Factory Driver from Back to Front Twice in MRLS GRAND-AM Race for 2nd Podium
GRAND-AM's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) events always provide intense competition and a little bit of controversy. The Continental Tire Sports Car Festival presented by Mazda on September 8 offered all of that for Bryan Sellers... twice! The Braselton, Ga.-resident took the second-stint behind the wheel of the No. 46 BCKSTGR/Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 after teammate Mark Boden (Winnetka, Ill.) started the car 21st. Once behind the wheel, Sellers charged through the field to take the lead, then fell back to 14th after a penalty but never gave up. He battled back to second as the checkered flag flew at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (MRLS) in Monterey, Calif. It was the second podium finish for the Falken Tire factory driver in the CTSCC this season.
The 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course on the Monterey Peninsula may be one the most popular circuits on the schedule but it is also one of the most challenging. When MRLS is coupled with the massive fields and intense competition of the CTSCC, the BCKSTGR/Fall-Line Motorsports operation had its work cut out. Starting deep in the GS class field would be the first challenge when Sellers took over the wheel of the No. 46 with approximately two hours of the two-hour, 30-minute race remaining. Within 20 minutes of taking charge of the BCKSTGR BMW, Sellers was running fourth. Less than 10 minutes later, the former open wheel-racing champion made the pass for second-place. He would inherit the lead as pit stop rotations began.
Sellers would hold the lead until being penalized for passing the pace car on a restart with one-hour, 15-mintues to go, dropping him to 14th. He was not the only driver to face the wrath of GRAND-AM official as identical penalties also dropped two other leaders late in the race from the top-spot. Not to be denied one of the best runs of his career, Sellers immediately went back on the attack. With just over 30 minutes remaining, he had worked his way back into the top-four. Penalties would now play a positive role for Sellers as he gained a position, moving into third, as another driver served his penitence for the same infraction. On the last lap, as the leaders just in front of him made contact, Sellers snuck through to capture second-place returning him to the podium.
The MRLS race was the second podium in CTSCC this season for the Sellers/Boden pairing - the first coming at the season-opening Daytona International Speedway round when the twosome finished third. It is the second-podium in a row for Sellers overall. The multi-series driver won the Grand Prix of Baltimore American Le Mans Series GT class last week in convincing style.
The Continental Tire Sports Car Festival will air a tape-delay broadcast on Sunday, September 16 at 1:30 p.m. (ET) on SPEED.
Quotes
Bryan Sellers:
On the race:"The CTSCC races are always full of action and full of drama. This race was no different. Laguna Seca is a very difficult track to pass on but we were able to move the BCKSTGR/Fall-Line BMW through the field better than I expected. There is always some beating and banging that happens and that is what makes these races so difficult yet so much fun to drive as well as to watch. Everybody at Fall-Line has done such a great job this year and we have been just short of the top step on the podium a few times. I know how badly everyone wants to end the season on a high note at Lime Rock. We will pull out all the stops and focus on outright speed in the race and hope we can convert it into a win."
On the challenges of racing through the field: "Fortunately, barging through the field doesn't drain you too much until it is all over with. When you're coming through the field you have no time to think about anything other than the job at hand. It keeps you very focused."
On the penalty: "It's always so hard to make a call inside the car about what did or did not happen. I did everything I could do to abide by the rules. The series obviously saw something different than myself. They made the call a couple of times on a couple of cars so they must have seen something they didn't like. That's part of what we do. I have to try and learn from it. As far as what affect the penalty had on the race, we will never know. The BCKSTGR BMW was strong, especially when we were in the lead. I would like to think we could have kept it there but we will never know."
