Posted (06/27/2007) -
Team Sahlen's Homecoming to Mid-Ohio was a sweet one. A strong 7th place finish in GT lead to Joe Nonnamaker assuming the lead in the Bob Akin Sportsman Award Championship.
The Drivers and Crew utilized the Test Day and Practice Sessions to their advantage to gain valuable track time in setting up the car for the winding Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Qualifying saw Joe Sahlen and Joe Nonnamaker turn in Team Sahlen's strongest starting spots of the year. For the start of the race, the HRPWorld.com Corvettes started 12th and 13th.
A bit of a mix up at the first turn saw the #42 and #43 race cars go for a spin. This shake up put Team Sahlen at the back of the pack. But the drivers and crew didn't give up, and fought back over the course of the race. At the 90 minute mark, Team Sahlen had batteld back to 11th and 14th in the race. Will Nonnamaker was forced to retire the #42 HRPWorld.com Corvette at the 46 lap mark.
"Joe and I had a great run going. We were moving up the field, having already topped off our tanks, while others still needed to pit. We would have bee in contention for a Top 10 run. Unfortunetely, debris from the #74 car caused damage to our belt and pulleys which forced us to retire."
- states Will Nonnamaker
Wayne Nonnamaker pressed on in the #43 racer. His consistent pace placed him in 4th place. It appeared that the race would draw out to a long green flag run to the checkered. But then a late race yellow changed all those plans. The Team Sahlen crew performed a fantastic pit stop, changing tires and fueling up the #43. Wayne returned to the track in 3rd place behind the pace car. Then a strange bit of twist occurred. Large amounts of track rubber collected on Wayne's tires, forcing him to pit under yellow for clean tires. Wayne returned to the track, and fought hard back to 7th place at the end of the race.
"I don't know how the tires picked up so much rubber. It would have been great to have restarted in 4th place with brand new tires. 7th is still a strong finish, and it gave us great points for Dad in the Bob Akin Award."
- states Wayne Nonnamaker
The 2007 Team Sahlen ROLEX GT Campaign is support by HRPWorld.com, GOJO, ZIP Products, Kempthorn Auto Mall, HAWK Performance, Forgeline Wheels, Cool Shirt, TheRaceSite.com, TheRaceMarket.com, Grassroots Motorsports, HOTSEAT, Holliday Canopies, Alcon, CM Racing, Joe Gibbs Motor Oil, Genesis Technologies, Endurance Karting, Racetech Seats, and Corsa Performance.
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