With the Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club in Pahrump, Nevada providing the backdrop for the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama opening round, Black Sheep Racing’s Laura Ely and Kenton King both left the weekend with podium results. Improving throughout the weekend, the duo closed the weekend with their best results over the three-day event and will look to carry that momentum to the next round in June.
“It was a stressful weekend to start, but in the end, our team did what we have been accustomed to doing in years past,” explained Laura Ely. “The podium result that I earned was not for me, it was for this team and the overwhelming amount of work in the past few weeks to even make it to this race. After a big practice crash less than a month ago, the guys have been burning the candle at both ends and the results this weekend are 100% for them.”
With a pair of practice sessions on Friday, both Ely and King became accustomed to the Porsche machines as they looked forward to the first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend. With Laura Ely seeing action in the 992 Am class, King battled in the 992 Pro/Am ranks.
With qualifying out of the way on Saturday morning, it was time for race one of the weekend, and the season, that afternoon. Battling hard near the pointy end of their respective classes, the results were not what the pair of drivers wanted with Ely finishing fourth in class and King sixth in his division.
“The race was ok, but not what we came here for,” expressed King after a tremendous qualifying effort before falling back in the race. “The good thing about double race weekends is that we have another chance tomorrow and I know Laura, the team and I have our goals set high.”
Returning to the track Sunday morning, a refocused and reenergized driving duo was back and anxious to close the weekend on a high. Knowing that they had the speed to compete, it was Ely that had the strongest run throughout the second race of the weekend but was forced to settle for the third position in the Am class as she celebrated on the podium. Showing his pace from qualifying, King was back in the mix and battled for the win in the Pro/Am ranks before settling for the second step on the podium. Closing the weekend strong, Black Sheep Racing continued their success from the 2022 season and was once again, one of the quickest teams in the paddock.
Ely continued, “It was a great way to finish the weekend. These are the results that we are used to, and we look forward to continuing this success.”
With a few weeks off from racing action, Ely and King will return to the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama program over the June 16-18 weekend at the famed Sonoma Raceway in Napa, California.
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For more information and sponsorship opportunities on Black Sheep Racing, please contact Chris Stiffler at (330) 419-2445 or via email to Chris@BlackSheepRacing.org. Black Sheep Racing can also be found online at www.BlackSheepRacing.org or on social media by searching Black Sheep Racing.
Photos: RTD Media