Group-A Racing Dominates at Sonoma: Wins Platinum Class Championship and Re-Writes Record Books

Group-A Racing Dominates at Sonoma: Wins Platinum Class Championship and Re-Writes Record Books

With championship titles on the line, Group-A Racing takes home a lot of hardware and re writes the record books. 

Per the norm in Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup, the weekend started with a full Friday with many hours of track time for the competitors. All three drivers showed very good pace and promise throughout the day, leading into qualifying and race one on Saturday.

With tire wear being a big issue for the high horsepower turbocharged Radical SR10’s at Sonoma Raceway, tire strategy and management would be a key factor. The team would elect to only do 2 flying laps in qualifying, looking to keep the tires as fresh as possible for Jenks. With that, he was able to put the car on outside pole, just missing by .063 of a second! Aurora Strauss would qualify a strong 4th in PRO 1500, only a few tenths off pole. Reid Stewart qualified 2nd in PRO 1340 with a small margin to the pole sitter's time. 

Race 1 would see Jenks haunting Judd Miller from the very start in the Platinum class. Not giving him any room to breathe, Jenks was finally able to find a way past him, mid race, never looking back, to take the win with the fastest lap of the race. In PRO 1500 Aurora would jump hometown local, Will Lin, on the initial start with an aggressive maneuver. She then set her sights on series veterans, Greg Gorski & Palmer Miller. Initially, she lost some ground to both of them, but then by mid race started to reel them back in with tremendous pace. She would catch the leading duo and find a way past championship leader Palmer Miller, now haunting Greg Gorski, as the two traded fastest lap of the race back and forth. With few laps remaining, an unfortunate car issue would cause Gorski to pull over while battling with Aurora, giving her the lead and pulling away from Palmer, never looking back, and capturing the win in PRO 1500! In PRO 1340 it was yet another 3-way battle between Reid Stewart, Austin Riley and Mike Anzaldi. Anzaldi and Riley would tangle at the end of the opening lap, giving Stewart the lead. From there, he put his head down to build a gap over the rest of the field, and set fastest lap of the race in route to victory in PRO 1340! This was the first time in series history that a team has ever swept victory in all 3 classes in the same race. The history books were also re written with Aurora Straus becoming the first female winner in series history. 

Race 2 saw Jenks start on pole in Platinum class but would lose the lead off the jump to Judd Miller this time. Just as the previous race, the two were nose-to-tail the entire time, neither driver making a mistake. John Field would eventually catch the 2 with his new tires from not starting race 1 and pass Steve for 2nd with a lap remaining. The top 3 would finish on each other's gearbox. The 3rd place would essentially lock the Platinum class championship for Jenks, with him only needing to start the final race later that afternoon. In PRO 1500 Aurora would start outside pole to Palmer Miller. She got a good initial jump, but would lose ground in the first third of the race. But with the team’s setup to last the entire race, she came to life again in her Richard Mille/Monticello Motor Club SR3 and start to run down Palmer Miller. She would eventually catch him and force him into a mistake to take the lead. The next lap, Miller would pass to obtain the lead with a three-wide move with Aurora and lap traffic. But the lap after that Aurora re took the lead again, this time never looking back checking out, to now also win race 2 in PRO 1500! It was a fantastic drive, proving the day before was not a fluke. In PRO 1340 Reid Stewart would start from pole, but it was a very different race to the day prior. He had championship leader Austin Riley & defending series champion Mike Anzaldi breathing down his neck during the entire 40 minute event. Stewart put on his best performance of the year, ripping off immensely fast and consistent laps, never putting a foot wrong, to give his rivals a chance, and he too would win race 2 in PRO 1340!

Race 3 is always exciting with the pit stop that occurs only in race 3. Steve Jenks would start outside pole to John Field, and initially Field would get away. During the pit stop the team timed it perfectly for Jenks to jump to the lead with a big gap. Unfortunately, a late yellow would put John Field close to Jenks with much fresher tires. Jenks held him off for a bit, but did not put up a huge fight, with the big picture in mind. Jenks would capture another podium finishing 2nd. With that, he captured the Platinum Class Drivers Championship! Aurora would start 3rd in PRO 1500 behind two hometown locals Will Lin & Joe Nuxoll. Again, she did a great job in getting off the initial start and was now hounding Will Lin for the lead. Just like Jenks, the team timed her pit stop perfectly for her to leapfrog to the lead. She was in the lead for the late race restart when suddenly started to not feel well and really struggle. She held on as best she could to capture another podium result of 3rd. In PRO 1340 Reid Stewart would once again start from pole and it was dejavu from the previous race with his rivals on his rear wing all nose-to-tail. Stewart continued to execute the perfect race yet again, never wavering the entire time. On the final lap he would have a small error, just enough for savvy defending champ Mike Anzaldi to find a way past and Reid would have to settle for 2nd. 

