Posted (05/30/2009) -
Team Sahlen comes to the Sahlen's 6 Hour weekend ready for fun, both on and off the track. The weekend's racing activities will kick off with the KONI Challenge Series event on Friday afternoon. And Team Sahlen will be there in the thick of the action competing in the Street Tuner class in their #43 Mazda RX-8. The team has been working extra hard on further developing the Mazda to be a top performer in the class. The season has went well with Team Sahlen turning in many top runs already, including being the top finishing Mazda at the season opener at Daytona. Drivers will be Joe Sahlen and Will Nonnamaker. The duo has been paired together for 5 straight seasons. "The Glen is a very good track for our Mazda. Joe and I both drive this track very well. With this event being a combined race with both GS and ST class cars, the goal will be to stay out of trouble for the 1st half of the race, and then make a charge at the end. With our sizes being almost identical, our driver changes on our pit stops have been very fast. And that could just be the difference it takes to be successful on Friday night." - states Will Nonnamaker
Then on Saturday, Team Sahlen will roll out their Chevrolet Corvettes to take on the best of the GT class in the ROLEX series for the grueling 6 hour event. The Sahlen's 6 Hours is the 2nd longest event on the 2009 ROLEX calendar after the ROLEX 24 at Daytona. Driver pairings will be Joe Sahlen and Will Nonnamaker in #42 and the father / son duo of Joe & Wayne Nonnamaker in #43. "This race is not just another short "sprint race". 6 hours in the heat of the summer can take a lot out of a car, driver and crew. It will be extra important to perform throughout the entire event to have success." - states crew chief Mike Thomas. In 2009, Team Sahlen is the only team campaigning the Corvette full time in the ROLEX series. "Growing up, I always loved the Corvette. In fact my first car I took racing was a 1968 Vette that I solo raced in Toledo. It is truly America's Sports Car. And it is so neat to be able leading the bow tie charge in the GT class." - states Joe Nonnamaker. The off season saw Team Sahlen work extensively to further develop their Chassis. This hard effort paid off with the team showing