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GROWINGGenderson Racing Team expands operationBy BRETT FRIEDLANDER Staff Writer In 1984, driver Bob Lower teamed up with sponsor Barry Genderson to form one of the top amateur racing combinations on the East Coast.As a result of that success, the pair decided to expand theic, operation the following season — adding another car, mechanic John Cox and veteran driver David Brown to the operation Now — one year, 26 victories and three regional titles later — the Genderson Racing Team has taken another bold step forward.Making a full-time commitment to the sport, the team has left the weekend world of amateur sprint racing to take on the challenge of foe Firestone-Firehawk Endurance Championship series.“Getting into professional racing seemed like a mutual progression,” said Genderson, an Annnapoiis Chevrolet dealer who provides foe twin 1984 Camaros used by foe team.“We’ve been successful in foe Sports Car Club of America since we got started and this is just foe next challenge.“It’s definitely a step up,” he added.The Fireatone-Firehawk series, sanctioned by foe International Motor Sports Association, Is made up of 10 endurance races for cars in foe showroom stock class.The series will be contested over some of foe top road courses in foe country, including Watkins Glen, Lime Rock and Riverside. It offers more than 91 million in prize money.“But it still doesn’t come close to covering all the expenses,” Lower said Although foe transition from amateur racing to the pro circuit has been a relatively smooth one for Genderson, Low-er and foeir cohorts, there have been a few “minor” changes to foe operation during foe past few months.For one thing, four new members — Doug Mills of Hagerstown, Bob McKeifoen of ML Airy, Jay Jessup of Charlottesville, Va., and Bdgewater’s Charles Bialand — have been hired onto foe team as drivers.A more important change is foe amount of pre-race preparation it now takes to get foe cars ready.“It’s a whole bunch more work,” said Lower, a 43-year-old Glen Burnie native Who holds the title of “Motor SportsDirector” at Genderson Chevrolet “Organization-wise, we’re still learning.“We’re finding out it takes a lot more effort out of foe individuals (on foe team) to run this kind of operation,” he said. “It's intense... a lot more so than the amateur racing.”So far, foe team seems to be doing a good job of handling foe increased level of competition — and foe pressure that goes along with it.In each of foe three races they’ve run this season, foe Genderson Camaros have consistently been at or near the front of foe pack.“We know we’re capable of winning and that eliminates a lot of foe pressure,'’ (Continued on Page 16)
Newspaper Details
Capital Gazette
Annapolis, Maryland, US
Sat, Jul 19, 1986
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
MD, USA 07 Feb 2025
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