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2007 Dodge Viper Competition Coupe

Dodge Viper Competition Coupe Philosophy

The philosophy behind the building of the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe started with the first Viper RT/10 that rolled off the assembly line in 1992. Once these vehicles (and the subsequent Viper GTS coupes) started getting into the hands of owners, an addiction to racing began.

Soon, Vipers were competing not only in the Ú.S., but all over the world. A high mark was established for Viper's racing legacy by the GTS-R which claimed five international championships including the 1999 and 2000 American Le Mans Series GTS class titles and the 1997 through 1999 FIA GT2 class championships.

Included in these series championships were two spectacular individual performances. First, in 1998, it took the GT2 class victory at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Dodge Viper followed that up with an unprecedented victory at the 2000 Rolex 24 at Daytona where it not only won its class, but finished first overall for the race.

2007 Dodge Viper Competition CoupeDaimlerChrysler followed up this success by introducing another entry into the Viper stable of race vehicles. The GTS/R Concept Race Car rattled the race world when it was unveiled at the 2000 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Nothing like it had ever been seen before and the Le Mans endurance race-inspired concept set the stage for what was to follow — the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe.

But Dodge Motorsports had real-world ideas for the Competition Coupe. First, it had to be a safe and durable. Then, of course, the race car would also have to have outstanding performance advantages for competition in selected race series. And, last but not least, it would have to be an affordable, working-class club racer.

The Dodge Viper Competition Coupe accomplished these objectives and then some. With an FIA approved roll cage, fire suppression system, fuel cell, and supportive race seat, the Competition Coupe is well stocked with racing safety equipment. In addition, the V-10 engine that powers the Coupe has proven to be a reliable and durable racing workhorse.

As for performance, Competition Coupe estimates put 0-60 mph acceleration times at 3.8 seconds; 0-100 mph at 9.2 seconds; 0-1/4-mile in 11.8 seconds at 123 mph; top speed 192 mph; 60-0 braking in 90 feet, and lateral acceleration of over 1.25 g.

To make it affordable to even weekend warriors, the Competition Coupe utilizes a combination of high-volume production parts and state-of-the-art race car equipment to deliver blazing performance at an excellent price.

In short, the philosophy of the Viper Competition Coupe is a commitment to safety, durability, performance, and value. The Competition Coupe is a prime example of Dodge Motorsports striving for excellence on the track.

Source - Chrysler LLC

PRIMETIME RACE GROUP

Primetime Race Group debuted in the American Le Mans Series in 2007 with a Dodge Viper Competition Coupe in the highly competitive GT2 class at the Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch. The team, with drivers Joel Feinberg and Chapman Ducote, also competed at Petit Le Mans and the Monterey Sports Car Championships in preparation for a full championship schedule in 2008. Primetime, owned by Feinberg, also has competed in SPEED World Challenge and IMSA Lites, finishing third in the L1 class in 2007.

Source - ALMS

SAME BROKEN PARTS, SAME OLD SONG FOR PRIMETIME : Mid-Ohio

After a successful weekend in Limerock Park where the Primetime Viper finished 10th in class, the Bad News Bears took their game to Lexington Ohio for the Acura Sport Car Challenge with high expectations. Únfortunately, with no previous set up data, the team would have to spend each practice tuning the car to an unfamiliar track.

At the start of the weekend the lap times were well off the pace of the front runners, but after several adjustments to the dampeners, sway bars, and Hankook tires, the Viper became more compliant to the off camber turns and the time gap started to narrow. When it was time for qualifying, the Primetime duo of Feinberg and Hall had managed to see some competitive lap times against a strong GT2 field. Their final qualifying time of 1:24.9 would find the Viper only seconds off the pace, but at the back of a long line of fast cars.

On race day it was team owner and driver Joel Feinberg who would take the green flag. After a great start and keeping intact with the field ahead for the first 5 laps, the team began to see signs of hope for its privateer effort. Únfortunately once the anticipated LMP field came around, the GT pack would get separated corner by corner giving way to the faster and more nimble prototypes.

2007 Dodge Viper Competition CoupeAs the race started to settle into its flow, the #11 Viper found its rhythm and made its way into 10th position with just less than two hours remaining. As the track became greasy and dirty, the untamed attitude of the front engine beast had become a handful in the brake zones and corners. While approaching the off camber turn 9, Feinberg had lost grip in the brake zone trying to trail into the apex and ended up stuck in the gravel trap for two laps and drop back into the 11th position.

After a full course caution to get the car back on course Feinberg pulled into the pits where the team would take fuel, tires, and a driver change. Co-driver Chris Hall quickly caught back with the pace car and after a restart would begin his effort to get the Viper back into its slot prior to the spin. Within a few laps, Hall was back in position but it wouldn't last, the Viper would sustain a broken half shaft in the left rear, (the hardest working corner on the car) due to the wheel spin and amount of torque created by the V10 motor. Hall would come to rest only four corners short of pit lane and be pulled into an off track access area where crew chief Brent O'Neill thought the car would remain for the race.

Due to miscommunication between IMSA officials and corner workers, there was a glimmer of hope that the car was being brought back to the paddock and that the team would have a chance on returning to the track. Having been in this position before, O'Neill knew the rules regarding working on the car outside of the pits but what he was hearing over the IMSA scanner as well as what the corner workers were telling Hall caused some uncertainty. Without hesitation he immediately rallied the team to once again repair the Viper in an effort to get back in the race.

