Team Owner/Driver Leads Final 18 Laps to Nab Win
UNOFFICIAL DH CLASS TOP-FIVE FINISHERS:
- Robert Noaker – No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing
- Sam Paley – No. 26 Southern Paley Motorsports LLC
- Jeremy Fletcher – No. 22 McCumbee McAleer Racing
- Nate Cicero – No. 82 McCumbee McAleer Racing
- Reid Sweeney – No. 31 Robert Noaker Racing
UNOFFICIAL DHL CLASS TOP-FIVE FINISHERS:
- Tom Tait – No. 8 MDK Motorsports LLC
- Mike Stillwagon – No. 9 Automatic Racing
- Mitch Marvosh – No. 29 Robert Noaker Racing
- Nicholas Smither – No. 58 Nick Smither Racing
- Stephen Vajda – No. 10 NV Autosport
ROBERT NOAKER, No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DH) – “So much work had been accomplished to get to this point. We only really started about November of last year. Especially the last two weeks, we pulled 16-17 hour days just to get the cars to this point. I can’t thank everyone on the team enough. It’s a 20-person effort to make this work. I think the biggest thing is that this series still has a manual. It’s a lost art in sports car racing, and this may be the only single-make series that has a manual. It’s fun for me, and it’s what drew me in.”
SAM PALEY, No. 26 Southern Paley Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DH) – “I’m super happy to finish second. Robert and his team really figured out the car. While we closed the gap a little bit, he closed out. I’m happy to be the best of the rest. Southern Paley Motorsports is a new program – one car looking to expand. So, I’m really happy to be up-front against some of the bigger programs. The Dark Horse R is definitely a driver’s car, especially here at Mid-Ohio. From a driver development standpoint, this weekend has been great in pushing the drivers to not make any mistakes. It’s been a really great platform. A big thanks to Ford Performance, Jim Farley and Glenn Long for putting this together.”
TOM TAIT, No. 8 MDK Motorsports LLC Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DHL) – “Well I had a little bit of a higher standard there being Jim Farley’s teammate. He did an amazing job stepping up to the plate. The whole Ford team came in prepared. The cars handled fantastically. They put a lot of time into development, getting the car ready for the races. The drivers drove extremely clean, which I think needed to happen in the opener. I had Andy Lee come in to coach me. Jan Magnussen and the whole MDK Motorsports team is wonderful. The growth potential of this series is enormous. All of the engineers and developers from Ford, and all the way to the top to Mr. Farley did a fantastic job. We’re excited to see what is in store for this series.”
MIKE STILLWAGON, No. 9 Automatic Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DHL) – “I’ve been told by peers that this series was built for Mike Stillwagon, because I am a diehard Mustang fan. I named my daughter Shelby for crying out loud! This was a last-minute entry, so the car was delivered to us yesterday morning and I hadn’t turned a lap until qualifying. I just went in with a calm and clear attitude. I let the chips fall as they may, and lo and behold, I let others make mistakes and hung in there until the end. The overall appearance and sound of the Dark Horse R is killer. It’s just an awesome piece of machinery.”
MITCH MARVOSH, No. 29 Robert Noaker Racing (DHL) – “I really appreciated how clean everyone was racing. Things were getting a little loose at the end, but everyone kept it mostly in control. It’s a very competitive series and the Dark Horse R is fantastic. It’s really a joy to be a part of the first one.”