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They say once you get the first victory, the rest come much quicker. For ArmsUp Motorsports that old adage appears to be true. Just one year after scoring their first SCCA National Championship Runoffs gold medal in the Formula Continental (FC) class Jerry Szykulski repeated Revere Greist's feat with a dominant performance in the 2012 version of the Runoffs. Szykulski paced two of the three qualifying sessions before going on to the race win in his Rotary Systems backed Van Diemen. Joining Szykulski on the podium was ArmsUp Motorsports driver Brian Belardi who raced to a third place finish in the annual Fall event. Jim Victor took the third ArmsUp entry to a sixth place result after starting from the ninth position.

The week started off with three qualifying sessions for the FC class held on Tuesday and Wednesday. Szykulski made his intentions known early by sweeping the first day of qualifying, at one point lapping over a second clear of his nearest competitor. For the third session Szykulski didn't need to push but still set the second fastest time of the session. Brian Belardi established himself in the third position in the three sessions but used his session one time to start behind his teammate on the inside of row two. Victor drove consistently between the three sessions netting the ninth starting spot.

As the green flag fell Szykulski found himself in the second position after the outside starter of Niki Coello got the jump. The Minnesota driver stalked Coello for the first half of the race making his first move to the lead on lap five on the long Road America front straight. The lead was short lived as Coello retook the lead later in the same lap in turn 12. On lap nine Szykulski would make the move for the lead stick as he once again overtook the former National Champion into turn one. Once out front Szykulski would not look back as he charged to his first career National Championship setting the race's fastest lap in the process.

Szykulski was dominant in the FC class in 2012 with the Runoffs being his eighth straight victory of the season. By virtue of his victory Szykulski also completed the SCCA Super Sweep by winning Runoffs Gold, the SCCA National Points Championship, the Central Division Championship, and the BFGoodrich Tires Rocky Mountain Super Tour event in July.

Like his teammate, Brian Belardi also fought a battle for most of the race before claiming the third run on the podium for ArmsUp Motorsports. Belardi dropped to fourth early in the going. By lap eight he worked his way back into the third spot which he would not relinquish for the remainder of the race. Jim Victor continued his steady event during the race by moving up to sixth during the 13-lap affair.

"This is just to cap to what has been an amazing year for Jerry and our team," Gregg Borland commented after the weekend. "From the moment Jerry joined us last fall he has been quick and this win just goes to solidify that point. This will not be a year that our guys forget anytime soon. I was really pleased to get two cars on the podium for a second straight year, Brian drove a great race to finish third for us as well. Jim redeemed himself this year after a spin last year with a good drive. He has been an integral part of this program from the beginning so it was great to get him another top-10.

ArmsUp will now enter into a fall testing program as the squad begins to evaluate different drivers for its USF2000 National Championship program. For more information on testing please contact Gregg Borland via email at: gborland@armsupmotorsports.com.

Formed in 1995, ArmsUp Motorsports is one of the premier SCCA Formula Continental race teams, winning the SCCA National Championship in 2011. Based in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin ArmsUp Motorsports is a full service prep shop for USF2000, Formula Continental, Formula Atlantic, and Vintage racing cars. For more information please visit the official ArmsUp website at www.ArmsUpMotorsports.com.

The ArmsUp Motorsports team celebrates Runoffs Gold for the second straight year.
(Photo Courtesy - Todd Wenzel)

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