NayKid Racing came to the historic streets of Long Beach, Calif. to make a little history of their own. The Grand Prix of Long Beach was NayKid Racing’s return to the SPEED World Challenge and its first foray into professional motorsports since 2004. For Cindi Lux (Aloha, Ore. ) it was her debut in the production car- based GT Series and Scotty B. White’s (Lake Tapps, Wash. ) comeback. The challenges were many but the team had an impressive debut on the street course.
Lux finished 17th after qualifying 22nd in the No. 2 Fluge Global Adventures/Mintex Brakes/Red Line Oil Dodge Viper Comp Coupe. White took his No. 3 Fluge Global Adventures/Corsa Performance/Forgeline Dodge Viper Comp Coupe 25th on the grid up to 22nd despite being spun in the early going. With limited track time and little testing leading into the race, NayKid Racing walked away with sense of satisfaction and an understanding of what it takes to succeed in the SCCA SPEED World Challenge.
Lux had the better qualifying lap of the two on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary track in Long Beach on Saturday. By virtue of her time of one minute, 28.671 seconds, she started a few rows ahead of White. In the race, though being conservative and learning, Lux and White ran times on par with the other Dodge Viper Comp. Coupes; Lux lapping during the race at 1:29.543, while White traversed the course just behind at 1:30.285. But, by this time, White was already behind the eight ball. He had a spectacular start, his first standing start in three years, to capture five spots before turn one. White, a former winner in the World Challenge, was making his bid for a top-ten finish, no easy task on a street course. However, as others fought for position in the early laps, they collected White.
The white Viper with the blue and orange highlights spun and he was left to try and recapture what had been lost. Both he and Lux moved-up through the pack impressively but, with less experience in the highly competitive series, planned to play it cool and not be overly aggressive on the tight confines of the track. Each moment on the track was one more lap of data that the NayKid team and Lux and White themselves could apply later down the road.
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