Watkins Glen II: Southard Motorsports race report

Ruhlman and Lewis Battle their way to Twelfth in Southard Motorsports Daytona Prototype at Crown Royal 200 at The Glen

Watkins Glen, NY (Aug 15, 2007) -- Battling their way around the historic Watkins Glen International Raceway short course, Shane Lewis and Randy Ruhlman drove the Southard Motorsports No. 3 Preformed Line Products Lexus Riley to a twelfth place finish in Round 12 of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve. The Daytona Prototype race, the Crown Royal 200 at The Glen, was part of the weekend action also featuring NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Grand National races.

For the two-hour sprint race, Ruhlman took the wheel first and immediately began making his way through the traffic. "For the most part it went pretty well," says Ruhlman. "The changes we made before the race were good and we had a consistent car. We still have some problems with the Pontiacs. It was difficult getting around some of the traffic in the first stint and I got really held up by another competitor. In that type of situation, you can either try to put a guy off and risk hurting both of you or you can bide your time and make the move when it's right. We just didn't quite have what it took today. All in all, I think we did about as well as we could with a twelfth."

"Like Randy said, we're actually pretty happy with our finish," continues Lewis. "When you take into consideration the weekend we had and some of the things we went through, it's actually pretty awesome. We didn't have anything for the leaders in terms of speed, but we played it smart and that put us in a good position. We both had the same problem with some of the traffic. I got hung up as well behind a couple of other racers, and that slowed our progress down. But, we were able to gain back the two laps and finish on the lead lap, so that was great. Luck seems to be on our side."

There are just two events left in this season's Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve. Headed next to Infineon Raceway on August 24, and then to Miller Motorsports Park, September 15, there is no doubt that the Southard Motorsports team and the drivers, Ruhlman and Lewis, will be ready for both.

-credit: sm