Posted (07/31/2013) -
Team Sahlen came into the Indy weekend knowledgeable that the rest of the Daytona Prototype field had the 3 test days and the 2012 race worth of set up notes, while the #42 & #43 were starting from scratch. With the unique aspect very grippy Oval banking and the super slippery infield. But despite these hurdles, the crew at Team Sahlen did not let this get them down, and battled hard to get to the front of the pack. In the practice sessions, lead engineer Kate Crawford was fully pressed into action to take the input from all the drivers to review the best set up. With a good set up forming and the drivers adapting to the track, the #42 machine saw a Top 5 practice times. And as well, the #43 machine realized its most competitive laps so far this year. Come qualifying, Wayne Nonnamaker was as high as 3rd place, until the session was red flagged.
“I was really happy with the Team Sahlen BMW Powered Daytona Prototype this weekend. The crew worked very hard to make some changes, and as well I spent a lot of time since the Sahlen’s 6 Hours getting some seat time in our track kart, and on iRacing. All of that combined saw the #43 at its most competitive all year. I hope this trend continues as we progress through the rest of 2013.” – shared Will Nonnamaker
At the start of the race, both Wayne Nonnamaker in #42 and Joe Nonnamaker in #43 settled into a fine pace around the track. A full course caution at 20 minutes into the event saw everyone dash into the pits. #43 crew choose this opportunity not only to refuel, but to change drivers and put a new set of tires on. This strategy worked out as the #43 rose up to 3rd place at the 31 lap mark, just behind the #42 whom was in 2nd place.
As the race wore on, the #42 kept on pace, with Dane Cameron getting in to finish the race. Even up to the 72nd lap mark, Dane was still running strong in 3rd place. An unfortunately long pit stop, and an incident on track put the #42 machine behind the 8 ball, which resulted in a 12th place finish, just one spot up on the #43 machine
“The crew worked very hard to get things ready for this race. We did a lot of work that showed up in pace on track, having had the 2 DPs up to 2nd and 3rd at one point. I know the result is not what we would have liked to have had. Already, the crew is planning a special pit stop practice for next Saturday to ensure we are on top of our game for Road America.” – shared Team Manager Jay Chapman
The next event for Team Sahlen will be the ROLEX 250 driven by VisitFlorida.com on Saturday August 10th at 5 pm. The 2 hour and 45 minute event will be televised live on SPEED TV.
GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series is supported by:
BMW Motorsports, Dinan Engineering, Design Engineering Inc, Penske Shocks, EMCO Gears, Racing Print Media, Mothers Polish, TheRaceSite.com, PFC Brakes, Classic Motorsports Magazine, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, BBS Wheels, and Hella Lights
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