Press Contact: Dennis Punch (704) 530-4754
Denver, NC (June 12, 2005) — In their first race in the #06 Thetford / Norcold Pontiac Crawford from Howard-Boss Motorsports, the talented trio of Rob Dyson, Chris Dyson, and Harrison Brix posted a 13th-place finish in the Sahlen`s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday, June 12th. It marked the first of five scheduled races during the 2005 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series season for the trio with Howard-Boss Motorsports and the first appearance at Watkins Glen International since 2002.
The historic weekend began on Thursday with a promoters test day at the Watkins Glen course so that all the teams competing in the second six-hour endurance race of the Rolex Series season would have the opportunity to practice and adjust their cars prior to the official start of the race weekend. And, with the temperature soaring into the low nineties and the different tire selected by Hoosier for this event, the crew had an extremely active day of testing.
Friday gave the #06 Thetford / Norcold Team several more practice sessions to prepare for qualifying and the race. During the day, each driver and the members of the Howard-Boss Motorsports crew communicated well and made adjustments to their Pontiac Crawford that served notice that this team would be competitive during the race.
Saturday morning gave the team one final practice session to prepare their car for qualifying. However, qualifying was not the only issue as the cars would have no additional practice time on the course after time trials and before the actual race. Therefore, the team had to consider a qualifying as well as race setup for their car.
Chris Dyson was selected to qualify the #06 Thetford / Norcold Pontiac Crawford and responded with a fast lap of 1 minute 48.221 second / 113.102 mph. That lap would place the #06 team 16th in the 46-car starting field for the Sahlen`s Six Hours of The Glen.
Raceday at Watkins Glen brought very hot and humid conditions for the drivers as well as the crew. With the temperature near ninety and the high humidity, this event would truly be an endurance race and one of survival.
Chris Dyson started from his 16th qualifying position and gained three positions in the first ten laps. Chris continued his strong early-race performance and had moved up to the tenth position when he made contact with the tire barrier at Turn 9 on lap 24 and was stopped on the course. He came to pit road for tires, fuel, and repairs and rejoined the event in 36th position, two laps down to the leaders. However, knowing that this event was a marathon, not a sprint, Chris began to work his way back through the field.
By lap 44, Chris had moved back into the top twenty and was continuing to post very competitive lap speeds. When he made his next pit stop on lap 55, Chris was running in the 17th position.
Harrison Brix took over the driving duties at this point and began his first competitive stint in the #06 Howard-Boss Motorsports Pontiac Crawford. Brix managed to gain two positions during the next eleven green-flag laps until his pit stop for fuel only during caution on lap 80. After rejoining the event, Brix was able to run as high as 13th until he turned the pitted on lap 111.
At this point, rain had begun to fall and create terrible conditions on the course. It was during this stop that the Thetford / Norcold Team put on their rain tires, added fuel, and made a driver change. Veteran Rob Dyson climbed aboard and would reenter the race in the 15th position.
Rob Dyson was able to move to 14th before the caution waved for fog and heavy rain. Once the race restarted on lap 140, Rob was able to show why he is one of the most respected names in sports car racing by gaining an additional position in the running order despite the terrible driving conditions on the course. The #06 Pontiac Crawford would take the checkered flag in the 13th position.
“We had a really strong car this weekend,” Rob Dyson commented. “We had a good top ten, maybe top five car until we had the early-race problem. The Howard-Boss Motorsports Team did an outstanding job all weekend, and we have certainly got something to build on.”
“It was a difficult race with the conditions we faced,” Brix noted. “For a first-time effort with Howard-Boss Motorsports, it was good. We found our strengths and weaknesses and now we know exactly where we need to push forward.
“Looking at the overall picture, we fit well with this program (Howard-Boss Motorsports),” Brix added. “I believe that we will really be competitive moving forward. I am looking forward to getting to Daytona with these guys, put the package all together, and start marching up toward the front.”
The next event on the Rolex Sports Car Series schedule and the second of the year for the #06 Howard-Boss Motorsports Team will be the Brumos Porsche 250 at the Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, June 30th. The event will be covered by The Speed Channel.
