We now have two very important improvements to the road course that are essential to safety. Pat Joffrion, owner of No Problem Raceway Park, has installed rumple-style curbing to the driver's left at turn 14 the full length of the grass area from pit out to the straight-away wall. The red "stump" at driver's left in turn 1 has been removed and replaced with rumple-style curbing.
If you see Mr. Joffrion while you are at the track, be sure to stop him and say "thanks" for making continuous upgrades and improvements to the road course.
~Mike Poupart
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
A Word of Thanks
Now that another GBRS series is behind us, I've had a little time to reflect on all the people that are connected with Mike Poupart Motorsports and how they've all contributed to our success.
Patty Poupart - my wife, #1 supporter and fan, and team photographer. She not only lets me go play with cars, she's an essential part of the team and a driver as well. Unlike some spouses that complain about the race cars, she wants to know when we're getting a new one! She keeps everything organized and without her I know I would miss a lot of details. Its been so much fun to see her driving again this year, it makes it all worthwhile.
Robbie Poupart - my son and the best right hand man a team could have. He's a talented driver in his own right, can crew chief when needed, and helps keep all of the team cars running on race day. I really wish I could put him in a good race car and watch him express his talents.
Johnny Walter - our #1 team driver, best friend and supporter who lets us give him a quality race effort to keep him running at the top of his game. His family is just as important. His wife, Mary Pat, is a great supporter and helps with photo duties. His son, John, comes to every race to not only help his Dad, but pitches in to help everyone else wherever he can.
Patty Poupart - my wife, #1 supporter and fan, and team photographer. She not only lets me go play with cars, she's an essential part of the team and a driver as well. Unlike some spouses that complain about the race cars, she wants to know when we're getting a new one! She keeps everything organized and without her I know I would miss a lot of details. Its been so much fun to see her driving again this year, it makes it all worthwhile.
Robbie Poupart - my son and the best right hand man a team could have. He's a talented driver in his own right, can crew chief when needed, and helps keep all of the team cars running on race day. I really wish I could put him in a good race car and watch him express his talents.
Johnny Walter - our #1 team driver, best friend and supporter who lets us give him a quality race effort to keep him running at the top of his game. His family is just as important. His wife, Mary Pat, is a great supporter and helps with photo duties. His son, John, comes to every race to not only help his Dad, but pitches in to help everyone else wherever he can.
Chris Wilken and the BCI Motorsports team - They've allowed us to become a part of their racing efforts and created a partnership and team spirit that makes racing a whole lot of fun! Dennis Gros was a great sport by giving up some of his track time to Patty so she could practice in the #02 Corvette. We're looking forward to Katie Wilken joining the team as a driver in the future. Lois Wilken does her powerful magic behind the scenes and is a great supporter to the entire team.
Mark Summers is the newest member of the MPMotorsports team. He's dedicated to improving his race effort and looks to us for support. He fits in well with the team's spirit of commaraderie and having fun.
Allen McDonnel is to be thanked for giving me the opportunity to drive the #44 Viper. We would like to see him driving the car again real soon. In the meantime, that is one fun ride!
Christian Francois and John Centanni - long time team members who we've missed this last season. We hope to see them return as well.
Thanks to all of you for letting me have a good time racing!
~Mike Poupart
Saturday, March 8, 2008
GBRS Event #6 - March 8, 2008
Today was the final event of the 2007-2008 Grand Bayou Race Series at No Problem Raceway presented by Bryan Racing. The day started out cold and clear with few wet areas on the track from the previous day's rain.
The Mike Poupart Motorsports / BCI Motorsports paddock area was impressive! The three BCI Motorsports cars were lined up - the red #01 GTO Corvette driven by team owner, Chris Wilken; the white #02 Corvette driven by Dennis Gros in the Yellow Bracket; and the white #03 BMW driven by Patty Poupart in the Green Bracket. Johnny Walter, owner and driver of the yellow #98 Super Production Corvette sponsored by Liberto Cleaners, was across from us and Mark Summers, owner and driver of the red #88 GTO Camaro sponsored by Smoothie King, was nearby.
After the warm-up sessions, the track began to dry out and the lap times got faster for qualifying. Even though the sun was warming things up, the racing on the track was hotter than the afternoon temperatures.
