All
Press Releases by Jeannette Udwary
April 02, 2002
Jeannette
Udwary gets first Podium finish for 2002 Season
Jeannette
Udwary, anxious to prove her desire for racing, took a third
place finish at the April Northeast Division SCCA opening
event at Summit Point, West Virginia. It was not without challenges.
Jeannette races with some of the best drivers in the Nation
right here in the Northeast. Competing in the highly competitive
GT-1 class against the talent and cars of drivers like Jack
Busch, Bill Hopwood (both set new track records at Summit
Point) and Scott Quaile -- not to mention the occasional Paul
Newman does not deter her drive.
Jeannette,
or "Jette" as her friends call her, is driving a
C5 Corvette bodied car that christened the tracks last year.
The chassis was built by Lou Gigliotti and the remainder of
the car by Crewchief/ husband, Michael Bromirski with help
from crew Bill Brockmann, Brett Ziegenhagen, Mike Coppola
and Joe Ferrara. Breaking in the new car last year, Jette
managed a 4th place Division finish, qualifying her for the
popular Valvoline National Runoffs. After a trek to Ohio in
August for practice for the event, it was cut short by a motor
disaster in the 1st lap of qualifying. This left Jette with
a backup motor that had 14 races on it without a rebuild.
That resulted in scraping up 15th place in the highly competitive
field of nationwide champions.
Limited
funding apparently hasn't prevented Jette from resulting near
the top. Last year was the first yearracing on new 'sticker'
tires. Even having qualified for the Valvoline Runoffs in
1998, her rookie year, she ran on used tires and finished
14th, losing a place near the end of the race due to lack
of tire hold in a corner taking her on a brief "picnic".
With the  newcar
and help from sponsor Southern Tier Insulation, there are
a couple sets of new tires. The first were used at Summit
Point. A little sound problem almost put Jette at the back
of the 40 car field. Taking care of the problem before getting
disqualified, put her on the grid in the 7th position. She
quickly moved up to fourth position. A red flag brought the
course to a stop and shuffled the field a little, but black-flagging-all
brought everyone into the pits where the last order to cross
the start/finish line was arranged putting Jette back up to
fourth place. Fourth was maintained until leader Bill Hopwood
caught some carnage from another car putting a hole in his
radiator. Not what we like to see -- luck plays a large part
of this game! There was a shot at catching Claude Saffer,
and she did on a restart, but as he is a local to the track,
he quickly took back the position. The Jette Motorsports team
has been focusing on suspension improvements, and Jette was
certain she could have had faster times -- you always want
'just a few more laps!'
It seems we take a step and a half forward, then one step
back -- for example, wings are now allowed in GT-1. We knew
some of the big guys would have them, but we were about the
only one that didn't have one! Add that to the grocery list,
and keep looking for sponsors! It keeps Jeannette especially
grateful for sponsorship from T.A.C.'s Autobody, who painted
her first GT-1 car and this C5 Corvette, and Southern Tier
Insulation. Warren Tire in Latham, NY cannot provide race
tires, so they donate tire mounting (switching around those
used tires!)
Jeannette
couldn't do it without her husband/crewchief Michael, and
talented friends who donate their time and energy -- which
is really paying off!! As a result of their efforts, the team
has accomplished the following Regional and National Standings:
1st - North Atlantic Road Racing Championship (NARRC) 1998
and 1999
1st - New York State Road Racing Championship (NYSRRC 1998)
3rd/4th- Northeast Division National Points standings 1998,
1999 and 2001
Awarded "Best New Driver" in NYSRRC; Awarded Rookie
of the Year for MoHud Region SCCA.
Finish 14th / 11th fastest lap time as a rookie at the Valvoline
National Runoffs. Only female driver in the field.
The Jette
Motorsports Team still has a few tricks up their sleeves as
we continue to motivate towards that step and a half forward!
We are closing in! Third place was a good finish for the first
race of the season. Now we are off to Loudon, New Hampshire
where we will once again be on used tires. We are ready!
Jeannette
is a longstanding member of the Tri-Vettes, Ltd. Corvette
Club where she first started her racing endeavors with high
speed and low speed solo events and drags. Through that organization,
she helped initiate the Capital District Spina Bifida Association,
and is a current member of the Board of Directors.
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