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“It was extremely emotional for me,” said Ernstone. “Daytona
is legendary all around the world. We can say we won
at Daytona. I was sobbing like a baby. I couldn’t watch the
last 45 minutes of the race. (It was certainly) emotional for
me, I’m sure for Jon too, it was huge and one of the biggest
days of my life for sure.”
Road Shagger’s first win came at WeatherTech Raceway
Laguna Seca in September of last year, exactly one year after
the team made its IMSA debut. Adding a win at Sebring
this weekend would surely be a dream start to the season
for the team.
It hasn’t been long that Pilot Challenge has battled on the
bumps of Sebring. The series first debuted here in 2014,
making it one of the newer tracks Pilot Challenge has seen
since its inception.
However, fans can anticipate close racing this weekend.
In three of the years Pilot Challenge has competed at Sebring,
one of the classes has come down to a victory margin
of less than one second. History has also shown us
two things. That typically, the winner comes within the top
10 starting spots and it’s anyone’s game when it comes
to which manufacturer might get the win: seven marques
have visited Sebring’s victory lane.
Which of the 11 manufacturers in this year’s field will take
the checkered flag? We’ll find out on Thursday.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will first see the track
on Wednesday, March 18 for a trio of practices throughout
the day before qualifying begins at 3:20 p.m.
The grid will then be set for Thursday’s Alan Jay Automotive
Network 120, which goes green at 3:50 p.m. For
fans not on site, the race – and all Pilot Challenge races
throughout the season – will be streamed live, flag-to-flag
on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. The NBCSN television
broadcast will air on Thursday, March 26 at 3 p.m. ET.
To keep up with news and updates throughout the Pilot
Challenge season, please visit IMSA.com or use the hashtag
#IMPC on social media.
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