Jezarian Delivers at Lime Rock with Second Place Finish
Friday proved to be a disappointing day for the team as they worked through the evening chasing an electrical glitch that prevented the engine from reaching the powerband. With the problem solved, the car was quickly assembled before morning warmup. Jezarian strapped in and completed one installation lap during the warmup to confirm the car was back to normal.
Meanwhile. a mixed forecast proved to be a big problem as the paddock was looking to the skies for setup advice as race time approached. The Greisiger Motorsports team, assisted my GTP Motorsports for the weekend, made the call to go to a full dry-weather setup for the 38 minute, 32 lap race.
The decision was the right one. As the green flag fell, Jezarian and the #40 wasted no time in moving through the pack. By lap ten Jezarian was solidly in the top five looking to advance, and through a mixture of racecraft and luck, was able to survive through a computer glitch on the race car to drive the #40 to a second place finish, the best result of the entire season for Greisiger Motorsports.
Gregory Jezarian – “We got fooled by mother nature. Monty was glued to the radar trying to track the rain which never arrived. It was a scramble to get the rain set-up off and readjust the springs for a dry race.”
“By lap 8 the Greisiger Motorsports Van Diemen started cutting out at high revs. I spent the day yesterday learning to drive a handicapped car so I was ready when it happened again”
“I’ have to thank Kurt Greisiger and Triad Magnetics for allowing me to drive their car. I’ll find a cure for the electrical issues and hope to take another shot at it for them again soon.”
Greisiger Taps Jezarian to Run Formula 2000 Car
Jezarian will enter the car in SCCA’s Formula Continental class for the event. The Greisiger Motorsports F2000 car is powered by a 2.0l Ford Zetec engine and the car will be run in pro-series trim with 6″ & 8″ front and rear tires, respectively. “I’ve driven FC cars before, while it looks similar to our Atlantic car, we’ve got a lot less tire, a lot less brake and downforce to help us out. It’s a true driver’s machine and I’m looking forward to this weekend with the Greisiger Team.”
Come watch the G. Jezarian Racing team at Lime Rock Park on September 26-27. Lime Rock is a short 90mi from NYC in beautiful Lakeville, CT. The track’s website is: http://www.limerock.com/
Jezarian Turns First Laps of 2008
July 30, 2008–Gregory Jezarian and the G. JEZARIAN Fine Jewelry team held their first test of the 2008 season today at Summit Point Raceway in West Virgina. The private test day was ideal for learning the new chassis and refreshing the driver and team after a long respite. Gregory Jezarian adds, “It’s fantastic to finally be back in action. Our funding dried up substantially after rebuilding the new car, if it weren’t for the UnderRatedBook.com and Pier95.com sponsorship we wouldn’t be here today.”
Conditions at the track were extreme with temperatures approaching the high 90s and high humidy. “I’m actually glad the weather was so miserable. Testing the car and team in the worst conditions makes it easier to find any weak links.”
The G. Jezarian Racing team arrived a day early to load-in and reacquaint with a track they’d not seen sincee 2007. The Summit Point main circuit underwent considerable changes since last season. In October of 2007, the track owners smoothed out many bumps and repaved the entire track. The 2 mile long road race circuit boasts nearly 400ft in elevation change, a challenging mix of high speed corners and slower speed technical sections along with a 2900ft front straight enabling cars to reach top speed before heavy braking into the 50mph turn one. Jezarian added, “I drove the track on the pit cart today while Kris was setting the chassis up. I was concerned with the rippling in turn one right at the apex. It looks as if the higher weight cars had ripped up the fresh asphalt and then they’d patched it up several times. Last year I was able to get right on the curbing but with the patchwork I think I’ll have to stay a few feet off it to straddle to bumps”
At 8am Wednesday when the track went green for testing, Jezarian brought the car out for some reconnaissance laps: “I used the morning to get used to the new car. I noticed right off that it’s much harder to drive than the old car, yet more rewarding and certainly more comfortable. I feel as if the old car had more downforce so we tweaked the wings a bit and that put some Gurneys on the rear. This car is very sensitive to aero changes. I’m also trying to get used to running radial tires. We have to run a lot more camber in these than the old bias-plys but I do believe they have more initial bite in cornering and braking. By the afternoon when it got super hot out, our set-up went away and we developed a serious push. I softened the sway bar but she wouldn’t stick. A combination of the tire temps and weather got us. We’ll be working on how to correct that. All said and done, I’m really looking forward to running the 008 and with our new sponsors helping out, we’re all excited to go race.”
