The Preferred Line - Utah WCGT Race Report

Tommy Archer blasts his MOPAR Dodge Viper around the Miller track during practice - Jim Bourn Photo

The Preferred Line - Road racing news and commentary

SPEED World Challenge - WCGT Race Report (May 19, 2007) By Jim Bourn

Tommy Archer guns down the GT competition on the high desert of Utah

Tommy Archer of Duluth Minnesota was tall in the saddle of his MOPAR/Autohaus Dodge Viper as he calmly and methodically disassembled the World Challenge GT field in Round 3 at Miller Motorsports Park on the wide open high plains of Tooele Utah.

Like a gunslinger with nerves of carbon fiber Tommy skillfully avoided an early duel with Randy Pobst in the K-PAX/3R Racing/Jim Haughey Porsche GT3 Cup and when Pobst's best shot merely grazed Archer's Viper he had plenty of ammo left in his 10-shooter to fight off repeated advances made by Texas Lou and his faithful side-kick Daring Doug as the young easterner Eric the Dude fell victim to heat exhaustion and was left at the way-station.

This is what probably comes from spending too much in the hot sun in the wide open high-elevation flat country of Utah.

Tommy Archer and the Viper contingent got what they felt they needed before they got to the track in terms of a less air restriction, which was probably huge at this altitude.

Archer parlayed that into money for himself and Dodge as his pole and race win vaulted Archer into a close second in the driver's championship behind Eric Curran (79 to Curran's 84) and got Dodge back in the game in the Manufacturer's Championship going from the basement to 3rd.

"It feels really good," Archer said of the weekend. "We struggled in the first couple of races and we came in here and worked really hard we concentrated on working on the setup and I think we were really close. It was a little loose in but good off.

"It's good for a new sponsor. MOPAR really hasn't done much with road racing up until now so we feel that they will be good for the series."

Try as he might Lou Gigliotti couldn't find a way around Archer's stout Dodge and settled for second as he led his teammate Doug Peterson across the finish line in shadow of Archer's Viper.
Randy Pobst and his K-PAX Porsche finished a few feet behind Peterson's Corvette with the second K-PAX Porsche of Michael Galati several seconds back in 5th.