In the Garage: Team Sahlen
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January 15, 2010 in Uncategorized
The paddock is a peculiar place — filled with teams as different as the paint scheme sketched on the cars themselves. Some race teams have to deal with newcomers getting to know each other. Many aiming to use testing as a time to get comfortable in the car, figure out driving style, etc. Other teams enjoy having spent a few seasons together, returning a dual team of regular drivers and introducing a new driver or two that comes on board for the Rolex 24.
Team Sahlen, however, has set itself apart from the rest of the field. Not only has the lineup stayed consistent for many years, but it’s become a “real family affair”.
“Every team has their own atmosphere and personality, just like any pro sports team. Our team is all about family.” says Team Sahlen driver Will Nonnamaker. The lineup for Rolex 24 at Daytona will be consist of Joe Nonnamaker, father of co-drivers Will and Wayne Nonnamaker and Joe Sahlen, owner of Buffalo’s famous meatpacking company bearing his last name. Father-Son driving combinations are not rare in Grand-Am. In 2008, Justin Bell drove the Blue and Orange No. 12 RVO Motorsports Daytona Prototype alongside his father, former F1 great Derek Bell. Later this month, Ricky Taylor will join his father, Wayne, in the No. 10 Suntrust Ford Dallara as they compete for a spot on the overall podium at Daytona.
The father and sons are not the only Nonnamaker’s that you’ll bump into in the garage. “You’ll see my mom up on the time scoring stand (along with Anita Sahlen). My wife and my brother’s wife both help with the cooking, which is a lot when you’re talking about 50 people to cook for, (laughs) so it’s not just a couple of sandwiches….it’s become a family reunion. But it’s also very professional, we’re serious about this (season)”. Even the crew members have a history of hanging around the garage for a few years. Will remarks, ” We’ve got a lot of team members, in fact, we’ve just had a gentleman who’s been with us for 10 years, another member that’s been with us for 16 (years) and a lot of part-timers that have been here for 20 years. Even the people that aren’t related to us– it’s all about family.”
When asked about the goals for this season, Will did not hesitate in making known Team Sahlen’s intentions for the 2010 Rolex Series, “Even if you talk to SpeedSource and Sylvan Tremblay, his goal is not to win the driver championship, it’s not to win the team championship, their goal is to win the manufacturers (championship). Dempsey Racing’s goal is to win the manufacturers, Racers Edge and our goal is to do it. Hopefully, we’re just that next catalyst to it. But that’s Mazda’s goal”.
Team Sahlen is not new to Mazda, having ran the manufacturer back in the 1990’s and most recently in the Koni Challenge with an RX-8. With the new branding of the series to Continental Tire Challenge, Mazda has equipped the team with a new MazdaSpeed3 for the 2010 campaign. Regarding the switch , Will seemed optimistic, “It was nice to have that opportunity. That’s part of (Mazda’s) marketing program, to promote that car in that (Continental) series.” Freedom Autosport will join Team Sahlen in competing with the new MazdaSpeed3 in 2010, starting with the Fresh From Florida 200 on January 29th.
Team Sahlen’s RX-8 consistently ran close to the top 10 in GT class during the Roar Before the Rolex 24 last weekend at Daytona. The North Canton, Ohio team fared better in the CTSCC testing, spending most of the time running towards the top 5 in the ST class.
While the chill that swept through the garage on the final test weekend caused some to wonder if temperatures will be similar come January 30th, Will Nonnamaker calmly dismissed the theory,” This morning, people were throwing snowballs. It’s hasn’t been this cold in 32 years. I terribly don’t believe that we’re going to have this weather again, and that’s the only thing you can gain from saying, ‘It’s cold and I’m going to learn something from this’ . Even at night, in the middle of the 24 hours, it doesn’t get this cold.”A few cars did end up getting off track while trying to brave the elements in the early morning sessions last weekend. Will reminded me, ” You can’t win test days, you can only lose them”. Wise words from the savvy veteran.
Look for Team Sahlen’s No. 43 Mazda RX-8 on the track Jan 30-31st at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. For more information and tickets to the race, click here. Check out Team Sahlen for more information on their quest for the 2010 Rolex Series GT Manufacturer’s Championship.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
testr
In the middle of one of the worst cold spells Florida has seen in years, one team in the garage had to feel right at home while preparing for the Fresh From Florida 200. Based out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Chris Prey Racing felt right at home in the cold and got down to the task of dialing in the setup of their No. 86 Royal Purple Porsche Boxster for the late-January event.
Team Owner and co-driver Chris Prey made his first laps around the legendary track during the Friday session. Gene Sigal, co-driver of the No.86, gave Prey valuable pointers throughout the test session. "(Sigal) Had some really good feedback, we took that and kept running with it. Everything he was giving me back for information made sense to exactly what we were having issues with so far. Car was right where we want it to be, now we're just doing some chassis (work)."
