Eleven caution periods and consequential officiating conspired to make the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on September 8th 2012 a controversial and frustrating race for competitors and spectators. With 60 cars packed along a 2.24-mile road course, the action was expected to be intense, and it was!

After setting the quickest time of the eight Mustangs entered, and fourth fastest overall, the first practice session ended with the #61 Roush Performance Mustang Boss 302R on its roof with driver Jack Roush Jr inside. Luckily, Roush’s injuries were not life threatening, but the #61 Mustang was done for the weekend. Roush’s arm was severely injured in the crash, and he was rushed back home for surgery.

(Left) What makes the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge great? The diversity! A Mustang, Porsche, Aston Martin, Subaru, and BMW are all shown here rounding turn one at Laguna Seca early in the race.(Right) Emmanuel Anassis and Anthony Massari shared the #43 BTE Sport Mustang Boss 302R, shown here cresting the highest point of Laguna Seca before the infamous Corkscrew. Anassis and Massari qualified 20th and finished 14th.

Holding the torch for the Mustangs was Roush Racing’s #51 Mustang Boss 302R driven by Joey Atterbury and Shelby Blackstock that qualified 7th for the race, behind two Aston Martins, a Camaro, a Nissan 370Z, a BMW M3, and a Porsche.

The all-Aston-Martin front row had pole-sitter Joe Foster and Tonis Kasements led the diverse 60-car field to the green flag. For the series’ 10th race, Grand-Am officials were strictly enforcing its race start rule: At the start (or restart), the pace car ducks into pit lane as the field rounds the last turn onto the front straight.

As the pace car travels along pit lane, the race leader must not pass the pace car before it crosses an “acceleration line” denoted by cones on either side of the track. Therefore, the leading driver has to watch the starter for the green flag while simultaneously watching the pace car alongside to make sure the driver doesn’t overtake the pace car too early.

This rule’s enforcement penalized three drivers, and ultimately decided the race. In the race’s final laps, both the race- and championship-leading Porsches of David Epringham (#83 BGB Racing Porsche) and Matt Plumb (#13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche) were given stop-and-go penalties for passing the pace car prior to the acceleration line. The citation promoted the #9 Camaro of John Edwards to the lead with only two laps remaining!

(Left) The Racer’s Edge Motorsports Mustang Boss 302R drafts the #61 Roush Performance Boss 302R up the hill to the entry of turn six at Laguna Seca.(Right) Roger Miller’s #158 Mustang Boss 302R powers up the hill to turn six at Laguna Seca.

While trying to take the lead on the final lap, Andrew Aquilante in the #35 Subaru plowed into Edwards’s Camaro. The contact terminally injured Aquilante’s Subaru, though Edwards was able to continue and take the checkered flag. Though cited for the same “passing the pace car” infraction earlier in the race, Bryan Sellers recovered to finish second in the #46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3. Jade Buford rounded out the top three finishers in his #71 Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

Neither of the seven Mustangs that qualified for the race led any laps, but Roger Miller and Ian James survived to finish a strong 5th, the best of the Mustangs. The 2012 Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season wraps up at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut on September 29th. The drivers’, team, and manufacturer’s titles are still a toss-up, so the final race is going to be exciting—which is par for the course this season!

 Images and Captions: