Being Grandiose
The Grand American Road Racing Association (www.grandamerican.com) was founded with rules aimed at keeping costs down and competitors evenly matched. Grand American racing is actually comprised of two distinct series, each with two separate classes. The big dogs run in the Rolex Sports Car Series and the biggest dogs of them all are the purpose-built Daytona Prototypes (DP). The production-based Grand Touring (GT) cars may look more like a high-end sports car fresh off the showroom floor but they flex some of the same tech as their DP siblings.
The Grand Am Cup Series is where the true showroom stockers come to play. The Grand Sport (GS) class is home to the higher-displacement cars and the Street Tuner (ST) class is all about the Super Street rides only without the Lambo doors and JDM headlight conversions. In order to ensure parity, exact specs vary from model to model. Here is a rough breakdown of the classes:
| CLASS | CARS | ENGINES | HP | MIN.
WEIGHT (lb) | TOP
SPEED (mph) | | DP | purpose-built | mostly 4-5L V8 and 3.8 liter flat-six | 500 | 2,150-2,275 | 185 |
| GT | Corvette, F360, GT3,GTO,
M3, RX-8 | V8, flat-six, three-rotor | 390-450 | 2,500-2,700 | 170 |
| GS | CTS-V, GTO, Mustang,
M3, NSX, 350Z, 911 | V8, flat-six, two-rotor | 350-405 | 2,730-3,250 | 160 |
| ST | Cobalt SS, IS 300,
Mini Cooper S, RSX,
SRT4, TSX, 3-Series | four-, six-cylinder | 170-240 | 2,200-2,925 | 135 |
Owner i-Moto Racing
Hometown Coral Springs, FL
Daily Grind Racing three hours or more at Grand Am Cup events
Power 245whp, 220 ft/lb
Under The Hood Grand Am Cup spec engine package including camshafts, valvetrain, intake and header and exhaust
Drivetrain Exedy Racing clutch, KAAZ LSD
Brains Hondata K-Pro
Stiff Stuff Moton four-way adjustable dampers with H&R springs and antiroll bars
Rollers 5Zigen Forged Racing wheels; GAC spec Hoosier tires
Stoppers Cobalt Friction pads; Goodridge stainless lines
Outside Custom yellow paint job; Acura A-spec lip kit
Inside Recaro Pro Racer Hans SPG; Sabelt six-point harnesses; MOMO steering wheel