Dan Knox, Mike Skeen and Lone Star Racing Running Pirelli World Challenge Finale at Laguna Seca
Team Plans SprintX Doubleheader with Knox and Skeen in No. 80 ACS Manufacturing Dodge Viper GT3-R and Possible Run in Sunday’s GT/GTA Race
MONTEREY, California (October 6, 2016) – Dan Knox, Mike Skeen and Lone Star Racing will race the team’s No.80 ACS Manufacturing/Lone Star Racing Dodge Viper GT3-R in the season-ending Pirelli World Challenge race weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, October 7 – 9.
Knox and Lone Star Racing made the decision to add the Pirelli World Challenge closer to the team’s 2016 calendar after completing a planned four-race schedule in the No. 80 Viper in the GT Daytona (GTD) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Hitting its stride as a team with a season-high eighth-place finish in their last GTD appearance of the year at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), Knox and Lone Star Racing Team Manager AJ Petersen turned to the World Challenge finale as a way to continue their 2016 racing program.
Knox and Skeen will co-drive the No. 80 in the weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge SprintX doubleheader.
“We have decided to run Laguna to extend our season,” Petersen said. “We have a great group of people on this team and we like to race. We last ran with PWC at Road America in 2015, and this will be our first time racing in SprintX. We are definitely doing at least that race with Dan and Mike and are evaluating the GT/GTA race. It’s a quick turnaround between Sunday’s races.”
Lone Star’s four-race GTD schedule began during the IMSA race weekend at Laguna Seca this past May.
“I think this will be an excellent opportunity for us in particular since this was the first track we competed at as a team,” Skeen said. “In the first time around we were learning a lot and have since really developed the program. I expect to see some big gains in performance and, of course, it’s a great facility to visit anytime.”
Lone Star’s decision to extend its season with another race on the legendary Laguna Seca circuit was an easy one.
“Laguna Seca is obviously famous for the corkscrew and the elevation drop off all the way down through Turn 10, and that is one of my favorite parts of the track, Skeen said. “The flat infield portion takes a lot of patience, but it leads into those elevation changes that have a great rhythm. On the whole, it’s a tough place to pass, and you have to be very precise to avoid the sandy runoff areas, but the lap is incredibly rewarding when you get it right.”
In addition to COTA and both Laguna Seca races, Lone Star’s 2016 race calendar also included Road America and VIRginia International Raceway (VIR).
The Pirelli World Challenge season finale begins Friday, October 7, with live online coverage at http://world-challenge.com/streamvideo/ and http://livetiming.net/pwc/.
The weekend’s Saturday and Sunday races can be followed through the same video and live-timing channels.
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