Kenny and Jordan Bupp ready for Road Atlanta
April 6, 2016
TEAM RELEASE - Kenny Bupp won his first Trans Am race at the kick off of the series 50th Anniversary season at Sebring. He brings his Hamilton Safe Security Chevy Camaro to Road Atlanta with momentum on his side.
The win gives the veteran Ft. Lauderdale, FL driver a head start for the 2016 Trigon Trophy awarded the series champion. Bupp holds a 4pt lead on second place Kerry Hitt and a 12 point lead on defending series champ, Amy Ruman.
“It couldn’t be more thrilling.” Said Bupp. “It feels pretty good. I realized we had a chance to win the race at the last caution. I was racing Kerry Hitt for 5th place and got past him. Next thing I know I am the leader and being told on the radio that the last lap was coming up. I looked at the flag stand expecting the white flag and he pulled out the checker.”
The win has caused the 79 year old longtime racer to rethink his plans for the season. “Originally I was going to do Sebring, Atlanta and Daytona. Then concentrate on Jordan’s season in TA2(Bupp’s son). Bupp said. “Now we will go to Atlanta and see. If we stay in the top 5 in points, we will keep going.”
Bupp’s off season upgrades to his racing program are showing immediate dividends. Kenny added master road racer Tommy Riggins as team manager and that lead to more upgrades. “We had a PME motor in the car for the first time at Sebring. You have to have that kind of horsepower if you want to be competitive.” Said Bupp.
He also gave credit to the effort of his team. “You can’t win without your team preparing the car. Todd Coury put in a great effort and the performance of the car was a real compliment to him.” Bupp said.
Jordan Bupp’s TA2 season debut was not quite as exciting as his father’s win, but was a strong solid performance. Jordan didn’t get a good qualifying run and had to start 31st in a 35 car field. In the race he worked his star spangled #81 Hamilton Safe Security Ford Mustang thru traffic to earn a solid 15th place finish.
That solid finish in a very competitive field is a good starting spot for the long championship haul where getting strong finishes and avoiding bad days pays big benefits.
Off the track Jordan received some notoriety as well. DaVita, the primary provider of dialysis in North America celebrated World Kidney Day and National Kidney Month by making Jordan Bupp their story of the year. In the story,http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2016/03/10/DC43637, Jordan talks about the hours of dialysis treatment he needs everyday and what it means to him. "Dialysis is not slowing me down. Your life isn't over. In this seemingly dark place, you can find good in it. Tomorrow is another day," said Bupp.
Kenny and Jordan Bupp return to Trans Am action April 9 and 10 at Road Atlanta. Both races will be run on Sunday with Saturday afternoon qualifying. Go to GoTransAm.com for news updates and live timing and scoring.
