Fall-Line Motorsports faces adversity in SCC opener at Daytona

Buffalo Grove, IL - Fall-Line Motorsports entered the Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge season-opener at Daytona International Speedway this past weekend with high expectations for the 2013 Championship. After spending the winter months perfecting their three BMW M3 GS entries, they unloaded at the famed Daytona track with impressive speed and continued that momentum into the early stages of the race. However, this is where the good fortune ended. A series of unfortunate on-track incidents affected all three cars and the team did not capture the results they were looking for. The Fall-Line lineup finished 2-3-4 at last year's Daytona event so obviously there was disappointment finishing 19-26-29. However, in true Fall-Line fashion, the team moves on to the next race and will focus on the remaining stops on the 2013 season.

The #48 Fall-Line Motorsports/ Beverage Flavors International BMW M3 was driven by Brett Sandberg and Charles Espenlaub. The pair started the race in fifth position and Sandberg drove to the front of the field in the first stint in the car. He made contact with the leader of the race who bunched up the field on a re-start, but Sandberg managed to stay up front. He was holding onto 5th when, entering the 'bus stop,' a car directly in front of him shredded a tire and Brett could not avoid the debris. The shrapnel did significant damage to the underside of the car but he managed to hold his position to finish his stint. Charles (Espenlaub) took over and nursed the car to the end of the race without fourth gear. He was running 9th when the damage proved terminal just laps from the end. He finished 19th.

The #45 Fall-Line Motorsports/Eagle Technology /B+ Foundation BMW M3, driven by Al Carter and Hugh Plumb was the highest qualified car in the Fall-Line camp. Carter started the race in fourth and quickly got to work, taking the lead early in the race. The same incident that involved the #48 on the re-start collected the #45 as the field accordioned and Carter could not avoid the car in front of him. The leader chose not to accelerate when the green flag came out and this caused an unavoidable incident. The damage to the #45 was severe and disabled the car, but the Fall-Line crew with their 'never quit' attitude, was able to repair the car and only lost three laps in the pits. The #45 finished the race in 26th position.

The #46 Fall-Line Motorsports/Trim-Tex Drywall Products BMW M3, piloted by team owner Mark Boden and Bryan Sellers, started seventh and Boden was driving an incredible first stint. Early in the race, Boden made contact with the wall on the outside of turn five as he was trying to avoid two ST cars who forced him off the track. The Fall-Line crew did an amazing job to get the car repaired and back out on track. The #46 was eventually classified 29th.

Team Manager, Michael Harvey, commented on his team: "This was clearly not the result we expected or deserved. We had three great racecars out there today but we didn't get to show our performance. It's disappointing to work so hard all winter and to come to the first race and be a victim of others' poor decisions. We were proud to take BMW to the front but as racing goes sometimes incidents beyond your control make for a hard day. All the credit to the Fall-Line crew for rising up never giving up. We will re-group and come back from this, as we always do, and move on and look toward Austin."

Fall-Lime Motorsports