The second day of driving is in the books for the debut of
the 2013 SRT Viper GTS-R in the American LeMans Series and while the first day
of practice could have gone a little better – today’s racing actually brought
worse results.
After turning in solid times during the first two practice
sessions amidst spending some time working on their pit stops and driver
changes, the #93 Pennzoil Ultra SRT Viper GTS-R turned in a best qualifying lap
of 1:22.158.This was good enough for
the Viper driven by Marc Goossens and Tommy Kendal to start in the 10th
position but most importantly – while many of the GT Class cars posted varying times in qualifying and practice sessions – the #93
Viper ran its best times of the weekend during qualifying.Goossens handled the qualifying efforts but
both of the Pennzoil Ultra team drivers spent a good amount of time behind the
wheel during today’s practice sessions as their yellow and silver Viper race
car looks to be ready to race.
Things were much less positive for the #91 Forza Motorsport
4 SRT Viper GTS-R piloted by Kumo Wittmer and Dominic Farnbacher.After being the faster of the two Viper teams
on Thursday, the #91 car hit the track early Friday morning with a hope of improving
lap times ahead of qualifying.Instead,
the #91 Viper left the track after just 10 laps during the first practice
session due to an unspecified “engine sputter”. No further information has been offered but the SRT Twitter account
explained that the #91 team decided to change engines – a process which caused
the Forza Motorsport 4 Viper to miss the second round of practice and the sole
qualifying round.Because the team could
not get the car ready in time to qualify with the rest of the GT Class, the #91
Viper will start at the rear of the field.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
