Carroll and 901 Shop Sweep Cayman Interseries Mitty Race Weekend

BRASELTON, May 1, 2011: Keith Carroll and the 901 Shop racing team went three-for-three in a perfect Cayman Interseries sweep at the Classic Motorsports Mitty at Road Atlanta where a pair of race wins Sunday put the crowning touch on an outstanding weekend.

After leading every lap from the front row in Saturday’s first sprint, Carroll backed it up with a second sprint race victory Sunday morning and another flag-to-flag win that afternoon in the one-hour enduro. Carroll, who drives his 901 Shop-prepared No. 55 Cayman S that showcases the classic yellow livery of a Sandeman/David Piper Racing Porsche 917K, is now riding a streak of four consecutive series victories dating back to 2010’s year-ending event in Savannah. He did not compete in 2011’s season-opening race at Sebring in March.

“I expected to come and have fun and I had hoped for a win,” Carroll said. “But to clean sweep both sprint races and the enduro, you don’t come in expecting that, you certainly come in with that as your goal, but to actually see it come to fruition is truly awesome.”

Other Cayman Interseries drivers have swept race weekends in the past, but the Florida-based 901 Shop became the first team other than Porsche Napleton Racing (PNR) to have one of its entries win every event on a race weekend schedule. The PNR team has done it several times, including as recently as 2011’s season-opening race one event ago at Sebring where Lee Davis swept the weekend card.

“The car was incredible and 901 Shop, this is my first weekend with them, they did a fantastic job,” Carroll said. “I kept looking at my lap times and saying ‘you can do better,’ and I just put my head down and started clicking off some good laps. It was just determination.”

Carroll led the white No. 49 Cayman S of Mark Sandridge, which is themed after his IMSA Endurance championship-winning 1994 Team Salad Porsche 911 RSR, across the finish line. The second place result combined with a pair of third-place showings in the sprint races to cap a great weekend for the debuting effort. Sandridge also won the pole in Saturday morning’s qualifying session.

“It was a great weekend,” Sandridge said. “I made progress every session, I got faster every session, and I got a better feel for the car every time. I really enjoyed the one-hour enduro, it really gives you a chance to work on your stuff and be more precise. Two thirds and a second is a pretty good start for me.”

Although he was unable to mount a serious challenge on the race winner, Sandridge maintained a solid gap on third-place finisher Davis. Davis, who drives his red and black No. 33 Cayman S that carries the colors of the Advan Porsche 956s and 962s and Luna C Clothing, finished third in the enduro to join Carroll and Sandridge on the podium in all three races. Davis also finished second in both sprints.

“The competition was great and it’s so much fun racing these Caymans,” Davis said. “It’s great to have Mark out here with us, and Keith and all of the guys did a great job this weekend. You look at the cars, they look the same as when we started, good clean racing, and close racing. I am a little disappointed in our performance today, the car wasn’t as good as it was this morning, but I think everybody probably had those issues, so you just have to adjust to it. But that’s taking nothing away from Keith and Mark because they did a fantastic job. It’s going to be a fun season, an interesting season, and I am really looking forward to it.”

Next up for the Cayman Interseries is Round 3 of the 2011 championship that will be held at Road America, May 11 – 15.