Alex Job Racing Laguna Seca qualifying report

AJR to Start ALMS Six-Hour at Laguna from Fourth Row

#23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: Bill Sweedler, Brian Wong, Shane Lewis

Photo by: Bob Heathcote

MONTEREY, CA, (Sept. 16, 2011) - Alex Job Racing's (AJR) Bill Sweedler, Brian Wong and Shane Lewis will start the ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey Presented by Tequila Patrón from the fourth row in GTC for tomorrow's 1:30 p.m. PT.

Lewis, from Jupiter, Florida, had the controls of the No. 23 Battery Tender/William Rast/Robert Graham/Alex Job Racing Porsche for the qualifying session. The Floridian put in a lap of 1:29.194 that will have them starting from the fourth row in GTC.

"We came here with a bit of a different handling package on the car, and we knew we would have to develop it during practice." Lewis said. "We have been making good headway through practice, and we used qualifying for a test session as well. We used the time to get ready for the race, more than to put down a qualifying lap. The car is stable and it is a good long run car, and that is where our focus was today."

Wong, Newport Beach, California, is ready for six-hours of racing.

"Practice this morning was good," Wong said. "I got in this morning, and we have made a ton of adjustments, and they have all been positive. The car is set-up for what we are accustomed to driving, and we all agree on the way it is handling. Qualifying is qualifying, the race is six-hours, and we have a good car and a definite shot at doing well."

Sweedler, Westport, Connecticut has a lot of confidence in the car.

"We made some pretty radicle changes," Sweedler said. "I think we have a really good platform for the race. We moved from where we were at the softer end of the set-up to a stiffer platform. We were working on race set-up for a six-hour race, so qualifying wasn't the focus. Six-hours is a long race and per usual the AJR guys will put a good car under us, and it will be our job to run a good clean race and be there at the end."

Alex Job, team owner, is focusing his team on the six-hours to come tomorrow.

"We put a totally different set-up on the car between practice and qualifying," Job said. "Bill, Brian and Shane have similar tastes when it comes to the set-up and we are heading in the right direction. We didn't get that glamour lap in qualifying, but the car was stable, easy to drive, and I will take that over a blistering lap heading into a six-hour race. We will have to focus on running a clean race. It is easy to get a wheel off here, and if you do it is not forgiving and will send you down laps waiting to be towed out."