Pennkraft BMW makes it back out for 2023 and finishes on the podium!

The Path to Reading Success/Ground Control/Racing Diffs BMW # 65 of Ben Penn returned for round
two of the USTCC series after a long winter refresh, to finish third place in the Sportsman category.
Penn completed Round One in Las Vegas, driving the Go-Go Gear Honda Civic and finishing in fourth.

Now Penn is back in the familiar seat of the BMW, albeit with no test time. The pressure is on, with
the return to the track where the BMW has a win and a second place finish in 2022 finale.

Saturday morning practice and qualifying times weren’t as hoped however. When approached on the
subject, Penn indicated that any new or fresh build will need some sorting out and adjustments, and
this was no exception.

A call out to Jay Morris at Ground Control suspension netted a suggestion in spring rate adjustments.
After a late evening hovering over the engine’s induction system and making adjustments, Penn was as
ready as he could be for Sunday.

Sunday morning brought out an entirely different machine. A transponder issue kept the BMW from
having a recorded lap time, but there was no doubt the car was different. When asked about the
changes, Penn just responded with a big smile and said, “We’re heading in the right direction."

The qualifying session later that morning put the Path to Reading Success/Ground Control/Racing
Diffs #65 BMW in second position, just a tick behind Tom Lepper in the Go-Go Gear/Tom Lepper and
Associates Honda Civic.

For the start of the race the # 37 BMW of Chris Eversten that started third, came up between Penn and
Lepper to take first place going into turn one. Penn and Lepper were door to door through turn one
and heading into turn two when Ben was able to pull in front of Lepper in the middle of turn two to
take second place, right on the rear bumper of the # 37 BMW of Eversten. Penn was able to keep up
with Eversten through turn 6 when a gremlin popped up on the BMW, resulting in a loss of power
heading to turn nine. Lepper who was coming up fast made the pass on the troubled BMW as they
headed for turn 10.

Penn held on to third place to finish on the podium. When asked about the finish, he said, “After
feeling the power loss I knew I had nothing for Chris and Tom. I needed to focus on the best finish I
could. Overall, I’m happy with the performance of the car and all the changes. I think we showed some
solid potential, and once the bugs are worked out, you will see the BMW up front!”