Sports Today: Sierra Sierra reaps Champ Car Atlantic rewards

Although Minden-based open wheel racing team Sierra Sierra Enterprises clinched the Champ Car Atlantic Championship series title two weeks before the series finale, they reaped a whole slate of additional awards during the season-ending awards banquet Sunday night in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Lead driver Raphael Matos clinched the series title after the San Jose Grand Prix in July, giving Sierra Sierra its first ever team title.

Sierra Sierra's Jethro Austen won the Snap-on Top Wrench award, which goes annually to the lead mechanic for the championship car.

"The car completed every race lap of the 2007 season," team manager Richard Raeder said. "It's quite an achievement. Generally, if you are going to compete for the championship, you have to do that.

"It was the first time this team was able to accomplish that."

Lee Dykstra was named Engineer of the Year and No. 2 driver James Hinchcliffe won the Gilles Villeneuve Award, which is presented annually to the driver who possesses extraordinary ability, star quality and who has distinguished himself through sportsmanship, dedication and perseverance in the face of disappointment.

Hinchcliffe won three pole positions during the series, placed in the top five on eight occasions and had five podium finishes.

"We would have liked for James to come out second in the championship standings," Raeder said. "We had a few mishaps that just knocked him out of contention."

As it was, Hinchcliffe finished fourth overall in the series standings.

Having won the series championship, Matos will be moving on to the Champ Car World Series.

"There are several teams wanting to talk to him right now," Raeder said. "He's shopping around and seeing what team will be the best fit for him at the next level.

He'll move on to greater things."

Sierra Sierra will be doing some shopping of its own, looking for two new drivers for the upcoming year.

"We're evaluating where we're at and we'll start looking for a new lineup in the middle of September," Raeder said. "We have a couple of goals for the end of this month to see where everyone is going.

"We're the championship team, so that will hopefully give us some leverage. We would ideally like to launch the new team in Phoenix this winter at a non-points exhibition race."

Of winning the championship, Raeder said it has been a culmination of several years of hard work for the team.

"We've been runners up several times," he said. "It's always a pleasure to win a championship. The season went very well and we think the championship brings a little something to Carson Valley, just that idea of the local team going out and doing well."

Raeder said the team always welcomes new sponsors and that anyone interested in more information can call 783-1900.

The Elkhart Lake race will be televised on ESPN2 on Aug. 22 at 2 p.m.