KANSAS CITY, Kan. (August 19, 2013)- Following a mid-race incident that would send the Magnus Racing No. 44 Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT3 Cup down nine laps for repairs, the team took an eventual eighth-place finish to drop to second in the Rolex Sports Car Series GT championship. With only two races remaining, the team is entrenched in a tight three-way battle between the leading No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 and the third-ranked No. 57 Steven Motorsports Camaro.
“This definitely was not the day we were hoping for,” stated team owner John Potter. “Andy was caught out in debris that he couldn’t avoid, and with the sensitivity of Porsche radiators it was just too heavy of an impact to keep on going. The guys did an impressive job of repairing the radiator as quickly as they did, and the points we gained from that will prove invaluable.”
Following a strong opening stint from John Potter, teammate Andy Lally was working his way through the field during the middle portion of the race. With just a little over 80 minutes remaining, however, contact between multiple Daytona Prototypes would scatter debris all over the track including a sign that was kicked onto the racing line.
As the field circled through, a lack of yellow flags would send the GT pack into the debris with pieces being kicked up right into the radiator of Lally’s Porsche. Well prepared, the team was able to replace the radiator and front nose in under nine minutes, sending Lally back out to gain whatever points he could. It proved fruitful with Andy eventually taking eighth-place points.
Since it was Kansas, we wanted to give out a few “Oz” awards for the day:
Andy Lally, The Dorothy Award: Andy did his best to avoid trouble all weekend, but still wound up in a sh*t storm.
The Magnus Crew, The Tin Man Award: Rather than give up when the 44 pulled in, the team showed tremendous heart to focus and repair the car in under nine minutes, salvaging valuable points.
John Potter, The Cowardly Lion Award: John showed courage to speak his mind on live television over his frustration, rather than holding back and being politically correct.
The Scarecrow Award: We’ll let the reader figure this one out. Let’s just say, “If they only had a brain” was said a few times after the race.
Kansas Speedway, The Toto Award: After losing an engine in practice and suffering our worst finish of the year, we were bit pretty hard.
The Munchkin Award: Bryan Sellers. No reason, he's just adorable.
Scuderia Corsa, The Ruby Slipper Award: Just when the team feared they still hadn’t won a race, all they had to do was remember they were in a Ferrari. Congratulations to them on a deserved first victory.