Andy Lally: “We had a great car. Kinetic Motorsports really knows how to build these BMWs and it was a pleasure to race with them this weekend. The crew did a great job and Todd was excellent from the drop of the green all the way through the first half of the race. I think this team has the potential to win a lot of races, especially with how hard they are working.”

Running in his first ever GS race, Derek Whitis co-drove with Tom Long in the Gail O’Doski/Freedom Autosport #80 BMW. Whitis, normally accustomed to running in ST, qualified eighth and ran solidly in the top ten despite suffering from heat exhaustion. Long took over just before the halfway point of the race and ran as high as fourth, but a second fuel stop towards the end of the race dropped him out of the top ten.

Derek Whitis: “What a way to get introduced to the GS class! It was a hot race, in a hot BMW, with a hot Kinetic team that put Tom and I as high as 4th. Kinetic really knows how to race up front.”

Russell Smith and Nic Jonsson were near the top of the practice charts throughout the weekend, however the Maxwell Paper/Kinetic-Sunbelt #79 BMW was involved in an incident on the start and later developed mechanical problems as a result, forcing them to retire the car early. 

Team Manager Ed Hall: “The event at Barber continues the momentum the Kinetic team has been experiencing the last four events - with all three cars competing in the top five during the race and top of the sheets during all practice sessions. The team performed flawlessly in the Alabama heat getting all the pit stops done mistake free, in succession. The guys have been practicing their stops during the week,  and it paid off.” 

The race will be televised on SPEED Saturday, July 26th at 2pm.  In-car video footage from the #87 car at the beginning of the race is available to download from:  http://www.toddlamb.com/videos/KoniBarber87.wmv

Kinetic’s next Koni Challenge event will be in Trois Rivieres,  Quebec, Canada for GP3R August 15-17. Kinetic continues development on their new cars for 2009 and will be supporting several club events prior to GP3R.

About Kinetic

Kinetic is an automotive group that includes Kinetic Motorsports,  Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines, and Kinetic Speed Shop. Kinetic Motorsports taps into every aspect of professional and amateur racing, from car builds to prep and trackside support. Every resource needed to develop,  manage and run a professional race team in any series is located onsite. Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines have powered amateur and professional racers to numerous championships in North America. Kinetic Speed Shop caters to aftermarket street performance. Kinetic’s 42,000 square foot,  state-of-the-art showroom and race complex is located in Buford,  Georgia, just 15 minutes from Road Atlanta. More information can be found online at www.kssmotorsports.com.

Posted by Todd Lamb on 07/22 at 11:17 AM


Kinetic Motorsports Adds to Driver Lineup for Barber

July 17, 2008 –  BUFORD, GA - Continuing to build upon their success, Kinetic Motorsports is adding several drivers to this weekend’s Koni Challenge GS lineup for Barber. Andy Lally, Derek Whitis, and Tom Long will be joining Kinetic for the first time, while Todd Lamb, Nic Jonsson, and Russell Smith are returning drivers.

Three-time Grand Am Rolex Series Champion Andy Lally will be co-driving with Todd Lamb in the #87 Maxwell Paper Products/Kinetic-Sunbelt BMW M3.  Lally is doing double duty for the weekend also running in the GT class with TRG, who fields Lally’s Craftsman Truck ride. Lamb and Lally competed against each another in karting years ago, but this will be their first time as co-drivers.

Derek Whitis and Tom Long, no strangers to Koni Challenge competition, will be joining Kinetic for the first time in the #80 Gail O’Doski/Freedom Autosport/Kinetic BMW M3. Whitis, of Tallahassee, FL, is owner of Freedom Autosport, which runs Kinetic-Sunbelt powered Mazda MX-5’s in ST.  Whitis most recently qualified second at Watkins Glen in ST and will see his first start in GS at Barber.  Long, from Raleigh, NC, has a best finish of third in GS at VIR, two podium finishes with Freedom Autosport this season in ST,  and also runs in the Rolex series.

Nic Jonsson and Russell Smith, the co-owners of Kinetic, will share the team’s third entry in GS this weekend driving the #79 Maxwell Paper Products/Kinetic-Sunbelt BMW M3. Smith normally runs in ST but will be making his second start in GS this season, his first being at Lime Rock. Jonsson is also doing double duty again this weekend, running a Daytona Prototype with Krohn Racing in the Rolex series.

