Tom Lepper wins USTCC race at Thunderhill
“We overcame several mechanical issues earlier in the weekend," Lepper said. “I would have been happy with a podium finish; the win was icing on the cake."
Lepper battled with the Dodge SRT4 of Curt Simmons and the Mitsubishi Evo of Dave Bongiovanni throughout most of the race, setting the race’s fastest lap in the process.
On-track contact in the latter portion of the race secured the win for Lepper. Bongiovanni followed him with third going to Jerry Bradbury in a Mini Cooper S.
Thunderhill’s three-mile road course track was raced in an unusual clockwise direction adding difficulty to an already arduous track.
“Not many people had experience running the track backwards." Lepper said. “It equaled the playing field for many of the seasoned racers."
Lepper’s teammate, Rod Rojas, of the MOLECULE Nomex and Technical Fabric Care Products team, waited at the Start/Finish for Lepper to take the checkered flag. “What an exciting race," Rojas said. “Molecule Labs is thrilled to have Tom as our partner in our effort to win the USTCC series. I have no doubt the Cobalt will show its dominance at the end of the season."
USTCC is sanctioned by National Auto Sports Association (NASA). The next USTCC race will be held at Infineon Raceway, in Sonoma , Calif. , on June 29.
Lepper’s Chevrolet Cobalt is sponsored by Red Line Oil and Clutch Masters, as well as MOLECULE Nomex and Technical Fabric Care Products and GoPro Hero Digital Cameras.