Texas American Iron and Camaro Mustang Challenge racecars converged for the second time this season at Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, Texas. The GM camp came out in full force, with the rookies showing the veterans how it's done. The weather was hot and the racing was even hotter! Saturday dawned warm, with little breeze to help keep the racers cool. Several of our regular AI/CMC racers returned to MSR from damage that occurred during Round #1 to fill the grid. Others took advantage of the long break to upgrade their cars. Richard Pedersen quietly added "game" to his #91 Mustang for an 80hp gain with a few choice engine upgrades. Texas AI Champion John George returned for Round 2 after the fierce shootout competition with Mike Patterson's Camaro in Round 1. This time, John brought "bigger guns" to the tune of the new Griggs Racing GR-40 SLA front suspension and a new cambered rear-end from Griggs for the GR-23 car. David Armstong arrived with what appeared to be a whole new #20 car for an "American Iron Extreme Make Over" - fresh paint (changed color inside & out), new Griggs Racing suspension, and a new engine with plenty more HP which put him up into the AIX Championship points race from his last year's rookie AI season.

Another AIX entry, Wiley Alexander, showed up with his fully restored 2nd Gen Camaro that really drew a crowd. Wiley had previously owned this car and sold it off many years ago only to buy it back from the owner and freshen it up to be a purpose built AIX car with an estimated 400HP/400 TQ…for now. This event would be the Royal Purple #6 AIX car's maiden voyage and "shakedown cruise" as she was fired up for the first time within 24 hours of the event!

Another first in Texas AI and CMC racing history was the fact that the GM folks really came out in numbers to the track - 5 Camaros, and 1 Firebird were in attendance to prove their mettle.

Qualifying began on schedule Saturday morning. In American Iron, Mike Patterson took the pole position with a 1:22.839. The CMC qualifying session put Eric Varner on the pole, showing a 1:27.596.

Saturday's Race #1 gridded AIX, AI and CMC together for a rolling start. With the high ambient, engine and driver temperatures, it could have been anyone's race. The cars went out on the warm up lap, heading for the flag station. The green flag dropped for the rolling start, and the May Texas V8 racing weekend had officially begun.

The #8 Camaro of Mike Patterson roared off, with the #23 of John George in hot pursuit. Richard Pedersen, now with more motor, stayed close to the leaders, all while trying to keep Lyons, Donovan and Brooks in his rearview. The AI pilots took no prisoners, racing door to door in true Texas fashion. Within 8 laps, Patterson began seeing his engine temps climb as he fought the Blue Oval onslaught. The #23 eventually got alongside and made the pass. Jeff Brook's AI Mustang had engine troubles, and retired early.

In AIX, the purple #6 Camaro lost it's transmission, ending Alexander's weekend. David Armstrong's renewed #20 Mustang took AIX honors.

In CMC, Varner led, with Ginsberg, Landrum, Covini and the rest of the CMC field close behind. In lap 4, Ginsberg entered Big Bend at full speed in 4th gear only to have his left front tire go flat due to fender rubbing, taking him out of the race after a nice recovery at speed. The CMC racing was super close with ruthless rookies hunting with veteran vindictiveness - Landrum, in his #70 Camaro, Nicholas Runyon, in his Moonlite Printing and Graphics #79 Camaro, Mitch Warren's #9 Firebird, Corey Rueth's #13 Mustang, and Rob Liebbe's #1 Mustang all raced hard, giving no ground.

At Saturday's AI Race #1 checker, John George took first, with Mike Patterson 2nd, Richard Pedersen 3rd, Chris Lyons 4th, and David Donovan in 5th. In CMC, Eric Varner took 1st, Todd Covini 2nd, Nicholas Runyon 3rd, followed by Glenn Landrum, Mitch Warren, Rob Liebbe, Corey Rueth, and Adam Ginsberg.

Saturday's Race #2 followed the NASA Texas AI and CMC racing tradition of an inverted grid based on the finishing order from the previous race. With the field inverted, it gave a chance for the rookies to show what they could do and the challenge of having the fast guys work their way up to the front.

American Iron pilots Mike Patterson, John George, Richard Pedersen, David Donovan, Chris Lyons, and Jeff Brooks took the green in earnest. In short order, Mike Patterson, in his#8 Camaro, and John George, racing his blue Griggs Racing/Janco Fabrication/Monkey Business #23 Mustang coupe began another classic GM vs. Blue Oval battle for supremacy. Patterson managed to keep George in his rearview mirror, but the entire AI field pushed hard to challenge the leaders.

By lap 10, the #8 Camaro was again seeing elevated temps, allowing the blue #23 to make a pass. With only 2 laps to go, the accessory belt on the #23 coupe began to disintegrate, and was tossed out from under the car. With no power steering, and no water pump to cool the car, John's lead was diminishing fast. 3 turns before the checker, Patterson took advantage of George's mechanical woes, and snatched first place.