimatic Motorsports / Mustang Boss 302R 145 58.568 137 88.020
14 01 GS 14 Baas / Taylor APR Motorsport / Audi S4 144 58.490 85 87.638
15 29 GS 15 Buford / Gutierrez Racers Edge Motorsports / Mustang Boss 302R 142 59.456 72 86.302
16 46 GS 16 Cameron / Finlay Fall-Line Motorsports / BMW M3 Coupe 142 58.950 123 85.933
17 89 GS 17 Freile / Stadtlander Ranger Sports Racing / Porsche 997 141 59.218 113 85.491
18 17 GS 18 Ackley / Ludwig / Serralles CMA Motorsports / Ford Mustang GT 141 58.720 91 85.351
19 6 GS 19 Bell / Bucknum Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GS.R 140 58.322 82 84.743
20 88 GS 20 Ellis / Wellon Ranger Sports Racing / Porsche 997 139 58.760 95 86.144
21 96 GS 21 Auberlen / Dalla Lana Turner Motorsport / BMW M3 Coupe 132 57.617 75 86.943
22 23 GS 22 Carroll / Ende BGB Motorsports / Porsche Cayman 125 58.196 80 76.074
23 37 GS 23 Gue / Seafuse JBS Motorsports / Mustang Boss 302R 123 58.427 80 88.252
24 15 GS 24 Foster / Maxwell Multimatic Motorsports / Mustang Boss 302R 120 58.078 119 87.878
25 14 GS 25 Anthony Jr. / Edwards TC Motorsports / Mustang Boss 302R 116 59.342 99 82.049
26 19 GS 26 Adams / Phillips Capaldi Racing / Ford Mustang GT 114 58.776 113 69.079
27 11 GS 27 Panzer / Snyder CMA Motorsports / Ford Mustang GT 104 58.258 101 74.313
28 87 GS 28 DiLeo / Schroeder Maxwell Paper Racing / Porsche 997 80 57.862 16 85.039
29 44 GS 29 Keen / Potter Magnus Racing / Porsche Cayman 56 59.076 28 39.659
30 13 GS 30 Bacardi / Plumb Rum Bum Racing / BMW M3 Coupe 47 59.096 41 71.201
31 99 GS 31 Hillestad / Russell / Waddell Automatic Racing / BMW M3 Coupe 31 58.671 15 45.148
32* 68 GS 0 TBA CA Sport / Ford Mustang GT 0 0 0.000

Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge // Street Tuner Class:

1 81 ST 1 Heumann / Thomas BimmerWorld/GearWrench / BMW 328i 139 59.899 103 84.496
2 74 ST 2 Aschenbach / Thilenius Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic SI 139 1:00.002 131 84.492
3 75 ST 3 Eversley / Lutz Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic SI 139 59.962 84 84.482
4 181 ST 4 Hurley / Stadtlander APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI 139 1:00.049 86 84.468
5 12 ST 5 Burrows / Hopwood Kinetic Motorsports / KIA Forte Koup 139 1:00.344 15 84.361
6 98 ST 6 Hamelin / Hebert 89 Racing Team / Honda Civic SI 139 57.183 90 83.713
7 95 ST 7 Salama / Turner Turner Motorsport / BMW 328i 139 59.833 19 84.288
8 86 ST 8 Prey / Sigal Prey Racing / Boxster 139 1:00.666 75 84.173
9 18 ST 9 Gerrard / Jensen RRT Racing / BMW 328i 138 1:00.152 91 83.763
10 171 ST 10 Aranha / Halpin APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI 138 1:00.606 40 83.760
11 22 ST 11 Lepper / Schmidt GS Motorsports / Chevrolet Cobalt SS 138 1:00.737 41 83.746
12 77 ST 12 Kirby / Liefooghe Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic SI 138 1:00.464 29 83.702
13 82 ST 13 Maynard / Sheehan 3D Racing / BMW 330 138 1:00.504 105 83.695
14 27 ST 14 Espenlaub / Putman Freedom Autosport / Mazda Speed 3 138 1:00.321 104 83.665
15 42 ST 15 Leroux / Leroux LRT Racing / Honda Civic SI 138 1:00.941 42 83.585
16 80 ST 16 Clay / White BimmerWorld/GearWrench / BMW 328i 138 1:00.347 103 83.438
17 25 ST 17 Long / Whitis Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5 138 1:00.300 15 83.422
18 8 ST 18 DiLeo / Schroeder Maxwell Paper Racing / Boxster 138 1:00.152 91 0.000
19 26 ST 19 Carbonell / O'Doski Freedom Autosport / Mazda MX-5 137 1:00.095 54 83.064
20 67 ST 20 Kozarov / Tallman CA Sport / Honda Civic SI 137 1:01.079 78 83.050
21 64 ST 21 Dewey / Giovanis Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330 135 1:01.318 43 81.718
22 20 ST 22 Talbot / Weisberg Matt Connolly Motorsports / Mazda MX-5 134 1:01.445 110 81.177
23 32 ST 23 Hacquard / Kleinubing i-MOTO / Mazda Speed 3 133 1:00.586 102 80.767
24 10 ST 24 Jonsson / Lally Kinetic Motorsports / KIA Forte Koup 123 59.999 19 85.888
25 02 ST 25 Smith / Taylor Maxwell Paper Racing / Mazda RX-8 109 59.493 78 77.542
26 24 ST 26 Jackowitz / Lux V-Pack Motorsport / BMW 330 89 1:00.427 80 82.357
27 76 ST 27 Combs / Kuitwaard Compass360 Racing / Honda Civic SI 85 1:00.238 40 83.643
28 197 ST 28 Cattaneo / Mirzayan RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S 84 1:00.116 58 82.624
29 21 ST 29 Danyliw / Holtom GS Motorsports / Chevrolet Cobalt SS 72 1:00.126 49 76.625
30 55 ST 30 Cullen / Grahovec Marren Motor Sports Inc. / Honda Civic SI 43 1:01.492 20 81.790
31 91 ST 31 Stehley APR Motorsport / Volkswagen GTI 38 1:00.253 30 73.709
32 196 ST 32 Riegel / Smalley / Trinkler RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S 37 59.443 28 51.709
33 66 ST 33 Riley / Riley Riley Racing / Mazda RX-8 31 1:00.521 29 82.585
34 28 ST 34 Leverone / McHaffie / McHaffie Freedom Autosport / Mazda Speed 3 26 1:01.347 11 60.338
35 36 ST 35 Brown / Olson Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330 6 1:06.961 5 75.104
36* 34 ST 0 Bock Next Generation Motorsports / BMW 330 0 0 0.000
37* 31 ST 0 Bocchino / Lamb i-MOTO / Mazda Speed 3 0 0 0.000
38* 198 ST 0 Conway / Zacharias RSR Motorsports / Mini Cooper S 0 0 0.000

