Team Sahlen, presented by honeybeeBase.com, entered the 2nd event of the season at the Sahlen’s Champyard DOG at the Glen. The Team was on a mission to rectify the very disappointing result at the ChampCar Series 14 Hour Daytona event held in April.
Will Nonnamaker shared his thoughts leading up to the race – “The crew did an amazing job of regrouping after Daytona to focus in on ensuring we would have success at the Sahlen’s Champyard DOG at the Glen. Everyone worked double time to ensure we would be ready. This included making three trips to Dragway 42 to shake the Porsches down.”
Friday was a clear and beautiful upstate New York day. The Team was able to have all three ECS Tuning Porsche Boxsters on track – #941 “Chili, #942 “Ketchup” and #943 “Mustard”. The weekend’s drivers of Joe Sahlen, Joe Nonnamaker, Wayne Nonnamaker and Will Nonnamaker were able to get great seat time in preparation for the weekend’s dual 7 hour enduros. Additionally, Joseph Sahlen was able to get behind the wheel of a Porsche on race track for the 1st time. Joseph did an exceptional learning the nuances of the mid-engined Stuttgart racer. And by the end of the day, he was turning some very competitive times.
Saturday dawned with continued beautiful blue skies. The random pit stall draw for the starting grid saw Team Sahlen roll out 105th and 106th out of 112 Entries. Team Sahlen’s starting drivers of Joe Sahlen and Joe Nonnamaker did a fantastic job of working through the traffic to rise up to the top 5 at the conclusion of their 90 minute stint.
As the race rolled along, Team Sahlen continued to stay at the sharp end of the grid, fighting their way into the Top 3 Overall. The crew did an amazing job in the pits, ensuring that “Ketchup” and “Mustard” minimized the time off track. As the race drew down to the last hour, Team Sahlen found themselves in 2nd and 4th place overall. Wayne Nonnamaker drove a mega last stint to sweep into 3rd place overall, do secure the team’s double podium for the day.
Wayne shared his thoughts – “What a great race all day. The ECS Tuning Porsche Boxster was really hooked up in the turns there at the end of the race. And this really helped me in making the charge up to 3rd place in the final hour.”
Saturday was capped off with Team Sahlen celebrating crewman Mike Thomas’ 30th Anniversary of being a part of the team. Dating all the way back to 1993, Mike has been a BIG Part of the many wonderful chapters of racing for Team Sahlen through the years.
The trend of wonderful weather continued on Sunday. And with the starting grid flipped from the prior day’s line-up, Team Sahlen rolled out on the track in 4th and 5th Overall. This placed the team well into 1st half of the race, settling into the top 3 on the track. As the 2nd half of the race rolled along, Team Sahlen continued the hard charge to the front. With both Wayne and Will Nonnamaker dropping fast lap after fast lap, the team started to pull clear of the tough competition. And as the checkered flag flew, the team secured 1st and 2nd Overall.
Joe Sahlen shared his thoughts after the race – “What a fantastic weekend. The Sahlen’s Champyard DOG at the Glen is a special race for us. And to be able to come out here and have a weekend were we were super competitive, had zero errors on track and in the pits, then net out a 1st, 2nd, 2nd and 3rd for the weekend is just amazing.”
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