< Back to News Home Team Sahlen finishes 9th for Miller 1000 km event

Posted (09/25/2007) - A 1000 km event in the windy, dusty desert of Utah is a true test of Endurance for a race car and a race team.

For the Miller Motorsports Park race, Team Sahlen started the race in 9th and 18th place in the strong 26 car GT class field

The start of the race saw a big crash before lap one was even completed

A spinning DP decided to re-enter the track just as the GT field

Will Nonnamaker started the #42 HRPWorld.com Corvette in 9th and Joe Nonnamaker was positioned in 17th place in the #43 HRPWorld.com Corvette.

As soon as the yellow came out, Team Sahlen knew that our tires were picking up lots of debris. Focusing upon the Bob Akin Award, on the last lap of the yellow, Joe took the precaution to change all 4 tires. This smart safe strategy paid off, as Joe went smooth sailing.

The same could not be said for several of the competitors during the day, with one after another competitor pulling into the pits with a flat tire. This included the #42 HRPWorld.com Corvette. Will suffered a blow out, that was caught spectacularly on SPEED. Thankfully, Will nor the Corvette suffered any damages. After being towed back to the pits, new tires and driver change put the #42 racer back into the thick of it. Unfortunately, 3 hours into the race, saw a drivetrain failure. This was later traced back to the large amounts of gravel ingested into the motor during the off track excursion from the flat tire.

As the laps wore on in the 1000 km event, Team Sahlen kept focused upon the task of winning the Bob Akin Award. The #43 HRPWorld.com would have to finish the race as high as possible, and ensure that Joe Nonnamaker completed the maximum 5 hours allowed in the race car.

The rival for the Bob Akin Sportsman Award - Emi Assentato, was making the event a challenge. Emil was driving his full amount of 5 allowable hours. And his #69 SpeedSource Mazda was running strong.

Amazingly, at the 5 1/2 hour mark, the #69 SpeedSource Mazda was in 4th place and the #43 HRPWorld.com Corvette was in 5th place.

Then 2 late race cautions intervened that would play a major role in the race. With the #69 Mazda being the first GT car a lap down, Emi received two lucky dog laps. This margin was to great for Team Sahlen to overcome. Putting the focus upon finishing the race, Wayne Nonnamaker drove home to a solid 9th place finish.

In the end, Joe ended up just 98 points short of the Bob Akin Award (4778 to 4680).

"What an exciting event. The HRPWorld.com Corvette ran flawlessly the whole day. The crew worked hard all weekend, and it certainly showed in the race. I congratulate Emil. He drove a great race, and deserves the award." - states Joe 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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