Terry Borcheller had a fast start to the American Le Mans Series race weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., but his effort came to an all-too-quick halt on race day. Borcheller, of Gainesville, Ga., and Johnny Mowlem of London, England, demonstrated increasing performance from their Saleen S7R on the 4.084-mile road course. Borcheller topped the GT1 class during the first practice, and the pair stayed near the top of the class in subsequent sessions.

Mowlem qualified third on the GT1 grid in two minutes 1.152 seconds. He drove first, moving to the class lead just two minutes into the two-hour 45-minute race. He returned to third at the 20-minute mark and stayed close to the leaders until a shift linkage problem forced a pitstop at 1h33. Borcheller then took over, returning to the track sixth in class, five laps behind the leader. He hit trouble just 20 minutes from the race finish as the left-front wheel came off the car, forcing him out of the race. He and Mowlem finished sixth in GT1.

"I was quickest in the Saturday morning practice and that really got the buzz going in the paddock," Borcheller said. "At one point in the race, we were second overall. That was kind of cool! The car showed a lot of promise – we're definitely closer to the [class-leading] Corvettes and making strides. I was happy with the handling; it was very encouraging."

Borcheller joined hundreds of fans in the Tour de Road America on Aug. 20. Drivers and fans lapped the track on bicycles to raise an estimated $50,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Borcheller will return to the Rolex Sports Car Series, driving the No. 54 Bell Motorsports/Feeds the Need Doran JE4 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on Aug. 28.