Meyer Shank Racing, Acura Seek
Elusive Sebring Victory
By Bruce Martin
One of the many aspects that sets the Mobil 1
Twelve Hours of Sebring apart from other races in North
America is the history of the event. This will be the 68th
annual renewal of the greatest sports car race in North
America and each year, there is a different tale to tell.
That history and prestige is evident in the banners above pit
lane. They list the winning manufacturer and the home nation
of each edition of the famed Sebring endurance classic.
Meyer Shank Racing team owner Mike Shank hopes to
someday soon add the Acura name to the list of historic
brands that have won the endurance contest on the famed
road course that originated from a WW2 B-17 base.
“That matters, and matters a lot,” Shank said. “In 2016,
we were on pole there in our Honda-powered prototype.
We led for the fi rst third or the race and I really fantasized
about having our partner’s name up on that wall. That matters.
We have won every major endurance race in North
America – except Sebring. That one has eluded us.”
Meyer-Shank Racing competes in the GTD category of
the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the
Acura NSX GT3. Acura also partners with Team Penske in
the Daytona Prototype International category. The ‘sibling
rivalry’ between the two championship-winning teams is
friendly, but intense.
“Roger and I both have Acura teams. We don’t actually compete
against each other, but we kinda do in some ways. We
are both trying to deliver for the brand. We both won championships
in IMSA together last year. That’s pretty cool.
“Sebring is the last of the four ‘majors’ endurance races
in the US that we haven’t won yet, so I have to get it ticked
off. I want to get the Indianapolis 500 ticked off, too. But
Sebring has always eluded us, too. That just irritates me to
death we haven’t been able to close on that.
Although Acura has earned class wins in the P2 category
at Sebring in the past, the brand has yet to record an overall
victory, and no GT class Acura has ever won at Sebring.
Conquering Sebring is both an engineering and logistical
challenge. It might be the most unique and challenging
race of any track on the IMSA schedule.
Photo by Brian Cleary