for Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech Championship Race at Circuit of The Americas
Texan Dan Knox and Mike Skeen Co-Drive No. 80 ACS Manufacturing Dodge Viper GT3-R
Lone Star Racing is back home in Texas for tomorrow’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the same event in which the No. 80 ACS Manufacturing/Lone Star Racing Dodge Viper GT3-R team made their IMSA debut last year.
Team principal and driver Dan Knox will partner Mike Skeen in the No. 80 for the featured two-hour and 40-minute race, which can be seen live tomorrow, Saturday, September 17, on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) at 12:30 p.m. EDT.
Knox was hoping to improve a few positions on his 13th place qualifying effort today, but his lap times were well within a second of the other bronze and silver rated drivers in the competitive IMSA GTD Daytona (GTD) field.
“It's definitely good to be back home,” said Knox, who lives in Pilot Point, Texas “I'm a little bit disappointed with my performance. I thought we had a really good car for qualifying after this morning, when I was putting some great times in, but this afternoon the track had just gone away so much. It was very difficult to put the car where we wanted.”
Knox and Skeen will co-drive in their fourth race together tomorrow and are hoping to improve on their 2016-best finish of ninth one race ago at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR).
“Obviously, Dan is a lot more comfortable here,” Skeen said. “He’s a little bit more familiar with the track and has gotten up to speed a lot quicker, qualified right there with a bunch of guys just outside the top 10, so I think he should be able to hang pace with that end of the field.”
The No. 80 ranked in the top five in this morning’s third and final one-hour practice before qualifying. Skeen ran as high as second fastest in that session and has consistently been turning practice laps in the top three all weekend.
“The mid-engined GT3 cars like the Lamborghini proved to be very good on the smooth pavement at VIR, and I'm sure it will be no different at COTA,” Skeen said. “Our Viper seemed to work very well over the curbing and through the transitions in the uphill esses at VIR, and that has seemed to translate well for us in the first sector at COTA as well.”
Lone Star Racing Team Manager and Lead Engineer AJ Petersen has guided the No. 80 team through this year’s deliberately planned four-race schedule. The team is evaluating options for a full season of IMSA GTD competition next year.
“It is good to come back to this track and event with more IMSA experience and time under our belt,” Petersen said. “Every time we run there is something to be learned. I don’t know if I am ready to predict a finishing position as there is some very good competition out there, but I do see positives in the direction that the team has been headed and the speed of the car and drivers.”
Race-day Saturday starts with a 20-minute warmup at 8 a.m. CDT with the featured IMSA WeatherTech Championship race scheduled to go green at 11:35 a.m. CDT.
Noteworthy
- North Carolina resident Skeen feels right at home in Texas. “I've had the opportunity to drive for some other Texas-based teams in the past and this area is one that I really like, so I do feel a bit of a connection to the Lone Star State,” Skeen said.
- A true Texan, Knox is not concerned about the typically high temperatures expected on Saturday. “It's definitely going to be an exciting race, especially if the temperature is still like Friday’s tomorrow,” Knox said. “I’m used to the heat. I'm outside every day doing stuff with my kid, hanging out with the family when I get home from work, so heat is not the problem. Hopefully the car will handle the heat, the tires will handle the temperatures too and the long stints we are going to be running.”
- Petersen’s plan for success tomorrow is a familiar one. “We have to run and focus on our own race,” Petersen said. “Our goal will be to run mistake free, stay within the lead lap, and setup a race for the finish. It will be crowded race with the added classes for this event.”
