Pataskala, Ohio (23 June 2014) – Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian is looking to break through for a podium finish this Sunday, as the green flag for the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen on Sunday (11:00 AM, LIVE on FOX Sports 1) will mark the 11th consecutive start in the traditional event for the team.
In 10 years of racing in the famous endurance race, the team has finished fourth six times and team owner Mike Shank as well as drivers John Pew and Ozz Negri are targeting a run that will take them all the way to the elusive Watkins Glen 6 Hour podium.
The team has experienced the spray of champagne at Watkins Glen before with a second (2004) and a third place (2005) finish in the short-course sprint race format at the Glen, while the 6-Hour has seen the team factor in the finish but just short of the podium goal.
The No. 60 Ford Ecoboost Riley Daytona Prototype will once again proudly carry the striking red and blue Dunn Tire livery for the second consecutive Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen which marks Round 6 of the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
The 2014 season has seen the Michael Shank Racing squad make progress with the new Ford Ecoboost Riley as the team continues to push the development for the new program, which took its first competitive laps earlier this year in the Rolex 24.
Arriving at Watkins Glen, the team brings the momentum of a season-best finish of fourth at Detroit and Michael Shank Racing aims to build off of that positive performance this weekend at the Glen with the No. 60 Dunn Tire Ford Ecoboost Riley.
Not only will the weekend mark the first time for the Ford Ecoboost machinery in the Glen 6 Hour, but it’s also the first race since Sebring that sees all four TUDOR Championship classes back competing among one another. With 55 cars expected on track, traffic will be a key factor in this Sunday’s endurance event.
Michael Shank Racing continued to prepare in a season that has been a non-stop effort, logging laps in the Ford Ecoboost powered Riley last week in a test at Circuit of the Americas. Both Pew and Negri, who will share the Dunn Tire car at the Glen, ran laps under the hot Texas sun. And, as one of only a few Prototype teams fielding a two driver line-up in Sunday’s 6 Hour race, that training is great preparation for the longer TUDOR Championship endurance races. Pew and Negri’s preparation also includes training in their home state of Florida where they take their go-karts out for full fuel tank runs at Homestead-Miami Speedway’s karting facility to simulate the long stints in the Daytona Prototype.
“We’ve been preparing for this race ever since we left Detroit,” said Team Owner Mike Shank. “The guys at the shop and both John and Ozz have put in countless hours. It’s great to have Dunn Tire back on board with us. We’ve enjoyed building our relationship with those folks and we’re looking forward to hosting their group again this weekend. This race will be challenging for sure and we don’t yet know where things will land between the DPs and P2s. But in these longer races, you have to have a lot of things go your way beyond just single-lap pace to earn a result. It is going to be a warm one it looks like, but we’re prepared for it and hopefully we’ll deliver a positive result for Dunn Tire.”
The three-day weekend opens on Friday with a one-hour practice session and will be followed on Saturday with additional practice and qualifying. The Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen is set to go green at 11:15 AM ET on Sunday with FOX Sports 1 carrying live coverage beginning at 11:00 AM ET.
Live timing and scoring is available at scoring.imsa.com.