Prey brought Gene Sigal on board over the winter. A mutual friend helped link the two drivers together on team that as Sigal put it is, " A bunch of good guys, working out of their heart and not out of their pocket." . A veteran of multiple forms of racing, including Spec Boxsters, Sigal praised the crew's effort to bring the car along. "These guys have done a tremendous job with the car. When we first took it out of the trailer it wasn't the best, but ultimately the (lap) times have shown, we're coming right down towards the leaders, we're only about a second off the pace right now. From the driver's prospective, I think the car has more in it than that."
I could tell Sigal, a previous Rolex Series Overall Race Winner at Mid-Ohio, is the type of guy who enjoys racing for the fast under-the-radar team. Speaking about his previous success in Grand-Am, " We've (SigalSport) won in the DP class, Grand-Am actually gives you a good, competitive series to go against the likes of Ganassi and beat them, piss 'em off a little bit so that's always fun." That's what racing is all about in my book.
As the speeds picked up later in the afternoon session for CPR, I asked Chris what changed "I don't know, I jumped in the car and I just do what I do" , laughing in a way that just would make you nervous if you're a fellow competitor on raceday.Prey continued, " I walked out of there feeling that I could've easily had another 1.5-2 seconds , just because I'm learning brake zones. You break hard, and (say) 'Oh, the corner's up here'. All said and done, if I would have had those two seconds, we would have been quickest on the charts. The car really came a long way with the development we've been doing over the winter. Really looking forward to the year, we'll see what happens."
Each team's mentality is different and CPR is no exception. Prey describes his race team as "...kinda just a skunk works team, where everybody's mean and lean, just making it work out there and it's starting to pay off."
The team plans on running the first five races along with the help of primary sponsor Royal Purple and other opportunities that are in the works as well. Lastly, Prey says, "The future looks really positive not just even in this car, but other opportunities possibly, we'll see how things work out."
With a few tricks still up their sleeves, be on the lookout for Chris Prey Racing in 2010.
Visit www.chrisprey.com or www.royalpurple.com for more information.
This photo taken by speedwayinsider.com
Other photos courtesy of grand-am.com and chrisprey.com
Team Owner and co-driver Chris Prey made his first laps around the legendary track during the Friday session. Gene Sigal, co-driver of the No.86, gave Prey valuable pointers throughout the test session. "(Sigal) Had some really good feedback, we took that and kept running with it. Everything he was giving me back for information made sense to exactly what we were having issues with so far. Car was right where we want it to be, now we're just doing some chassis (work)."
Prey brought Gene Sigal on board over the winter. A mutual friend helped link the two drivers together on team that as Sigal put it is, " A bunch of good guys, working out of their heart and not out of their pocket." . A veteran of multiple forms of racing, including Spec Boxsters, Sigal praised the crew's effort to bring the car along. "These guys have done a tremendous job with the car. When we first took it out of the trailer it wasn't the best, but ultimately the (lap) times have shown, we're coming right down towards the leaders, we're only about a second off the pace right now. From the driver's prospective, I think the car has more in it than that."
I could tell Sigal, a previous Rolex Series Overall Race Winner at Mid-Ohio, is the type of guy who enjoys racing for the fast under-the-radar team. Speaking about his previous success in Grand-Am, " We've (SigalSport) won in the DP class, Grand-Am actually gives you a good, competitive series to go against the likes of Ganassi and beat them, piss 'em off a little bit so that's always fun." That's what racing is all about in my book.
As the speeds picked up later in the afternoon session for CPR, I asked Chris what changed "I don't know, I jumped in the car and I just do what I do" , laughing in a way that just would make you nervous if you're a fellow competitor on raceday.Prey continued, " I walked out of there feeling that I could've easily had another 1.5-2 seconds , just because I'm learning brake zones. You break hard, and (say) 'Oh, the corner's up here'. All said and done, if I would have had those two seconds, we would have been quickest on the charts. The car really came a long way with the development we've been doing over the winter. Really looking forward to the year, we'll see what happens."
Each team's mentality is different and CPR is no exception. Prey describes his race team as "...kinda just a skunk works team, where everybody's mean and lean, just making it work out there and it's starting to pay off."
The team plans on running the first five races along with the help of primary sponsor Royal Purple and other opportunities that are in the works as well. Lastly, Prey says, "The future looks really positive not just even in this car, but other opportunities possibly, we'll see how things work out."
With a few tricks still up their sleeves, be on the lookout for Chris Prey Racing in 2010.
Visit www.chrisprey.com or www.royalpurple.com for more information.
This photo taken by speedwayinsider.com
Other photos courtesy of grand-am.com and chrisprey.com
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