Homestead-Miami Speedway, Fla. - March 9, 2011 - The CKS Autosport team of two Chevrolet Camaro RS.R race cars battled a slick racing surface at Homestead-Miami Speedway to land one of their two cars in ninth place by the time the checkered flag flew on the two hour, 30-minute race in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series.
The TTL/Golden Gate Margarine Camaro was driven by Ashley McCalmont, of Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, and Eric Curran of Holyoke, Mass. Theirs was the highest finish of the race for any of the five Camaro RS.R entries from three teams.
Their teammates Dave Mundy, of Sugarland, Texas, and Tony Rivera of Angleton, Texas, finished 13th overall in their CKS Autosport-built Camaro. The two CKS-entered Camaros were among five of the limited-production Camaro GS.R cars racing at Homestead.
“The car and the race track just didn’t like each other,” said McCalmont. “It was just the way both are. The track was slick and the Camaro’s gearing – which we’re not allowed to change – wasn’t the optimum.
“It was very easy to feel the improvements in the car from the race at Daytona in late January, and that was very different from the last race of the 2010 season at Miller Park,” she said. “We’re moving up with each race finish as the whole team learns more about what the Camaro needs.
“For now,” she added, “we want our first top five finish in the Camaro, then we want a top three, then a race win. These are all possible. Every track we go to, we learn more, and that’s a good thing,” she said.
“In the meantime, after every practice session - let’s say I was driving - we take the computer data and overlay it on the data from Eric’s laps. That shows me where I’m doing well, and where I need to focus more. This capability really accelerates the learning process, especially when you’re matching your own laps to a driver with Eric’s experience.
“I’m the one who will be starting driver at each race,” McCalmont said, “so I keep honing my skills on how to be aggressive without risking the car for when I hand it off to Eric. That’s one of the challenges you never have in a race where there’s only one driver.”
“Eric and Ashley did a great job under trying circumstances,” said CKS principal Kirk Spencer. “The team worked extremely hard all weekend, trying to match the pace of the Mustangs and BMWs.
“Our goal as a team is the same one Eric and Ashley have – to get them into the winners’ circle.”
The limited-production 2011 Chevrolet Camaro GS.R is a purpose-built road racing car which starts life as a production Camaro. It is powered by a 376 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 engine producing over 400 horsepower.
The Homestead race was televised by SPEED TV and will air Saturday, March 19 at 2pm ET.
The next race is April 7-9 at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Ala.
Ashley McCalmont’s promotional partners are: Golden Gate margarine, Mainway, LeClair, Oblender Installations, Legends Landscape, Inc., Prokleen, CRDI, and TTL
About Ashley McCalmont:
Ashley started race at age eight in go karts and progressed to CASCAR Regional races in Canada. This is her third year in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire series. She raced a Chevrolet Cobalt SS for two seasons then took off a year to become a wife and mother. She is working toward her first pro racing win. Visit Ashley on her website: http://www.mccalmontracing.com/
The TTL/Golden Gate Margarine Camaro was driven by Ashley McCalmont, of Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, and Eric Curran of Holyoke, Mass. Theirs was the highest finish of the race for any of the five Camaro RS.R entries from three teams.
Their teammates Dave Mundy, of Sugarland, Texas, and Tony Rivera of Angleton, Texas, finished 13th overall in their CKS Autosport-built Camaro. The two CKS-entered Camaros were among five of the limited-production Camaro GS.R cars racing at Homestead.
“The car and the race track just didn’t like each other,” said McCalmont. “It was just the way both are. The track was slick and the Camaro’s gearing – which we’re not allowed to change – wasn’t the optimum.
“It was very easy to feel the improvements in the car from the race at Daytona in late January, and that was very different from the last race of the 2010 season at Miller Park,” she said. “We’re moving up with each race finish as the whole team learns more about what the Camaro needs.
“For now,” she added, “we want our first top five finish in the Camaro, then we want a top three, then a race win. These are all possible. Every track we go to, we learn more, and that’s a good thing,” she said.
“In the meantime, after every practice session - let’s say I was driving - we take the computer data and overlay it on the data from Eric’s laps. That shows me where I’m doing well, and where I need to focus more. This capability really accelerates the learning process, especially when you’re matching your own laps to a driver with Eric’s experience.
“I’m the one who will be starting driver at each race,” McCalmont said, “so I keep honing my skills on how to be aggressive without risking the car for when I hand it off to Eric. That’s one of the challenges you never have in a race where there’s only one driver.”
“Eric and Ashley did a great job under trying circumstances,” said CKS principal Kirk Spencer. “The team worked extremely hard all weekend, trying to match the pace of the Mustangs and BMWs.
“Our goal as a team is the same one Eric and Ashley have – to get them into the winners’ circle.”
The limited-production 2011 Chevrolet Camaro GS.R is a purpose-built road racing car which starts life as a production Camaro. It is powered by a 376 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 engine producing over 400 horsepower.
The Homestead race was televised by SPEED TV and will air Saturday, March 19 at 2pm ET.
The next race is April 7-9 at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Ala.
Ashley McCalmont’s promotional partners are: Golden Gate margarine, Mainway, LeClair, Oblender Installations, Legends Landscape, Inc., Prokleen, CRDI, and TTL
About Ashley McCalmont:
Ashley started race at age eight in go karts and progressed to CASCAR Regional races in Canada. This is her third year in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire series. She raced a Chevrolet Cobalt SS for two seasons then took off a year to become a wife and mother. She is working toward her first pro racing win. Visit Ashley on her website: http://www.mccalmontracing.com/
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