NICK MANCUSO STARTS FROM THE FRONT ROW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ROUND 6 OF THE CONTINENTAL TIRE SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE AT WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
Starting for the first time this season from the front row in Round 6 of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Nick Mancuso proved that he and the #16 Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin are on the verge of becoming regular front-runners in this intensely competitive series.The operative term of course is 'verge' while Mancuso battled at or toward the front for most of his stint, shortly before the driver-change pit stop, a malfunction of the power steering system sprayed hot, slippery fluid all over his rear tires and the car immediately spun. Keeping it off the wall, he managed to get to the pits where it became co-driver Frankie Montecalvo's unenviable job to drive the final hour of the race with no power steering. With the pit stop, and the mechanical problem, he did well to keep the car together and bring it home in 19th place."Up until the power steering failed, weather was the biggest challenge of the weekend with a track that was never completely wet or completely dry," said Mancuso. "And on top of that, we had a basically dry setup on the car, so the car was very twitchy. Under those circumstances, you're fighting for survival in every turn and we were doing well to be running consistently in the top two or three cars. I was making a move to take over the lead when the power steering went and the car started spinning and the cockpit filled with smoke. We lost a couple of laps in the pits while getting it sorted out and I'm impressed with what Frankie was able to achieve with a wounded car."The Watkins Glen race marked the mid-point of Mancuso's first season of racing in the GS class of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Competition, and it has been a time of ups and downs. Mancuso and Montecalvo scored a brilliant 5th in the opening race at Daytona, then had to sit out the next race at Circuit of the Americas when a structural problem was discovered with their car. They rebounded with a top-10 finish in Round 3 at Barber Motorsports Park, and soared to new heights with a podium finish in Round 4 at Road Atlanta. Then came the 'status quo' race in Round 5 at Mid-Ohio where the team started and finished 13th. Then Watkins Glen, where it all began with such promise, only to dissolve in a cloud of smoke."We had the pole at Watkins Glen until we got pipped on the last lap by one of our team cars, but it was exciting to be part of an all-Aston, all-Multimatic Motorsports front row," said Mancuso. "Of course the way the weekend ended was disappointing, but if nothing else, we've proved that we have the ingredients in the team to win poles, races and even the championship. We just haven't put it all together quite yet and in a series this competitive, the team has to be firing on all cylinders to have a chance. I don't see that any major changes need to be made to become more competitive in the final half of the season, just keep working like we have and it will come together."Round 7 of the 2013 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge will take place July 26 on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
About Nick MancusoNick Mancuso is one of the most interesting, and accomplished drivers in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. In addition to his racing activities, he was inducted into the Cum Laude Society in 2004 and in 2005 he was made a member of the National Honor Society and chosen as a National Merit Scholar before graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2009. He is a black belt in Shotokan Karate and an extreme adventurer with hobbies that include spearfishing, Krav Maga (an Israeli martial art), skydiving and capturing/photographing reptiles in the wild. He began racing in 2006, winning numerous races in SCCA Regional Sports 2000 competition. Mancuso joined Multimatic Motorsports in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge for the 2013 season after having helped the team develop their factory-backed Ford Focus ST-R racecar in 2012.
