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2024 KASTNER CUP

APRIL 18 – 21, SONOMA RACEWAY, CALIFORNIA

2024 KASTNER CUP COUNTDOWN

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Photo: Bill Stoler

The 2024 Kastner Cup is coming to Sonoma Raceway. Triumph will be the featured marque of the Sonoma SpeedTour. In addition to the Kastner Cup the weekend will feature Sportscar Vintage Racing under the auspices of SVRA, classic Corvettes, Alfas, Porsches, Historic F.1 and Indy cars racing on this legendary track. SpeedTour will also feature racers and cars from Trans Am, and International GT (IGT).

On July 16, 2023 the 21st annual Kastner Cup was run at Road America. The race was won by Tony Garmey at the helm of the infamous TR250K, he was followed by a pair of fast GT6’s piloted by Dan Gehweiler and Alex Amys.

Tony Drews was awarded the Cup immediately following the race. Tony has a reputation of running strong all weekend in his meticulously prepared TR4, and this event was no exception. After putting down some great qualifying times, Tony raced his way in the feature to 10th place. Tony has the most experience driving the Kastner Cup events of anyone. Since the inception of the Kastner Cup Tony has raced in all except one! Also worthy of note, Tony’s father Jack won the inaugural Kastner Cup event at Mosport in 2003. Congratulations on a well deserved win, Tony! Full results can be found here. 

HISTORIC RACING AT ITS BEST

2024 will mark the 22nd running of the Kastner Cup. The race will celebrate the 71st year of Triumph sports car in competition. The Kastner Cup was named in recognition of the career accomplishment and legacy of R.W. “Kas” Kastner who passed away on April 11, 2021 at the age of 92. Kas Kastner was one of the most influential individuals responsible for the racing success of Triumph sports cars from the late 1950’s through 1970 and beyond. To this day, his series of Competition Preparation Manuals are a must read for competitors in Triumph sports cars. Later in his career, Kastner directed the Nissan IMSA GTP team that won the manufacturers’ championship three years in a row and the drivers’ championship four years in a row; a remarkable achievement.

More about Kas Kastner – http://kaskastner.com

ABOUT THE KASTNER CUP

The Kastner Cup has become a major event on the vintage racing calendar for British car fans. The race is held at a different track each year to provide Triumph racers across the country a chance to compete for the Cup. Open to race prepared Triumph powered cars, the Kastner Cup is awarded to one competitor based on the following criteria:

  • 50% for the competitive results on the race track during the event (not necessarily the winner)
  • 25% for the presentation of the car
  • 25% for the attitude and interest in Vintage racing

FRIENDS OF TRIUMPH

The Kastner Cup is organized by members of the Friends of Triumph (FOT). FOT is a group of vintage racers dedicated to preserving the racing heritage of the Triumph marque. Campaigning these automobiles on the track is at the essence of why FOT was organized.

Kastner Cup 2022 Poster

HARDY PRENTICE – 2024 GRAND MARSHAL

Hardy Prentice won the SCCA E Production National Championship in 1992 driving his 1956 Triumph TR3.  As a young man, Mr. Prentice’s love for Formula 1 spurred his participation in auto crossing.  With success in auto cross, his SCCA racing experience began in 1967.  But in 1968 he was drafted into the U.S. Army and spent 14 months in Vietnam.  He received his Honorable Discharge in the summer of 1970, and attended graduate school that fall at Golden Gate College in San Francisco.  There he met Ellie (Eleanor) who became his lifelong partner.  Ellie was a member of his race team throughout the years, and they are still married today living south of San Francisco.

Championship TR3.  Mr. Prentice purchased his Championship winning TR3 in 1961 for $900.  The TR3 was in such bad condition, a mechanic from the dealership where he purchased the car agreed to teach Hardy how to make the repairs.  This knowledge allowed him and a small group of team members to keep the TR3 racing for a generation.  As an interesting note, just prior to his tour in Vietnam Hardy was on the way to an SCCA national race at VIR in his TR3 with a team member.  He was in the passenger seat as the car was involved in a serious rollover accident and the TR3 was badly damaged.  Fortunately, while he was out of the country a friend purchased a parts car for just $15.  After returning safely from Vietnam, Hardy was able to use the parts from this car to rebuild his 1956 TR3 and resume his SCCA career. 

SCCA Racing Success.  Mr. Prentice first qualified for the SCCA Runoffs in 1974, and achieved his first SCCA class victory at Sears Point (now Sonoma Raceway) in March of 1975.  He participated in his first SCCA Runoffs later that year in 1975.  Also notable is that Mr. Prentice won the SCCA Northern Pacific Division Championship 13 times and six times in a row from 1989 through 1994.  During his career, Mr. Prentice qualified for the SCCA National Championship 25 consecutive years, and participated in the Runoffs 23 years in a row.  Hardy fondly recalls that the Seattle Times newspaper called him “Persistent Prentice”. 

