ENCOURAGED BLACK SWAN HEADING TO MID-OHIO

Black Swan Racing's Ford GT-R of owner Tim Pappas and Anthony Lazzaro placed eighth in GT2 at Lime Rock, the car's first race.

Friday at Lime Rock Park, Tim Pappas said all he wanted to see was his Black Swan Racing finish the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. That may not sound like much but consider that the team didn't receive its Falken-shod Ford GT-R until earlier that morning. So Saturday's eighth-place finish for Pappas and co-driver Anthony Lazzaro was more than gratifying.

There's not much time for relaxation with this weekend's Acura Sports Car Challenge looming at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The bigger track will give a true reading as to where the Ford-Falken package lies.

"Anyone who has gone through the development process knows that you don't want to develop too many things at once," said team owner Pappas. "We will focus this year on tire development and keep the chassis platform as consistent as possible. We're not going to be making wholesale changes to the chassis the same time as the tires, for example."

It's a delicate balance. If development doesn't come quickly, then it is hard to stay with the GT2 front-running regulars like Porsche, Ferrari and Panoz, among others. But pushing the car too much and too early doesn't accomplish much either.

"It's still an amazing place to be," Pappas said. "Having been a long-time Porsche guy, I'm happy to see what the Porsche is doing. But we really do think the Ford is the way to go. Ford built a fantastic car and the race car carries that on."

The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge, scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 19 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. NBC Sports will televise the race from noon to 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 20. XM Satellite Radio will air the race from 5 to 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 20. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage on americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring.