01/07/2010
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Weather was the topic of the weekend as rain was forecast for all three days of the event. The clouds and a steady rain persisted for Saturday\'s qualifying making the Infineon circuit closely resemble San Francisco\'s famous bay. With water soaking some of the trickiest portions of the track, it was rainmeister Francesco Piovanetti who set the early fast time. In the waning minutes of the session, it was regular table leaders Ferrari of Houston\'s Mark McKenzie and Richard Fant and Boardwalk Ferrari\'s Scott Tucker who were able to put their web-footed cavallini up front with Piovanetti following in fourth.

At the start of Race 1 it was Tucker getting the holeshot on the field and leading into Turn 1. Tucker\'s exuberance however got the better of him as he began to spin on the exit of Turn 1. In an effort to miss the spinning Tucker, polesitter McKenzie gracefully pirouetted onto the wet grass at the uphill entry to turn 2. As McKenzie struggled to return to the racing surface, the race went to a full course yellow with Ferrari of Silicon Valley\'s Zak Brown on point. At the restart, Brown looked confident and poised upfront and put on a sterling drive for the ensuing laps. Closely following Brown were Henri Richard, Richard Fant, Mike Zoi and Steve Hill. On the charge however were front row starters Tucker and McKenzie. By lap 12 it was clear that Brown\'s lead was in jeopardy as the field closed in on him. By lap 14 Richard took the top spot but this was not to last as both Silicon Valley cars began to fade in the drying conditions. Tucker moved his way to the lead by lap 15 with McKenzie charging from the back of the field in close pursuit. Undeterred by Tucker\'s 2009 unbeaten streak, McKenzie fought his way into the lead on lap 18 and did not look back. At the checkered, it was McKenzie, Tucker, Fant, Brown, and Richard.

Sunday\'s action once again began in the rain and again rainmeister Francesco Piovanetti proved quick. In the waning moments of the qualifying session, Zak Brown was able to convert his strong pace from Saturday into a pole, just nipping The Collection\'s Piovanetti to the top spot. When the race went green, Piovanetti and Richard got together eliminating Richard from the race. Shortly thereafter, McKenzie took the lead and hustled out a gap to teammate and second place challenger Richard Fant with Zak Brown falling to third. McKenzie and Fant continued a torrid pace when Fant began to reel in the leader after the midway point in the race. Despite Fant\'s charge McKenzie appeared to have the measure of his teammate. A double win for McKenzie was not to be however. In the closing laps of the race McKenzie and Fant encountered a backmarker who was unaware of the battle for the lead right behind him. On the run down to Infineon\'s famous turn 11 hairpin, McKenzie was slightly balked and this was all Fant needed to slip by on the the inside. From there, Fant was able to pull out a 1.7 second gap over McKenzie at the finish.