News
26 AUGUST 2008
CANNEY AND PLUMB LOOK FORWARD TO A NEW CHALLENGE AT NEW JERSEY
(26 August, 2008)— Mike
Canney, Hugh Plumb, and the rest of the Grand-Am KONI
Challenge field will be adding a new track to their
racing resumes this weekend as the series meets for
round eight of the 2008 season at New Jersey Motorsports
Park. The Supercar Life 250 weekend is the first
professional public race event for the new 2.25-mile
14 turn facility, which sits in southern New Jersey,
close to several major metropolitan markets.
Canney and Plumb will look to shake off a disappointing outing
in the No. 60 Sunset Hills Vineyard Ford Mustang FR500C
prepared by Rehagan Racing two weeks ago, which saw
the duo run strong on the tough street circuit in Trois
Rivieres only to fall victim to an engine problem late
in the race.
“It’s exciting to be going to a new track
because we are all going to have to learn it at the
same time and hopefully that will work to my advantage
because most of the places we race, a lot of the competition
already has several years of experience there,” said
Canney, who started and grew several successful companies
before turning that passion and drive to motor racing. “I
had to learn a new track two weeks ago at Trois Rivieres
and ended up just loving it, so I hope that I enjoy
this new track as much as I did racing on my first
street circuit. Hugh will be a big help with his advice
and coaching, and I’m just looking forward to
the weekend.”
The No. 60 Sunset Hills entry is currently fifth in
the team championship standings, with just 17 points
separating the red and black entry from fourth.
"Mike did a great job at Trois Rivieres, but unfortunately
the result was really disappointing after we had to
stop early, so we have to make some ground up this
weekend in New Jersey,” said Plumb. “We
know that the track will be new for everyone so hopefully
that will level the playing field a little bit. There
are a lot of cars in this field and I think that traffic
is going to play a big role. We’ve been studying
what we can of the track map and the like, but there
is no substitute for track time so everyone is anxious
to get up there and hit the track.”
The weekend race schedule will open with a promoter
test day on Thursday, with practice on Friday before
the grid is set in qualifying on Saturday morning,
with the 112-lap event scheduled to go green at 8:45
AM on Sunday.
Even after reviewing the disappointing box score tally,
Canney couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for his first
experiences racing at Trois Rivieres.
“I think it is easily one of the top-five venues
I’ve ever been to,” said Canney. “The
crowds enthusiasm was fantastic, and it was great to
race where everyone was so interested in what we were
doing. Initially, I didn’t think I’d care
for running with all that concrete around, but I ended
up grinning ear to ear while driving the car. It was
a blast! Even though race outcome was not at all what
we wanted, it was still one of the best weekends we’ve
had. It’s unfortunate for our championship points,
but this is our first year together as a team, and
we consistently get faster ever time we time we put
a wheel on the track, so we’ll take that and
move on to our next race in New Jersey.”
The KONI Challenge will race in two weeks time as the
series plays part of the inaugural pro event at the
New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ.
Additional information available: www.mcanney.com
ABOUT SUNSET HILLS VINEYARD:
Sunset Hills Vineyard produces high-quality Bordeaux
style wines, from our 45 acre historic farm in Northern
Virginia. Located at the foothills of the Blue
Ridge Mountains, our soil and climate conditions are
well suited for producing quality wine. We will produce
about 36,000 bottles of wine this year including; Chardonnay,
Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit
Verdot. Our wines are available at the winery, and
at festivals held in the Middle Atlantic states. For
additional information, please visit: http://www.sunsethillsvineyard.com.
Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
(317) 908-2975 Mobile