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Aaron Kaufman joins Time Attack racers at PPIR

Posted at 1:24 PM, Oct 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-21 18:45:24-04

EL PASO COUNTY – This was the final weekend for the Time Attack Series at Pikes Peak International Raceway. The events let drivers from all skill levels race their vehicles, be it a professional race car or a personal driver, all at a safe controlled venue.Celebrity mechanic Aaron Kaufman from the Discovery Channels’ Shifting Gears with Aaron Kaufman brought his 1963 Ford Falcon to the track for an exhibition run. He’s previously raced it in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and wanted to see how the car would perform on a road course.

PPIR Track President Bob Boileau, left, talks with celebrity custom car builder Aaron Kaufman during the final Time Attack Series race of the 2018 season.

“I’ve never done it and to be quite frank, I’ve never run an auto-cross time attack event with the falcon,” Kaufman said. “So I thought we’d give it a shot.”

He and track president Bob Boileau also shared a Mazda Miata to race in the road course. Boileau and Kaufman met at the Hill Climb and struck up a friendship. In fact, the finale of Shifting Gears inaugural season was filmed at PPIR when Kaufman competed in a semi truck race here.

Boileau said the Time Attack Series has quickly grown to be one of the most popular events at the track.

“They like it because it’s very welcoming, the rules are really simple to understand and it’s entry level,” he explained. “It’s this great camaraderie, everybody helps each other out, it’s really, really a fun series.”

More than 240 drivers from four states now regularly participate in the Time Attack races. Season 2 of Shifting Gears is now airing Mondays at 7:00 p.m. on Discovery.