Grand-Am

SCC: VIR: Team Sahlen preview

Team Sahlen: Three Cars, Two Classes for VIR Cup Race North Canton, Ohio - Team Sahlen will be entered in two classes for the upcoming Grand-Am Cup race at VIRginia International Raceway. Team Sahlen cars will take on both the Grand Sport (GS) ...

Edited: Dec 21, 2009, 5:26 AM

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Team Sahlen: Three Cars, Two Classes for VIR Cup Race

North Canton, Ohio - Team Sahlen will be entered in two classes for the upcoming Grand-Am Cup race at VIRginia International Raceway. Team Sahlen cars will take on both the Grand Sport (GS) class and the Street Tuner (ST) class for the season's second race. With over 90 cars on the Grand-Am Cup entry list, the race at VIRginia is promising to be one of the largest Grand-Am Cup races ever.

"After coming off the win at Daytona, the team is really looking forward to getting back into Grand-Am Cup action. We have had nearly three months off and everyone is ready to be back at the track for a race. We did some testing a few weeks ago and have added some new equipment to our brand new shop. I can't wait to see what our cars and drivers will do at VIR," stated Will Nonnamaker.

Team Sahlen moved into their newly built 12 bay shop in October. The new shop sits on the grounds of the Akron Canton Airport in North Canton, Ohio and is only a few miles from Team Sahlen's previous shop. The team recently purchased a new dynamometer which has seen some excellent use since its installation in March. The team is hoping to make gains in horsepower while maintaining its current lead in the team point standings.

Starting off the Team Sahlen driver's lineup in the No. 43 car will be Joe Sahlen and Will Nonnamaker. Sahlen and Nonnamaker were co-drivers during the 2005 season and have plans to venture into the Grand-Am Cup ST class for upcoming races. Sahlen and Nonnamaker spent a lot of time behind the wheel during the three month break. Nonnamaker and his brother, Wayne, were featured in a recent issue of Grassroots Motorsports where the two test-drove seven turn-key race cars. Sahlen has spent time testing at both Barber Motorsports Park and VIRginia behind the wheel of the Team Sahlen Porsches.

In the No. 44 car will be the father-son combination of Joe and Wayne Nonnamaker. Joe and Wayne co-drove in the season opener race at Daytona International Speedway and qualified in the top ten. At last year's VIRginia race Joe and Wayne took fifth place despite an accident in practice that almost left them out of the competition entirely.

"We are really looking forward to coming to VIRginia with some very strong cars this year. Opening the season with a win was great but it is a long season and there are a lot of races in the next month or so. I'm looking forward to getting back behind the wheel," stated Wayne Nonnamaker.

Rounding out the Team Sahlen entry list is their No. 41 ST class entry of Matthew O'Toole and Mike Speck in the Team Sahlen Dodge SRT4. O'Toole and Speck spent time with Team Sahlen in early January at Daytona Test Days. O'Toole spent a lot of time in the driver's seat of the Team Sahlen Dodge during at Daytona. He joined the team later to drive at the team's mid-March test at VIR. O'Toole is looking forward to his first ever Grand-Am Cup race.

"The test at VIR was far better than I thought it was going to be. I was very comfortable and I have a lot of confidence in the car," stated O'Toole.

Team Sahlen will hit the track Saturday, April 22 at 3:15 PM EST for the Grand-Am Cup race. SPEED will air coverage of the race April 29th at 1:00PM EST. For more race related information visit www.GrandAmerican.com

-ts-

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