Steve Jenks would earn the driver’s championship in Platinum class, Group-A would earn the team championship in PRO 1500, Reid Stewart finished 3rd in the PRO 1340 championship and won Rookie Of The Year honors. Group-A Racing has been involved in Blue Marble Radical Cup for 3 years, 2 of which they have had a full season rookie, both of them now having earned the rookie title, a great testament to how they develop and work with their drivers. 

“There are truly no words to describe this weekend” stated team owner Jonathan Scarallo. “I can ramble forever on how proud I am of everybody in this team, both drivers and crew. We obviously highlighted the weekend with the championships and rookie title. Having rewritten the record book the way we did, it's truly a special unforgettable weekend. Motor racing is a cruel sport where there are a lot more mediocre-bad weekends then good, and we had a beyond phenomenal one. This is such an incredible way to end a season and go into the off season with great momentum for the 2023 season!”     

Steve Jenks Re Joins Group-A Racing For 2021 Radical Cup Championship Assault.

After a tremendously successful 2020 season, Group-A Racing & Steve Jenks are teaming up again to enter the Blue Marble Cocktail Radical Cup. Jenks will again run in the SR3 Pro 1500 class in the #68 Audien Hearing Aids/CleanLife Products/Group-A Racing/Radical New York SR3 1500.

Steve Jenks & Group-A Racing joined Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup together in 2020 with not much time to spare before the season opener. Despite that, the duo was an instant threat , turning heads from the opening practice day. Throughout the year Jenks was a consistent podium finisher and went into the season finale with a distant chance of winning the championship. Giving it all he had, including winning the final race Steve Jenks & Group-A Racing came up just a few points short, finishing a strong runner up in rookie season for both team & driver.

For the 2021 season, the two team up again with championship hopes in sight from the beginning. They have now had the off season to reflect on areas to improve, strip the car down and run through an extensive testing program. Between having a season now under their belt & pre-season testing being extremely positive, Steve Jenks & Group-A Racing feel confident in their ability to take that next step in championship standings.

“Last year was such a massive success for us, especially since we were all rookies to these cars, series, and how late we got the first car” said Group-A Racing team manager Jonathan Scarallo. “I love having Steve in one of our cars. He’s one of the most serious and intense drivers I’ve had the privilege of working with. With the two of us being so similar in that, it was a big key for us having the success we did in 2020. We have taken that same mindset and commitment into this winter hoping to propel to a championship in 2021!”

“Super excited to get the season underway with Group A Racing. Our engineer Lenny Tumenas worked hard during the winter to refine our setup approach based on a year of learning and I can feel a difference in the car during preseason testing. Also happy to welcome two new sponsors on board, Progressive Consulting and Aluminos Denver. They join Audien Hearing and Cleanlife Products in helping make our 2021 campaign happen.”

Blue Marble Radical Cup kicks its season off April 15-17 at Barber Motorsports Park running on the Indy Car weekend. This is the first of numerous Indy Car events Radical Cup will be a part of in 2021.

Group-A Racing / Radical New York is an official dealer of Radical Sports Cars, making them a complete source for all of your Radical purchase and service needs. For more info on race opportunities, cars, parts etc contact them via 631-974-4379 info@GroupARacingTeam.com .

Group-A Racing Wins Radical Cup Finale at Road Atlanta

Group-A Racing Wins Radical Cup Finale at Road Atlanta

Going into the final round of the 2020 Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup, Group-A Racing had a shot at the championship despite being a rookie team to the series and with a rookie driver. Steve Jenks entered the final round 4th in the standings, 24 points out of the lead.

