2012 Round of British Columbia/press releases

Henton Celebrates Emotional First Win
A stellar performance at the Round of British Columbia led to the first victory for Volpi driver Divina Henton, in her penultimate race for the team. The 26-year old started from the pole and dominated the race, winning by 18 seconds and facing no real challenge en route to victory.

Henton's victory lane celebration was eerily similar to that of Alexis Rainsford's first win back in 2007 -- a race which Henton said motivated her once she heard about it.

Fighting back tears to conduct her post-race interview after an embrace with her father, Bradley, Henton seemed awestruck at her run of good luck.

"I can't believe it... I just won a TM Master Cup series race!! I'm not dreaming, am I?!" Henton said "This is a victory for everyone who took a chance on me and helped me throughout my career... this is a win for every one of you... and especially a big thank you to Lynxe for all their support and help in giving women a shot at competing in motorsport...

Henton alluded to where she might have gone, had she not been picked up by Volpi after Alexis Rainsford's sudden departure.

"Lynxe took a chance on me too... and without their support I would have gone back to my family's jewelry business... nobody else wanted to take a chance in sponsoring me... I'm so grateful that they did and that I did not let them down...

Henton's post-race interview was eerily similar to statements made by Alexis Rainsford when Rainsford won her first race in 2007 when a heavy rainstorm hit the track with only a handful of laps remaining. Rainsford, who could barely conduct the interview at all, had said that she hoped her win would make it easier for women to acquire sponsorship to compete in top-level motorsport.

Since Alexis Rainsford became the first woman to win a TM Master Cup series race and then a championship, Yuliya Nosova, Zelda Ashby, Yamino Tenchi, and Mélanie Clévenot have all won TM Master Cup series races.

Woodard Ends Independent's Trophy Run Strongly
In a rather quiet race for the 23 year old from Decatur, IL. Greg Woodard would finish out his Independent's Trophy attempt starting in the back of the field and eventually coming home in 13th place on the grid. While Woodard was mathematically ineligible for the trophy since his antics at Indianapolis, this did not stop Woodard from trying to get a good finish for his team.

Woodard, who will attempt to qualify for Rockford and Decatur respectively, will head home to get rested up for said races. For now however, Woodard can now look forward to his full time ride waiting for him at Power Steering Incorporated for the 2013 season.

He however was surprised that Lenard would be making their reappearance with a possible return of Evans Motorsports. "I heard about that and I was surprised to say the least." Lenard, the current owner of Lycoia, pulled out of the TMMC after the 2011 season. "They probably wanted to use Lycoia as a developmental lynchpin and come back strong in 2013. Though it will be interesting how far the whole Lenard/Lycoia stable could go against the likes of the main front runners. Yes, they will most likely head into the Independent's trophy for 2013 if things go as planned. It seems that I may be technical teammates with Charlie Waters next year if he's part of Evans Motorsports... well, if they do come in with Lenard anyway. It will be interesting to see none the less. Does this mean Lenard will eventually phase Lycoia out? I can't say for sure, as they say, time will tell..."

Matthews Rallies to 17th
Call it an ancient Russian secret.

With the spectre of rain hanging over the HLR Circuit all weekend long, Ryan Matthews turned to a, well, unconventional tactic to gain an edge for the Round of British Columbia.

"I mentioned on Twitter that with the rain forecast for qualifying, I really could use Kuzzie's (Yevgeny Kuznetsov) famed rally setup. To my surprise, he Tweeted me back and offered to share some of his secrets. So I called him," Matthews said. "He didn't tell me everything, but I did get some good info and passed it on to the crew."

The information didn't do much for him in qualifying, but whatever Kuznetsov told him seemed to work, as he finished in 17th place. "Kuzzie's info seemed to work well in race trim," he said. "I wonder how we'd have done if we'd had some better pit stops."

Next up is the place where Matthews' Master Cup career started: the Decatur Raceway. With his series future very much up in the air, he needs to put in a good effort.

He's got additional motivation: his own race team, Matthews Motorsports, is on the entry list for the Round of Decatur - including a car that will be driven by wife Tiffany.

"I really want her to do well," he said. "I think Decatur could do for her career what it did for mine. I'll be pulling for her to make the show."