CJ WILSON RACING DEBUTS WITH PROMISING RESULTS FOR 2012 CONTINENTAL TIRE SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE SEASON
TOP 15-FINISH AND SOLID RUNS IN PRACTICE HIGHLIGHT WEEKEND FOR ROOKIE TEAM
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 8, 2012) – CJ Wilson Racing headed into the opening round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Daytona International Raceway as a new team with two new cars with little to no track time and two drivers new to the series. What they came away with was a solid Top-15 finish in the ultra-competitive 41-car field and a list of other small victories, including both cars running in the Top-7 in the pre-race warm-up and the #04 car leading the field overall before pitting. The team hopes to build on these positives during the two-month break before the next event at Barber Motorsports Park.
“Having the date circled on the calendar for what seems like a year- I was really excited to see our team debut in Daytona,” said CJ Wilson, team principal. “Due to my schedule it is one of the few races I'll get to attend, but it was definitely memorable. Having issues in practice but running our fastest laps in the race was really exciting for me. Our crew was great and we had to work through a few mechanical issues but our drivers really made progress each time in the cars. It's great to have that race and the result on the ledger- now we're just looking forward to improving the cars and our standings each race.”
The No. 03 ModSpace/Construct Corp/Forza4/Xbox Mazda MX-5 with support from New Balance, Phiten, Oakley and CJ Wilson Children’s Charities driven by Chad McCumbee and Jason Saini qualified in the 28th position after not turning any real laps in practice as the team sorted the newly-acquired Mazdaspeed3 to replace their damaged MX5 from the test only a few weeks prior. McCumbee drove up through a good majority of the pack in wet conditions before handing the reigns over to Saini. Saini would battle among the Top-20 and score the team’s first Top-15 result in Grand Am competition.
“It was great to have our debut at Daytona in the Continental Tire Series,” said Saini, co-owner and driver for CJ Wilson Racing. “We had some problems in the practice but thanks for the massive effort from our crew, we had both cars qualified and ready for the race. Our goal was to come away with a top-15 result and we not only accomplished that goal, but we are leaving with a good understanding of what we need to put in place for our upcoming events.”
The team’s second entry, the No. 04 ModSpace/Construct Corp/Guardian Angel Motorsports/RaceNowForAutism.org Mazda MX-5 with support from New Balance, Phiten, Forza 4 and Oakley, piloted by Marc Miller and Bruce Ledoux, was a completely new car recently finished prior to the weekend’s event. The team patiently worked through the issues of a brand new car and Ledoux was able to qualify in the 26th position, quickly working his way forward in wet conditions. Prior to pitting for the driver change, Ledoux would lead the entire 82-car field overall before Miller got behind the wheel. Quickly working his way up to the top-12, Miller would notice a loss of speed and smoke in the cockpit of the #04 Mazda MX-5 and the team diagnosed a terminal differential problem, putting them out of contention in the closing laps of the race.
Both Miller and McCumbee are in contention for series “Rookie of the Year” honors and hope the $10,000 award presented by Monticello Motor Club will stay within the CJ Wilson Racing organization.
“This group of individuals has been amazing to work with so far,” said Miller. “We have come a long way with the car considering it had never been on track when it rolled off the trailer. I’m looking forward to a strong rookie season and hope we can come away with some solid results and maybe a nice rookie award we can put towards our charity partners.”
Additional Driver Quotes:
Chad McCumbee, Car #03: "Through the ups and downs of our debut weekend, I felt our CJWR team did an outstanding job against the adversity we battled. As competitive as we were with extremely limited track time gives me so much confidence moving forward this season. There is no doubt we will be able to turn a few heads this year in our ModSpace Mazdas."
Bruce Ledoux, Car #04: “The prep of the car combined with some unbelievable pit strategy actually had us leading the field overall within the first hour of the race. That was probably the highlight of my Continental Tire Challenge career so far. I’m looking forward to a great season with the team and especially my co-driver Marc Miller as we strive to complete 3000 laps for Kids in Need during our Guardian Angel Motorsports 3000 LAP campaign this year.
The team is already busy finishing their new Mazda MX-5 that will be driven by Saini and McCumbee at the second round of the series. For more information, visit www.cjwilsonracing.com.
About ModSpace
Modular Space Corporation (ModSpace), based in Berwyn, Pa., is a leading provider of modular buildings, portable storage and services for temporary or permanent space needs. Building on more than 40 years of experience, ModSpace serves a diverse set of customers and markets—including commercial, construction, education, government, healthcare, industrial/energy and special events—through an extensive nationwide branch network throughout the United States and Canada. http://www.modspace.com/
About Construct Corps
Construct Corps is a leading provider of temporary skilled workers for construction, disaster response, environment and manufacturing companies throughout the US. Through its exclusive Construct Buddy recruiting system, Construct Corps provides more workers in more locations with one point of contact than any other company. http://constructcorps.com
About C.J. Wilson Racing
Based in Arlington, Texas, CJ Wilson Racing is a collaboration between successful All-Star Baseball pitcher, CJ Wilson and longtime Mazda motorsports experts Jason Saini and Juliann Pokorny. The team provides car development, driver development and top level arrive and drive experiences, while presenting a wide media footprint for potential partners. Interested drivers and partners should email info@cjwilsonracing.com. CJ Wilson Racing is proud to partner with ModSpace, Construct Corps, Mazda, Xbox, Forza 4, New Balance, Phiten, Oakley and C.J. Wilson's Children's Charities.
Driver websites & team weblinks:
Jason Saini – www.jasonsaini.com
Chad McCumbee – www.chadmccumbee.com
Marc Miller – www.themarcmillershow.com
Bruce Ledoux – www.guardianangelmotorsports.com
CJ Wilson Racing – www.cjwilsonracing.com
CJ Wilson Children’s Charities – www.leftylefty.com
Mazda USA – www.mazdausa.com
From Team Release