The feature race in the Super Production/GTO/Vintage V8 group was exciting. Johnny Walter and Chris Wilken, with series championships already won, chose to start their Corvettes at the back of the entire field leaving Mark Summers on the pole for the race start. It didn't take long for them to work their way through the field. As Johnny was passing Mark in turn one (the fastest turn on the race course) to take over the lead in the race, the left front suspension broke on Mark's car leaving him unable to make the turn. Mark did a super job keeping the car under control and coming to a safe stop without further incident. It was unfortunate that the Summers Racing entry was unable to complete the race. Johnny took the win for Super Production and Chris took the win for GTO. Great job, guys!
There was a combined total of 23 drivers in the four bracket groups that took the green flag together for the heat and feature races. Although Dennis Gros had the Yellow Bracket championship in hand going into today's race, a problem with a brake caliper locking up on the #02 Corvette left him underpowered for the heat race and only able to complete 3 of 10 laps for a 3rd place finish in the feature race.
Now for my story. . . .
I was very excited to be making my first race start! The #03 BMW, which I nicknamed "the breadbox," has a 4-cylinder, 4-speed, 100 h.p. motor that is considerably slower than my 8-cylinder, 6-speed, 405 h.p daily driver. I had respectable lap times yesterday during the practice while learning to drive the BMW flat to the floor floating through the corners and using the brakes only when absolutely necessary. This little ride is truly a learning experience!
I was one of three entries in the Green Bracket driving against Gerald Arceneaux in a white #8 Miata and Ken Mason in a tangerine #173 Porsche. It became obvious during the qualifying session that Gerald and Ken had more horsepower and they qualified faster than me. I was near the back of the field for the start of the heat race. Wow! My first rolling start! That was exciting! Mike Hamza in a Porsche started next to me on the outside and when the field ahead of us launched at the green flag, Mike made a third lane and drove right up the side of several rows. I drove hard in the heat race and seemed to be faster than my competition in the corners. Ken missed a shift going into turn four and ran his Porsche off the track in front of me. I continued to run hard behind the Miata trying to catch Gerald. As I came down the front straight on my last lap, I looked up at the flag station and saw Mr. Everett pulling out the checkered flag. I did a double-take in the mirror and realized that the cars battling behind me were the race leaders, Steve Diniz in the MOT (Mini of Tomorrow) and Julius Ridgeway in the Porsche. I barely crossed the finish line ahead of them before getting lapped. It suddenly hit me - I was still on the lead lap! Go! Go! Go! I knocked almost four seconds off my fastest lap time of the previous session! Gerald pushed his Miata so hard to stay in front of me that he broke out and had to take a penalty that would make him start at the back of our bracket giving me the green bracket pole for the feature race. I made a point of thanking Mr. Diniz and Mr. Ridgeway for not lapping me as they battled to the checkered flag.
Even though the green bracket is the slowest class, there were a few people that broke out or had no times in the heat race and had to start behind everyone else. That put me a little more than halfway back in the field. Now I had to be on my toes at the start! Not only was there a lot happening in front of me, but I couldn't afford to cautionsly hang back because it would allow my competition to get a jump on me and I was hoping to hold them off as long as possible.
Ken got past me in lap one and Gerald passed both of us in lap two. So much for holding them off! I refused to give up and ran hard everywhere barely lifting for most corners. I stayed with them and when Ken missed a shift on the front straight in lap seven, I was right there and got past him before turn one and started putting distance between us. The faster traffic started moving through us and I held my race line not letting them intimidate me. I was determined to catch that white Miata and was closing in on him at the end of the race. Two more laps and I would have had him!
As it turned out, all three of us broke out of our class! The limit for our class is 1:34 and we all ran fastest laps in the 1:33 range. Ken & Gerald went too fast on only one of their laps and I went too fast on two laps. After penalties were assessed, Gerald got the win, Ken finished second and I finished third. What a fun race! Thanks guys!
Congrats to Gerald for also winning the Green Bracket Championship! He ran one other race this season and it was last month in the same car I drove today. That gave him enough points to grab a championship trophy along with his first place win all in the same day.
