'Back Home in Indiana' for Burton Racing

jjomalley

There is a lot to look forward to for Burton Racing in their home race at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The hometown team, whose shop is just 20 minutes away from the fabled Speedway, returns home not only carrying positive momentum from two solid performances in Canada just two weeks ago, but also with the memory of winning the Brickyard Sports Car Challenge last year. 

For the eighth round of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, Mike LaMarra and Terry Borcheller will look for a repeat performance of last season’s trip to the top of the podium at Indianapolis in their No. 23 BMW Automotive Chemicals/Excelda BMW 128i. Similarly, Greg Strelzoff and Connor Bloum are also looking for a taste of the podium champagne in their first Indianapolis race with the hometown team in the No. 22 Gold Eagle BMW 128i.

Both Burton Racing machines fought hard in the last round of competition north of the border at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Strelzoff and Bloum combined to expertly navigate the No. 22 machine up the pack to a finish just outside of the top-10, while LaMarra and Borcheller fought back from contact in the opening laps for an eighth place finish.

The team now sets its sights closer to home on the 2.435-mile ‘roval’ that utilizes the front stretch of the famous oval and then weaves its way through the infield. As the 2013 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge ST class championship winning team, as well as the winners of the race around the Brickyard last year, Burton Racing knows what it takes to win at the historic track and looks to use that to their advantage as they are still very much in the hunt for a repeat championship this season.

LaMarra and Borcheller bring the experience from their win last year as well as one previous start for LaMarra and two previous starts for Borcheller at the track. In the No. 22 machine, Strelzoff has one previous start at Indianapolis and this year will mark Bloum’s debut as he was forced to sit out last year’s race due to an injury. However, Bloum proved himself a quick learner at the tricky Canadian Tire Motorsport Park circuit and anticipates having no problem getting quickly up to speed.

“We always love racing in Indy,” said Team Manager and Indiana Hoosier Keith Burton. “Not only is it our home race but it is also just such a great track and facility with so much history, it’s an honor to race there. The whole team has worked really hard this whole season and as we head into the final leg of the season we are going to continue to keep pushing. We have really great sponsors in Dreyer & Reinbold, BMW Automotive Chemicals and Excelda Manufacturing, and Gold Eagle. Hopefully we can score a solid result at home and show all of our great sponsors just what they are supporting.”

As their home race, Burton Racing welcomes many of their sponsors including Dryer & Reinbold BMW based in Indianapolis as well as BMW Excelda located in nearby Michigan and Gold Eagle from Chicago. With key sponsors in attendance, Burton Racing hopes that for the second year in a row, hard work plus a pinch of hometown luck will again prevail. 

The team will have a busy two days at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as they are set to participate in two practice sessions ahead of qualifying on Thursday, July 24th. The 2.5-hour race is set to go green on Friday at 2:35 PM (ET). The race will be broadcast LIVE on imsa.com and will air on FOX Sports 1 on August 3rd at 12:00 PM (ET). 

Live timing and scoring is available on imsa.com. Follow @Burton_Racing on twitter for updates throughout the weekend!