in the No. 80 ACS Manufacturing Mercedes-AMG GT3
Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge First of Three-Straight IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Races for Dan Knox, Mike Skeen and Lone Star Racing
Lone Star Racing and team drivers Dan Knox and Mike Skeen return to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition this weekend at Road America where they will campaign the No. 80 ACS Manufacturing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT Daytona (GTD) class.
Road America is the first of three-straight IMSA WeatherTech Championship races for the Texas-based team that debuted its new-for-2017 Mercedes-AMG GT3 at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in early May.
“It will be interesting to run the Mercedes-AMG GT3 at Road America,” Knox said. “The track definitely fits the strengths of the car, but there are a lot of other similar cars that will make this a very competitive event. We showed good speed at COTA and now need to back that up with solid race results. We haven’t been racing but have been working diligently to earn solid results in the next three events.”
Knox and Skeen are co-driving together for the second-consecutive season in 2017.
‘Last year we were able to run inside the top-five on occasion and I see no reason why we can't do so again,” Skeen said. “It is always difficult picking up in the middle of the season, when all of the other teams have momentum on their side, but we will do our best. We have a great team assembled that will only get better as they work together more over the course of these three races. It may seem like a lofty goal, but I want to be in the hunt for a podium finish!”
Running the same four races as the team did in 2016, Lone Star follows this weekend’s round at Road America with the IMSA WeatherTech Championship races at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) later this month and Laguna Seca Raceway in September.
“The four races we are running this year are very similar to the select schedule we ran in 2016,” Knox said. “Last year we were able to put together some solid results with minimal testing, but this year we have been able to prepare with more testing.”
Lone Star tested most recently two weeks ago at VIR.
“We had a productive test at VIR,” said AJ Petersen, Lone Star Racing Team Manager. “We were able to get tuned up for the next stretch of races scheduled. It is always tough jumping in the middle of the season and racing with teams that have been running the entire year, but Dan was able to get some valuable track time at a track that Mike calls home. We were able to correct some mistakes that were made with running the COTA race. I think we will be better prepared for a long run, and I am looking forward to seeing the progress.”
Switching to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 after three seasons campaigning a Dodge Viper GT3-R, Lone Star, Knox and Skeen earned a lead-lap 12th place race finish in the debut of their new race car at COTA.
“We learned a lot during our last race at Circuit of The Americas, which we were able to verify and explore during the test at VIR,” Skeen said. “I think we are much more prepared and have a consistent platform for long runs. I believe the knowledge we have now will help us transition from being quick in practice, to preparing a car that is good on race day.”
Practice for the IMSA WeatherTech Championship Continental Tire Road Race Showcase begins Friday, August 4, with a pair of one-hour sessions at 11:20 a.m. CDT and 4:10 pm. CDT.
Saturday, August 5, gets started with a third one-hour practice at 8:55 a.m. CDT before GTD qualifying that afternoon at 12:35 p.m. CDT.
Race-day Sunday, August 6, begins with a 20-minute warmup at 8:30 a.m. CDT with the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase scheduled to start that afternoon at 1:35 p.m. CDT.
Live television coverage of the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase will air on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning at 2:30 p.m. EDT this Sunday, August 6. Live timing and scoring and IMSA Radio play-by-play are available live at IMSA.com.
