Team Sahlen, presented by honeybeeBase.com, had an amazing weekend at the Tire Rack – ChampCar Endurance Series Fast Parts Grand Prix Labor Day Weekend event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The weekend started off on Friday with an open Test & Tune. The day had its adventures with a Trailer Lift Gate issue and ABS Sensor Failure. The crew persevered through these issues to ensure the cars and drivers were able to work through a full testing schedule. The spare Porsche Boxster, #941 “Chili”, was especially valuable to the team, allowing all drivers to receive extra amounts of laps around the twisty buckeye track.
Friday night saw a torrential downpour The skies had stopped raining by the start of Saturday’s 8 hour race. But the remnants of the storm saw a soaked race track. The conditions were so diabolical that many cars spun off even during the pace laps. Team Sahlen focused hard on staying on track, reaching the 2 hour mark when the track had finally dried.
Moving over to non-rain tires saw Team Sahlen’s Porsche Boxsters start to gain speed and pace on the field. Each hour saw the team slowly creep back into the hunt at the front of the pack. At the 5 hour mark, all of a sudden the team was in the Top 3. Then in the last hour, Joe Sahlen was in the #942 “Ketchup”, fighting it out for the lead with the 90Racing Honda. Each lap the lead swapped back and forth. Joe Sahlen never giving up, surprising the #90 by passing back for the lead. In the end, the team secured a 2nd place finish after a very memorable dog fight.
Joe Sahlen shared his thoughts after the event – “Wow was that fun. We have been racing against 90Racing for over a decade and they are always formable competitors. This is what ChampCar Endurance racing is all about – good clean fun competitive racing.”
Sunday dawned with the most beautiful September Ohio blue skies. The random start for Sunday saw Team Sahlen start in the 7th grid slot. Soon Team Sahlen rose up to 2nd – slotting in behind the lead Acura TSX. An excellent pit stop saw Team Sahlen rise up to the lead of the race at the 2 hour mark. From this position at the front the field, Team Sahlen proceeded to manage their pace and pit stop strategy through the next 5 hours of the race. And then as the checkered flag flew, the #942 crossed the line in 1st place. The victory was even more sweet for the team, as the win extended Team Sahlen’s streak of Overall Victory in the Tire Rack – ChampCar Endurance Series to 11 years dating back to 2016.
Wayne Nonnamaker shared his thoughts on the streak – “It took the team quite a few years after we entered the series in 2011 to secure our 1st victory. I remember winning our 1st event at Gingerman Raceway in 2016 with our Mazda RX7s. I never imagined then that we would continue winning for 11 straight seasons. The competition has always been tough in this series. And it continues to get closer and closer a the front of the field. I believe this weekend alone that the Top 10 fastest cars were only separated by less than a second and half. That is really great racing, and we are just thrilled to be a part of this great series.”
The next event for Team Sahlen will be the Twisty Triangle Grand Prix at Pocono Raceway on October 10-11. Saturday will be a 8 hour enduro followed by a 7 hour enduro on Sunday.
2026 Team Sahlen Campaign Partners:
honeybeeBase.com, Malco Products, Porsche Beachwood, Discovery Parts, Valco Cincinnati with Big Wrench Racing, ECS Tuning, Tarett Engineering, Guard Transmission, HubstandsPRO, Maxima Racing Oil, Pagid Racing, Frozen Rotors, 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, Rennline, Panda Planner & Eibach