A HUGE thanks to Chris Wilken for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to start my first green flag race and giving me those "magic" tires for the feature race! Thanks to Robbie Poupart for his support and crewing for me. To my husband, Mike Poupart, thanks for your love and support and believing I have what it takes to run with the rest of 'em!
~Patty Poupart
The Mike Poupart Motorsports / BCI Motorsports paddock area was impressive! The three BCI Motorsports cars were lined up - the red #01 GTO Corvette driven by team owner, Chris Wilken; the white #02 Corvette driven by Dennis Gros in the Yellow Bracket; and the white #03 BMW driven by Patty Poupart in the Green Bracket. Johnny Walter, owner and driver of the yellow #98 Super Production Corvette sponsored by Liberto Cleaners, was across from us and Mark Summers, owner and driver of the red #88 GTO Camaro sponsored by Smoothie King, was nearby.
After the warm-up sessions, the track began to dry out and the lap times got faster for qualifying. Even though the sun was warming things up, the racing on the track was hotter than the afternoon temperatures.
The feature race in the Super Production/GTO/Vintage V8 group was exciting. Johnny Walter and Chris Wilken, with series championships already won, chose to start their Corvettes at the back of the entire field leaving Mark Summers on the pole for the race start. It didn't take long for them to work their way through the field. As Johnny was passing Mark in turn one (the fastest turn on the race course) to take over the lead in the race, the left front suspension broke on Mark's car leaving him unable to make the turn. Mark did a super job keeping the car under control and coming to a safe stop without further incident. It was unfortunate that the Summers Racing entry was unable to complete the race. Johnny took the win for Super Production and Chris took the win for GTO. Great job, guys!
There was a combined total of 23 drivers in the four bracket groups that took the green flag together for the heat and feature races. Although Dennis Gros had the Yellow Bracket championship in hand going into today's race, a problem with a brake caliper locking up on the #02 Corvette left him underpowered for the heat race and only able to complete 3 of 10 laps for a 3rd place finish in the feature race.
Now for my story. . . .
I was very excited to be making my first race start! The #03 BMW, which I nicknamed "the breadbox," has a 4-cylinder, 4-speed, 100 h.p. motor that is considerably slower than my 8-cylinder, 6-speed, 405 h.p daily driver. I had respectable lap times yesterday during the practice while learning to drive the BMW flat to the floor floating through the corners and using the brakes only when absolutely necessary. This little ride is truly a learning experience!
I was one of three entries in the Green Bracket driving against Gerald Arceneaux in a white #8 Miata and Ken Mason in a tangerine #173 Porsche. It became obvious during the qualifying session that Gerald and Ken had more horsepower and they qualified faster than me. I was near the back of the field for the start of the heat race. Wow! My first rolling start! That was exciting! Mike Hamza in a Porsche started next to me on the outside and when the field ahead of us launched at the green flag, Mike made a third lane and drove right up the side of several rows. I drove hard in the heat race and seemed to be faster than my competition in the corners. Ken missed a shift going into turn four and ran his Porsche off the track in front of me. I continued to run hard behind the Miata trying to catch Gerald. As I came down the front straight on my last lap, I looked up at the flag station and saw Mr. Everett pulling out the checkered flag. I did a double-take in the mirror and realized that the cars battling behind me were the race leaders, Steve Diniz in the MOT (Mini of Tomorrow) and Julius Ridgeway in the Porsche. I barely crossed the finish line ahead of them before getting lapped. It suddenly hit me - I was still on the lead lap! Go! Go! Go! I knocked almost four seconds off my fastest lap time of the previous session! Gerald pushed his Miata so hard to stay in front of me that he broke out and had to take a penalty that would make him start at the back of our bracket giving me the green bracket pole for the feature race. I made a point of thanking Mr. Diniz and Mr. Ridgeway for not lapping me as they battled to the checkered flag.
Even though the green bracket is the slowest class, there were a few people that broke out or had no times in the heat race and had to start behind everyone else. That put me a little more than halfway back in the field. Now I had to be on my toes at the start! Not only was there a lot happening in front of me, but I couldn't afford to cautionsly hang back because it would allow my competition to get a jump on me and I was hoping to hold them off as long as possible.
