Memo Gidley returns to Team Sahlen for the final round of the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 season to be held at Miller Motorsports Park. At Miller Motorsports Park, Memo will be teamed with team regular Wayne Nonnamaker in the #43 Mazda RX-8.
Previously, Memo had joined Team Sahlen at the Crown Royal 200 at the Glen. At this event, Memo placed the #43 Team Sahlen Mazda in 4th place with only 15 minutes to go in the event when a mysterious loose wheel forced him to the pits for repair.
“Memo did a fantastic job at Watkins Glen. It’s great to have him back behind the wheel, teamed with Wayne in the #43,” said Joe Sahlen. “He was a great fit with the team at the Glen, both on the track and in the paddock. He drove a superb race up to the point of the loose wheel. Hopefully everything can be in our favor this time, and Memo can have a clear run to the finish.
“The GT class is extremely competitive, and hopefully Team Sahlen will be mixing it right up at the front. No matter what, it should be an exciting event for the fans to watch.”
“I was impressed with the winning effort that the entire Sahlen Team put in to the race at Watkins and I am very exited to be back with them at Utah,” Gidley said. “The Sahlens #43 Mazda RX8 was such a neat car to drive at Watkins, I had a grin the whole time. Also, driving with Wayne was awesome. He was very fast and we really worked together well. We had such a nice run going at Watkins until the wheel problem at the end of the race.
“I think we will be very strong at Miller and I’m really looking forward to having another shot to go for a win with the Sahlen Team.”
Team Sahlen will also be entering the #42 Mazda RX-8 with a 3 driver line-up. Joe Sahlen will be accompanied by the father and son duo of Joe and Will Nonnamaker.
“We have run this trio combination for the last few races and it has worked out well. Joe [Sahlen] has been starting, then I have been driving the middle stint, and after that Will has been driving clean up. Utah is very wearing on the drivers, and our strategy of three fresh drivers just might make the difference at the end of the race,” said Joe Nonnamaker.
Although Team Sahlen choose to skip the Montreal event, the team has been far from idle during this down time. “The guys in the shop have been very busy working to improve the RX-8s to allow us to compete at the front of the GT pack. We have made several upgrades that should prove to be decisive in the push,” states Jay Chapman
The Miller Motorsports Park event will be start at 12 noon CST and will be televised live on SPEED TV.
The 2010 Team Sahlen GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 & GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Campaigns will be supported by Mazda, Mazdaspeed, HRPWorld.com, HAWK Performance, Cool Shirt, Racetech Seats, BBS, Racing Print Media, Alcon, Mothers Polish, EMCO, TheRaceSite.com, Grassroots Motorsports, Holliday Canopies, Alcon, CM Racing, Genesis Technologies, Endurance Karting, Bell Helmets, Castrol, Ianetti Design, and SpeedSource Engineering