There were two Prototype teams celebrating in Victory Lane following the recent TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race at Road America – and an observer might have wondered which team actually finished first.
While Action Express Racing garnered the first-place laurels in the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase with drivers Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa, drivers John Pew and Ozz Negri – along with the entire team of the second-place finishing No. 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian Ford EcoBoost/Riley – seemed just as excited with the result.
It was the team’s best result in the TUDOR Championship, leaving the team with the promise of continued success.
Pew raced fulltime in the GRAND-AM Rolex Series Daytona Prototype class from 2007-13, all with Michael Shank Racing. He won his first race at Miller Motorsports Park in 2009, co-driving with Ian James and Raphael Matos.
He began co-driving with Ozz Negri in 2010, and they have been together ever since. He won the Jim Trueman Award in 2010-11 as the top Pro-Am driver in the DP class.
His biggest victory came in 2011, when he joined Negri, AJ Allmendinger and Justin Wilson in winning the 50th Rolex 24 At Daytona in 2011.
A fitness advocate, he enjoys karting in the heat of the day in South Florida near his home in North Palm Beach. For 2014, though, he’s spending the summer in British Columbia at the opposite end of the continent.
How big was your second-place finish with Michael Shank Racing at Road America?
“It was big for both us and the team. It was long overdue. We were ready for this for a long time, and the team deserves every second of it. They’ve been working really, really hard. We struggled a bit with the new car and the new configuration. Ford has helped us quite a bit with that and with the engine, and we’re a little more competitive than we were at the beginning. I think we’ve got a good chance to get back on the podium again.”
From the driver’s standpoint, how different is it with the new DP configuration?
“It’s quite a bit different. The biggest thing with our Riley is getting the balance right. When we have the diffuser on the back, there’s not much we can do to change the downforce on the front, we only have two configurations. It’s very difficult to get it exactly right. The car tends to be a little bit pointy and a little bit free in the rear, which is something I have more trouble with than Ozz does, as far as driving the car. At Mosport, we had a pretty good car, and then at Road America – which is one of my favorite tracks, by the way – the guys did a real good job getting it right.”
What is it like racing in the Prototype class of the TUDOR Championship, battling LMP2 cars and the DeltaWing in addition to the other DPs?
“I really enjoy it. I think it’s exciting and great racing with all those different classes at the same time. I don’t see negatives there. I think it’s great having the top classes from both series and the top drivers from all over the world. It’s fantastic. It’s stressful (racing against the top drivers) and a real challenge, and I like that. It’s pretty cool to be on the same track with those guys.”
You’ve been spending a lot of time this summer in Canada. How do you stay in shape, compared to your regular karting routine when you’re based in South Florida?
“I do a lot of mountain biking and road biking in addition to spending a lot of time in the gym. The only problem is it’s a little bit cooler here than it is in Florida, so I don’t get the heat training I’m used to. I’ll be the lone guy out there on a bicycle wearing a jacket, when everyone else is wearing t-shirts. I’m just trying to work up some sweat. I alternate my workouts. One day I’ll do a couple hours of cardio on either bike, the next day I’ll do weight training or core training.”
When do you plan to return to South Florida?
“I’ll be back in Florida after COTA – maybe a few days before then, too. I love karting at Homestead-Miami Speedway. They have good people running it. It’s a great, fast track with every kind of turn you can imagine, and it’s very safe, too. It’s great training in the summertime heat. I’m jealous of the people doing it right now, and the people I kart with are heads-up guys. A lot of them are from IndyCar, Gustavo (Yacaman) is sometimes there, and Ozz is always there. We’re not really racing, we’re playing with each other. You know you’re around good people who won’t do silly stuff in a go-kart race and possibly getting hurt. We respect each other and have a good time.”
- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/pew-talks-season-best-finish-prototype-class#sthash.MC9Qih6A.dpuf
Fonte: http://www.imsa.com/