Posted (10/08/2007) -
Team Sahlen arrived at Virginia International Raceway on Thursday. The #70 SpeedSource Mazda was taken out on test day by Will Nonnamaker and Sylvain Tremblay. The car was running great, and set one of the fastest times of the day at a 2:13.7.
Practice day started with Joe Sahlen getting behind the wheel to start off practice. Upon changing drivers, Will Nonnamaker noted a slight dip in power. Before he could react to the situation, unfortunately, the rotary motor blew a seal.
This seal issue put Team Sahlen into a particular difficult situation, as it was only the 2nd race with Mazda, and no 2nd motor had yet to be acquired. Thankfully, long time team member Troy Miller was on hand and quickly (and amazingly) found a used RX-8 motor in a salvage yard only an hour from the track!
While Troy was running to purchase the motor, the remainder of the crew was working feverishly to remove the injured rotary. Just as Troy arrived with the motor, the crew had completed their task and was ready to start the install process.
Just as the evening night practice started, the rotary motor fired to life. Everyone did a bit of a cheer, and Will Nonnamaker jumped behind the wheel to test the motor out on the track. Will completed 3 laps and announced the operation a success. That evening, everyone was all smiles. The mood of the crew got even better when Joe Sahlen was presented with a cake for his recent Birthday.
"You couldn't ask for a better Birthday present, than to see that Mazda running around the track tonight with the replacement motor." - stated Joe Sahlen
Come Saturday morning's qualifying session, Joe Sahlen was able to comfortably place in 30th position.
At the start of the race, Joe picked his way through traffic, passing 5 cars on the first lap. At the 45 minute mark, a full course caution came out. Team Sahlen pitted, fueled, and placed Will in the driver's seat. Having only 4 total laps before the race, Will had to quickly acclimate himself to not only the race conditions, but the Mazda as well. By lap 56, Will had climbed up to 10th place.
Team Sahlen pitted soon after, and Will handed the driving chores back over to Joe. Joe was driving a clean race, and was in fact the top Mazda at the 3 hour mark. Then, unfortunately, a competitor and Joe locked wheels, sending the #70 SpeedSource Mazda back to the garage for repairs. After extensive work by the crew, it was deemed unrepairable at the track.
"Its was unfortunate to have to withdraw at the halfway point. But it was really promising to rise up to 10th place after starting 30th. This is a great sign of things to come for next year." - states Will Nonnamaker
Support for Team Sahlen's SpeedSource's #70 Mazda entry at Virginia International Raceway comes from HRPWorld.com, Kempthorn Auto Mall, Mazdaspeed, HAWK Performance, TheRaceSite.com, TheRaceMarket.com, Grassroots Motorsports, GOJO, Holliday Canopies, and Genesis Technologies.
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