http://www.imsa.com/news/072017/for...ontinental-tire-120-watkins-glen-martin-roush
FORD MUSTANG WINS THRILLING CONTINENTAL TIRE 120 AT WATKINS GLEN WITH MARTIN, ROUSH
In a race that was at one point red flagged for rain, the two-hour Continental Tire 120 at Watkins Glen International came down to a 12-minute shootout under sunshine and dry track conditions.
Restarting in the third position, Dean Martin moved to second behind Al Carter after race-leader Matt Plumb made a rare mistake in the Inner Loop. With two laps remaining, Martin got alongside Carter exiting Turn 1, and as they worked uphill through the Esses, the two made contact sending Carter into a spin. Martin motored past and went on to win by 5.513 seconds in the No. 59 NANO ProMT Ford Mustang alongside co-driver Jack Roush Jr.
“I just kept trying to keep pressure on him,” said Martin. “I took a few chances with him just to let him know I was going to be aggressive. We came onto the last corner. I had a good run. I came up behind him and tried to play a little peek-a-boo with him to distract him going into one. I think it worked. He missed the apex a little bit and went a little wide and I just had a great corner and got myself positioned inside.
“He was trying to squeeze me, but I know he knew I was there. I laid the car up on the rumble strips to try to sneak through and give him enough room on the outside, but we made contact a little beyond the apex. It was the only opportunity I was going to get to drag race him. Unfortunately, we had contact. I would’ve liked to have finished up that lap. It would’ve been exciting.”
The No. 77 C360R McLaren GT4 of Nico Rondet and co-driver Mathew Keegan finished second, while Matt Plumb recovered to finish third in the No. 76 C360R McLaren GT4 he co-drives with polesitter Paul Holton. Plumb was celebrating his 100th career Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge start and was in position for a record-breaking 24th career series victory before the incident. Carter finished seventh following his incident with Martin.
FORD MUSTANG WINS THRILLING CONTINENTAL TIRE 120 AT WATKINS GLEN WITH MARTIN, ROUSH
In a race that was at one point red flagged for rain, the two-hour Continental Tire 120 at Watkins Glen International came down to a 12-minute shootout under sunshine and dry track conditions.
Restarting in the third position, Dean Martin moved to second behind Al Carter after race-leader Matt Plumb made a rare mistake in the Inner Loop. With two laps remaining, Martin got alongside Carter exiting Turn 1, and as they worked uphill through the Esses, the two made contact sending Carter into a spin. Martin motored past and went on to win by 5.513 seconds in the No. 59 NANO ProMT Ford Mustang alongside co-driver Jack Roush Jr.
“I just kept trying to keep pressure on him,” said Martin. “I took a few chances with him just to let him know I was going to be aggressive. We came onto the last corner. I had a good run. I came up behind him and tried to play a little peek-a-boo with him to distract him going into one. I think it worked. He missed the apex a little bit and went a little wide and I just had a great corner and got myself positioned inside.
“He was trying to squeeze me, but I know he knew I was there. I laid the car up on the rumble strips to try to sneak through and give him enough room on the outside, but we made contact a little beyond the apex. It was the only opportunity I was going to get to drag race him. Unfortunately, we had contact. I would’ve liked to have finished up that lap. It would’ve been exciting.”
The No. 77 C360R McLaren GT4 of Nico Rondet and co-driver Mathew Keegan finished second, while Matt Plumb recovered to finish third in the No. 76 C360R McLaren GT4 he co-drives with polesitter Paul Holton. Plumb was celebrating his 100th career Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge start and was in position for a record-breaking 24th career series victory before the incident. Carter finished seventh following his incident with Martin.