Flat Towing the TR3 with an E-Type Jaguar.  In 1961 while living in Boston, neighbors convinced Hardy to attend a National Auto Show where he first saw the E-Type Jaguar.  He immediately loved the design and set a goal to acquire one in the future.  The dream was realized in 1970 when he purchased a 1967 E-Type FHC for $3,150 with only 19,000 miles.  At the time Hardy was driving his TR3 to and from SCCA races, but this was becoming increasingly more difficult. 

So, in June 1973 Hardy began using his E-Type Jaguar as his race tow vehicle.  He flat towed the TR3 across the country to attend SCCA races.  Flat towing means the TR3 was pulled on all four wheels without the benefit of a trailer or dolly.  Hardy designed and built a hitch and tow bar.  In preparation for each race he dropped the TR3 drive shaft, changed wheels, connected wiring for lights, and loaded up both cars with tools, tires, and spare parts.  He did this for 14 years until 1987 when another tow vehicle was purchased.  At the 1987 Runoffs, the TR3 was damaged on track at Road Atlanta.  Hardy purchased a $500 trailer from well-known Triumph parts supplier Ted Schumacher to make the cross-country trip home.  His days of flat towing the TR3 had come to an end.

Hardy ended his SCCA career at the end of the 1998 season.  Health issues and the requirement to make significant modifications to the TR3 to meet new car preparation guidelines convinced him to retire from racing.  Over the years Hardy is proud that his race team members were all volunteers.  He also paid out of pocket for all his expenses, except in one case when British Leyland purchased Huffaker Engineering parts on his behalf.  The Seattle Times certainly had it right when they called him “Persistent Prentice”.  It’s a great story that many in the Triumph racing community will be fascinated with. 

As the 2024 Kastner Cup heads to Sonoma Raceway near Hardy’s home, he has been selected as the Kastner Cup Grand Marshal.  In this role, Mr. Prentice will present the Kastner Cup Performance Awards to each top-performing driver in the various models of Triumph powered race car.  He will also select the winner of the R.W. “Kas” Kastner’s Trophy.

TS1-LO SPECIAL KASTNER CUP WEEKEND FEATURE

TS1-LO, the very first Triumph TR2 will make an appearance at the 22nd annual Kastner Cup weekend at the newly repaved Sonoma Raceway April 18-21, 2024.

This car is said to be the most significant car in the entire Standard Triumph model lineup, as it was the first car to make the Standard Triumph name synonymous with sports cars. It is the birth of the TR2 and many brilliant cars after, based on the same outline of enjoyment and function. The car was made in 1953 for display to the public at the annual Canadian Motor Show in Toronto. After the show, TS1-LO was driven by Mr. C.D.S. Phillips, the President of the Standard Triumph Canadian branch and eventually sold to a private party.

Lost and nearly forgotten for more than 20 years, the car resurfaced and was enthusiastically restored with great attention to detail, as this car is one of a kind, meaning everything needed to be restored or fabricated, as opposed to replaced. It has unique panels, stone guards, door cappings, rear wheel spats, painted brass cast hinges, a unique spare door, aluminum bonnet, cast brass grill, and the list goes on. A one-of-a-kind automobile, so the restoration was a huge challenge, but worth it. This very car started an influx of affordable British sports cars capable of 100 mph in America.

1953 Triumph TR2 TS1-LO will be on display in the Friends of Triumph area at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California during the Kastner Cup weekend, featuring race-prepared Triumph or Triumph powered cars of the Friends of Triumph and other worldwide Triumph racers.

“It had the right ingredients to appeal first and foremost to people who were ready to invest money in distributing ‘foreign’ cars. They went out and got the customers.”
Mike Cook, Editor of VTR, Triumph Authority

“If America was Triumph’s most important market, and the TR2 was Coventry’s most important product, then it’s logical to conclude that TS1-LO, the first of the 8,628 TR2s produced and the first one sent to North America, is the most significant single vehicle in the company’s history.”
David LaChance, Editor Hemmings Sports and Exotic Car

SCCA legend Hardy Prentiss will be Grand Marshal of the Kastner Cup race and will choose the Champion based on Kas’s formula of 50% of the decision going to performance, 25% based on presentation of the car, and 25% based on the enthusiasm of the racer/team.

Photos courtesy Classic Motorsports, Hemmings, Triumph Register of America, and Richard Weyland.

2021 KASTNER CUP RACE HIGHLIGHTS

The 2021 Kastner Cup was awarded to Jeff Quick of Kent Washington. Mr. Quick drove his beautiful 1967 TR4A. He was also awarded the Peggy Kastner Performance Award in the TR4 and TR4A Class.

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