SCC: Watkins Glen: SpeedSource race notes

SpeedSource's RX-8s Put on Show at Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen, NY - During the Glen 250 the SpeedSource Race Engineering achieved what all teams strive for when bringing several cars to a race. Running five cars isn't often attempted by a team in any racing series and SpeedSource managed to finish all five in the top ten spots of the eighteen car field. This weekend the SpeedSource team brought home fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, and tenth place finishes.

The SpeedSource team features Mazda RX-8s in the Sport Touring class. In addition to making Mazda RX-8s competitive on the Glen track, SpeedSource was recently accredited with the RX-8s first professional win at Phoenix. The Watkins Glen race marks midseason on the circuit and provides testimony that the SpeedSource cars, drivers, and crew will be tough competitors for the remainder of the season.

The No. 70 car driven by David Haskell and Sylvain Tremblay led the SpeedSource cars at 5th place. In the ST class, the fight for the top five was gruesome. With several lead changes and nine cautions throughout the race made for a difficult finish. The race itself was shortened by ten laps due to the vast amount of cautions and the three hour time limit.

"There were more cautions then usual, even for Watkins Glen. Any time a yellow flag would go up, I worried it was one of our cars. What a feeling to come in and see the rest of the SpeedSource cars finish one after another. It was a great sense of relief to see that what damage had occurred was minimal," stated Tremblay, team owner.

Following in at 6th place was the No. 68 car driven by Scott Schlesinger and David Tuaty. At 8th, 9th, and 10th, respectively were 66, 65, and 67. Behind the wheel of the No. 66 car were veteran drivers, Marcelo Abello and Benoit Theetge. Richard Walker and Gary Wollersheim brought in the No. 67 car to completed the race for the team at 10th place.

The No. 65 car was driven by Nick Fanelli and Selby Wellman. Wellman, in his first time driving the SpeedSource Mazda RX-8, brought new intensity to the team. He held and kept a competitive edge throughout the weekend.

"The team as a whole performed well this weekend. We got the first win out of our system at Phoenix and now we are scoring some strong points towards the championship. We have plenty of time now to prepare these cars for Mid Ohio. I anticipate the rest of the season to go very well for us," Tremblay concluded.

The SpeedSource Race Engineering team will bring its Mazda RX-8 effort to Mid-Ohio August 6th-7th. See what else is going on with the team at www.speedsourceinc.com

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