The East Coast Honda Challenge made its way to BeaveRun Motorsports Complex for rounds 7 and 8, the halfway point, of the 2006 points season. Tucked away in Wampum Pennsylvania, the 1.6 mile track, packed with elevation change, was sure to produce some exciting racing. Knowing this would conclude the first half of the 2006 ECHC season, the drivers were anxious to put themselves in the hunt for their respective class championships. Just like Rounds 3 and 4 at Mid-Ohio, this would be a joint event with the Midwest Honda Challenge series.

The weather forecast would hold true, and all at the track would enjoy a beautiful, sunny day mixed with temperatures in the low 70s. Of course, this is good for many things, but especially for Honda horsepower!

In H1, Jason Franza in his #06 Hondaworks/Carbotech ITR sat on pole with a time of 1:04.8. Following Franza were Pete Curpier in the Curpier Motorsport #42 Civic DX and Chris Drabouski in his Password JDM #62 Civic hatchback, rounding out the top 3. Kevin Helms in the #05 Hondaworks Civic hatchback and John Oldt in the #75 S2000 would take the 4th and 5th spots, respectively, while Kelsey Smith in the #12 S2000, Todd Reid in the #11 Northend Automotive Civic hatchback, and Paul Martin in the #57 CRX rounded out the grid. Franza would be able to stretch his lead for the first 15 to 20 laps, but a late surge from Curpier after a fantastic drive had the two just yards apart! Franza would be able to hold on for the win, while Curpier would also hold onto his qualifying position of 2nd. Drabouski would take a well-earned podium finish in 3rd after keeping Helms in 4th. Oldt would claim the 5th spot while Reid would finish in 6th. Martin was forced to retire due to a balljoint failure, while Smith would drop out due to unavoidable car-to-car contact with H4 competitor Andrew Zimmerman.

H2 saw the battle of a seasoned vet versus a not-so-nervous rookie. The rookie would get the better of the veteran in the qualifying session, as Walter McKinney in the #577 5th generation Prelude would be on the pole with a 1:08.2. The veteran, John Whitaker, in the Carbotech #88 ITR, would start from the 2nd spot. The lap times were within a tenth of a second! Experience in dealing with race traffic would prove valuable in this one, as Whitaker would overtake McKinney for the win. McKinney showed promise with a great drive in his first ever Honda Challenge showing.

In H4, the top 3 qualifying positions were separated by just six tenths of a second! Andrew Zimmerman in the #81 Hankook Integra would claim the class pole with a time of 1:09.3. Robert Brent, racing a front wheel drive car for the first time ever, was in the #21 PIC Performance Civic sedan and would be slotted in 2nd, while Sam Myers in the RoadHunter’s Café, PIC Performance Civic hatchback would start from the 3rd position. Trevor Melville in the #333 3rd generation Prelude and Rick Jarrett in the #88 Civic hatchback would round out the top 5. Early car-to-car contact with Kelsey Smith’s #12 S2000 would force the pole sitter, Zimmerman, to retire. This gave Robert Brent a golden opportunity which he would capitalize on, claiming the class win in his first ever HC race. Following Brent, Jarrett and Melville would take the 2nd and 3rd spots, respectively, while Myers would be forced to withdraw before the race due to braking issues.

H5 saw the grid made up of familiar faces and machines. Adam Mouradian, in the #52 CRX, would claim the pole by just .3 seconds with a lap time of 1:10.2. Zephyr Belski in the #517 Civic would claim the 2nd spot on the grid, while David Lee in the #90 Integra would start from 3rd. Mouradian and Belski would battle for the entire race, much to the delight of the fans, with Mouradian holding on for the close win. Belski would have his own satisfaction though, as he posted a new H5 track record with a lap time of 1:09.7. Lee would keep his consistent string of podium finishes going while holding onto 3rd.

Mother Nature served up a double-dose of kindness, as Sunday was nearly identical to the previous day in terms of weather. Sunshine and cool temperatures yet again set the stage for another day of some fast times and great Honda racing.

H1 saw one of its most competitive grids to date, where the top 5 positions were separated by a mere five tenths of a second. Curpier would take the class pole in his Civic with a very quick 1:04.8. Drabouski would claim the 2nd spot in his Civic after missing the pole by just .12 seconds. Oldt would start from 3rd on the grid, while Franza, Helms, Reid, Smith, and Martin would round out the top 8. Curpier and Drabouski shot from the start and into turn one, both retaining their starting positions. Near the apex of turn 2, the duo connected with very light contact, causing Curpier to spin off the track. He would re-enter in 8th position. Later on the initial lap, Franza was able to duck under Drabouski and take the lead.  Due to additional contact by the #333 H4 Prelude and #21 H4 Civic, the pace car made its first appearance, as the competitors would follow it for the next several laps. After the cleanup, the race would resume. Yet again, Curpier would complete a spectacular drive for 2nd, nearly making his way back from 8th to Franza who would hold on for the win. Drabouski would again claim another podium finish in 3rd, with Reid, Helms, Oldt, and Martin finishing out the order, respectively.

In H2, Whitaker would improve his qualifying position from Saturday, and would claim the pole with a time of 1:08.8.  McKinney would yet again put up a valiant effort, but Whitaker wasn’t to be denied, and would complete his 2nd double-win weekend of the 2006 season.  McKinney is sure to be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

Rob Brent would be the benchmark in H4, as he qualified on pole with a lap of 1:08.8.  Andy Hughes, after an uncontested H3 race in his Civic Si on Saturday, would jump in to the Team Honda Research Integra LS and take the 2nd spot on the H4 grid! Sam Myers would battle back from his brake issues on Saturday to take the 3rd spot, along with Trevor Melville, Andrew Zimmerman and Rick Jarrett rounding out the H4 grid.  Brent’s lead would be short lived after spinning in Turn 1 while checking up for the contact between Curpier and Drabouski in front of him.  Trevor Melville was collected after the spin, leaving both cars done for the day.  Zimmerman was able to get by Hughes on the restart and pull out to a good lead, but was eventually denied the victory after being black flagged and pulled in to the pits for spilling fuel.  This would leave Hughes to take the win, while Jarrett made a consistent drive for the second day in a row to finish 2nd. Zimmerman would wind up 3rd, and Myers finished 4th after being black flagged for dragging his exhaust and finishing 6 laps down.

H5 was a repeat of the great action from the day before, with Mouradian again taking the pole at a lap of 1:09.5, followed by Belski and Lee, respectively.  Mouradian and Belski would again run nose to tail for the entire race, swapping the lead on several occasions before Mouradian was able to eventually pull out the win.  Belski would again finish 2nd, followed by Lee.

The East Coast Honda Challenge is looking forward to its next event known as “Hyperfest”, which takes place at Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, WV. Rounds 9 and 10 of the 2006 points season will take place on what is known as most of the competitors’ “home track”. For more information, please visit www.honda-challenge.com. See you at the track!

The East Coast Honda Challenge sincerely thanks King RAT Motorsports , the Midwest Honda Challenge, NASA OH/IN, NASA Mid-Atlantic, the Beaverun Motorsports Complex staff, and the competitors along with their respective families for producing another great weekend of racing.