After just a short 4 week break, Team Sahlen, presented by honeybeeBase.com, returns to the race track with the Tire Rack – ChampCar Endurance Series. This event will be The Beaver River Grand Prix at Pitt Race. Friday will be an open test day for all racers. Team Sahlen will shake down both the #942 “Ketchup” and #943 “Mustard” Porsche Boxsters in advance of Saturday’s 8 hour enduro. The team will also be utilizing the #941 “Chili” during the day for extra track time for all 4 drivers: Joe Sahlen, Joe Nonnamaker, Wayne Nonnamaker & Will Nonnamaker.
At last year’s event, Team Sahlen had the amazing fortune of securing 1st & 2nd Overall in Saturday’s 8 hour enduro. For Saturday’s event, the random starting draw saw Team Sahlen roll off the grid in in 40th and 41st out of 53 entries. Starting drivers Joe Sahlen and Wayne Nonnamaker did not let this momentous task deter them from charging to the front. At the end of the duo’s stint, they handed “Mustard” and “Ketchup” over in 1st and 3rd Place Overall. The team was able to be very fortunate in the early stages of the race in pitting under Yellow / Code 35s. This allowed for the team to diminish the time lost on track from the mandatory 5 minute pit stops. As the race neared the final ¼ of the race, the “Mustard” entry had an unscheduled pit stop for a tire that need replaced. This slight hiccup slotted in the final finishing order with “Ketchup” securing the victory and “Mustard” securing 2nd in the 8 hour event.
And then backing up that result with another 1st & 2nd Overall in Sunday’s 7 hour enduro. The shorter 7 hour event saw the team focusing on setting a strong pace while conserving fuel to ensure the race could be made on 3 stops. This strategy worked out as the team was able to stretch the tank to 2 hours and reach a full course caution that set the team up well for later pit strategy. The race continued forward with both “Mustard” and “Ketchup” running fast, error free laps around the track. This resulted in the Team positioned at the end of the race to cross the line in a duplicate 1st and 2nd place finish to Saturday.
Team Sahlen has now secured OVERALL Victory in ChampCar at PittRace dating back to 2020. The team knows that good fortune of winning each year at PittRace takes a lot of good fortune. Wayne Nonnamaker shared his thoughts on the win streak – “Winning even once in the ChampCar series is difficult. For us to have pulled off 4 years in a row is an amazing streak. The competition is super tough in the ChampCar series, and we will have our work cut out for us to continue this streak.”
Saturday’s 8 hour enduro will start at 9 am, with the checkered flag flying at 5 pm. Then on Sunday’s 7 hour enduro the race will again start at 9 am, with the conclusion being at 4 pm. The race will be televised on ChampCarLive.com presented by AutoZone. (The channel is accessible through YouTube)
2024 Team Sahlen Campaign Partners:
honeybeeBase.com, Malco Products, Porsche Beachwood, ECS Tuning, Tarett Engineering, Guard Transmission, HubstandsPRO, Maxima Racing Oil, Pagid Brakes, NGK Spark Plugs, CM Racing Products, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, Design Engineering Inc., Hard Brakes, Forgeline Wheels, Optima Batteries, All-Fit Automotive, Winding Road Racing, & Capri Tools.
