FALL-LINE MOTORSPORTS MAKES THE MOST OUT OF A TOUGH SITUATION AT KANSAS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   

Kansas City, KS (June 9, 2014) - Fall-Line Motorsports completed the fifth race of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season on Saturday at Kansas Speedway and came into the weekend with a 25-point lead in GS Championship standings with drivers John Edwards and Trent Hindman. Shelby Blackstock and Ashley Freiberg were back in their BMW M3 after missing the last round at Lime Rock Park. Edwards and Hindman came down with engine gremlins early in the race which didn't allow for them to compete for the win, but they maintain the Championship lead due their diligence and effort with a wounded car. Freiberg and Blackstock had a great race but were forced to serve a lengthy penalty which ultimately took them out of contention as well. Despite the difficulties, the 48 car finished 9th and the 46 made it to the checkered flag in P16.

The #48 started the 2.5-hour race in P14 and Freiberg drove the first stint moving all the way up to P4. She was running lap times that were the fastest on track at the time, staying competitive and keeping with the lead pack. She was involved in an incident with Andrew Davis which IMSA deemed avoidable and she was given a penalty.  Although the team had some lengthy discussion with IMSA the penalty stood and Blackstock had to serve it . The earlier incident penalty was served as a drive through plus 50 seconds which put the #48 a lap down. Blackstock put his head down and drove an amazing race, climbing his way back up into the top-10.

#48 Rytec High Performance Doors/ Starstruck/ Fall-Line Motorsports BMW driver quotes: Finished P9, Fastest Lap 1:22:497.

Shelby Blackstock: "Overall, I am really proud of the whole Fall-Line team. Unfortunately we got a penalty at the beginning stage of the race but the team did a fantastic job setting the car up and it was a phenomenal car. If we didn't have the penalty we would have been right up there. I don't know if we could have caught the Aston Martin but I definitely think we could have had a podium which would have been awesome for the #48 car. I am really proud of the team to overcome this and get a top-10 finish and I can't wait until the next race."

Ashley Freiberg: "The car was awesome so it was a lot of fun driving around people at the start. Andrew (Davis) and I had a battle going on and he caught a ST car that slowed up more than he expected which then caused Andrew to slow up and I just had nowhere to go. I was fully locked up on the brakes hard and got into the back of him. I feel that I did everything I could to avoid hitting him and I don't know what else I could have done better. It really was unfortunate that they penalized us as much as they did, but what can you do. Onwards and upwards."

The #46 car started in P4 with Edwards behind the wheel and it became evident immediately that there was a problem. Edwards reported that the car was down on power and he was losing position. Engineers tried to diagnose the issue with feedback from the cockpit and engine data, but were unsuccessful in repairing it. The crew made several attempts to repair what they could in pit lane without going behind the wall and the decision was made to keep the car on track and attempt to finish despite running on seven cylinders. Hindman got in for his stint and was extremely optimistic and positive about the decision to finish the race in what was a severely wounded machine. The engine was using more fuel than normal and Hindman had to come in twice at the end for a splash of fuel in what ended up being a fuel mileage race. The duo maintains the Championship lead by a narrow five points now but are confident with their chances and the races ahead.

#46 Trim-Tex/ Cirocco & Ozzimo/ Atlas Acon/ DFL Interiors/ Fall-Line Motorsports BMW driver quotes: 

John Edwards: "Immediately I knew we had an issue. The green fell and I went backwards. It was tough to just maintain and lose as few positions as possible, and it was frustrating to be so helpless out there just driving around. The team did a great job and I know did everything they could to try and figure out if there was anything we could do and at the end of the day I think we made the best of an unfortunate situation. Trent did great out there. After my stint I went to the tower to spot for him and he looked really, really good. I'm glad we stayed out and got as many points as we were able and the fact that we still retain the Championship lead is a testament to this team as to our hard work and determination. Everyone will have an off-weekend over the course of the year and I'm still confident with our chances." 

Trent Hindman: "Obviously today was a pretty tough day. We weren't making one hundred percent power and I thought our day was going to end pretty early because John radioed in and said something was seriously wrong. Usually when the car is running on seven cylinders that's not a good sign. At the end of the day we were able to run the full two-and-a-half hours. I'm really proud of the job everyone did because it could have been much worse and taken us out of the points lead. We still secured points and are still right there and made the most of a bad situation. That's racing, we're not going to win all of them but we sure are going to try. A huge thanks for everyone at Fall-Line, they really worked their asses off to keep us going and I appreciate them so much. Also a huge thanks to Joe Koenig at Trim-Tex, my other sponsors Cirocco & Ozzimo, Atlas Acon, DFL Interiors, and the National Kidney Foundation for sticking with us year."

Michael Harvey, Fall-Line Motorsports Team Manager:

"Championships are won by minimizing the damage on your bad days and although this was a bad day for the Fall-Line BMW's it could have been much worse. As always I am so proud of the Fall-Line crew and their talent and desire to never give up. We again had really fast cars so it is extremely frustrating to come away with a small points haul but adversity makes us stronger as a team. I would like to thank Rytec High Performance doors for coming on board for this event. We now head to Watkins Glen to defend our victory from last year, typically the Fall-line Motorsports BMWs are fast at the Glen and we will be very focused on executing cleanly and bringing BMW another victory. "

Next up is Watkins Glen on June 26-28.

Fall-Line Motorsports is a premiere builder and fabricator of race cars for all levels of competition. Fall-Line specializes in BMW, Porsche, Audi and other high-performance makes. Fall-Line Motorsports unveiled their Grand-Am team in 2006 and won the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS Championship title in 2010. In addition to fielding 3 GS BMW M3s in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and an Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Fall-Line also prepares and fabricates cars for other CTSC teams, SCCA and NASA drivers, track day prepared and high performance street vehicles.www.fall-linemotorsports.com

Atlas Acon Electric Service Corp.:

With a reputation spanning over 50 years, Atlas-Acon provides full-service electrical contracting for new construction, renovations, as well ongoing service and maintenance in the commercial and industrial markets in the greater New York area. Atlas-Acon works with some of the largest general contractors, construction managers, architects and engineers utilizing its vast expertise to manage project-specific schedules in a cost effective manner. The construction needs of its corporate clients are diverse and unique and Atlas-Acon prides itself on creating and developing innovative solutions.

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Cirocco & Ozzimo Inc. is a commercial exterior and interior renovation contractor serving the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Cirocco & Ozzimo is recognized as us one of the top concrete firms in the New York City metro area and specializes in masonry, plaster and fireproofing to Building Owners, General Contractors and Consultants for building renovations and new construction.www.ciroccoandozzimo.com

JRZ Suspension Engineering was founded in 1995 by Jan Zuijdijk and specializes in building racing dampers. With experience from Formula One to OE supply, JRZ Suspension Engineering is a leading damper manufacturer. Products range from engineered motorsport solutions to ready to install street performance kits. With wins at The 24 hours of Daytona, LeMans, Sebring, and more along with major championships around the globe, JRZ has a proven track record. For 2014 JRZ Suspension Engineering has entered into a technical partnership with Fall Line motorsports, providing engineering support for the 2014 championship run.www.jrzsuspension.com