MICHAEL SHANK RACING SET FOR SIX HOURS OF THE GLEN

RACE: Round 6 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

TRACK: At 3.4-miles, the 11-turn natural road course is a driver favorite and a historic one among sports car enthusiasts.

DRIVERS:
No. 86 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3: Ozz Negri, Jeff Segal
No. 93 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3: Andy Lally, Katherine Legge

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
No. 86 Acura NSX GT3: 5^th with 116 points
No. 93 Acura NSX GT3: 6^th with 112 points (improved five positions with the Detroit win)

20^th SIX HOUR START: This year’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen marks Michael Shank Racing’s 20^th entry in the historic event. The team competed with a Daytona Prototype from 2004-2014 and with a P2 in 2015 & 2016. This year is the first for the team as a GTD entry.

A LOOK AT MSR 6 HOUR HISTORY: After having finished fourth in the 6 Hour six times, Michael Shank Racing broke through for a podium finish of third in last year’s race in the Honda-Ligier P2 with John Pew, Ozz Negri, and Olivier Pla.

MSR STARTS IN THE SAHLEN’S SIX HOUR

2004: Started 5^th Finished 8^th (DP)
2005: Started 5^th Finished 19^th (DP)
2006: Started 16^th Finished 14^th (DP)
2006: Started 8^th Finished 4^th (DP)
2007: Started 13^th Finished 4^th (DP)
2007: Started 9^th Finished 11^th (DP)
2008: Started 5^th Finished 6^th (DP)
2008: Started 17^th Finished 4^th (DP)
2009: Started 4^th Finished 4^th (DP)
2009: Started 5^th Finished 5^th (DP)
2010: Started 7^th Finished 13^th (DP)
2010: Started 5^th Finished 8^th (DP)
2011: Started 7^th Finished 4^th  (DP)
2012: Started 8^th Finished 6^th (DP)
2013: Started 13^th Finished 4^th (DP)
2013: Started 9^th Finished 6^th (DP)
2014: Started 9^th Finished 7^th (DP)
2015: Started 6^th Finished 7^th  (P2)
2016: Started 3^rd Finished 3^rd (P2)

WATKINS GLEN DRIVER HIGHLIGHTS:

Ozz Negri: Ozz Negri has made 12 starts in the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen with a best finish of third last year while driving the Honda-Ligier P2. This year’s 6 Hour marks Negri’s first GTD race at the track. He has scored two podiums on the Watkins Glen sprint course layout (2004 – 2^nd, 2005 – 3^rd).

Jeff Segal: Jeff Segal has made 10 starts in the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen with two wins and four podiums. He is the defending GTD class winner having won in the event last year. The Sahlen’s 6 Hour was where Segal scored his first-ever professional GT pole and win in 2008. It is also the first track he ever drove.

Andy Lally: Andy Lally made his first NASCAR Cup start at Watkins Glen in 2009 and he took his first NASCAR Xfinity top-10 finish at the Glen in 2007. He has made 13 starts in the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen with nine podiums and three victories.

Katherine Legge:  Katherine Legge has made three starts in the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen – each while driving the DeltaWing from 2014-2016.

MIKE SHANK ON RACING AT THE GLEN: “We are super excited about racing at the 6 Hours of the Glen. If you look at how we progressed from Sebring to Watkins Glen, we’ve made a lot of gains in the car. I think we can be pretty competitive there. We have a lot of history there – we know how the races go. Even though it was in Prototype, we can still use the history of the classes to help us with strategy hopefully and just make good calls all day long. All of our drivers are very well versed there and know the track really well.”

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: A native to Long Island, Andy Lally calls New York home so it’s fitting that the New York native will have a paint scheme of the Statue of Liberty on his No. 93 Acura NSX GT3 at the Glen. Prior to the Glen, Andy talked about how much he loves the village of Watkins Glen:

“The camping is cool and the facility is cool. On top of all that, a mile and a half away is the main street of Watkins Glen which has the coolest little village – great restaurants, cool little bars, and the neatest gorge in the world to ever hike up. It’s literally a destination where you’d love to get there two days early or stay two days late. I visit the Farm Sanctuary which is only seven miles away from the track. If it didn’t snow so much, I’d buy a house there!”

NEW FOR 2017: In addition to the brand new cars and drivers in the Michael Shank Racing stable, the team has also added seven additional team members for the two car-effort. New for 2017 is Michael Shank Racing General Manager Tim Keene, who spent time in a management role at DeltaWing Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing.

Source. Sunday Group

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