Jun 19, 2016
ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 19, 2016) - McCumbee McAleer Racing’s (MMR) Father’s Day race weekend at Road America was filled with action. The lapping began on Wednesday with 2 testing sessions for all of the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup teams which led into Thursday’s duel practice sessions. This weekend, drivers Chris Ohmacht (#92), Justin Raphael (#29), Max Faulkner (#82), and Aurora Straus (#17) took to the fast and challenging racetrack in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin to gain additional experience and further test the waters of their competitive potential.
Both Chris Ohmacht and Justin Raphael laid down some very competitive lap times on Wednesday and Thursday although their weekend track time was slightly abbreviated. Justin left Road America extremely pleased with his progress in the car considering this was only his first outing, and Chris Ohmacht was a contender throughout Race #1 which highlighted his quick adaptability and focus out on the winding Wisconsin track.
Aurora Straus and Max Faulkner completed the weekend after achieving some stats which will keep heads turning in the paddock because this was also their first outing to Road America. Round 6/Race #2 started with Aurora and Max clawing their way to the front. Faulkner seemed to be destined for an impressive finish before he was taken out of the race by a fellow competitor in turn #3. Despite the sudden halt of progress, Max remained positive and is excited to bounce back at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP).
Aurora Straus carried the MMR flag for Round 6 by capturing eight positions from the drop of the green flag to the checkered in her first race appearance at Road America. “I really felt like I was racing to my full potential. I was in a pack of a lot of cars and to make that many clean passes is pretty amazing.” Aurora’s run was obviously impressive and she attributed teamwork with other competitors a reason for moving towards the front. “I was fortunate enough to be racing in a pack with a bunch of drivers who were very respectful to one another. Two of the drivers came up to me after the race to shake my hand and thank me for the clean racing and passing. I am so happy to have gained eight positions but the cherry on top is racing with competitors who are respectful towards one another”. This teamwork was most apparent throughout the last 10 minutes of the race as Straus clawed three positions from her competition. Impressed with the speed of this track, Straus also mentioned that, “This track is so fast! You are diving into these sweeping corners with so much speed and it does a great job of bringing out the strengths and weaknesses of each driver.” Like Faulkner, Straus is excited for CTMP as she looks to keep her momentum going.
Another notable of Round 6 was MMR’s assisting of a fellow competitor, John Dean II, who was searching for a ride after crash damage in Race #1 would seemingly keep him out of contention for Race #2. The team graciously placed Dean in the open seat of an MMR car whose crew chief is Sam Yarbrough. Sam dialed in a setup for Dean which carried him from 34th to 7th position earning them both a Battery Tender Hard Charger award.
After a race weekend which demonstrated MMR’s capability of overcoming challenges on the track to success, they look forward to Rounds 7 & 8 at CTMP from July 8th – 10th which will host the return of live race broadcasts on MazdaLive.com!