While in their garage an IMSA official stood close by, watching while the dedicated crew led by car chief Frank Parzych stripped the broken parts. The men of Primetime were not going to take no for an answer, two bodies were plugged into the wheel well while impact guns, hammers, and other specific tools were used to replace the broken pieces. With less than five minutes from the cut off time of being able to complete at least 70% of the required time to be eligible for championship points, Feinberg suited up and strapped in while the team finished the job.

Once again the 'never say die' team had done the unthinkable, the car was fixed and on its way back to pit lane hoping to have made it on time. As Feinberg pulled into his pit box he was stopped by their pit lane official and was told the car could not return to the race as it had already been retired once the driver log had been turned in earlier when the car was thought to be stranded. Due to the confusion and miscommunication while a race was still running, crew chief Brent O'Neill was misled by mixed messages over the radio. Without a clear answer at the time, the decision was made to use all means necessary to get back on track and hope for the best. Únfortunately the teams efforts would go to waste and the #11 car would sit in pit lane for the remainder of the race as drivers Feinberg and Hall sat in their pit watching from the TV.

'This is another disappointing race for the whole team, we work as hard as we can day in and day out to get here and for some reason our only luck is bad luck' said Feinberg. 'I've been very patient for the first half of the season but now we're running out of races and we can afford to not be there when the checkered is waved. I haven't lost hope that this program will succeed and we will continue take our lickin's until we do'.

The teams' next stop is the Generac 500 at Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin on August 9th where they will attempt to take advantage of a better suited 4 mile track for their beastly Dodge Viper.

Source - Primetime Race Group

THE BAD NEWS BEARS ARE BACK IN THE GAME

After nearly two months off the race track the Primetime Race Group was back for an action packed weekend at the recently renovated Limerock Park. The team would be facing a nonstop schedule of racing between their three IMSA Lites cars, as well as its ALMS GT2 Viper.

The weekend started out with shaking down a new dry sump motor and Motec engine management system in the Viper as well as dialing in a new tunnel floor system for the support series IMSA Lites cars. The new track surface and configuration would bring more red flags than green ones for the first two ALMS practices not allowing much time to get acclimated.Once things settled down, drivers Joel Feinberg and Chris Hall began to get comfortable with the track and the lap times started to come down. When it came time to qualify the two drivers split the session bringing back a qualifying time of 58:05 placing the Viper in 13th place. On the other side of the track was the IMSA Lites qualifying where Feinberg would settle for P2 for the start of the Saturday double header.

On race day the team was looking at a 30 minute IMSA Lites race, a 2 hours and 45 minute ALMS race, and then another 30 minute IMSA Lites race all driven by team owner Joel Feinberg with Chris Hall assisting in the Viper.At 10:45 the first Lites race took the green flag where Feinberg would clinch his fourth podium of the season taking a second place finish to Jonathan Goring. At 2:05 the Viper took the green flag for what would be another interesting day for the snake bit team. After 40 minutes of working up the field of GT cars, ducking and diving from LMP cars, and moving into 9th place Feinberg found himself backwards in the wall at the bottom of the downhill after an incident with another GT car.

2007 Dodge Viper Competition CoupeFeinberg was able to get the car back to the pit but the damage was too severe to continue and the team would head back to their garage to assess the damage. After pulling off the bodywork it showed a bend in the rear of the chassis nearly 8 inches out of place. In less than thirty minutes the dedicated team had the wounded car riveted, tie wrapped and back on track. Chris Hall would take over the helm for the remaining 1 hour and 20 minutes where he would try regaining their position as well as collect some champion points for the team.

'This was by far the most challenging race track I have raced in my career', said co-driver Chris Hall. 'The challenge was keeping the car on the track - it was very slippery. What we thought to be a retired race for Primetime resulted in a solid finish'.

At 5:20 Feinberg was back in his #7 Élan DP-02 looking for another visit to the podium. Starting in P2 Feinberg got the jump at the start and slid into first ahead of Jonathan Goring and the two racers would then trade positions two more times throughout the 30 minute race. With one lap to go Feinberg was closing the gap and putting the pressure on Goring causing him to make a questionable pass into turn seven in lap traffic resulting in a three car pileup leaving Feinberg no way through the chicane other than to use the alternate 'bailout' route of the old uphill and taking the checkered in first place.

'We had a great week as a team working hard to get pack into the points running' said team owner and driver Joel Feinberg. 'It was great to be back on track and continue the development of our program. Our partnership with Hankook Tire just keeps getting better and better as we develop a proper tire for our Viper. Every race we run we find something positive to take to the next and Hankook has been a true partner allowing us the latitude to grow our product with them. I expect by the end of the season we will have a final version of our race tire to make a strong push in 09.

At the end of a long and hard day the team would find overall satisfaction with their two podium finishes, (one of which was Feinbergs first win) and a points earning top ten in the ALMS GT2 field.Instead of celebrating their success of the weekend, the team stayed at the track working until 11pm getting their Viper back into race prep condition in time for next week's Acura Sports Car Challenge on Saturday at Mid Ohio.

Source - Primetime Race Group

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