Todd Lamb: “Andy and I raced nationals together in karting when we were first starting our racing careers. He was fast even back then and given the completely different paths we took in life it’s pretty amazing we’re driving together at Barber. I’m looking forward to my second race with Kinetic - with our success at Watkins Glen we’ve proven we can run up front, so now it’s just a matter of nailing the setup at Barber.

Andy Lally: “I’m really happy to be able to run with Todd this weekend. It is also exciting to finally get to work with the Kinetic team. My house in Georgia is only 8 miles from their shop -  Nic and I have been talking about someday racing together since the shop opened. I can’t wait to see what Barber feels like in a BMW. I won the race last year in GS and have Rolex wins there in ‘04 and ‘06 so I always look forward to this event.”

Derek Whitis “Kinetic is clearly one of the fastest teams and Tom Long one of the fastest drivers – so it should be a great introduction to GS for me.”

The Koni Challenge race will take place Saturday, July 19th at 2:15pm. The race will be televised on SPEED July 26th at 2pm.

About Kinetic

Kinetic is an automotive group that includes Kinetic Motorsports,  Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines, and Kinetic Speed Shop. Kinetic Motorsports taps into every aspect of professional and amateur racing, from car builds to prep and trackside support. Every resource needed to develop,  manage and run a professional race team in any series is located onsite. Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines have powered amateur and professional racers to numerous championships in North America. Kinetic Speed Shop caters to aftermarket street performance. Kinetic’s 42,000 square foot,  state-of-the-art showroom and race complex is located in Buford,  Georgia, just 15 minutes from Road Atlanta. More information can be found online at www.kssmotorsports.com.

Posted by Todd Lamb on 07/17 at 11:14 AM


Kinetic Motorsports Has Strong Showing at Watkins Glen

July 8, 2008 –  BUFORD, GA - It was another successful weekend for Kinetic Motorsports at the Koni Challenge race in Watkins Glen, NY. Kinetic fielded cars in both the GS and ST classes, as well as taking podium spots in both classes with Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines.

Todd Lamb and Kinetic co-owner Nic Jonsson co-drove the GS #79 Kinetic Motorsports BMW M3 to a tenth place finish after a setback on the last lap of the race while running fourth. Lamb started out the weekend near the top of the speed charts by setting the fastest lap on rain tires in the first practice session, while Jonsson was busy in Daytona racing to a third place finish in the Rolex Daytona Prototype class. Lamb qualified the Kinetic BMW in sixth and led several laps in the race before Jonsson began his rapid climb up the standings after the mid-race driver change.  Jonsson had an impressive run from 26th to fourth while turning very quick laps in the Kinetic-Sunbelt powered M3.

Kendall Smith and Russell Walker teamed up in the GS #80 Maxwell Paper Products/PaveCon/Kinetic-Sunbelt BMW M3. Both drivers have experience in the ST class, but this was their first race in the faster GS class.  Smith executed the start and subsequent restarts flawlessly to move up several spots and avoid contact in the mid-pack frenzy, handing over the car in perfect condition to Walker at the halfway point of the race.  Walker charged back through the pack turning very competitive laps and by the end of the race was 16th. 

Lee Davis and Kinetic co-owner Russell Smith returned to the ST field in their #33 Luna-C Racing/Kinetic Motorsports BMW 330i. They tied their season-best finish of 16th from Mid Ohio, and made significant headway in working with engineer Mark Schomann to find a good setup for their car. Both Davis and Smith are series rookies and continue to progress rapidly in their driving performance.

Todd Lamb quote:  “This was my first GS race in a competitive car; the Kinetic guys really know how to get a car to the front. It seemed like I had the easiest job on the whole team – with the support of the crew,  engineers, Sunbelt, data analysis, and of course my co-driver Nic - all I had to do was listen and learn, then execute. Our pit stop was simply amazing, and the race strategy worked out perfectly. I have to thank Russell and Nic for the opportunity and I’m looking forward to Barber.”

Kendall Smith quote:  “Running my first Grand-Am Koni GS race, I felt a bit overwhelmed.  However, Kinetic helped me feel at home; Russell Smith and Nic Jonsson run a top-notch team and the crew is as professional as they come. They prepared a great car and went out of their way to explain setup changes which continued to make the car better each session. Russell Walker and I drove as hard as we could to produce a good result and worked up to as high as 7th place. We were pleased to finish 16th in our first ever GS race and look forward to future races with Kinetic. I would like to thank Maxwell Paper Products for making it possible to run this event.”

