Team StopTech Comes Out Fighting in 25th Anniversary World Challenge Season Opener

The 25th Anniversary season of Pirelli World Challenge racing got off to a roaring start this past weekend with the running of the 2014 Cadillac Grand Prix of St. Petersburg brought to you by StopTech. World Challenge has always been one of StopTech Racing's favorite series, so it was nice to see our company, our products and our customers so prominently featured during the Grand Prix weekend.

Not only was the race presented by StopTech, but StopTech is the Official Brake System and the Official Brake Friction of the series this year. Plus, the group of drivers using StopTech that we affectionately refer to as "Team StopTech" had a really strong showing with Andy Lee taking second and Jack Baldwin claiming third in Sunday's GTS race. Both cars run full StopTech Trophy Big Brake Kits that are essentially the same as the kits you can buy for your high performance street cars and race cars.

Nor surprisingly, Jack Baldwin qualified his #73 RESET-MD/Motul/StopTech Porsche Cayman S on the pole after leading both Friday practice sessions. "It was exciting," Baldwin said. "For us, it was a situation where track conditions in traffic fell in place, I got a clean lap on drying conditions and that's what paid off. There were still some slick spots. But this track suits the RESET-MD Cayman really well."

While Round 1 was scheduled to be run on Saturday, inclement weather caused it to be cancelled. Therefore, Sunday's standing start grid was based off the qualifying results.

Andy Lee of Colorado Springs, Col. had qualified third in the No. 20 Best IT/Crown 7 Chevrolet Camaro and while Baldwin lost some ground on the start, Lee was able to move into the lead ahead of second-place qualifier, Lawson Aschenbach. Lee and Aschenbach battled throughout the race with slower traffic eventually helping Aschenbach take the lead with just a few laps to go. A disappointed Lee held onto second with Baldwin third.

Lee, twice a polesitter at St. Petersburg and a frequent lap leader at the track, came up short of the win once again. But it was a fighting effort from the third-year driver who was named GTS class rookie-of-the-year in 2012.

“I don’t know how many laps led I’ve had here without winning,” Lee said. Referring to the backmarker who gave Aschenbach his chance to pass, Lee added, “Every year this place seems to bite me in one way. I thought he’d open the door, but he turned down on me. He didn’t do it on purpose. That’s part of getting around here.”

In third place was polesitter Jack Baldwin, who was slightly behind the Camaros for most of the race but was pleased with his third St. Petersburg podium in the last two years.

“We lost a bit off our starting position, but the race was good from my point of view,” Baldwin said.

You can watch the race broadcast on NBC Sports Network April 6 or on-demand at world-challengetv.com. You can also follow all of the series action at world-challenge.com.

The next round of the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge Championships is the Roar By the Shore presented by Kia in Long Beach, Calif. on April 13, part of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend.

The Centric License Plate Has a New Home

Remember that license plate we showed you a few months ago? The one that read, "Centric"? Well, the same member of the extended Centric Parts family responsible for the plate has attached it to an even more impressive statement of brand loyalty.

Robert Geist, a member of the sales force at Parts Authority in Phoenix just sent over some photos of where we can find those personalized license plates. The plates are proudly displayed on an awesome looking Hyundai with Centric Parts, PosiQuiet, StopTech and Fleet Performance logos all over it. And when we say all over it, we mean all over it. Take a look at the photos and you'll see a car completely wrapped in Centric livery!

As we said last time, we see this kind of dedication from our employees and sales force in many different ways, but this being a distributor, we are truly humbled and we had to share.

If you are in the Phoenix area, keep an eye out for the car, the plates and Robert, who will more than likely be wearing a Centric cap for good measure.

Prepping for AAPEX and SEMA 2012

October is always a really busy time here at Centric Parts. With the biggest aftermarket shows of the year coming at the end of the month in Las Vegas, the whole team is energized to get everything in order for AAPEX and SEMA, two different shows with distinct flavors.


Both shows are important for us. AAPEX is where we will be discussing our full line of replacement brake and clutch components, including our complete range of brake pads from OE and PosiQuiet to Fleet and Street Performance. It's also where we have been honored for our contributions to the  industry on many occasions, and we hope to add to that list of honors this year when the AAIA announces their import products of the year.

SEMA gives us a chance to show off our high performance and racing offerings, including our BBKs, Sport Kits and our new fluid line, as well as letting people see how our new racing friction will allow us to start offering complete racing system solutions for a variety of different racing disciplines. We'll have products on display as well as mounted on several high profile customer cars scattered throughout the Las Vegas Convention Center.

