"If you ain't first, you're last" may have been the battle cry for many of the drivers on the final stop of the 2008 Redline Time Attack (RTA) series. The weekend of October 4th and 5th, 2008 had Virginia International Raceway come to life with top drivers and teams laying it all on the line. Competitors waged a fierce battle against the course and the clock. Some drivers pushed too far, ending up off track or into the rails. Others thrived with the pressure peaked. When the dust settled, the 2008 Series Champions were crowned.

Crowning The Champs:
GRAND, UNL AWD, UNL RWD

In a racing series, you rarely end up in a situation where the final race of the season determines the overall series champion. However, the last race of the 2008 RTA series would prove to do just that. Tyler McQuarrie and Luke Russell would be the only two racers with the mathematical possibility of earning the overall series championship crown. Tyler McQuarrie earned his bid with dominating victories in the early part of the RTA series, where his CWest / BC Brian Crower / Hankook S2000 set numerous track records. However, near the end of the season, other cars would begin to surpass the performance that the S2000 could deliver as problems with the VTEC system left the Honda underpowered. Luke Russell and his TopSpeed Impreza earned his bid with a vehicle that demonstrated exceptional late-season performance.

As the regular time-attack session closed, Russell would capture the overall and class championship for the event. He would also secure enough points to capture the series class championship in the Unlimited AWD category. Russell's 1:58.450 would prove to be over two seconds quicker than McQuarrie's best effort of 2:00.781.

Russell's performance in the regular time-attack session prompted a head-to-head, three-lap "Super Session" to determine the series overall grand champion. If Russell could defeat McQuarrie in the Super Session, both drivers would tie for the title. A loss to McQuarrie would result in McQuarrie earning the crown.

McQuarrie and Russell launched at the green flag. Russell's AWD helped to secure the holeshot. Russell extended his lead by just under three seconds going into the third lap. It appeared that a win for Russell in the Super Session was guaranteed. Unfortunately, a crack in the TopSpeed Subaru's intake manifold began to grow, bleeding boost pressure and power. McQuarrie capitalized on the opportunity, gaining on Russell down the high-speed straight. McQuarrie passed Russell on the final turn and crossed the finish by barely a car length. McQuarrie and the CWest / BC Brian Crower / Hankook team secured the season Grand Championship for 2008 in dramatic fashion. With the competition hot on the heels of this team, the off-season will see a turbo upgrade and other power-enhancing improvements as this team looks for a repeat performance in 2009.

On Top of the World: UNL FWD

In the Unlimited FWD group, Christian Rado and his World Racing tC were on top of the world after securing his first RTA Series Class Championship. The 2008 season proved to be a great success as the World Racing team ended the season with three first place finishes. At VIR, the team managed a second-place podium finish at the event as Bryan Johnson bettered the Scion tC to take the event win with a 2:03.789-second performance.

Shoulder To Shoulder In The Modified Class

The Modified AWD group stood shoulder to shoulder in the points standing, making the competition fiercer than ever before. With no clear-cut winner and the championship on the line, every team was on the scramble to make something big happen. James Elterman, who trailed Robert Fuller of RobiSpec in the points standing, put it all on the line to acquire every precious point possible. He managed to secure a qualifying lap time during the first time-attack session but crashed his Takata-sponsored Subaru STi before the second session. Fortunately, Crawford Performance lent him a vehicle to complete the required lap in the session to cinch the event win and the points to win the Class Series Championship in Modified AWD.

Modified RWD

In the RWD category, Sharif Abdelbaset and the Forged Performance 350Z took top honors at the event with a 2:08.569. He also scored the maximum possible points in the Super Session to finish 2008 in third place overall. But Matt Andrews' dry carbon-fiber Miata locked in the Modified RWD season championship with a total of 127 points throughout 2008. Runner-up in the points standing was Relentless Autosports' Scott Bush driving the BC Racing Suspension G35. He made a valiant effort, but electrical gremlins plagued the G35, preventing him from making a clean lap.

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