Presented by Tarett Engineering
Team Sahlen, presented by honeybeeBase.com, entered the Fast Parts Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio with the Tire Rack – ChampCar Endurance Series. The team had not raced in the series since the Watkins Glen Memorial Weekend. In that event, Team Sahlen secured the OVERALL Victory in both Saturday and Sunday’s 7 Hour Enduros. The team had been busy though the summer months. The team had competed in the NASA Team Racing Endurance Challenge 4 hour event at Pittsburgh International Race Complex for the Friday 4 Hour Enduro. The team was successful in securing the Overall victory in July. The team also further developed their Porsche Boxsters, knowing that the competition in ChampCar is always progressing.
For this weekend’s event, the team would be racing both the #942 “Ketchup” and the #943 “Mustard” Porsche Boxsters. The drivers would be Joe Sahlen, Joe Nonnamaker, Wayne Nonnamaker and Will Nonnamaker. The team rolled into Mid-Ohio on Thursday night to set up the paddock in advance of the Friday Test Day. The Test Day went very well for the team. The Team was able to work through many set up changes and make progress on continuing to improve the Boxster’s handling in traffic.
Joe Sahlen shared his thoughts after Test Day – “What an amazing day. The team has done such a wonderful job in further developing the Porsche Boxster. The set up enhancements really made the car very driveable in traffic. I can’t wait for the race tomorrow.”
Saturday dawned with beautiful blue skies. The random draw for starting position saw the team roll off 55th and 56th out of 65 entrants. The starting drivers would be Wayne & Will Nonnamaker. Also starting alongside the team was the #90 Honda CRX – one of the most victorious teams in the Tire Rack – ChampCar Endurance Series. This made for a very exciting start to the race, as the team’s 2 Boxsters and the Honda raced side by side,,,moving swiftly through the pack up to the lead in just a short 60 minutes.
The team had some unlucky fortune as their 1st couple of pit stops were under full green flag conditions vs some of the competition being able to complete their stops under yellow flag. This placed the team on the back foot, being down a lap or two on the competition. The team did not give up, and ran strong lap times in the middle portion of the race.
Then as the race wound down to the last 90 minutes, the competition faced struggles either on track or in the pits. This slowly moved the team up the order, 1 spot at a time. Then with 30 minutes to go, the team was sitting comfortably in 1st and 3rd Place. And that is how the team finished, crossing the Checkered Flag at the end of the 8 hour enduro.
Will Nonnamaker summed up the race – “Wow, we had such good fortune all day. Anything can go wrong in an 8 hour race. Then compound that by 2 cars and something is likely to go wrong. But our Team Sahlen Porsche Boxsters were fantastic all day. The crew did an excellent job on the pit stops. And we ran consistent lap times all day to stay in contention. And then our competition had some unfortunate bad luck that then put us in the lead. 1st and 3rd an amazing finish out of 65 entrants indeed.”
Sunday dawned with Ohio fall crisp air typical of September weather. But the Sunshine soon came out and the team focused in as the race started to get to the front again. A mechanical issue with the #942 “Ketchup” saw Team Sahlen down to just one car for the remainder of the race. A full course red flag for over 25 minutes disrupted the flow of the beginning of the race. But once the race resumed, the pace at the front of the field was fast and furious. Team Sahlen’s drivers did their best to keep pace. Like Saturday, the team was not fortunate to secure any pit stops under full course caution. This led to the team being off schedule to the rest of the pack. As the race wound down to the final 60 minutes, Wayne Nonnamaker found himself in 2nd place, only 40 seconds behind the leader. Slowly, lap by lap, the #943 “Mustard” closed in on the leading Miata. Then a pass for the lead occurred with just 15 minutes to go. And then at the checkered flag, Team Sahlen was victorious again for the 2nd straight day.
Joe Nonnamaker summed up Sunday’s race – “What an amazing race. To share this overall victory with both my 2 sons, Wayne & Will, driving with me was quite a thrill. The team has now had an amazing streak this year of 6 victories in a row. That is a testament to the hard work the guys but in both here at the track and in the shop to prepare our Porsche Boxsters for these long endurance events.”
With the dual victories this weekend, Team Sahlen’s #942 “Ketchup” & “943 “Mustard” moved into 1st place in the Tire Rack – ChampCar Endurance Series regular season standings.
The next event for Team Sahlen will be the Tire Rack – ChampCar Endurance Series event at Pittsburgh International Race Complex on October 3rd – 5th. Saturday will be an 8 hour event followed by a 7 hour on Sunday. The team will be entering both the #942 “Ketchup” and the #943 “Mustard” Porsche Boxsters.
2025 Team Sahlen Campaign Partners:
honeybeeBase.com, Malco Products, Porsche Beachwood, Discovery Parts, ECS Tuning, Tarett Engineering, Guard Transmission, HubstandsPRO, Maxima Racing Oil, Pagid Brakes, NGK Spark Plugs, CM Racing Products, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, Design Engineering Inc., OMP Racing, Bell Racing, Forgeline Wheels, Optima Batteries, All-Fit Automotive, Capri Tools, Fabspeed Motorsport, Fabspeed Motorsport, Eibach & Valco Cincinnati with Big Wrench Racing