This year we will be on several notable show cars, including a few manufacturer entries. In fact, the StopTech booth will be featuring a pretty exciting new model from a major manufacturer - one which features StopTech brakes as part of the factory's ultimate brake upgrade for the car. It's a car we are very proud of and one that we think will generate a lot of traffic in our booth.

We'll also be conspicuously present on a few other hot new cars that are winning tons of magazine covers and earning a lot of praise from the automotive world. Think small and light, as well as small and powerful and BIG and powerful.

We plan to cover both shows in our social media over the course of the week, with photos, posts and tweets flying out of both locations daily. If you haven't subscribed to our YouTube channel, liked us on Facebook or followed us on Twitter yet, you're missing out. Be sure to do so before next Tuesday when the shows open and thousands of show cars are unveiled. We'll be your eyes and ears throughout it all so stay tuned.

And if you happen to be at the shows this year, please stop by and say hello. Our AAPEX booth number is 8805 this year and StopTech will be in booth 23057 at SEMA.

Ultra Rare Porsche takes on the Historics with Centric's Help

A few months ago, we were approached by Jim Ansite, a well-known Porsche restorer in Southern California, to see if we could help with a little problem. It seems Jim was having trouble sourcing brake lines for a project he was working on. And no wonder, as the car in his care was a super rare 1959 Porsche 718/2 RSK Spyder (right), one of only four built with a central driving position.

It was an unusual request but not an uncommon one, as Centric constantly gets this type of call. After just three days, the 718 was wearing a custom set of braided stainless steel lines, researched and made by two of Centric's resident Porsche fanatics, Graem Elliott and Robbie Pyle.

The 1959 Porsche 718/2 RSK Spyder was an evolution of the 550 Spyder, but was considered Porsche's first purpose built race car. The central driving position allowed it to be campaigned as either a sports car or a single seater.

Flash forward to August and the Monterey peninsula was crawling with hundreds of collectible cars almost as rare as this special Porsche. It was Monterey Classic Car Week and the whole area was playing host to concours vehicles, newer exotics and vintage race cars. The Porsche showed up at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion held each year at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. We caught up with Ansite and the Porsche and discovered that Jim had another unique vehicle in his care that week as well.

The "Not Dead Yet Racing" team also had a special 550 (above left) in their stall. This special Porsche was a survivor, with a beat up body that told tales of its long racing history. After passing through a succession of owners ill-equipped to master this car's potential, the 550 was purchased by the current owner. It had battle scars and modifications earned over 50 plus years of track duty.

The car has an alloy body and dozens of "lightening holes" (below) where every extra ounce of weight was removed to improve performance. One of the areas that wasn't drilled, thankfully, was the brake lines. They did need to be replaced however. Knowing that Centric had helped out with the brake lines for the 718, Ansite once again called on the team to help with lines for this special 550 - and Centric once again met the challenge.

Classic cars aren't the usual application for StopTech high performance brake components, but it was nice to be represented at one of the most prestigious historic racing events in the world by a very special pair of Porsches.

Centric-Sponsored Challenger Project Supports Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charity

2011 WD-40 Dodge Challenger SRT/8 392 HEMI

100% of Purchase Price Goes to Charity!

Towards the end of 2011, Centric Parts^® was approached by Legendary Motorcar Company (LMC) of Dream Car Garage fame. They had been commissioned by the makers of WD-40 to help customize a car that would eventually be sold to support an important charity, the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program. Our response: “Just tell us what you need.”

The idea was to take a new 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT/8 - with the new 392 HEMI engine - and add some retro cosmetic pieces to give it the vintage Challenger T/A look with lots of modern day performance.

We contributed some big StopTech^® brakes for better braking performance. They really look great behind those Pirelli P-Zero-wrapped Forgeline wheels that should give a lot of extra grip. Eibach lowering springs with matching dampers from Koni were also added to give handling a boost.

The look of the Challenger, which was one of the rare inaugural edition models, was updated with Matte black hood and T/A hood scoop from Cervinis, Stainless Works side-exit cat-back exhaust, fully polished custom paintwork from LMC, custom striping with some special details, a removable trim package and custom embroidered WD-40 headrests.

With the excellent Challenger foundation as a starting point, this makes for a very impressive car.

The build is being featured on Dream Car Garage, and the car is for sale now through Legendary Motorcar – when it isn’t being shown off at major auto shows. Best of all, 100% of the sale price will go to support the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Program, which has helped more than 100,000 kids in financial need participate in organized sports or recreation programs. 

So give LMC a call and make them a generous offer. The money goes to a great cause and you’ll end up with one very special Challenger. info@legendarymotorcar.com | 905-875-4700