Ken got past me in lap one and Gerald passed both of us in lap two. So much for holding them off! I refused to give up and ran hard everywhere barely lifting for most corners. I stayed with them and when Ken missed a shift on the front straight in lap seven, I was right there and got past him before turn one and started putting distance between us. The faster traffic started moving through us and I held my race line not letting them intimidate me. I was determined to catch that white Miata and was closing in on him at the end of the race. Two more laps and I would have had him!
As it turned out, all three of us broke out of our class! The limit for our class is 1:34 and we all ran fastest laps in the 1:33 range. Ken & Gerald went too fast on only one of their laps and I went too fast on two laps. After penalties were assessed, Gerald got the win, Ken finished second and I finished third. What a fun race! Thanks guys!
Congrats to Gerald for also winning the Green Bracket Championship! He ran one other race this season and it was last month in the same car I drove today. That gave him enough points to grab a championship trophy along with his first place win all in the same day.
A HUGE thanks to Chris Wilken for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to start my first green flag race and giving me those "magic" tires for the feature race! Thanks to Robbie Poupart for his support and crewing for me. To my husband, Mike Poupart, thanks for your love and support and believing I have what it takes to run with the rest of 'em!
~Patty Poupart
We're B-B-B-Baaad!!
Today was a great day for the BCI Motorsports and Mike Poupart Motorsports teams! The 2007-2008 Grand Bayou Race Series came to a conclusion and the champagne corks were popping at the awards banquet as the teams celebrated a successful season!
Johnny Walter, owner and driver of the #98 Corvette sponsored by Liberto Cleaners took the Super Production class win for the day and brought home his 4th Grand Bayou Race Series Championship trophy.
BCI Motorsports sponsored three cars. The #01 Corvette was driven by team owner, Chris Wilken, for the GTO class win for the day and the GTO series championship. The #02 Corvette was driven by Dennis Gros for a 3rd place Yellow Bracket class finish for the day and the Yellow Bracket series championship. The #03 BMW was driven by Patty Poupart for a 3rd place Green Bracket class finish.
Congratulations to all of the drivers and crew members for a successful season! They'll be bigger, better, and faster next year!
~Staff Writer
Johnny Walter, owner and driver of the #98 Corvette sponsored by Liberto Cleaners took the Super Production class win for the day and brought home his 4th Grand Bayou Race Series Championship trophy.
BCI Motorsports sponsored three cars. The #01 Corvette was driven by team owner, Chris Wilken, for the GTO class win for the day and the GTO series championship. The #02 Corvette was driven by Dennis Gros for a 3rd place Yellow Bracket class finish for the day and the Yellow Bracket series championship. The #03 BMW was driven by Patty Poupart for a 3rd place Green Bracket class finish.
Congratulations to all of the drivers and crew members for a successful season! They'll be bigger, better, and faster next year!
~Staff Writer
Monday, March 3, 2008
PRESS RELEASE – Patty Poupart Starts First GBRS Race With BCI Motorsports
The Grand Bayou Race Series will have a relatively new driver in the field of the last race of the 2007-2008 series next weekend at No Problem Raceway. Poupart will be driving the BCI Motorsports #03 BMW E30 in the bracket group. Car owner, Chris Wilken, has two other cars in the field - the #01 and #02 Chevy Corvettes driven by Wilken and team driver, Dennis Gros, respectively.
A mid-season liason was struck between BCI and Mike Poupart Motorsports for driver and technical support. Mike Poupart is crew chief for several independent drivers in addition to the drivers of the BCI Motorsports team.
The race is scheduled for March 8, 2008. Warm-up and qualifying sessions are run in the morning. Heat and feature races start at 1:00 p.m. For more information on the Grand Bayou Race Series, point your browser to www.grandbayouraceseries.com.
~Staff writer
A mid-season liason was struck between BCI and Mike Poupart Motorsports for driver and technical support. Mike Poupart is crew chief for several independent drivers in addition to the drivers of the BCI Motorsports team.
The race is scheduled for March 8, 2008. Warm-up and qualifying sessions are run in the morning. Heat and feature races start at 1:00 p.m. For more information on the Grand Bayou Race Series, point your browser to www.grandbayouraceseries.com.
~Staff writer
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