Austin, Texas (September 20, 2014) - Fall-Line Motorsports competed in the Lone Star Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series yesterday and captured their third win of the year in the GS category. Trent Hindman and John Edwards started ninth but with Mother Nature on their side, finished on the top step of the podium. Shelby Blackstock and Andrew Longe drove a fantastic race as well, moving up ten spots to finish P11.
It was an early birthday present for Hindman, who turned 19 today as he re-captured the lead in overall driver standings. This race was so important for the Championship and the strategy and driving were executed beautifully. The
race started out dry but the team knew that rain was imminent. The decision on when or if to switch to rain tires was crucial. The call was made with just 45 minutes remaining when the track became wet enough to justify putting on rain tires. The timing of the decision to bring Edwards in for the final pit stop was key and the team’s decision worked out perfectly. In the closing laps, Edwards chased down fellow BMW driver Tom Kimber-Smith in the Turner car who was on slick tires and cleanly drove around him for the win. Hindman now carries a five-point lead heading into the last race. Edwards sits just ten points out of second place.
#46 Trim-Tex/ Cirocco & Ozzimo/ Atlas Acon/ DFL Interiors/ Fall-Line Motorsports BMW driver quotes: Finished P1
John Edwards: “My engineer made the call to keep me out as long as possible before we switched to rains and we knew from yesterday the track took awhile to dry. That was the call of the race right there. Trent and the team are now back in the Championship lead after an alternator issue at VIR. We got our momentum back. We started out the season well and then had a couple of bad races there in the middle but we need to keep this momentum rolling into Road Atlanta.”
Trent Hindman: “We were praying for rain. We came into this race figuring we would be strong but there are a lot of other strong cars in the GS class. We knew it was going to be a tough race and all the way through my first stint it definitely was tough. The car was handling well but just didn’t have the horsepower of the muscle cars. We knew we had a chance and when John got in the car. I never thought we would be in contention to win but that just comes down to the great work by the Fall-Line guys, the strategy by the engineers, and the amazing drive by John. During my stint I was trying to keep my nose clean and bring in the car in one piece, which fortunately I was able to do. A big thanks to all of the team and our partners Trim-Tex, Cirocco & Ozzimo, Atlas Acon, and DFL Interiors.”
Andrew Longe started the race from P21 but quickly moved up and was fighting in a pack of five cars in close quarters. He drove a long stint while engineers were trying to determine what the weather was going to do. A piece of debris lodged itself in the wheel of the right front which affected the handling of the BMW M3 and Andrew had to work extra hard in the hot temperatures and high humidity to keep the car on-track. Blackstock got in the car and moved up several spots while trying to stay on the lead lap. Blackstock came in first for rains and quickly realized this was the right move for both cars as the skies opened up. The pair nearly captured a top-ten but improved ten positions as they finished in eleventh.
#48 Starstruck/ Trianon Hotels Fall-Line Motorsports BMW driver quotes: Finished P11
Andrew Longe: “We had a strong run in our Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 here today at Circuit of the Americas. Although it is short of where we would have liked to finish as we always have our sights set on the podium, we are pleased with the result after minimal practice time and tricky conditions throughout the entire race. Shelby drove a great stint bringing it home in P11. We have been building off of our accomplishments each race and we look forward to carrying this momentum into the final race of the season at Road Atlanta. We truly owe our weekend to the entire Fall-Line Motorsports crew, the effort they put into getting the car on track for the second practice session yesterday was unbelievable and I cannot thank them enough for that.”
Shelby Blackstock: “Today was a good day for Fall-Line Motorsports! The #46 car got the win and the #48 car came home in 11th. The race was a lot of fun in the rain and very entertaining for the fans. Always great to race at this amazing track once again.”
Michael Harvey, Fall-Line Motorsports Team Manager: “I am extremely proud of the Fall-Line guys. Today we did not have the fastest car but we won this race on great strategy, amazing driving, and slick pit work. As always, the Fall-Line BMWs performed amazingly well as we leap frogged back into the lead heading in to the last race. I am very proud for BMW with a 1-2 finish, extending their lead in the manufacturers championship.”
To watch a replay of today’s race tune in to FOX Sports 1 on September 28 at 12p ET. Next up is the final round of the 2014 season at Road Atlanta on October 1-3.
Fall-Line Motorsports is a premiere builder and fabricator of race cars for all levels of competition. Fall-Line specializes in BMW, Porsche, Audi and other high-performance makes. Fall-Line Motorsports unveiled their Grand-Am team in 2006 and won the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS Championship title in 2010. In addition to fielding 3 GS BMW M3s in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and an Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Fall-Line also prepares and fabricates cars for other CTSC teams, SCCA and NASA drivers, track day prepared and high performance street vehicles. www.fall-linemotorsports.com
@FallLineMotors www.facebook.com/Falllinemotorsports
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Atlas Acon Electric Service Corp.:
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