WRPM Race Update
Novenber 3-4, 2023 – Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Braselton Georgia
For the fourth year in a row WRPMotorsports Driver Willie Phee Wins the
American Road Race of Champions at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in
Braselton, Georgia.
The 2024 SARRC Championship series would begin at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
with the first two rounds of the series. Willie Phee finish 1
st
overall in both the Friday
and Saturday Championship race.
Qualifying would be on a very cold Friday morning and Phee made the decision to go
out and gradually work up to speed due to the near freezing temperatures. Phee
would trade places with eventual overall pole sitter Zach Ehrlich in his Mazda Miata over
the course of qualifying but would end up second overall at the end of qualifying.
“When I first went out it was so cold I knew it would take until the final laps to get a
good time in” said Phee.
Phee would end
up second by
just .136 seconds
and would start
outside row one.
In the Friday
afternoon race
Phee would grab
the lead in turn
one but the race
would be black
flagged on the
first lap due to a
car blowing up
and putting oil
down from turn
11 all the way to turn one. “I didn’t know why we had the black flag but I did feel the car get
sideways in turn 12 on the first flying lap so I knew there was some sort of problem” said Phee.
After a long cleanup the session was re-gridded and Phee would start 2
nd
in the single
file restart. Due to the schedule, we would just have three laps for our Friday race. At
the start Phee would immediately move into the lead in turn one and hold on the three
frantic laps to
finish first overall.
“That was a really
crazy race with
the restart and only
three laps but I
knew if I could get
to the front I could
hold on for the win”
said Phee.
In the Saturday
championship race
temperatures would
be warmer but still
cooler than normal.
Phee would again start outside row one and would move into the lead in turn one and never be
headed for the entire race. Phee would slowly create a gap to the second-place car each and
every lap that would grow to a 9.4 second lead at the finish. Phee would lead every lap and
run the fastest race lap to win his fourth in a row championship.
“I don’t want to say this was an easy race but I just wanted to put in consistent laps
and build up a gap. It was still challenging due to the cold weather, it was difficult to
get enough temperature in the tries at the beginning of the race but as the race progressed
the track and the tires
got warmer and made
for an uneventful race”
said Phee.
“My 2023 season didn’t
start off very well with
transmission problems
early in the year. The
team struggled to find
a solution to the
problem and we really
only get the car right in
the second race at
Barber Motorsports
Park last August.
Which meant I only had one race this year prior to the ARRC Championship race. I have to
give all credit to the OPM crew for the work they did to get the car ready and give me the
opportunity to run for a fourth ARRC championship.
I’m hoping for a better 2024 season and this win is a great way to start it ‘said Phee
The nest race is scheduled for May 4-5,2024 at Virginia International Raceway in Alton,
Virginia.
The WRPMotorsports team is sponsored by GLoc Brakes, Sparco USA, Total Lubricants,
MCS Suspension and OPM Autosports.
Photos courtesy of Clark McInnis https://cmcinnis.wordpress.com/
Race
Results