Photo by: Michael Tan
Tavares, FLA - Alex Job Racing's (AJR) Cooper MacNeil and Leh Keen are heading to the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT to be run Aug. 31 - Sept. 1.
MacNeil (Hinsdale, ILL) is taking a commanding GTC 31 point lead into the Baltimore street race. The Baltimore track, which snakes through the Inner Harbor and around Camden Yards is a treacherous 2.02-mile, 12-turn temporary street circuit. MacNeil is making his first visit to the concrete lined track.
"We are going to do the same thing in Baltimore as we did in Long Beach," MacNeil said. "Run hard, keep clean, and get a good finish for points. We will try to win, of course, but finishing is the priority. I have been running laps on the simulator and also watching IndyCar on YouTube to learn the track.
I can't wait for this weekend. I'm back at school now (University of Colorado at Boulder). It's great to be back in Boulder. I missed this place."
Keen knows the strategy for a MacNeil and team championship, but would like some season-ending accolades for himself as well.
"Well Cooper has such a good lead we have a bit of a buffer with the points situation," Keen said. "Still the most important thing is to get to the 70% mark of the race. Anything can happen in championships, and we are not taking the lead for granted. After we make the 70% mark we can take the usual risks and fight for the win. I also won't be missing anymore races and would like to get a top three in the championship, but Cooper taking first and Alex getting the team championship is the priority.
Last year was the first ever race at Baltimore. The weekend started out rough with the track construction not being finished in time, but then it really turned into a very enjoyable event for everyone. There were tons of fans filling the grandstands and the vibe around the track was full of energy, being up on the podium with a huge crowd finished the weekend off nicely.
The track is slightly different this year, which will make it a little faster. The changes look to make the track even more enjoyable to drive. Cooper has not been there yet so we will be studying some video and data and also spending as much time on the track before the first session as possible."
Alex Job, team owner, knows that Baltimore will be a wild-card race for the WeatherTech team. "Cooper and Leh know what position we are in for the championship," Job said.
"However, when you start to be too careful that is when you start to make mistakes. We have had clean runs with the WeatherTech Porsche all season, and we need to come out of Baltimore with another mistake-free race and finish up toward the front. We want to be conservative, but not to a point of giving anything away."
Source: WeatherTech Racing
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