BIRMGINHAM, Ala. (April 27, 2015) – Gear Tie Racing and driver Dan Martinson visited Barber Motorsports Park this weekend to race in Round 3 of the Pirelli World Challenge Championships. The #33 was displayed on new car with Rehagen Racing during the weekend while Dan’s car was still under repair.
After the first practice session, the new car was 4 seconds off the lead pace. Fortunately, the Rehagen Racing team discovered that there was an electronic issue with the engine. The next morning, the team swapped out the engine in time for Dan to get back on track for the next practice session. “When we looked at the lap data between all three Rehagen cars, it was clear that something wasn’t right. Being 4 seconds off the lead pace just didn’t make sense. The guys did a great job getting the car back together and we made it to grid in time ”
With a new engine under the hood, a good braking system, and a well setup car, Martinson qualified in 11th place…just over a second back from the fastest car. “I was really excited to finally get into a car with a familiar brake system. It made a huge difference in being able to drive consistently in and out of corners. I finally got the chance to do some racing!”
Martinson finished in 11th place in Race 1 and had a good battle with Andy Lee in his Bondurant Best IT Camaro and Jack Roush Jr. in his Roush Racing Mustang. “After Andy got past me 1Ž2 way through the race, I spent the last half hour with Jack in my rear view mirror while trying to catch a better handling Camaro. It was a lot of fun.”
Race 2 on Saturday did not turn out as well. During the first two laps, Dan noticed something was wrong with the steering. Unfortunately, the alternator broke and the car had to be retired. Definitely a mixed results weekend.“Overall, I had a good weekend at Barber. Its never fun when you have to retire a car during a race. However, I definitely made progress with the the car and will have a lot of confidence going into the next event at Motorsport in a couple weeks.”
Make sure to tune into CBS Sports Network on Sunday, May 3rd at 2PM EST to watch the full race!
Don’t forget to check out our full line of Gear Tie, KnotBone, and Nite Ize products at www.niteize.com!!!