Thursday & Friday saw the usual tremendous amount of track time for competitors provided by the series. All throughout the two days, Group-A’s Steve Jenks was a consistent top 3 runner on the practice time sheets, consistently ahead of his championship rivals, helping put the pressure on. The series saw young gun Jordan Missig return to the championship. Jordan was a top finisher in the 2019 Radical Cup and ran full time in Formula 3 this year, adding to the depth of competition level.  

Qualifying would see Jordan Missig get the pole in a tight field with championship leader Al Miller barely getting second ahead of Steve Jenks. Al Miller was carrying a 10 grid spot penalty from the previous round though and that would place Steve into second for the start of race 1, setting him nicely ahead of all championship contenders. 

Race 1 would see Group-A Racing driver Steve Jenks get off to a good start running second behind Jordan with the two pulling away from the rest of the pack. A full course caution would put Jenks on the gearbox of Jordan to attempt an attack for the win. Missig & Jenks would run nose-to-tail, so evenly matched pulling away from the rest of the field, the two having nothing to separate themselves running identical lap times to one another within hundredths of a second. In the end, Jenks would have to settle for another second-place result, his fourth of the season. With it, he finished ahead of all of his championship rivals. To top it off, Al Miller received another penalty for mid race contact.  Miller, who had led the points since the opening race was now second, 3 points behind Greg Gorkski and Steve Jenk, now 3rd,only 7 points out of the lead!

Missig would start on the pole in the second race, and Jenks, second, but now Miller would start third. Miller got a great start, placing Steve down to third. After the opening lap, Jordan Missig would make a mistake though, spinning off track elevating Al Miller & Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks to first and second. The story was now the same as race one but this time with Al Miller leading Steve. Bad luck would strike Steve as he unfortunately had debris cut his right front tire, but luckily a full course caution came out. The Group-A Racing team was able to get him in and out without going down a lap. He fought his way back through the pack, even passing two cars on the last lap, one being championship rival Mel Johnson. Despite the adversity, Jenks fought his way back to fifth, with Gorkski in fourth, and Al Miller winning. This now elevated Miller back to points lead with a 10 point lead over Greg who was also 10 points ahead of Steve Jenks.

Race three would see similar starting order with Missig on pole, Jenks second and Al Miller third and Greg Gorkski fourth. This time it was Gorski getting the great start launching up to second, with Jenks third and Miller fourth, all championship contenders right there duking it out in the final round. Jordan Missig was pulling away until a mechanical failure, now elevating that battle to be for the lead of the race and championship! As soon as the pit window opened, Jenks pitted immediately with Al Miller following. Jenks was ultra-impressive with his in lap, pit stop and out lap to build a multi second gap over Al Miller. Two laps later Gorkski would then pit and when he reentered he now found himself multiple seconds behind Jenks, placing him into the lead! Jenks put his head down doing everything he could to re close the championship gap, trying to snag his first win enroute to the championship as well. Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks came across the line earning his first win of the season in dramatic fashion. Al Miller finished second, securing him the championship. With Gorkski finishing fourth, Jenks was able to pass him in the points to place second in the championship.

In the end, Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks earned his first win, runner up in the points, the team finished second in team championship despite being a 1 car effort and Jenks earned the rookie of the year award.

"What made Road Atlanta rewarding is the team performed at their best when the moment mattered the most.   Great car setup, race strategy, and coaching gave me the confidence to push hard all weekend.   We earned the race and championship results" said Steve jenks.  

“I don’t really have words to say on how proud I am of everybody’s effort and how much we loved being in the Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup this season” stated team principal Jonathan Scarallo. “Rookie team to the series, rookie driver to series we came in guns blazing and a threat every single event and nearly stole this championship in our first year. I can’t say enough good things about this series and everybody involved with this Group-A Racing effort. We are so excited to come back in 2021 with a much bigger multi car program in this awesome series!”

Group-A Racing/Radical New York are now instantly full steam ahead working toward 2021 season. Drivers interested in test or race opportunities with Group-A Racing in Blue Marble Cocktail Radical Cup or anything else pertaining to Radical sports cars (new car sales, used car sales, parts etc) should contact Jonathan Scarallo info@GroupARacingTeam.com 631-974-4379.

Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks Scores 3 Podiums at Barber Motorsports Park

LINDENHURST, NEW YORK (August 9, 2020) - Group-A Racing’s Steve Jenks Scores 3 Podiums at Barber Motorsports Park         
 
After a very successful debut weekend in the Blue Marble Radical Cup at Road America last month, Group-A and Steve Jenks were looking to step it up a notch. The duo accomplished just that, raising the ante with 3 podiums in round two at Barber Motorsports Park. 
 
