June 6th, 2010
by Dave Arnold/Arnold Communications
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 June 6th, 2010 • New Jersey Motorsports Race "Heinricy begins chase for 12th SCCA National Championship with T-1 race Win"  John Heinricy today drove the Torvec-Phoenix Chevrolet Corvette C5, prepared by Phoenix Performance, Inc., of Phoenixville, PA., to the Touring 1 class win in a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) race at New Jersey Motorsports Park. An 11-time National Champion in the SCCA’s annual Runoffs, to be held this Fall at Road America, Wis., the win is Heinricy’s first step toward his 12th National Championship – the most by any active SCCA driver. “Our goal is to showcase the abilities of the Torvec differential in the Corvette, race the car in selected SCCA Nationals, and see if John can get his 12th Runoffs championship and his 11th with cars from the Phoenix Performance shop,” said Joe Aquilante, owner of Phoenix Performance. Heinricy, retired from General Motors with 38 years experience engineering Corvette and other GM performance vehicles, has a world-wide reputation as a development driver. “Winning this race was actually quite a challenge,” Heinricy said. “Because of a prior commitment, neither Joe nor I were available to be here for practice and qualifying, so we had to start at the end of a 25-car field for all Touring Car classes.” Heinricy passed 13 cars on the first lap, set his sights on the leader, took over the lead several laps later, and never looked back, while setting fastest lap of the race. “I’m now a consultant to Torvec, in Rochester, NY,” said Heinricy, “helping them develop their new IsoTorque differential. As the IsoTorque differential is designed to do, I could easily feel the way it reduced understeer entering the corners here, and it enabled me to get the power down sooner upon exit, without unnecessary wheelspin.” The Phoenix Performance team will enter Heinricy and the Torvec Corvette in three more SCCA Nationals prior to the Runoffs - June 26 at Road America, Wis., for the June Sprints, and the July 9 Double National at Watkins Glen, N.Y. About Phoenix Performance: Phoenix Performance, Inc., owned by Joe Aquilante, is based in a 32,000 sq. ft. race shop in Phoenixville, PA, 40 miles west of downtown Philadelphia. Phoenix Performance-prepared cars have won 18 SCCA National Club Racing Championships since 1999, two professional series Driver and Manufacturer Championships, and the GM Motorsports Winner’s Circle Award. For more information, call 610-482-0141 or visit www.phoenixperformanceinc.com and www.phoenixperformance.net About Torvec: Torvec is a leader in advanced driveline technology. Torvec’s IsoTorque differential is an evolution in differential design, allowing for maximum traction without interfering with differentiation, resulting in improved performance, handling and safety. Evaluations by four separate racing teams have all shown a reduction in lap times by one second with just installing the IsoTorque. The IsoTorque’s fully patented gear design makes this all possible without the need for complex and costly electronics and is good for the life of the vehicle. The IsoTorque is currently being evaluated by several major OEM’s and will be available in the fall of 2010 for all C5 – C6 Corvettes and 5th generation Camaros. For more information on Torvec and IsoTorque please visit Torvec.com About John Heinricy: John Heinricy has won 11 SCCA Runoffs National Championships. Now retired from General Motors with 38 years experience engineering Corvette and other GM performance vehicles. Through his business, Heinrocket Inc., Heinricy specializes in, vehicle testing and development, high performance driver training, race car development, automotive consultant for engineered solutions, media event planning and execution, and motivational speaking. video download link |