Jezarian Runs MARRS 6
Summit Point, WV–The G. JEZARIAN Fine Jewelry race team traveled south to compete in the Mid Atlantic Road Racing Series MARRS 6 event. The Washington, D.C. region of the SCCA is the host of one of the largest and most successful club level racing series in the country. The last minute decision to run the event came Friday night after securing funding.
2pm Saturday arrival at Summit Point Raceway meant the last minute driver registration and tech inspection was not done quickly enough to make the qualifying session. Jezarian was forced to remain off-track for the day and had to start Sunday’s race at the back of the field. The team were granted a “Hardship Practice” waiver allowing Jezarian a restricted 15 minute warm-up session at 8am on race day with other drivers facing mechanical difficulties: “Sunday morning I was at the track, suited up and belted in by 7:45, I rolled on-track at 8am and ran 4 easy laps to make sure the car was fine. The track’s like an ice skating rink that early in the morning so I didn’t bother staying out longer than needed.”
At 1:30pm, the field rolled out for their pace lap with Jezarian at the tail end. The starter had the field bunched tightly and the pole sitter set the pace slow enough for a first gear start. Jezarian said, “Once I heard GREEN GREEN GREEN on the radio I picked off the slower cars trying to keep out of their battles to thread my way up front. Lap traffic’s tough especially when you’re behind different classes and the last thing I want is to mess up their battles.” By lap three Jezarian was behind the second place competitor and passed him by lap 5. Jezarian got the class win but a broken gearbox at the end of the race meant the trip back to the pits was on a tow truck. After the race Jezarian said, “We’ll get the box fixed and try and make the next race. These things are all a part of racing. We go out, do the best we can and try and have fun. Sort of a bittersweet end to the day but that’s racing. If I let stuff like this get to me I’d probably just take up golf like everyone else.”
Join G. JEZARIAN Racing next as they travel to the historic Watkins Glen Raceway in September.
Jezarian is Underrated for 2008
New York, NY–G. Jezarian Racing welcomes Kensington-Citadel authors Josh Abraham, Nick Jezarian and Geoff Wollinetz on board for the 2008 season. The editors of Yankee Pot Roast have their forthcoming book, Underrated, being printed for release in early summer 2008. Details of the sponsorship will be announced shortly but expect to see the Underrated-Formula Atlantic as promotional book signings and parties.
Driver Gregory Jezarian adds, “I’m looking forward to working with Kensington-Citadel to promote the book release and that fact that my brother is one of the authors makes it that much more special. I’ve read the advance copy and I know it will be a big success–a great read and very funny. I can tell you for sure there’s no other formula car out there with Underrated written all over it. It’s going to turn a lot of heads”
Nick Jezarian quips: “As a racer, we’d say you typically need to win a ton and still go unsung to be considered underrated. In this case, we’re happy to bend the rules since we’ve been assured we’ll get free soda and bbq if we attend the races, so we’re glad to support the G. Jezarian race team in his effort to earn his Underrated title.” And, he adds, “if he fails, he’s fired.”
Underrated (forthcoming from Kensington-Citadel this summer) is a collection of essays championing the overlooked and unsung — things like The Chipwich, Good Times, and The War of 1812. Written by the editors of Yankee Pot Roast , the journal of literary and pop culture satire.
