Roller coaster ride for The Speed Traveler BMW

The USTCC season opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a bit of a Rollercoaster ride for The Speed Traveler / Team GoGoGear Racing BMW M3. Charlie Frank was in the seat for the race, at a track he has never driven and in a freshly rebuilt car he hasn't tested.

Charlie went into the weekend with a conservatively confident mindset. Take it easy in the early sessions, and get comfortable with the course and car. By the time qualifying came around, everyone on the team was optimistically excited. Charlie and the car did not disappoint, and in fact exceeded expectations by qualifying The Speed Traveler / Team GoGoGear Racing BMW M3 third on the grid.

Coming back to the pits after qualifying, a serious overheating issue steamed everyone's heads, and with only a short period of time between qualifying and the race, the mechanics went to work on the problem. But on pre-grid it was clear the team hadn't quite fixed all the issues.

With the drop of the green flag, Charlie knew he was in for a challenge and nursed the car around the track, hoping that if he stayed calm and drove conservatively, he could hold on to a good finishing position. Unfortunately, the temps just got too high and Charlie, smartly drove slowly enough to limp the car to halfway through the race to earn those few valuable points.

It was disappointing to not finish the race, but a lot was learned and the team look forward to the next race at Auto Club Speedway.