A Challenge to get to the Racetrack…

San Ramon, CA – It didn’t look like Justin Crickenberger would even be able to make it to Round 3 of the United States Touring Car Championship at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. After two wins in a row and leading the Championship, Justin wasn’t to lose the lead even if not being able to make this round.

As it is, things changed and Wednesday before the race weekend, Justin was able to confirm his attendance, albeit only arriving Saturday evening. The rush to get the #72 Honda Civic SI ready was on. Justin left his home Saturday late afternoon, car loaded and trailer in tow heading to Auto Club Speedway. The Red Panther Motorsport team was expecting Justin and was ready to carry out the last remaining maintenance items that we wanted to do before putting the car on track Sunday morning (front brake pad and oil change). All hands-on deck and ready…

A call by Justin changed it all. The oil cooler of his Ford truck had other ideas. Who knows if the excessive heat of that weekend had something to do with it or not? The result was the same. Justin didn’t make it to the racetrack, instead had to get his truck fixed.

After everything, this was surely not the outcome anyone had expected. But there it is. Sometimes you lose a race by no wrongdoing of your own. This was one of these cases.

Justin now looks forward to continuing his Championship challenge at the next round at Sonoma Raceway in late August. Especially now, that his competitors had a change to somewhat close the points differential.

Justin Crickenbergeer reviews his Round THREE performance:
“Not much to review here… I just didn’t make it to the racetrack. Such and unfortunate event, after having struggled to make it in the first place, then to be able to make it – Only for the truck to break down and leave me stranded… Now we have time at our hands to properly prep the car for the next race, which is something I am meticulous about. Really looking forward to going back to Sonoma Raceway and challenge for a win again.”



About Red Panther Motorsport (RPM)
A leading California based professional racing team. RPM competes in the Hankook Tires United States Touring Car Championship (USTCC) race series and has won multiple class Championships. For more information, please see and visit www.RedPantherMotorsport.com and like us on our social media channels.