Team Sahlen, presented by honeybeeBase.com, entered their very 1st Lucky Dog Racing League event at Pitt Race. The event was the “Dogtoberfest” Halloween 7 & 8 Hour Enduro Spectacular. The team moved into the track on Friday, setting up the Paddock and the Pits in preparation for the weekend’s enduro events. Since this was the 1st time with the series, the team also went through tech to ensure the Porsche Boxsters were cleared to race.
Saturday dawned with clear blue skies with the cars on track for a morning practice & qualifying session. The team decided to put as little time as possible on the car in advance of the 7 hour enduro that was to start imminently. With that short time on track, the team still secured 4th and 5th OVERALL on the grid.
The 7 hour race started with all cars charging hard for the 1st 2 hours of the race. The competition was fierce and tight. Team Sahlen maintained top 5 slots until the 1st round of pit stops started. At that point, the team was able to run longer than the competition and slid into 1st and 2nd Overall.
The racing remained very close for the middle part of the race. Several full course cautions meant that pack kept bunching up with a pace car on track. During this period of time, the team set fastest race lap working to get a gap on the competition.
Joe Nonnamaker shared his thoughts on Saturday – “That was great fun out there. I settled into a very consistent pace early on. The leaders were going quite fast, but soon I was able to reel them back in and get into the lead before the 1st pit stop. As I got out of the car after my 1st stint, I shared with the crew how much I really enjoyed my time out there in the Lucky Dog Racing League.”
As the last part of the race evolved, Team Sahlen found themselves with a very comfortable lap and half lead. But in endurance racing, nothing can be a sure thing until the checkered flag flies. And for Team Sahlen this was true, as a transmission failure put the team behind the wall.
The Team Sahlen crew worked hard into the evening Saturday to get the #942 “Ketchup” repaired and ready to go for Sunday’s 8 Hour enduro. With continued beautiful blue skies, the team anticipated and hoped for a great run. The race started out very similar to Saturday’s race. Everyone at the front of the pack was running as hard as they could to get an early lead. Team Sahlen stayed right in the thick of the battle, and pitted at the 2 hour mark in 1st and 2nd place.
The stress of 2 days of endurance racing started to take their toll on the competition, and soon Team Sahlen found themselves with a very comfortable 2 lap lead at the mid point of the race. The team soon settled into a very comfortable pace that would decrease the stress on the Porsche Boxster. As the race drew to a close, the #942 “Ketchup” rounded the track with a 4 lap lead and received the checkered flag in 1st place.
Joe Sahlen shared his thoughts after the weekend – “I can’t believe that we ran all day Sunday for 8 hours and the only full course caution we had was the Noon corner worker feed. Such long durations of green flag made for some fast paced action. I am looking forward to our next race weekend with the Lucky Dog Racing League.”
The next event for Team Sahlen will be the Sebring New Year’s Eve Classic with the Tire Rack – ChampCar Endurance Series. The event will be an 8 hour enduro on Saturday, December 28th then followed with a 7 hour enduro on Sunday, December 29th.
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., Forgeline Wheels, Optima Batteries, All-Fit Automotive, OMP, Bell Helmets & Capri Tools.
