MILLVILLE, N.J.—One year ago, RSR Motorsports stood atop the Street Tuner podium at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Randall Smalley and Owen Trinkler’s victory marked the first professional race win for both RSR Motorsports and MINI USA.

Sarah Cattaneo became the first woman to win in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge in nearly eight years when she joined Owen Trinkler in the Street Tuner class-winning No. 198 Cruise America/4 Winds RV Mini Cooper S in Saturday's B+ Foundation Heroes 200. She was the first woman to win in the series since Belinda Endress, who won in 2003 at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Quebec. Cattaneo also was the third woman to win, joining Endress and Caroline Wright, who won at Daytona International Speedway in 2003.

It was Trinkler's second consecutive ST victory at New Jersey Motorsports Park, in a race with temperatures reaching 99 degrees. He won in the No. 198 Mini Cooper S last year with Randall Smalley.

Cattaneo started third and ran in the top five before turning the car over to her teammate. Trinkler took the lead shortly after the following restart on Lap 68 from Andrew Carbonell, who shared the No. 26 Mazda/Semperfifund.org Mazda MX-5 with Rhett O'Doski. The pair came up on two spinning cars. Trinkler managed to get by, while Carbonell got off track and spun, finishing sixth.

Jack Roush Jr. and Billy Johnson combined to score their third Grand Sport victory of the season in the No. 61 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302R. It was their second consecutive dominant victory at the 2.25-mile, 12-turn Thunderbolt Raceway. Roush started third and took the lead on Lap 15. He led 21 circuits before handing the car over to Johnson, who led the final 14 circuits. A year ago, they combined to lead all but four of the 87 laps.

The race ended under caution following a multi-car incident, including the Street Tuner championship-leading Kia, which had a mechanical problem and dropped fluid over the circuit.

Terry Borcheller finished second in the No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 started by Mark Boden. Todd Snyder and Scott Panzer combined to finish a career-best third in the No. 21 Frederick Motorsports Ford Mustang GT, after Snyder made a classic "over-under" pass on Charles Espenlaub, driving the No. 48 Sparco/Fall-Line BMW M3, in Turn 1 moments before the race-ending caution waved.

Boris Said finished sixth in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 started by Paul Dalla Lana. With one race remaining in the season, Dalla Lana holds a 16-point lead in the GS points standings (251-235), with fifth-place finisher Matt Plumb another eight points back in third.

Tom Dyer and Chris Puskar finished second in ST driving the No. 197 RSR Motorsports Mini Cooper S, while Eric Foss and Brad Rampelberg finished third in the No. 27 Mazda/Semperfifund.org MAZDASPEED3.

Nic Jönsson entered the race with an 18-point lead in the ST standings, and led 14 laps before turning the No. 10 Kia Motors America/Infinity Audio Kia Forte Koup over to Michael Galati. Disaster struck in the closing laps, with the car leaking fluid, which brought out the race-ending caution. Jönsson and Galati finished 24th, with Jönsson's ST lead cut to only three points (211-208) over Ryan Eversley, who finished ninth in the No. 75 Skunk2/Children's Tumor Foundation Honda Civic Si. The victory enabled Cattaneo and Trinkler to close to within nine points of Jönsson.

The Surprises

Tony Buffomante captured his first pole position in Saturday morning qualifying, running a lap of 1:29.956 (90.044 mph) in the No. 68 Boss Mustang 302R. With its main car damaged at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the team got a backup car from Multimatic Motorsports. Buffomante - qualifying in the top 10 for the first time - led the opening lap.
Todd Snyder and Scott Panzer scored their first Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge podium finish, taking third in the No. 21 Frederick Motorsports Ford Mustang GT.
David Heinemeier Hansson led two laps in ST in his GRAND-AM Road Racing debut, driving the No. 09 Trade Manage Racing Porsche Boxster.
John Edwards and Matt Bell were seeking their third consecutive victory in the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. A 30-second penalty for Bell hitting pit equipment on a stop during the first caution period resulted in a 30-second penalty. It was downhill from there, with the team finishing 14th, all but eliminating them from the championship.
Compass360 Racing's No. 75 Honda Civic Si of Simon Pagenaud and Ryan Eversley won the $500 SunTrust Improve Your Position Award from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Accepting the award, team principal Karl Thomson immediately donated the prize to Al Carter and the B+ Foundation.

Now, the team returns to the site of their first win for this weekend’s GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race. In the year that has passed, RSR Motorsports has had its share of triumphs and letdowns.

That win at New Jersey was followed up with a back-to-back win at Trois-Rivieres, and then a second place at Miller Motorsports Park. Those accomplishments closed out the 2010 season. This year, Trinkler and Sarah Cattaneo earned third at Homestead-Miami Speedway before moving to second in the team championship standings. Meanwhile, Dicky Riegel and guest driver Matt Plumb got their own podium, finishing second at Lime Rock.

The success has been tempered by setback: Trinkler was hit by a competitor and forced to retire at Lime Rock, and brake problems at Laguna Seca further hindered the championship chase.

Heading into round nine at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Cattaneo and Trinkler hope to drive their No. 198 MINI Cooper S to a podium finish again. “Laguna didn’t turn out how we would have liked, but the car handled great and we have everything we need to win,” says Cattaneo. “If you look at the points, we’re still there. Our cars our great, we have an awesome team behind us, and we just have to keep fighting.”

Trinkler shares Cattaneo’s optimism. “This is the best in points this team has ever been,” he says, referring to their fifth-place spot in ST team points. “New Jersey will be a little hotter, which suits us well. I feel really good about these last tracks on the schedule.”

Randall Smalley, who shared the win with Trinkler last year, will co-drive the No. 197 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S with Tom Dyer. “I'm excited to get back to New Jersey Motorsports Park, the site of my first GRAND-AM win. Tom and I are looking forward to a good result. It will be hot like last year and we think that is a plus for the RSR cars,” says Smalley.

Ron Farmer and Jason Hart, who finished ninth at Laguna Seca two weeks ago, will co-drive the No. 196 U.S. LED MINI Cooper S. They have been earning consistent top tens in their first year in the series. Chris Sarian and VJ Mirzayan will co-drive the No. 195 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S. The pair finished 13th at Laguna following a strong run there.

RSR Motorsports hopes to claim another victory during the B+ Foundation Heroes 200 this Saturday, July 23, at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The race begins at 2:45 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on SPEED at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 30.

Keep up with RSR Motorsports at www.RSRMotorsports.com.

RSR Motorsports is sponsored by Cruise America, Thor Motor CoachÜS LED, MINI USA, Pilot/Flying J Travel Centers, Performance Friction Rotors, OS Giken Racing Clutches and Limited Slip Differentials, Midway Ford Truck Sales, Mini North Scottsdale, Performance Speed Tech, and Carbotech Pads.