Posted (10/10/2014) -
Team Sahlen came into the season finale at Road Atlanta knowing they needed to throw all caution to the wind to try and secure the 2014 ST Class Championship
The team was down 9 points to the #56 entry. This meant that with a victory by the #42 racer, the #56 would have to finish in 6th place to sway the points in Team Sahlen’s favor.
And Team Sahlen did everything they could leading up to the race to go for it. This included entering 2 cars for the race. And additionally, bringing in TUDOR Prototype driver Michael Valiante to be the starter for #42 and the finisher for #43. Test day on Tuesday saw the team work hard on set up on the #42 entry. The team used the #43 entry to bed rotors and brakes for both cars with this extra track time.
Come practice, Team Sahlen continued to look for speed. This seemed elusive until Qualifying, when super sub Michael Valiante pulled out an amazing 2nd place on the grid.
The pre-grid of the race saw a damp but drying track,,,with heavy rain clouds above. Team Sahlen took this opportunity to place the #42 entry, that was 2nd on the grid, on slicks. Then, to take a very risky step to place the #43 entry that was further back on the grid on rains.
“It was very risky to start on rains, but with nothing to loose, and lots to gain by going with this strategy, we placed ourselves in a position, that if it rained, we would have been in the lead of the race by a long shot. Unfortunately, the rains never came, and we went down a lap in the process.” – shared Will Nonnamaker, starter of the #43 entry
Michael Valiante raced hard in the top 10 throughout his stint, battling in 6th, 8th, 7th, then 9th place. Then Michael had a full charge on and ran up to 4th place. After the rotation of pit stops were completed at a 50 minute yellow flag caution period, Wayne Nonnamaker found himself in 2nd place. Wayne battled hard to charge to the lead. The competition was very tight, and despite his valiant efforts, ended the day in 5th place.
“It was a real battle out there today. We tried everything we had today, and unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough. Ironically, we needed the #56 to finish in 6th place today if we won to win the championship. And in fact, they did finish in 6th place. I am so proud of the crew for all their hard efforts throughout the season. And as well for the support of the Sahlen family to give us this opportunity. It was our 1st year back in ST and I feel we have a lot of positive growth that we can take into the 2015 season.” – shared Wayne Nonnamaker
The race will be televised tape delayed on Fox Sports 1 at 12 noon EDT on October 12th,
2014 Team Sahlen Campaign Partners:
Turbo Performance Center, Tarett Engineering, MOMO, Guard Transmission, Forgeline, Porsche of Beachwood, Pittsburgh International Race Complex, HubstandsPRO, MSI Racing Products, NGK Spark Plugs, TheRacingInsiders, CM Racing Products, Mothers Polishes, Winding Road Racing, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, Maxima Oil, CV Products, Design Engineering Inc., Hella, Racing Print Media, Hard Brakes, CRC Chemicals, Penske Shocks, Alcon Rotors, Lamin-X, Optima Batteries and TheRaceSite.com.