Story By: WHELEN ENGINEERING RACING – SEBRING, FL – With race-leading pace, well-executed pit stops, and a focus on the finish, Whelen Engineering Racing showed strength in Saturday’s 12 Hours of Sebring.
The team brought home another IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship podium result on Saturday with the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, notching the second podium finish of the 2018 season and the third consecutive podium result for the team at Sebring International Raceway.
Drivers Felipe Nasr (BRA), Eric Curran (USA), and Mike Conway (UK) opened the season with a run to second place in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and were looking to improve on that result on Saturday after leading the race for multiple segments of the 12 hour event.
The race ran at a wide-open pace with extensive green flag running for the opening four hours, but the nature of the race changed as a series of full course cautions kept the strategies evolving with every lap. The drivers kept their focus on the front, with all three racers posting strong performances. The team held up its end of the bargain with swift pit stops and well-executed pit strategy.
Nearly two hours of green flag running made for a sprint to the finish line as darkness covered the track. Nasr was on board for the final segments, and had to strike the best balance between outright pace and making sure the Whelen Engineering entry had the fuel to make the finish.
That balance kept the first-year IMSA pilot from making forward progress late in the race, but he held on to score third at the finish as the team continues to keep the big picture in mind.
Whelen Engineering Racing will return to IMSA WeatherTech competition in the Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach on April 14th.