News
3 JULY 2008
CANNEY AND PLUMB LOOK AHEAD TO WATKINS GLEN
Watkins Glen, NY (3 July, 2008)—Momentum can
be everything in racing, and after taking a podium
result at Mosport in June, Mike Canney and Hugh Plumb
are hoping to build some championship momentum this
weekend in the Grand-Am KONI Challenge race at Watkins
Glen for round four of the 2008 season.
The two enter the upstate New York event tied for third
in the driver championship standings, with the No.
60 Sunset Hills Vineyard Ford Mustang FR500C entry
campaigned by Rehagan Racing ranking second in the
team championship order.
After leading at the season-opening race at Daytona
but seeing race strategy keeping the two from converting
that pace into a podium, Canney and Plumb had a tough
weekend at Lime Rock Park before rebounding to take
second at Mosport.
The two spend significant time with crew chief Quinn
Conda, working to find ways to bring even more speed
and competitiveness to the hotly contested KONI Challenge
Series, and are hoping that the homework they’ve
done pays off this weekend at Watkins Glen. And it
isn’t just homework that is going to be helpful,
as Canny also returns to the track where he first stood
on Koni Challenge podium, having finished 3rd
last year with co-driver Kenny Wilden in his very first
visit to the track in a Ford Mustang last season.
“We also got the chance to test this spring during
the long break between Daytona and Lime Rock and it
went really well, so we are very pleased with the performance
we are getting from the Mustang. It’s a
fantastic track, and a blast to drive in the Mustang. It’s
also set in a beautiful part of the country so hopefully
it will be a great weekend all around.”
Plumb is also no stranger to the post-race ceremonies
at the Glen, taking podiums in both Rolex Sports Car
Series and KONI Challenge competition.
“The Glen is just a classic track and while it
might be the Porsches that are favored with the top
end power they have, we still think we should have
a competitive weekend,” said Plumb. “Mike
did a great job at Mosport and when we tested at the
Glen in the spring, his times just kept improving so
we’re really optimistic about this race. It’s
another big field, so staying out of trouble early
is going to be key to bringing a good result out of
the weekend. It was great to be up on the podium at
Mosport, but we just need to go one better for a win. ”
The Mosport podium, combined with another podium finish
at the June Sprints in Canney’s GT-1 Corvette
at Road America, has the Virginia-based racer eager
to get the action started on Friday as the KONI Challenge
Series teams with the IndyCar event.
“I’m excited that we are doing well as
a new team, we are going to give it our best to keep
that momentum up this weekend,” said Canney. “This
series is so competitive, with a lot of very skilled
drivers and well prepared teams, that everything has
to go right for you to make it up on the podium. Hopefully
we’ve hit on something and can make some ground
up in this championship fight.”
Practice for the Watkins Glen event will kick off on
Thursday afternoon, with the nearly eighty-car field
returning to the track for practice on Friday afternoon
in advance of a scheduled 6:05 PM qualifying session.
The 2-1/2 hour or 200 mile race is slated for a 4:40
PM ET green flag.
Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
(317) 908-2975 Mobile