Days of Thunder at Thunderbolt Track
By Patrick Buganski
The Daily Journal
thedailyjournal.com

Millville, N.J. (August 4, 2008) – When rain delayed the opening of Lightning Raceway at the New Jersey Motorsports Park by about a half-hour the first weekend of July, it was a coincidence; but when the aptly named Thunderbolt Raceway's opening was held back by an hour on Saturday for the same reason, it became downright eerie.

"Thunderbolt was delayed due to a Thunderstorm," New Jersey Motorsports Park official Don Fauerbach said jokingly.

But the early-morning rain couldn't dampen the excitement of the Drivers Club members who got to turn the first laps at the 2.25-mile Thunderbolt Raceway, the park's signature circuit and future home of the major spectator events coming to the park.

"This track is killer, it's awesome," said Ted Wentz of Villanova, Pa.

Many of the Drivers Club members couldn't help but compare the track to the 1.9-mile Lightning Raceway which the group had the privilege of breaking in a month ago.

"Lightning has very fast turns, this has a lot more technical turns," Wentz said between sessions in his 1968 Brabham Formula 2 racecar.

The track was designed to be more technical and more challenging for the professional-level series that have dates there. The first weekend confirmed just how difficult Thunderbolt will be to master.

"You gotta learn this track," Wentz said. "It's got a couple of very tricky turns."

Drivers were reacting exactly how track officials were hoping.

"Thunderbolt proved to be everything those who tested it promised it would be," Fauerbach said. "It's a great day."

Some drivers commented on the Octopus -- the tight, winding section of track before the esses and the front stretch -- others on turns 2 and 4 with their changing elevations. Some others were talking about how to get speed through the esses.

"This is a fun track, it's a fast track," said Jim Lowe, a Grand-Am series team owner and driver. "It has everything you want. I think drivers are going to like it and are going to look forward to coming back."

Lowe was turning laps in his red 2004 Ferrari 360 Stradale, but he'll be back to race with his team, J-Lowe Racing, in the Grand-Am Rolex Series. The Koni Challenge Series -- a production car class which is also part of Grand-Am -- had a few teams testing at the track Saturday, most noticeably, Kinetic Motorsports with a pair of BMW racecars.