< Back to News Home Team Sahlen place all 3 Mazdas in the Top Ten at Watkins Glen 2 Hour Event

Posted (08/12/2012) -

 

A short 2 day event at Watkins Glen became even shorter when the Friday Morning Practice was essentially full on rain session.  Thus the 1st time any of the drivers saw the track in the dry was the evening Qualifying session.  This meant going at set up for the RX-8s was a big shot in the dark. In that session, Wayne Nonnamaker did a fantastic job of placing the #43 in 6th on the grid.  Joe Nonnamaker stayed out of trouble and placed the #42 a very well earned 12th out of 16 in the GT Class.  Joe Sahlen faced a bit of hardship with a slipping clutch, and settled for 14th.

 

 

“After Qualifying, we took the #49 straight back to the paddock to get the clutch changed. I thought we were done for the day, but the crew did a fantastic job and we got back out on track for the last 15 minutes of the Final practice session. Will and I both took turns behind the wheel and everything seemed ok for the race.” – shared Joe Sahlen

 

 

Proving that the Qualifying pace was no fluke, the “Wayne & Dane Show” placed the #43 in 6th spot in the final practice session as well.

 

 

After Team Sahlen made their big announcement on Saturday for the 2013 race season (2 BMW – RILEY Daytona Prototypes), the Drivers and Crew regrouped to prepare for the evening 2 hour “Sprint Race”. 

 

 

The start of the race was quite exciting, even before the GT grid got through Turn 1.  The 2 leading contenders for the GT championship tangled.  The net result was Wayne Nonnamaker coming around lap 1 in 3rd place.  Wayne held this spot for several laps, until the #59 Brumos Porsche found its way around.  Then from that point on until he turned the RX-8 over to Dane at the pit stop, Wayne maintained his 4th slot on the GT order.

 

 

Also, in the early stages of the race, Joe Sahlen in the #49 RX-8 was having a competitive tussle with the #56 Waltrip Ferrari.  Unfortunately, the #56 made an overly aggressive move on the #49 into a spin and the Ferrari to the pits for a stop and go.  Joe continued on,,albeit with a bit of rear toe knocked out.

 

 

 

 

At the1st caution, Team Sahlen choose to pit all 3 Mazdas at once.  Wayne and Joe Nonnamaker stayed the #43 and #42 Mazdas respectively.  Will Nonnamaker jumped in to relieve Joe Sahlen for a short bit.

 

 

On the restart, somehow the #56 Ferrari, despite being a lap down, found its way into the side of the #42 Mazda still driven by Joe Nonnamaker.  This incident forced the Ferrari into retirement.

 

 

Another Yellow a short time later saw the #43 and #42 pit again, this time for Driver Changes.  Dane Cameron replaced Wayne in the #43.  And Wayne Nonnamaker jumped out of the car and proceeded immediately back to the #42 behind him, that his father Joe Nonnamaker was getting out of.

 

 

Dane was able to work his way through the crazy restarts and found himself as high as 3rd place.  Then, through no fault of his own, Dane was caught up in a spinning GT competitor in front of him.  This caused the entire steering wrack to be tweaked.

 

 

“I ended up caught in the middle of a two car sandwich in turn one shortly after I got in the car, unfortunately ending a great run as Wayne did an awesome job running in the top 4 for his stint. The guys did a great job to patch the car back up and we soldiered on to the finish to get valuable points for the 43 car.” – shared Dane

 

 

In the #42 Mazda, Wayne Nonnamaker was having a fantastic race.  At one point, during the pit cycle window, Wayne was actually leading the race.  Even after the final pit stops, Wayne had the #42 in top line contention.  Then the incident with the #56 Ferrari came back to haunt the team.  The left rear door came loose, and Wayne was forced to pit fix the hanging carbon fiber.   Little time and only one position was lost on track.  As Wayne crossed the finish line, he placed the #42 Mazda in 6th place. 

 

“What a fantastic result for Team Sahlen.  6th place in this competitive GT field is a good run for Dad and me together.  I enjoyed the race and had a great time behind the wheel of the Mazda” – shared Wayne Nonnamaker

 

 

After a short break, Joe Sahlen returned to the seat of the #49 “Soccer Ball” Flash Mazda.  Joe drove a very heads up finishing stint and secured an excellent 9th place finish. Dane Cameron came in behind with a 10th place finish, despite a rather cobbled steering shaft.

 

 

The fine race result sees Team Sahlen place 3 cars in the Top Ten in the race.  Additionally, the finishes by the #42 and #43 saw both entries continue to solidify a spot in the Top Ten in the GT Team Points Standings.

 

 

The next race is this coming Saturday, August 18th at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada.   The event will be broadcast tape delayed at 7 pm on the 18th.  This race being so soon means that the Team Sahlen crew has only a short time to work on the Mazdas to get them ready.  In fact, the main crew was not even able to come home during this short turn around, instead staying in New York State to reprep the RX-8s.

 

 

The 2012 Team Sahlen campaign in the

GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series is supported by:

 Mazda, Mazdaspeed, SimXperience, Alcon, Racetech, NGK, Cool Shirt, Racing Print Media, Mothers Polish, TheRaceSite.com, Western New York Flash, Grassroots Motorsports, ASC Industries, Iannetti Design Ideas, CM Racing, Quarter Master, BBS Wheels, MSI Racing Products, Endurance Karting and Akron Aeros

Most Recent News Articles
** Team Sahlen's Joe Nonnamaker - Nelson Ledges 24 hours from 1980 to 2019
** Team Sahlen has a great day of Testing at Nelson Ledges Road Course
** Audi Mentor mentors Team Sahlen on new Audi R8 LMS GT3
** Team Sahlen excitedly announces their newest racer - the Audi R8 LMS GT3
** ECS Tuning welcomes new partnership with Team Sahlen
** All Fit Automotive helps Team Sahlen improve their Race Cars' Aerodynamics
** Team Sahlen secures Double OVERALL victory at the Sahlen's Champyard DOG at the Glen
** Team Sahlen secures photo finish 1st and 2nd Place at the Sahlen's Sports Car Springfest at the Glen
** Team Sahlen excited for Memorial Day weekend at the Watkins Glen International
** The Sahlen's Sports Car Springfest kicks off the racing season at Watkins Glen International
** Team Sahlen kicks off season at Watkins Glen International

Contact