Friday would see a tremendous amount of track time offered to all of the Blue Marble Radical Cup Series drivers with over 3 hours of track on deck on Friday alone. This was the first trip to Barber Motorsports Park for both the team and driver. The Group-A Racing machine rolled out of the trailer strong with Steve Jenks finishing in the top 3 in every session in which he participated. The team would sit out the end of the day with rain moving in. 
 
The strong pace on Friday left everybody feeling very optimistic going into qualifying Saturday morning and the first of three 40 minute races of the weekend. Sadly, qualifying did not go quite to plan, with a start-stop session and struggle to get a clear lap saw Steve Jenks ending the session a disappointing 7th.  The driver kept his head up going into race one knowing he had a very strong car underneath him to move his way forward. Jenks would do just that, instantly jumping up two spots to 5thon the opening lap. He continued to set fastest lap of the race as he cut his way through the field. Barber Motorsports Park is notorious for being difficult to pass, but Steve Jenks was proving that wrong in his Group-A Racing Radical 1500 SR3, catching cars at a rapid rate and quickly passing them as well. Steve continued this all race long running from his 7th starting spot up to 2nd! Unfortunately, he just ran out of time to make his move on the eventual race winner. This result brought both the driver and team's first podium result in just their second event ever in the series. 
 
Race two would see Jenks starting farther up in 3rd making work a bit easier than race one. A bottled up start saw Jenks lose two spots falling to 5th, but gained one back before the end of the opening lap. The entire race saw the top 4 cars running nose-to-tail the entire event, running identical lap times to one another and nobody giving an inch. Around mid race, Steve Jenks was able to take advantage of some lap traffic to make a maneuver which would move him up to 3rd. Still it would remain a four car battle all inches apart from each other. Steve made a close look on competitor George Kurtz for second on the final lap coming to the checkered side-by-side, with Steve coming home in 3rd. Another great result starting a podium streak for the Colorado driver and Group-A Racing team. 
 
Race three saw an early yellow creating a strategy decision to be made, with the mid race mandatory pit stop. When the race went back to green, points leader Indy Al Miller came into the pits instantly, while Jenks would follow in the next laps and most of the other competitors pitting at the end of the allocated pit window. Jenks was a bit unlucky with lap traffic on his outlap, causing him to get leap frogged by a few competitors in the pit sequence. Steve started to run down his competitors and moved up to fourth when points leader Indy Al Miller would go off which ended his race. The yellow would come out for that, and the lengthy clean up sadly caused the race to never go back to green. In post race review, it was determined that one of the competitors on the podium passed under yellow giving him a penalty, and another jumped his pit stop with him leaving prematurely. The penalty to both would then see Group-A Racing Steve Jenks move up to 2nd in the final result!
 
The three podium weekend result has everybody in the team feeling upbeat, especially being the team and driver's only second ever Radical Cup event. Naturally, they will be looking for nothing less than wins at the next round of Laguna Seca in September. The great start sees Steve Jenks 3rd in driver points only a few out of the lead. It also sees the Group-A second in team points despite them being the only single car team! 
 
“This weekend has been absolutely spectacular for us” said team owner Jonathan Scarallo. “Lenny and Cory did an awesome job with everything. Steve has made so much progress with these cars in just one event and these results are a dream for our new program with these cars. It’s a true testament to Steve as a driver and the crew in place for us to be such a competitive operation against all these multi car teams that have been running in this series for numerous years!” 
 
“Preparation was the key to Barber” comment Steve Jenks. “We had a good test at Club Motorsports to dial in the racecar and Jonathan and I did multiple simulator sessions prior to the event.   We rolled off the trailer ready to go and were able to go fast from the first session and fine tune the rest of the event.   I'm learning the race craft with these cars as the races are highly competitive and fun.   Barber was a good step forward for us and I am looking forward to the next event with Group A at Leguna Seca."
 
Group-A Racing has three brand new cars arriving at the teams shop in September. Parties interested in other things pertaining Radical Sports such as new car sales, parts, service, test & race opportunities, contact Jonathan Scarallo at 631-974-4379 or info@GroupARacingTeam.com. 

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