Man - what a wild race! After a pretty grueling few days of lack-luster lap times and handling characteristics, we once again discovered that when it's bad for us, it's probably worse for others! Teammate Stew Tetreault qualified & started 27th, and avoided a few incidents during his 30-minute stint. I then hopped in and began the charge to the front. The track was a disaster - a slippery, greasy nightmare with absolutely no grip - and it got worse lap after lap! The car - not so happy either, but as we ALWAYS prove, in crap conditions, and when everyone else burns off their tires, we are as fast - if not faster - than anyone out there.
Joey Hand was right in front of me and I knew if I could hang with him, we'd be in great shape. Firstly, Joey is one of the best drivers out there - 'Hands' down (hehe, get it...? 'HAND'..?). But Joey's also got a BMW M3 that's GREAT in traffic - so as Joey passed cars, he opened the door for me as well and I hustled that little Porsche Cayman S right in there behind him. We advanced A LOT of positions together, and then pitted again for our last stop. Problem was, we only took fuel - not tires. Although that put me into 5th place, which was an amazing strategy call by the brain trust at BGB Motorsports, I was a sitting duck for those behind me who put tires on during their last stop.
I definitely didn't make it easy for anyone, as you'll see on the SPEED TV broadcast next week, but I did ultimately fall to 8th in the remaining few laps after a final restart & 13-minute sprint to the end. I drove my little heart out, but when you're going sideways & spinning wheels, you ain't goin' forward!
All in all it was a great race for us, and we certainly performed and finished stronger than we expected to. Again, it was some of the most hard-fought, intense, door-to-door, bumper-to-bumper, wheel-bangin' & romp-em-stomp-em racing out there. The racing in this series really is pretty insane - and that's FUN. That's three 8th place finishes in a row, and we're just collecting championship points.
Next round of Continental Tire is at Virginia Intl. Raceway, May 12-14, but next up for me is the GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH!!! SWEEEET!! I'm home for three days then off to California! Stay tuned, and thanks for following!