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ALTON, Va. - ArmsUp Motorsports drivers John Greist, Revere Greist, Jeff Pietz and Pat McGinnis combined to score four podiums and seven top-five
finishes is the team's maiden visit to the Virginia International Raceway. Competing in the SCCA's North Carolina April Double National John Greist,
Revere Greist and Jeff Pietz all stood on the podium at one point during the double race event. For Sunday's event Revere Greist earned the team's
first Buckeye of the season by scoring the pole for the Formula Continental race.
After a solid Friday test day the team was ready for the
first race on Saturday. Qualifying went smoothly for the team with Revere leading the group with a second place run. ArmsUp Cars swept the following
three spots with John Greist, McGinnis and Pietz taking positions three through five respectively.
Race one turned out to be a bit of a
disappointment for the ArmsUp team as confusing circumstances stripped a possible victory. At the green flag waved Revere jumped out to a solid lead
from his second starting position. At lap two a black flag was shown for an incident bringing all the cars to the pit lane. During the black flag
period officials had Revere to start and stop his car several times as they attempted to get the cars back in running order for the restart. While in
the pits a faulty cable was not allowing the alternator or the auxiliary jumper battery to charge the number 56 car. When the final call was given for
a restart Revere's car would not fire leaving the race leader stranded on pit lane negating his strong opening laps.
Once the race got back
underway John Greist, Pietz and McGinnis all put in solid drives. The elder Greist drove consistently and was able to bring home a second place
result. Pietz, who had been struggling with shifting issues, scored his first podium in only his second start with ArmsUp Motorsports by coming home
third. Pat McGinnis finished fourth after battling a sticking throttle during the race. To overcome this problem the St. Louis driver drove most of
the race switching the car on and off with the ignition switch when he needed to slow down.
Race two started on a much higher note after the
previous day's disappointment for Revere. The Madison, Wisconsin driver took his first pole of the season and used the starting position to jump out
to the lead early in race number two. After losing the lead just before half way Revere made an uncharacteristic error and spun in the tricky Oak Tree
corner. Greist was able to recover and gain back his second place but a win was put out of reach.
Trailing his son across the line John Greist
scored his third straight podium of the season with another solid drive. McGinnis finished fourth in race two showing improved speed with the stuck
throttle problem solved. Jeff Pietz completed his first full weekend of competition with ArmsUp by scoring his second top-five finish bringing his car
home fifth. Pietz was able to continue improving all weekend despite fighting shifting problems that the team chased through the weekend and finally
traced to the seat hampering the shift linkage that runs through the cockpit of the car.
ArmsUp Motorsports now heads to Blackhawk Farms May,
1-3 where Kirk Kindsfater will make his race debut as he joins Jim Victor, and the Greist family for ArmsUp Motorsports first local race of the year.
In the inter-team points battle John Greist holds a five point margin over son Revere after two races with the current tally 23 to 18. Look for the
battle for team bragging rights to heat up as Kindsfater and Victor join the fray at Blackhawk.
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.
Revere and John Greist celebrate their second and third place finishes at VIR
Photo Courtesy ArmsUpMotorsports.com)
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