Best of luck guys!

from http://www.saturnmotorsports.com

San Diego, CA – The latest news out of Saturn Motorsports is the appointment of Charlie Schafer as Head of Team Operations, Jason Hunt replaces Lisa Kubo in their championship Pro FWD ION and Brian Ballard will pilot their new Saturn Redline Sport FWD ION.
Schafer spent five years as a crewmember with Lisa and Gary Kubo and was a key figure in the winning of their four championships, including the 2004 NOPI Pro FWD Championship earned under the banner of Saturn Motorsports. Charlie owns The Car Doctor, a general repair shop in Falls Church, Virginia, and brings extensive expertise in both business and the Sport Compact scene. “Charlie is the perfect candidate to oversee our new 2-car team,” exclaimed Motorsports Director, Jim Epler. Not only does he have a winning background as a crewmember for the Kubo’s when they ran independently, but also with our company in 2004 with our NDRA Championship. Charlie knows every inch of our Pro FWD car and his background as a business owner is invaluable. His handling of team operations will free up a good portion of my time to spend with sponsors and also concentrate on the performance parts aspect of our business, particularly the development of turnkey packages for Saturn’s first high-performance cars, the Redline and ION.”
Schafer looks forward to continuing his tenure with Saturn Motorsports as he commented, “We had a great season and I’m really excited about running two cars next year. We’ll definitely be racing for championships but we’re also looking to set more performance milestones for Saturn Motorsports and all our sponsors. In 2004, we broke the 7-second barrier, 200 mph is still up for grabs and the better we do in racing, the greater compliment we are to the performance parts side of Saturn Motorsports.”
Epler’s enthusiasm for Charlie’s appointment is amplified by his selection of drivers and the history they share with Charlie. “Jason Hunt brings a lot of racing experience to Saturn Motorsports in NHRA, NDRA and IDRC.” noted Epler. “He knows how to race and win so he’s definitely ready for a quicker and faster ride and we’re very excited to put him at the wheel of our Pro FWD ION. For our new Redline Sport FWD, Brian Ballard was definitely our first pick. He was one of the most consistent drivers in the sport and caught our attention long before he nailed the 2004 NOPI Turbo 4 Championship. Jason, Brian and Charlie have been very involved in each other’s careers over the last few years and have a great friendship and working relationship – a strength that should help shorten the inevitable learning curve we face when players change.”
2005 will mark Jason’s 7th season in sport compact racing with the last four years spent in Turbo 4. He has a total of 30 final round appearances (14 of those in 2004) with 20 career wins, 10 of those just this past season. In addition to being the first 9-second FWD street car, Jason was crowned the Imstar Street Renegade Champion in 2002 and championship runner-up in 2004 in the NOPI Turbo 4 class. Asked his thoughts about his new Saturn with Ecotec power, Jason replied, “I think the Ecotec is a great package with more potential than Honda power and I’m very excited to be a part of Saturn Motorsports racing program.”
Brian, also recruited from the Honda/Turbo 4 ranks for Saturn Motorsports’ freshman season in Sport FWD, is the reigning 2004 NOPI Turbo 4 XBOX Champion. Ballard’s impressive resume includes 24-career final rounds (14 of those in 2004) and 14 career wins with 8 of those this past season en route to his first ever championship. Just like his teammate, taking the wheel of the Saturn Motorsports Redline will be a new experience for Brian as well. “The Ecotec motors have proven themselves very capable in the Pro classes and it’s going to be very exciting to see such a powerful engine in a street car,” Ballard commented. “I’m very confident the Ecotec-powered Saturn Motorsports Redline ION will allow me to successfully defend my championship.”

 

wow

Another step forward for the sport as a whole, another step backward for honda people

Best of luck to both of you

 

Congrats to Jason, Charlie, and Brian. I have always had a blast hanging out with them at the races. My only question: is the momo box coming with you too??? Good luck, and seeya in April.

 

great job, in picking up the saturn and also good luck in your 2005 race season.

 

but whats gonna happen with lisa and gary?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MadnessRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but whats gonna happen with lisa and gary?</TD></TR></TABLE>

http://www.nhrasportcompact.co....html

 

good lucks guys!

 

thanks!!
damn i guess this year is gonna be crazy!!

 

I was wondering who was going to post about this first!

Good luck Charlie, Jason and Brian! You know you have my support. Save me a chair in the pit for when I am home on leave!

I can't wait to see what you guys do this year!

Anthony Dowd

 

but... but... but... u guys drive honda's and are turning ur backs on us!

(of course im jokin) good luck with the cars

 

good job guys.....way to move up. go kick some ***. so i know brian is selling the car, but what is jason doing with his cars??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bomber &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">wow

Another step forward for the sport as a whole, another step backward for honda people

Best of luck to both of you </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Well cats out of the bag! I guess I can talk about it now.

Kudo's to the whole Saturn Motorsports operation from Jim Epler, Julie Wildgoose, Charlie, Jason and Brain!! All the best and see you guys and gals at the track!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Gravy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but what is jason doing with his cars??</TD></TR></TABLE>

I heard he will be putting them on top of a con-ex box in a junkyard somewhere in Arizona for some R&R!

 

Congrat to Jason Hunt and Charlie and Brian. We are looking forward to seeing you guys on the track. Oh, and this is addressed to Charlie, if you don't figure out the 60 foot on that car you are fired.

 

Congrats guys....well deserved

 

Congrats guys well deserve and u guys worked hard to prove what you can do. Congrats again should be a great next season.

 

congrats guys. nice to see you guys made it big.

by any chance do you guys need anyone to drive your old cars next year

 

Good luck guys.

(wow a factory sponsored saturn in sfwd,so much for a street class!!!)

 

Congratulations Jason and Brian.

 

You guys deserve it! Its about time they posted the press release.

 

damn thats nice to hear two guys coming up like that ! good luck with the next season !

 

Wow...that is definetly a step up!

Good luck you guys!

 

Good luck w/ the new cars. Hard work does pay of along with time and consistancy. Too bad they have to get picked up by saturn instead of Honda. Oh well.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bomber &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">wow

Another step forward for the sport as a whole, another step backward for honda people

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I totally agree w/ you. When will HONDA realize this. But as we all know, they don't care.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdkindle &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Asked his thoughts about his new Saturn with Ecotec power, Jason replied, “I think the Ecotec is a great package with more potential than Honda power
</TD></TR></TABLE>

You got to be kidding me!!!!!!!

 

Congrats to all of those guys. They will all do an excellent job.