An early incident led to a long day for Rebel Rock Racing in Friday’s Advent Health 120, the second round of the 2020 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Demonstrating his rapid career progress, starting driver Frank DePew did a nice job on the opening lap, slowing to avoid an incident directly in front of him in the No. 71 Urban Grid /Fifth Third Bank Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R co-driven by Robin Liddell.
However, that cost him valuable track position as he became mired in slower TCR class traffic. As he looked to regain ground, DePew got together with a TCR class competitor entering Turn 7 on the fifth lap. DePew went to the grass, with the Camaro sustaining light left-front damage.
“It was definitely a tough one,” DePew said. “I didn’t get in a good lap in qualifying so we started towards the back. Some people got together in Turn 3 on the first lap. I got through all that OK, and then I tried to pick off a few guys safely. I had a good run on the Murillo car and broke late in Turn 7. But there was a TCR car in front of him. I thought he would have made the turn, but we got together at the apex. It was on me. The TCR car probably didn’t see me coming and I surprised him. I was being real aggressive.”
When he attempted to return to the track, DePew found that the car wouldn’t turn due to a broken steering arm. Moments later, the race was red-flagged due to lightning in the area, preventing the team from getting on with the job of repairing the car. Racing resumed with one hour, 10-minutes remaining. The Rebel Rock crew needed 12 laps to repair the damage, with DePew returning to the race with 40 minutes remaining.
“That hit broke the left front suspension – a shock and a tie rod,” said DePew. “We only lost one lap, but then it went red and they couldn’t work on it during the stoppage. Once I got back out there, the hood wasn’t latched properly, so I came in again after a lap and they secured it. The guys did an amazing job fixing all the damage. The car ran reasonably well, and I got in some decent laps.”
DePew held his own until a second caution for weather went out with 17 minutes remaining. DePew pitted to turn the Camaro over to Liddell, but continued lightning in the area prevented the race from resuming.
“We had another yellow and Robin got in, but it stayed yellow and he didn’t turn a hot lap,” DePew said. “My bad luck continues here. I love Sebring, but I didn’t do very well in my last two IMSA races here.”
“Overall it was a frustrating result in what had promised to be a successful weekend,” said Liddell. “That being said, it was great to blow off the cobwebs and get back to racing, thanks to IMSA and the whole crew at Rebel Rock Racing. Frank made great strides again with his driving after a long layoff and I think the condensed schedule will help in terms of building confidence for the rest of the season.”
Next up for the Michelin Pilot Challenge will be the Road America 120, set for Saturday, August 1.