Team Sahlen entered the Watkins Glen event of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.  Having skipped the 5^th round at Lime Rock Park, Team Sahlen instead tested 3 times at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in preparation for the Watkins Glen weekend. 

Although there we an abundance of track time on both Test Day and in Practice for the GRAND-AM Tire Sports Car Challenge, over 70+ cars on track meant for a lot of stoppage time.  Drivers Joe Sahlen and Will Nonnamaker did their best to get track time as they could.  Times in practice proved promising, and the team eagerly anticipated the race on Saturday.

Having placed the #43 MAZDASPEED3 in the top 2/3^rd of the 38 Car ST Field, Joe Sahlen started his “hometown” race with eager anticipation.

“Having over 70+ cars in a race is always very exciting.  I knew that getting a clean start would be important.  After the 1^st lap chaos was over, I went to work picking off the competition in front of me one by one.  There was some real close racing out there, and I had someone in front or behind me on every lap.” – stated Joe Sahlen

A yellow flag at the 45 minute mark, saw Joe pit and finishing driver Will Nonnamaker jump in and take over. Excellent race strategy and steady race laps saw Will in 6^th place in the ST class with only a hour to go in the event.  This highlight was slightly blotted by the aspect of a faltering gearbox that saw will struggle to secure gears. In the end, Will brought the #43 home in 19^th place.

“What a great feeling to know that with a hour to go in the race, we had placed the #43 MAZDASPEED3 in 6^th place.  I know that we will all work hard to solve our opportunities and be ready for the next race.  We have been around Mid-Ohio testing so much this spring, that we have an excellent set-up to go right away.” – states Will Nonnamaker.

The next GRAND-AM Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge event for Team Sahlen will be at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 19^th.  The race will be televised on June 26^th at  1 pm on SPEED TV.

The 2010 Team Sahlen GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 & GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Campaigns will be supported by Mazda, Mazdaspeed, HRPWorld.com, HAWK Performance, Cool Shirt, Racetech Seats, BBS, Racing Print Media, Alcon, Mothers Polish, EMCO, TheRaceSite.com, Grassroots Motorsports, Holliday Canopies, Alcon, CM Racing, Genesis Technologies, Endurance Karting, Bell Helmets, Castrol, Ianetti Design, and SpeedSource Engineering.