Lone Star Racing returns to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) action this weekend at Road America with the No. 74 ACS Manufacturing/74 Ranch Resort Mercedes AMG-GT3, a track where drivers Gar Robinson and Lawson Aschenbach have both had past success.
Road America is the fourth of five sprint races on Lone Star Racing’s GTD schedule for 2019, with Road America and Virginia International Raceway capping a busy August for the team. The Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG will take the green flag at the 4-mile Road America circuit for a two-hour, 40-minute race that gets the green flag on Sunday afternoon at 2:35 p.m. EDT. The race can be viewed live on the NBC Sports Network app beginning at 2:30 p.m. EDT. The race will be broadcast on delay at 6 p.m. EDT (3 p.m. PDT) the same day on NBCSN.
“We are excited to get back together this week and have some fun at Road America,” AJ Petersen, Lone Star Racing Team Manager, said. “This is one of the best events on the IMSA calendar. The forward momentum has been developing with this team over the first three events this year. IMSA GTD is such competitive racing where teams, drivers, and manufacturers earn results. I look forward to this team earning ours and rewarding our supporters.”
Robinson was a podium finisher at the track in Trans Am 2 competition in 2015 and turned the second-quickest lap of the race. As usual, Robinson will qualify the No. 74 Mercedes-AMG GT3 this weekend and start the race before passing the car off to his co-driver.
“On a Sunday afternoon there’s nowhere you’d rather go for a drive than Wisconsin,” Robinson said. “The combination of downshifts and smell of bratwurst makes the hair on your arms stand straight up. It’s the only place you have four miles of track and camping gets sold out six months in advance. Our 6.3L naturally aspirated V8 echoing off the walls heading into Canada Corner is our gift to the fans and for that we thank Mercedes-AMG.”
Road America is full of highlights in Aschenbach’s career. He was third in the GTD class there in 2017, and earned a win the same year in Pirelli World Challenge competition. Aschenbach made his first NASCAR start at the track in 2015.
“I have a lot of great memories at Road America, it’s a place I look forward to racing each and every year,” Aschenbach said. “It feels like a true driver’s track with high speed corners, heavy brake zones, great passing opportunities, and the ability for side-by-side action! The Mercedes-AMG GT3 should be a good fit for Road America due to its high-speed stability and downforce levels.”
The Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG will tackle the 4-mile Road America circuit with a pair of practices on Friday at 11:30 a.m. and 4:25 p.m. CDT. A third practice on Saturday at 8:55 a.m. CDT is the last run prior to qualifying later that afternoon at 12:35 CDT. The two-hour, 40-minute race gets the green flag on Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. CDT. In addition to the race broadcast, Saturday’s qualifying can be seen live on IMSA.tv