Continental Tire Series - RSR Motorsports Earns Three Top Tens at Road America

ELKHART LAKE, June 29, 2011: Grand Am's irst appearance at Road America proved to be a good one for RSR Motorsports. The MINI Cooper S team earned three top tens in the Street Tuner class of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

Friday’s 2.5-hour race was plagued with cautions, but the three RSR MINIS managed to stay out of trouble as they cruised to finishes of fourth, seventh and tenth.

Sarah Cattaneo and Owen Trinkler were in top form in the No. 198 RSR MINI, and their fourth moved them up a spot in the driver championship. Ron Farmer and Jason Hart were seventh in the No. 196 US LED MINI.

NASCAR star Ken Schrader and longtime friend Dicky Riegel finished tenth in the No. 195 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S. The finish capped a great day for the Cruise America and Thor Motor Coach sponsored team, but was especially memorable for Schrader. Prior to the weekend, he had never raced in a MINI or at Road America.

“Racing at Road America with Dicky Riegel was a great experience—it may have been the most fun I ever had in a race. It ranks right up there,” says Schrader. “Road America is a beautiful road course and fun to drive. Racing the MINI Cooper in the ST class was a thrill.”

Riegel echoed the sentiment, saying, “It was an outstanding result for our team to get three top-tens. It’s always fun to drive with a friend, especially when that friend is a legendary racecar driver. It was remarkable how quickly Kenny got up to speed and how well he performed in a car that was new to him.”

Cattaneo and Trinkler now sit at fourth in the driver championship, and their fourth place at Road America is their second-best finish this season. Cattaneo had never raced at the four-mile course before, but it didn’t take long for her to become a fan.

“Road America is probably one of my favorite tracks now and I hope to go back,” Cattaneo says. “It’s a fast track with a lot of wide open corners. It’s a lot of fun, and our results certainly made me like it that much more!”

“I only did ten laps under green during my stint,” says Trinkler. “It was tough trying to hold onto our position at every restart. As a team, though, it was a great weekend and a really solid race.”

RSR Motorsports hopes for another solid race when they travel to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca next week for round eight of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge on Saturday, July 9. In the meantime, fans can catch the Road America race on SPEED on Sunday, July 3, at 1:00 p.m. ET.