Whelen Engineering Racing Heads to Mid-Ohio
April 30, 2019
Whelen Engineering Racing Fourth in Mid-Ohio Qualifying
May 5, 2019
South Bend, IN (3 May 2019) – 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champion Eric Curran will look to add another title to his racing resume this week as he and co-driver Steve Loudin take on 8 days, 3,400 miles, and 18 timed competitions in the Tire Rack One Lap of America.
Curran won the recent 12 Hours of Sebring in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R with co-drivers Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani, and has focused his 2019 IMSA schedule to concentrate on a successful defense of his 2018 Michelin Cup title. That change has meant some new opportunities for Curran, as he is set to make his One Lap debut in a Whelen Engineering-liveried Corvette.
Using the same format first adopted in 1992 by fabled speed visionary Brock Yates, Curran and Loudin look to set times in a range of disciplines-drag races, bracket races, and time attack competitions. The duo will compete in the SGT-1BB Stock GT class, which will see them travel from the Tire Rack base in South Bend, Indiana to make visits to a series of tracks including Road America, Brainard International Raceway, Grissom Air Force Base, and Nelson Ledges.
“I’m looking forward to running the one lap of America this week! I’ve been asked to race in it before but I’ve never had the time,” said Curran, who opened the 2019 IMSA season with a runner-up result in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and a win a Sebring. Thanks to Steve Loudin and his 2019 Corvette ZR1, we are ready to go! He added some Whelen livery to make me feel at home and of course it’s #31 so hopefully we can get another trophy for the Whelen guys.”
The 8-day speed tour will cover 3,400 miles between events and18 competitions. But just one set of tires as they have selected Michelin Pilot Sport Treadwear 300.
“We’ve got some great support for this event and I think this will be a little bit more relaxed than an IMSA weekend although I suspect it will get pretty serious whenever we are on track!” said Curran. “Good luck my Whelen boys at Mid Ohio!”
Updates will be available at http://www.onelapofamerica.com.
While Curran does a rapid-fire tour of the country, his Whelen Engineering teammates Derani and Nasr will look to grow their IMSA Prototype championship advantage in the Acura Sports Car Challenge. The race takes the green flag at 1:40 p.m. on Sunday, with live television coverage on NBCSN beginning at 1:30 p.m.
