joeyhandracing.com | News: Anchor Racing takes 7th at Mid-Ohio

Anchor Racing Takes 7th at Mid-Ohio

Posted on 08/31/2005

Lexington, Ohio (8/29/2005)- Anchor Racing's Rick Skelton and Joe Foster finished 7th in GS class in Sunday's 2 ½ hour Grand American Cup Race. This marked Skelton and Foster's second top ten and Anchor Racing's fifth top ten finish this season.

Starting in 19th position, Skelton charged through the seventy-five car field in the No. 93 Anchor Racing/Hyper Sport Engineering/BMW M3 to 12th place. With over an hour remaining, Foster took the helm during the caution period. Fighting oil pressure problems, fading brakes and a difficult pit stop; Joe set a blistering pace to glean a seventh place finish. Skelton and Hyper Sport teammate, actor Patrick Dempsey, embraced Foster bringing the 93 car home for Anchor's best finish.

Unfortunately, the other two M3s experienced bad luck over the weekend. EFI engine management electrical problems plagued the No. 92 Anchor Racing BMW M3 during qualifying, preventing John Munson (team owner) and James Sofronas from competing in Sunday's endurance race. Both drivers were disappointed by the recent turn of events. "James Sofronas and I were hoping the No. 92 would be ready for today's race, but it just wasn't the case," said John. "We are replacing EFI with Motec Engine management systems which will force us to miss Phoenix. Hopefully, we should have Motec installed and tested by VIR."

Anders Hainer and teammate, Joey Hand, were on their way to a podium finish when their wheel came off their No. 99 Anchor Racing/ UnderArmour/BMW M3. During their scheduled pit stop and wheel change, the wheel was accidentally cocked and appeared secure. But, as Hand was exiting pit row, the wheel studs sheered and the wheel broke off. Luckily, Hand did not hit anything and was not injured. But, the No. 99 was forced to retire on lap 35. "It's frustrating when something like this happens. The No.99 was running strong during the first part of the race" said Munson. "It is a mistake made under extreme pressure to get the car back out and it just one of those statistics. But more importantly, the Anchor Team is relieved that it did not cause an accident."

The No. 72 Anchor Racing BMW 330 piloted by Tim Probert and Dave Scott put in a solid performance with the car running strongly all weekend, finishing in 19th place. "We're very pleased with the continuing improvements to the car and its performance in a very competitive field this weekend," said Tim. The team was a little disappointed when pit congestion during a mid race yellow cost the No. 72 several track positions. "We lost quite a few positions that were hard-earned by Tim's superb driving," said Scott. "Nevertheless, the car ran flawlessly for the entire race. I was able to recapture some of the positions we lost, taking the checker six positions ahead of where we qualified."

For race results, go to http://www.grandamerican.com. The silver BMW M3s will be sporting their official team sponsors: Anchor Group, Hyper-Sport Engineering (www.hyper-sport.net), Under Armour (www.underarmour.com), Anchor Mortgage Corporation.SM For more information on Anchor Racing, visit www.ANCHORRACING.com.



	Anchor Racing Takes 7th at Mid-Ohio Posted on 08/31/2005 Lexington, Ohio (8/29/2005)- Anchor Racing's Rick Skelton and Joe Foster finished 7th in GS class in Sunday's 2 ½ hour Grand American Cup Race. This marked Skelton and Foster's second top ten and Anchor Racing's fifth top ten finish this season. Starting in 19th position, Skelton charged through the seventy-five car field in the No. 93 Anchor Racing/Hyper Sport Engineering/BMW M3 to 12th place. With over an hour remaining, Foster took the helm during the caution period. Fighting oil pressure problems, fading brakes and a difficult pit stop; Joe set a blistering pace to glean a seventh place finish. Skelton and Hyper Sport teammate, actor Patrick Dempsey, embraced Foster bringing the 93 car home for Anchor's best finish. Unfortunately, the other two M3s experienced bad luck over the weekend. EFI engine management electrical problems plagued the No. 92 Anchor Racing BMW M3 during qualifying, preventing John Munson (team owner) and James Sofronas from competing in Sunday's endurance race. Both drivers were disappointed by the recent turn of events. "James Sofronas and I were hoping the No. 92 would be ready for today's race, but it just wasn't the case," said John. "We are replacing EFI with Motec Engine management systems which will force us to miss Phoenix. Hopefully, we should have Motec installed and tested by VIR." Anders Hainer and teammate, Joey Hand, were on their way to a podium finish when their wheel came off their No. 99 Anchor Racing/ UnderArmour/BMW M3. During their scheduled pit stop and wheel change, the wheel was accidentally cocked and appeared secure. But, as Hand was exiting pit row, the wheel studs sheered and the wheel broke off. Luckily, Hand did not hit anything and was not injured. But, the No. 99 was forced to retire on lap 35. "It's frustrating when something like this happens. The No.99 was running strong during the first part of the race" said Munson. "It is a mistake made under extreme pressure to get the car back out and it just one of those statistics. But more importantly, the Anchor Team is relieved that it did not cause an accident." The No. 72 Anchor Racing BMW 330 piloted by Tim Probert and Dave Scott put in a solid performance with the car running strongly all weekend, finishing in 19th place. "We're very pleased with the continuing improvements to the car and its performance in a very competitive field this weekend," said Tim. The team was a little disappointed when pit congestion during a mid race yellow cost the No. 72 several track positions. "We lost quite a few positions that were hard-earned by Tim's superb driving," said Scott. "Nevertheless, the car ran flawlessly for the entire race. I was able to recapture some of the positions we lost, taking the checker six positions ahead of where we qualified." For race results, go to http://www.grandamerican.com. The silver BMW M3s will be sporting their official team sponsors: Anchor Group, Hyper-Sport Engineering (www.hyper-sport.net), Under Armour (www.underarmour.com), Anchor Mortgage Corporation.SM For more information on Anchor Racing, visit www.ANCHORRACING.com.