Team Sahlen: Three Cars, Two Classes for VIR Cup Race
North Canton, Ohio - Team Sahlen will be entered in two classes for the
upcoming Grand-Am Cup race at VIRginia International Raceway. Team Sahlen
cars will take on both the Grand Sport (GS) class and the Street Tuner (ST)
class for the season's second race. With over 90 cars on the Grand-Am Cup
entry list, the race at VIRginia is promising to be one of the largest
Grand-Am Cup races ever.
"After coming off the win at Daytona, the team is really looking forward to
getting back into Grand-Am Cup action. We have had nearly three months off
and everyone is ready to be back at the track for a race. We did some
testing a few weeks ago and have added some new equipment to our brand new
shop. I can't wait to see what our cars and drivers will do at VIR," stated
Will Nonnamaker.
Team Sahlen moved into their newly built 12 bay shop in October. The new
shop sits on the grounds of the Akron Canton Airport in North Canton, Ohio
and is only a few miles from Team Sahlen's previous shop. The team recently
purchased a new dynamometer which has seen some excellent use since its
installation in March. The team is hoping to make gains in horsepower while
maintaining its current lead in the team point standings.
Starting off the Team Sahlen driver's lineup in the No. 43 car will be Joe
Sahlen and Will Nonnamaker. Sahlen and Nonnamaker were co-drivers during the
2005 season and have plans to venture into the Grand-Am Cup ST class for
upcoming races. Sahlen and Nonnamaker spent a lot of time behind the wheel
during the three month break. Nonnamaker and his brother, Wayne, were
featured in a recent issue of Grassroots Motorsports where the two
test-drove seven turn-key race cars. Sahlen has spent time testing at both
Barber Motorsports Park and VIRginia behind the wheel of the Team Sahlen
Porsches.
In the No. 44 car will be the father-son combination of Joe and Wayne
Nonnamaker. Joe and Wayne co-drove in the season opener race at Daytona
International Speedway and qualified in the top ten. At last year's VIRginia
race Joe and Wayne took fifth place despite an accident in practice that
almost left them out of the competition entirely.
"We are really looking forward to coming to VIRginia with some very strong
cars this year. Opening the season with a win was great but it is a long
season and there are a lot of races in the next month or so. I'm looking
forward to getting back behind the wheel," stated Wayne Nonnamaker.
Rounding out the Team Sahlen entry list is their No. 41 ST class entry of
Matthew O'Toole and Mike Speck in the Team Sahlen Dodge SRT4. O'Toole and
Speck spent time with Team Sahlen in early January at Daytona Test Days.
O'Toole spent a lot of time in the driver's seat of the Team Sahlen Dodge
during at Daytona. He joined the team later to drive at the team's mid-March
test at VIR. O'Toole is looking forward to his first ever Grand-Am Cup race.
"The test at VIR was far better than I thought it was going to be. I was
very comfortable and I have a lot of confidence in the car," stated O'Toole.
Team Sahlen will hit the track Saturday, April 22 at 3:15 PM EST for the
Grand-Am Cup race. SPEED will air coverage of the race April 29th at 1:00PM
EST. For more race related information visit www.GrandAmerican.com
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