This track marked three tracks in a row that were new to me, but as before I found that I really like this one too.  This weekend we decided to switch up our strategy and have Serge qualify and start, and me finish the race.  It proved to be a good idea as Serge went out and qualified right behind our teammate Tom Long in the #99 car.  I spotted for them in the uphill esses during the session and it was an exciting place to watch from.  Tom’s first lap was good for Pole position and with Serge following him around, he managed a time good enough for 3rd! Shortly after they turned their laps there was a big crash in the esses when a Porsche spun out and hit the wall hard, littering the track with debris and ending the session.  3rd position is our best starting position thus far and we were both excited for the race.

Serge did a brilliant job on the start and held 3rd for a good portion of his stint.  When he finally pited he came in from 8th place and I hopped in.  Our driver change didn’t go very smoothly, so we lost some track position on the pit stop, but there was still over an hour and a half to go in the race, anything could happen.  I came back out in 30th place and slowly worked my way back up.  I made it back up to 10th with a few laps remaining.  After a late race caution and restart, I crossed the line in 12th place. It was a hard fought race and 12th place felt really nice after our string of early season rough luck.  It was a great weekend for Automatic Racing.  All four cars in the top 12, two of them on the podium, finally a great team result that everyone can be happy with!  Joe Varde and Bob Rueppel built a fleet of awesome racecars and the Automatic crew was the reason that we were able to finish so well. We have fantastic equipment and a very talented group of guys that maintain and setup all the cars.  We are looking forward to Barber so we can make even more progress as a team and keep striving for the podium.  Also, congratulations to our teammates in the Fresh From Florida sponsored 09 car, Jeff Segal and Jep Thornton, they finished second at Watkins Glen and in doing so, gained the points lead in the championship.