SCC: Birmingham: Compass360 Racing preview

THILENIUS AND ASCHENBACH LOOK TO EXTEND COMPASS360 CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

(Leeds, AL) -- Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Street Tuner Champions Compass360 hope to extend their points lead as the third round of the series kicks off at the picturesque Barber Motorosports Park in Birmingham, Alabama this weekend. David Thilenius and Lawson Aschenbach, who co-drive the team's #74 Honda Civic Si, currently have a seven-point advantage of their closest rival thanks to a win at Daytona International Speedway in January and a hard-fought second place at Homestead-Miami in March.

"The first two rounds couldn't have gone much better," noted Thilenius. "We know it's going to be a hard battle at Barber this weekend, and we expect the fans will see some really close competition." Indeed, with Continental being on the ticket with the Rolex Sports Car series and the Indy Racing League, there promises to be a great turn-out.

The #74 car once again leads a strong four-car effort from Compass360. "While we work to get some more valuable points for Dave and Lawson, I'm also expecting great things from our other cars as well," notes Team Principal Karl Thomson. "Remember, Zach Lutz lead his entire stint in #75 before that car experienced engine trouble at Homestead!" Lutz will share his orange Honda with team-mate Ryan Eversley.

Greg Liefhooge and Jesse Combs will co-drive in the #77 Civic Si, building on two strong performances in the opening rounds, with their car sitting third in Street Tuner Team points.

Compass360 welcomes Alex Kirby and Marv Weidner to the team, and they'll compete together in the #76 Honda. Both are rookies to Grand-Am but have extensive racing experience. Weidner's looking forward to transitioning to the front-wheel drive Civic after spending a number of seasons racing high-powered Porsches, while Kirby is moving into touring car racing after a long career in go karts and formula cars.

"We've made some changes to the cars that I think will keep us in the hunt at Barber," remarked Technical Director Ray Lee. "For sure, the BMWs, Miatas, Minis and VWs will be tough at this track. We'll be going for another win and hope to have all four cars in the top ten again."

-source: compass360