Grand-Am

SCC: VIR: Tafel Racing preview

LUX AND ESPENLAUB READY FOR SECOND VICTORY IN GRAND AM CUP SERIES CUMMING, Ga. (April 12)-After being the first sixteen year old to take the checkered flag at Daytona in 2005, Eric Lux returned in 2006 to win the first race of the season in the ...

Edited: Dec 21, 2009, 5:26 AM

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LUX AND ESPENLAUB READY FOR SECOND VICTORY IN GRAND AM CUP SERIES

CUMMING, Ga. (April 12)-After being the first sixteen year old to take the checkered flag at Daytona in 2005, Eric Lux returned in 2006 to win the first race of the season in the Grand Am Cup 200, a feat he is working hard to repeat at VIR next week. Returning from a test last week at VIR, Lux commented on the complexities of the 3.27 mile road course. "I learned a lot at the test and I really think it will put us ahead. It's a very challenging course for a driver. Between the elevation changes and the fact that it's very narrow in places, making passing difficult, there's a lot to learn at VIR. I really like the track, though. I finished on the podium there in 2005 in (the) HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing series)."

This will be the first time out for Lux and co-driver Charles Espenlaub of Lutz, Fla. in their number 175 Rembrandt Charms Porsche 996, a car the Tafel Racing team has acquired since the victory at Daytona. "Sure there's work to be done on the new car, there's always work to be done because we hope to be always improving, but we're ready to take it out there and race," said Lux from his home in Buffalo, NY.

Charles Espenlaub, Eric's co-driver, was his driving coach at Panoz Racing School. In 2005 Espenlaub raced in the SPEED Touring championship as well as in HSR, where he had 10 wins. This season, in addition to competing in the Grand Am Cup Series, the pair will also drive the 74 Tafel Racing Rembrandt Charms Porsche GT3 in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve. Comparing the two series, the drivers agree that the driving is just as challenging and the competition just as difficult in the Grand Am Cup. "We still drive just as hard on every lap," said Lux, "only here we're more like the DP cars. We're in one of the quicker cars and have to watch for traffic coming from behind us."

While competing in two Grand American race series this season, Eric will also be completing his senior year of high school. He is home schooled to allow for the time demands of his racing career, but has been accepted to Jacksonville University, where he will attend in the fall while continuing to race. It's not the typical senior year, but he's exactly where he wants to be, working hard to make sure this weekend finds him again on the podium.

-tr-

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