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SHEBOYGAN FALLS, Wis. - ArmsUp Motorsports won three of four races this weekend and SCCA Susie Bonneau Memorial Double Regional. The team's first race at Road America of the 2009 season saw Jeff Pietz take his maiden Formula Continental (FC) victory in race one of the double header weekend. Jim Victor and Jose Paredes each earned a buckeye for a race victory with Victor scoring the race two FC win and Paredes taking home the Formula Atlantic (FA) top spot in race one.

One of the few things that is predictable about racing at Road America is the unpredictability of the weather. Saturday's qualifying session highlighted that fact as the cars were sitting on pre-grid before the session the skies began to darken, and after three-quarters of a lap under green the rain fell. Jeff Pietz was able to get in most of a clean lap and placed second on the FC grid with John Dickmann behind in third. Jim Victor was sixth in the FC field and Noble Heller, making his debut with ArmsUp Motorsports behind the wheel of his Carbir chassis FC , decided not to fight the rain and did not set a time. Jose Paredes was second on the FA grid but mired deep in the combined field after getting on track late in the rain.

With a dry track for race one, Jeff Pietz took the green and set to the task of running down the pole sitter. After three laps the Ohio resident passed for the lead and never looked back driving to a 15 second victory. John Dickmann put in a steady drive for his first race back in the car since last August, losing one spot to finish fourth. Noble Heller who started from the back drove a fine race to come up to the sixth position in FC. Jose Paredes who started deep in the combined group drove a great race through the field to win the FA class by over 22 seconds.

"That felt fantastic," said an ecstatic Jeff Pietz after his maiden FC victory. "We got lucky in qualifying, I was able to get out and push for three-quarters of a lap before the rains came. In the race, I had Jim Pace on the radio helping me push the car and I got more and more comfortable as the race went on. It was just a great feeling to take the victory. I want to thank Gregg (Borland) and all the crew at ArmsUp Motorsports. I would not have won without one of their cars."

Qualifying for race two took place under dry and clear conditions on Sunday morning. Jim Victor, who used Saturday's race as a test session put his Smith Barney car on pole in FC with Jeff Pietz continuing his strong weekend with a third place grid spot for race two. Noble Heller was able to get a solid lap in for fifth spot and John Dickmann wound up ninth in the order. Jose Paredes put his Swift .014 Atlantic car second on the FA grid.

In the race Victor would run and hide from the rest of the FC field. The testing from the previous day paying off with Victor setting some solid lap times in the 10-lap race. Pietz continued to put up solid numbers coming home second in FC, advancing one spot from his qualifying position. Not to be outdone by their teammates both Heller and Dickmann advanced up the running order finishing fourth and seventh respectively. Running another consistent race, Jose Paredes came home second in the Formula Atlantic class.

ArmsUp Motorsports returns to Road America June 19 - 21 for one of the crown jewels of SCCA Club Racing, the June Sprints. Nine drivers are currently scheduled to run under the ArmsUp banner as the team looks for the second June Sprints victory in front of their home crowd.

Formed in 1995, ArmsUp Motorsports is one of the premier SCCA Formula Continental and Formula Atlantic racing teams. Based in Elkhart Lake, Wis ArmsUp Motorsports is a full service prep shop for Formula Continentals, Formula Atlantics, and Vintage racing cars. For more information please visit the official ArmsUp website at www.ArmsUpMotorsports.com.

Jeff Pietz celebrated his first Formula Continental victory at Road America last weekend.
(Photo Courtesy Lynn Pietz)

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