Our week started off early in Dallas with a visit to the Park Place Motorsports facility, followed by a meet-and-greet at the dealership for friends and customers.  It was great to have such a wonderful turn out of enthusiasts for the brand and supporters of our team.  Everyone enjoyed looking around the racecars under the lights in the showroom and sharing war stories.

Wednesday was a travel/setup day and gave us an opportunity to do some track recon before our testing started on Thursday.  On track, things started off well as we used the three cars to test different setup options to speed the development process on this new track–having multiple cars and a strong driver lineup across the team really helps.

My co-driver, Mike Vess, was making solid progress as we entered official practice and qualifying on Friday, dropping lots of time each session.  We were very pleased with the progress on setup and everyone was excited for race day.

Saturday greeted us with colder weather and higher winds than we had seen earlier in the week, but the sun was shining and everyone was ready to go.  The CTSCC race in the morning kept the fans intrigued while we twiddled our thumbs waiting for the autograph session and our race at 3pm.

Mike Vess started our car and got off to a solid start, unfortunately we had some trouble and went a lap down just before the first yellow at roughly the 30-minute mark.  Fortunatley, we were able to capitalize on this yellow to get a wave-by, putting us back on the lead lap.  However, this meant we had to pit at the end of the rotation and were at the very back of the line going back to green.

On the restart, I managed to get by a couple of cars in our class, but was quickly told to save fuel in the hopes that we could finish with just one more stop.  For the next stint and a half, I spent my time short shifting and coasting into corners in order to save fuel while simultaneously trying to maximize my lap time.  We had just fumes in the tank at our second stop, but we made it and the strategy played out when we got a yellow with roughly 40 minutes remaining where many of the front-runners had to pit while we stayed on track.

This gave us excellent track position going back to green, but we didn’t have new tires like some of the cars behind us.  We went back to racing with about 30 minutes to go and I did my best to hold on for a decent finish, but had to let a few people go.  We dropped to sixth place, but were very pleased with that considering we had gone a lap down early in the race.

Our car chief, Joe La Joie, called an excellent strategy and all the Park Place Motorsports guys did an excellent job of executing it.  Thanks to Mike Vess and everyone on the team for the opportunity!

Charlotte, NC — Following a successful weekend at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January, Park Place Motorsports and Vess Energy will return to GRAND-AM Rolex series competition with the #72 Porsche GT3 on March 2 at Circuit of the Americas.

Drivers Mike Vess and Mike Skeen are excited to team up again as the series makes its first visit to this world-class facility and home track for Park Place Motorsports.  The March 2nd race will be 2 Hours 45 Minutes in length, and will be broadcast on the SPEED Channel at 5:30 ET.

In the very first hour of the traditional twice-around-the-clock endurance marathon, both Park Place Motorsports Porsches experienced right-front wheel issues that immediately snatched them from the lead lap. Both Long, in the No. 73 Porsche, and starting driver Jean-Francois Dumoulin in the No. 72 Porsche, were the victims of what turned out to be wheel nut problems after both feared their right-front tires were going down. Long lost just one lap, but Dumoulin had to spend seven laps in the pits loosening a wheel nut that had seized up.

The No. 73 Porsche, that Long shared with Spencer Pumpelly, Patrick Lindsey, Jason Hart and Daniel Graeff, lost another lap when it had to serve a hefty penalty on pit road for engaging in a wave-around without being instructed to during the second hour.

After serving its penalty, the No. 73 Porsche was beginning to work its way back towards the lead lap when it was rear-ended by a wayward Daytona Prototype competitor late Saturday night during the race’s ninth hour. Replacing the right-rear suspension pieces after the crash cost the team another 19 laps.

The No. 72 Porsche, which Dumoulin and Skeen shared with Mike Vess, Chuck Cole, Grant Phipps, employed a conservative strategy in making its way to the finish and encountered nary a problem on or off the track until a lengthy pit stop to repair the front splitter kept it in pit lane for an extended period some four hours from the finish.

Those typically daunting setbacks were not enough to deter either team. After 24 hours of racing, the No. 73 car finished the race having completed completed 653 laps, and the No. 72 car completed 657 laps.

After the race, Long said:

“This team never gave up. For Park Place to have two cars come across the finish line in its first attempt, I think it’s going to become a household name in motorsports. It wasn’t the best possible debut, but I think a lot of people are going to know about Park Place, here, very soon.”

Pumpelly, co-driver in the No. 72 car said:

“I’m really proud of all the guys and all the work they put into the car. The car was mechanically very sound. Speed-wise on the track, it had the base to run with anybody. […] We had a couple of bad-luck incidents that kept us from being competitive for the overall win or getting to the podium. […] It would’ve been easy to say let’s just go ahead and park it for the night, we’re out of this. But, knowing we had all this support, we knew all along that we were performing for a greater cause than just our own personal enjoyment. We persevered and it was great to get to the end and see all the people at the finish.”

Both teams felt the support of a greater cause in racing for the Children’s Tumor Foundation NF Heroesprogram. As Long explained:

“For us, it was all about finishing for these kids, our NF Heroes who have had many days like we just had and will have many more. So there’s a greater purpose here than just glory and fame. These kids ground you and humble you and remind you what it’s about and it’s just great to be around them.”

Charlotte, NC–Now just one week from the start of the North American sports car racing season that begins every year in Daytona, Florida, teams are putting the final touches on their equipment and drivers are getting antsy to hit the track.

For this year’s GRAND-AM Rolex 24 Weekend, Mike Skeen will be pulling double duty by driving in Friday’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport race as well as the main event, the Rolex 24 starting on Saturday afternoon.

For the GS race, Skeen has teamed with Mitchum Motorsports to run the #6 TrackPro Advisors/ Sunoco Chevrolet Camaro with Sunoco Challenge winner Lawrence Davey of the United Kingdom.  ”Lawrence was coming up to speed quickly during the Test Days at the beginning of the month and we really meshed with the team well,” said Skeen.  ”Maybe we’ll get some Florida rain showers on Friday and he can really show his expertise.”

Additionally, Skeen has partnered with Park Place Motorsports to drive the #72 Vess Energy Services Porsche GT3 during the Rolex 24.  The team’s #73 car set the fastest GT time during the Roar Test Days and the team has a strong group of people both in the cars and behind pit wall.  The team is also supporting the Children’s Tumor Foundation Racing4Research program and looks forward to increasing awareness and raising funds throughout the event.

Look for the television broadcast of the Rolex 24 on SPEED starting January 26th at 3pm ET and resuming January 27th at 9am ET.

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