SHANK: That's A Wrap!

GRAND-AM

SHANK: That’s A Wrap!

It's hard for me to believe we are done with the season...

Michael Shank | Posted October 10, 2011

The 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season saw highs and lows for Michael Shank Racing. (Photo: John Dagys)

It's hard for me to believe we are done with the season.

We had tested at Mid-Ohio two weeks prior to the race and we knew what we were dealing with in regard to grip and how the ambient temperature changes the track. We were very happy to have two cars running again and to finish our season off with Zak Brown and Mark Blundell in the UBS Ford-Riley.

We rolled off the trailer pretty solid, working through different set up changes. The No. 60 car was in the top-3 right away and the No. 23 car was good but not great.

As we approached qualifying, all the drivers got a good amount of track time. The No. 23 was getting better and the No. 60 was ready for qualifying.

For qualifying, John Pew was in the No. 60 and Mark Blundell in the No. 23. Pew put his best lap of the weekend together and ended up P9 and Blundell also posted his best lap for the weekend and would line up P5. Overall both cars were pretty well balanced for the session.

The warm-up session went off without a hitch on Saturday morning. We had our standard strategy meetings with both teams and felt like the plan for the race was pretty solid.

Mid-Ohio always demands way more for us because of all the sponsors, family, and friends that attend this race. The date change from our typical summer June slot to September proved to be a hit. I was very concerned that trying to go up against Ohio State football could be a death sentence for us but as it turned out we had a great crowd. My hope is that we can continue this time slot for the future because I think it really worked out well for all.

We all did our standard hand shaking and showing guests around the MSR garages and trailers. We had about 100 people from EMCO Gears and another 100 from other various supporters.

When the green flag waved for the EMCO Gears Classic, there was action right away. Pew in the No. 60 car tangled with JC France and got some grass in our radiator inlet and would have to come in to get it removed. The No. 23 car immediately got up to P4 and maintained that position during his entire stint. But then an interesting thing occurred. Yellow flags started falling like rain drops. All year we could not get a yellow when we needed it and then all of a sudden we have MANY yellows!

I have lost track of what happened and how many yellows came out. We were up in the top-3 with both cars at one point and we were also the last two cars at one point - we were all over the place. Many dramatic things happened to us throughout the race, some our doing and some out of our hands. Our most dramatic issue happened when Ozz and our fueler collided while Ozz was getting in the car which caused a freak spillage of fuel down Ozz's back.

After about two laps, Ozz radioed that his back was burning like crazy and would need to come in and try to get it fixed. We brought him in under yellow and I dumped water down his back which really helped his situation. Ozz fought like crazy with his back killing him. He got shoved off the track later and had to come in to get grass removed from the radiator and fought back to P6 by the end of the race.

On the No. 23 car side, Zak Brown had done his stint and kept the car in P8 for his time and handed back over to Blundell who was ready for a charge to the end. With one lap to go running P4, Blundell got hit from behind by the No. 9 car and dropped back to P7 and held it there.

It was certainly not the ending we hoped for or deserved. We were very happy with our pace in the race and felt we certainly could have been on the podium without any drama.

So the season ends. It has been a tough year for all of us. I have to say that I am very happy with how the team performed in their pit work and level of attention to the cars.

Some highlights from season:

* John Pew making a huge leap in his driving this year was the brightest spot for me. He works so hard at this and being the best. He wants the competition and does not hide from it. I commend him for his incredible work ethic and his willingness to do whatever he can to be better. Big thanks to his family for supporting him in the endeavor!! Thank you Stephanie Pew!!

*The United Autosports group. We literally came within 3 feet of pulling off a P2 at the Rolex 24 this year. When you run for 24 hours and are on the lead lap for a green/white/checker going for the win, it’s nothing short of amazing. Big thanks to Zak Brown, Mark Blundell, Martin Brundle, Mark Patterson and Richard Dean for choosing us for this great event. Just getting to know Mark and Zak more over the course of this year was a pleasure. We certainly hope to work together again in the near future.

* A small epic moment at the Rolex 24 when the MSR cars were 1,2,3. I got a picture of that one!

* All three cars finished the Rolex 24 and none had to go to the garage the entire race. It was the first time ever we had run three cars and we had 55 people working for us - a huge amount of rooms, rental cars, etc. And not one of the cars broke or was hurt enough not to finish. This is amazing to me. It goes to show the caliber of people that work at MSR whether full or part time. I thank you all. Even though he is not working for us anymore Erik Petersen was a big force behind making sure all of the cars stayed on the correct path for this event. Well done!! I wish I could list everyone that worked on this program (would take awhile) but just know that it’s because of you guys we did so well.

* Our two-year partnership with Crown Royal comes to an end. I want to thank everyone at JMI for two great years together. We wish them the best of luck!

* A new relationship with Continental Tire that will see us run their two seater program for 2012 and other promotional opportunities. Thanks to Travis and Garret for their commitment.

* A special thanks to all the fans that are now supporting MSR! It seems that our fan base is growing very fast and I really appreciate it!

Last thing: A lot of people are wondering what we are up to for 2012. I can tell you we have some really cool things coming...first announcement will be October 13th.

Stay Tuned...We'll see you at the track soon!

Thanks for following,

~Mike

Mike Shank is team owner of Michael Shank Racing, one of the premier Daytona Prototype teams in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. Learn more about Shank and his team at http://www.michaelshankracing.com
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Shank

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