From third to first - Top Rookie!
Gary Trudeau claims his first ever Touring Car (TC) class win at Sonoma Raceway

TC) class at Sonoma Raceway! This also earned him the PLASTEX ‘Top Rookie’ award. From the green flag, Gary Trudeau and Gary Sheehan, both running a Hyundai Genesis Coupe, didn’t give each other any room to relax behind the wheel. They stayed together throughout the race and changed positions multiple times. It was real close quarter and fair Touring Car racing that included some unintentional body contact whilst racing at the rugged edge. Gary Trudeau was able to stick his cars nose in to pass Gary Sheehan in the later stage of the race. And from that point, there was no looking back until the checkered flag, claiming his first ever win in the United States Touring Car Championship! It is a telltale of great driving and competition when after the race, both drivers get out of their cars with a brimming smile reminiscing in how much fun it was racing each other. The stuff of racing legends! And we look forward to seeing it all on MSNBC Sports ‘Final Drive TV’ show once this race airs. Set your DVR’s already now so not to miss it!

What Gary Trudeau had to say about his first ever USTCC win:
“This has been a great and successful weekend! The Red Panther Motorsport #52 Hyundai Genesis Coupe was set up perfectly for Sonoma Raceway. In the time leading up to the race, we detuned the car to be able to lose some weight. This resulted in taking 380lbs off to meet the USTCC power to weight ratio. We then put brand new, sticky Hankook race tires on the car and adjusted the wing settings. Now it was down to racing and this time around, the racing gods were with us! Really enjoyed the close, intense and fair battle with my competitor Gary Sheehan. The USTCC Touring Car class has a lot of talented and good drivers, which just makes racing so much more fun. I also want to thank Red Panther Motorsport for a perfect execution of our plans throughout the weekend. Let’s see what we can do at the upcoming double header mid-September at Buttonwillow Raceway Park!”

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. For more information please see and visit www.RedPantherMotorsport.com and also like us on our social media channels.