Photo: Curtis Creager
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

GUEST BLOG // TYLER CENARRUSA OF CENSPORT GRAPHICS

Greetings ColdTrackDays readers! I thought some of you guys might be interested in a little behind the scenes look in the pro racing world. Allow myself to introduce…myself, ha ha (thanks Austin Powers). Anyway, my name is Tyler Cenarrusa and I own and operate Censport Graphics, which is a design and custom paint studio that caters to racers and track junkies alike. When people ask what I do for a living and I say “I am a helmet painter” and they get a funny look on their face it makes me feel weird. To truly understand what this industry is all about you have to be interested in motorsport. Not a lot of people “get it” so that is why I am here, to shed some light on the subject. Although, I assume most of you are already fans of motorsport... [read more]

First, let me give you a little background information of how I even ended up choosing this crazy field as a career. I have always been involved in racing and speed at some point of my life. I used to race down hill on ski’s and mountain bikes here in Idaho. Then when I got my drivers license I ditched the pedal sport and tried out Auto crossing.

I had to purchase a helmet for racing and I always wanted a custom painted helmet. I called a company down in Florida to see if they would do a Juan Montoya replica (being that Montoya is my favorite driver and the sole reason I became interested in motorsports in the first place.) they said it would take a minimum of 500 bucks and 3 months to paint the helmet. I decided to ditch that idea and try to paint it for myself. The end result was ok for a first timer but I was proud of what I did so I posted pictures of the helmet on various forums. I was shocked to get a lot of positive feedback, so I started painting forum members helmets for cheap and my skills improved with every one I did. One of them is our very own Ted Anthony Jr. He was a young budding talented driver and I was a young budding artist. Now, he has a successful racing career and is only going to get better and I own one of the top helmet painting companies in the industry.
      
Anyway, back on topic. At the time I was still studying Graphic Design and painting helmets was mostly for fun and a little extra spending cash. When I graduated with my degree I could not find a Graphic Design job to save my life. I told myself I would give the helmet painting business an honest try and see if I could be successful.
     
Fast-forward 5 years and I am still doing it today! It has taken an incredible amount of work and self-discipline to create a successful business out of something that can be called an unnecessary luxury. No one needs a custom painted helmet for track days, but damn are they fun to look at! I think that doing right by people and making them believe in your product is the only way to thrive in an industry such as this. When you design a custom anything for anybody it has to be special, they have to be able to look at it every time and be pleased with it.
      
A lot of painters have their own style and I think that is very important, but I am not really a fan of cranking out the same kind of “look” over and over and just tweaking a few things here and there. I think that hurts our industry and takes the “custom” part out of it. You don’t ever want to be predictable as a designer.
     
For me, I get really involved with every client to make something that is completely reflectant on what they are trying to say about themselves. For every helmet I do, I want to have some kind of an element in the design that I have never done before. I look at a lot of different painters bodies of work and I take what I like from all of them and I put my own twist on it. That being said, in our niche industry a lot of the top painters are mutual friends. We are a select few who make our living out of painting racers helmets. We for the most part respect each other and we help each other out with new techniques and new found materials. I have made friends with painters all over the world and we sort of have a little bond and fraternity, it is pretty cool actually. When you get well-established painters from other countries giving you props on your work, it is pretty gratifying!
      
But I don’t limit my artistic ability to just helmets; I also paint racing motorcycles and use my Graphic Design background to design race car liveries and logos. You can’t limit yourself to one media and be one-dimensional.
     
So there you go, there is a little inside look at what we do here at Censport Graphics. Now you can understand what is involved when you see drivers on T.V. with their custom painted helmets. If you want to keep following us and check out what is new at Censport you can find us on the web here, and on Facebook here
    
I want to thank Justin Coffey for giving me this opportunity to tell you guys and gals about the world of custom paint and design. And I also can’t forget all my great clients like Ted Anthony Jr. and Joey Atterbury for giving me a shot at making them look good in the cockpit. 

Keep the rubber side down and your foot on the GO pedal

Tyler Cenarrusa - Censport Graphics

Photo(s): Curtis Creager & John Thawley