Tidal Waves of Racing…

Walnut Creek, CA – The United States Touring Car Championship ran their Round 5 and 6 supporting the NTT Indy Car Series finale at the Firestone Monterey GP at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. The #52 Hyundai Genesis Coupe sponsored by Automotive Calibration Services and Gary’s Airbag Service again saw the driver pairing of Dave Brown and Gary Trudeau sharing driving duties.

Dave Brown took the wheel first, running great times in the practice sessions and ultimately placing the car on Pole Position for Round 5. The Championship battle in the Touring Car class (TC) is a very closely fought one between the driver pairings of Gary Trudeau / Dave Brown and Gary Sheehan / Reza Arsham. Throw another few fast driver / car pairings in the mix for this race, and you have yourself a nail biter.

Starting from Pole Position, Dave Brown spun the tires too much, losing four positions right away. Now Dave had to manage his overheated tires, sitting back for the early part of this long race, knowing that it should come to him. The guy’s ahead traded positions lap by lap, using up their tires. Past mid race, Dave Brown started his quest for P1. A few laps before race end, he managed to get past the leader and pull away from the pack finishing with a race win. What a race that was!

Since the race ending position from Round 5 defined the starting grid for Round 6, the #52 Hyundai Genesis had Pole Position again, now driven by Gary Trudeau. This race started right after the long Indy Car race. The track seemed to have even less grip than usual. Gary lost a few positions at the start and struggled to find grip. By the time he had settled into a rhythm, the front pack was gone. However, a Safety Car phase bunched the field back together and come race end, Gary found himself on the podium with a 3rd place finish.

The Championship battle in the TC class stays close, which will be fun to watch in the remaining few races of the season.

Dave Brown and Gary Trudeau review their Round FIVE and SIX performance:
“Classic, fun Touring Car racing! A difficult start and I had to keep cool and get into tire management mode first. Then the race came to me. What a great experience to race as the support series to Indy Car here at Laguna Seca! And to come home with a win? Nothing beats that!” said an elated Dave Brown.
“It was a different experience for me on track” Gary Trudeau started saying. “Struggling with grip and sliding with the car, wasn’t what I was expecting. It seems that the Indy Car race before us, resulted in some changed conditions we struggled to account for. Never the less, I am happy to have been able to get on the podium and to race in front of this crowd! What an experience!”

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.