  “We had a great weekend and the crew continues to get better and better, but it is now time to focus on Barber,” commented Ed Hall, Kinetic Team Manager.  “With the competition level so high in Koni Challenge this year, we cannot let up. The entire team is already focused, and working, on the cars and equipment preparing for Barber, as we plan to continue the race to our first Koni Challenge podium finish”.

Overall,  Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines powered drivers to podium finishes in both classes with both BMW and Mazda motors. The MX-5’s of Freedom Autosport qualified second in ST and finished third, while the Turner Motorsports BMW M3 finished second in GS.

Kinetic Motorsports returns to action at Barber Motorsports Park on July 18-20 near Birmingham, AL for the next round of the Koni Challenge series. In the meantime, development on the team’s new Koni Challenge cars for 2009 continues in both the wind tunnel and on the dyno.

About Kinetic

Kinetic is an automotive group that includes Kinetic Motorsports,  Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines, and Kinetic Speed Shop. Kinetic Motorsports taps into every aspect of professional and amateur racing, from car builds to prep and trackside support. Every resource needed to develop,  manage and run a professional race team in any series is located onsite. Kinetic-Sunbelt Engines have powered amateur and professional racers to numerous championships in North America. Kinetic Speed Shop caters to aftermarket street performance. Kinetic’s 42,000 square foot,  state-of-the-art showroom and race complex is located in Buford,  Georgia, just 15 minutes from Road Atlanta. More information can be found online at www.kssmotorsports.com.

Posted by Todd Lamb on 07/08 at 11:09 AM


Kinetic Motorsports Announces Driver Line-up for Watkins Glen

July 2, 2008 -  BUFORD, GA - Kinetic Motorsports has solidified its driver lineup for the Koni Challenge race weekend at Watkins Glen July 3-5. Todd Lamb,  Kendall Smith, and Russell Walker will be joining Kinetic for the first time this season, while Lee Davis, Russell Smith, and Nic Jonsson will be making repeat appearances.

Todd Lamb will join Nic Jonsson in the GS #79 Kinetic Motorsport BMW M3.  Todd has had several successful tests with Kinetic earlier in the season and is no stranger to Kinetic Motorsports. The current NASA National Champion uses Kinetic-Sunbelt power in his Spec Miata, and recently worked with Kinetic Speed Shop on an e46 supercharger project.  Nic will be doing double duty this weekend as he will also be driving on Thursday night at Daytona under the lights in the Krohn Racing ProtoAuto Lola Daytona Prototype.

Kendall Smith and Russell Walker will team up in the GS #80 Maxwell Paper Products BMW M3.  The duo have been running in ST and decided it was time to move up to the GS class. “We are looking forward to working with the team,  their Engineer and coach Brian Sellers and Kinetic’s Nic Jonsson,”  commented Kendall Smith. Lee Davis and Russell Smith will return to the ST field in their #33 Luna-C Racing/Kinetic Motorsport BMW 330i. Both Grand-Am Koni rookies have competed in each of this season’s races and have been steadily gaining confidence with each race. They recently finished 16th (improving 15 slots) in a very eventful, rain-drenched Mid-Ohio event, with a field of 46 cars.

Todd Lamb commented, “I am thrilled to be running with Kinetic, it feels a bit like homecoming! We had some great tests together at Road Atlanta and I am really looking forward to driving with Nic in the GS class. Ed (team manager), Adam (crew chief), and the rest of the guys have put together some of the best BMW’s in the field, and I think we’re set for a strong finish at Watkins Glen.” “We are delighted to have Todd, Kendall and Russell join us at the Glen. For Kendall Smith and Russell Walker, this will be their first introduction to the Kinetic organization and we are looking forward to working with them through data analysis to optimize their performance in our cars,” added Kinetic owner Russell Smith.

About Kinetic Motorsports

Kinetic Motorsports is part of an automotive group that also includes Kinetic Sunbelt Engines, Kinetic Speed Shop, and Said Head Performance. Kinetic Motorsports taps into every aspect of professional and amateur racing, from car builds to prep and trackside support. Every resource needed to develop, manage and run a professional race team in any series is located onsite. Kinetic’s 42,000 square foot, state-of-the-art showroom and race complex is located in Buford, Georgia, just 15 minutes from Road Atlanta. More information can be found online at www.kssmotorsports.com.

Posted by Todd Lamb on 07/02 at 11:06 AM