Keating Takes Big Stop to Top of Daytona GTD Podium

The decision to curtail the SRT Motorsports factory program following the 2014 season left several Dodge Viper drivers – including GT Le Mans champion Kuno Wittmer – without a ride for the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship campaign.

But Ben Keating – the world’s largest Viper dealer who already committed to fielding a full-time entry with Riley Motorsports in the TUDOR Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class – stepped up, announcing he would field a second Viper for the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Wittmer and former SRT teammate Dominik Farnbacher joined Cameron Lawrence and Al Carter in showing their appreciation by scoring the GTD class victory in the Rolex 24, driving the No. 93 TI Automotive/Viper Exchange Viper SRT GT3-R. Keating – who drove his regular No. 33 TI Automotive Viper with brothers Jeroen and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, Carter and Marc Goossens – also drove a stint in the No. 93 to share in the triumph.

Racing what he sells, Keating won back-to-back Viper Cup championships in 2011 and 2012. He moved up to the ALMS GTC class in 2013 – winning consecutive races at his home Circuit of The Americas and VIRginia International Raceway. That made him eager to get behind the wheel of a familiar Viper.

Keating had seen the new Viper GT3-R at its introduction at the 2011 New York Auto Show, and immediately began planning to develop and race the new car when the TUDOR Championship debuted in 2014.

Partnering with Bill Riley, Keating raced the Viper GT3-R in 2014 GTD competition, winning at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and scoring another victory at Circuit of The Americas.

A native of Tomball, Texas, he now resides in nearby Victoria – not far from Houston. ViperExchange.com is the conglomerate of Keating’s four Dodge Chrysler Jeep dealerships in Texas, centered at Tomball Dodge Chrysler Jeep. In all, he owns the Keating Auto Group, which includes nine dealerships representing 10 different brands.

How satisfying was winning the Rolex 24?

“I feel like I have all the cliché answers. It was a dream come true. It’s any sports car racer’s dream to stand on the top step at Daytona, and I tried so hard for so many years to be there. I put together the best possible team that I felt I could for the past five years. Every year, I felt we were the team to beat, and prior to this year, my best finish was 13th. The first year I ran it we were in third place and ready to pass for second with only an hour and a half left, and we lost our differential. It’s really hard to fathom how difficult it is to win that race. That makes winning it mean that much more. It’s the pinnacle of my short racing career, and I’m really humbled to have made it to the top step.”

Any other stories to share from Daytona?

“Four out of the five years I’ve run at Daytona, I’ve had Dominik Farnbacher as my teammate. I’ve been friends with him for a long time, but he was acting really weird after we won this year. I let it go, but called him two days later and asked him what was going on. He said, ‘Ben, I won this race in 2005 – 10 years ago. It was my first time to run at Daytona, and when we won, it was great, but it was just like winning any other race – it’s what we do. But now, 10 years later, I now realize how difficult this race is. Because of that, this win means so much more to me, and I was incredibly emotional about winning.’ I thought that was a really good story, showing Dominik had gained the same perspective over the last 10 years that I have gained over the last five years.”

Were you worried when the No. 93 car moved to the back of the 53-car grid for changing tires after qualifying?

“Not very worried. The reason I say that is because in my first Rolex 24 in 2011, the car that won was our sister car with TRG, and they had started at the back of the field. So I have experience seeing a car win from the back. The key to the race is staying on the lead lap. Anybody in the field has that opportunity.”

Why did you expand to two cars for the Rolex 24?

“The reason we ran two cars is because anything can happen in a 24-hour race. There are too many opportunities for someone to make a mistake and ruin your race. Having two cars doubles your chances. There’s a lot more that goes into it than just having a good team and a good car. You’ve got to have good luck as well.”

Was it difficult running a second car?

“Normally, it would be pretty difficult. But in our situation, it came together in such a way that it seemed meant to be. We went into last season running one car with enough spares that we could fix anything, including a spare chassis. But when we had the fire at Sebring, rather than tearing down the car and rebuilding, it was faster to build a new car out of our spares than tearing down the burnt car. Ever since that fire, we’ve had two cars. It was easier from an equipment standpoint to run two cars this year. From a team standpoint, it normally would be a huge undertaking, with people and pit equipment, spares – so much goes into running a 24-hour race. But Dodge and SRT had put together the best team they possibly could last year, and (Bill) Riley was running their team in addition to my team. It worked out well for me to go to Riley and asked how to use the people from his team instead of laying them off. So we were able to make use of many of the assets and resources that Riley already had, from equipment to people to drivers. It was a perfect fit for us to go into Daytona with two cars instead of one.

“On top of that, TI Automotive came on board, and they were excited to double their chances of winning the race. That enabled me, financially, to be able to run a second car. So everything fell into place.”

What are your plans for the rest of the season?

“We will run two cars for the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup. TI Automotive wants to be in the spotlight in the big races, which marry up to the Patrón Endurance Cup. I have the goal of winning the championship in GT Daytona for myself and Viper; TI has the goal of winning the Patrón Endurance Cup.”

Do you think you can carry that momentum into Sebring and the rest of the season?

“We have upgraded everything about our team, and I feel we have the best team in the GTD field, in terms of guys preparing the car, guys going over the wall, engineers. Last year was great, but the difference between now and then is ‘Oh my gosh.’ All elements of the team have been upgraded. I’m pretty excited about what we can bring to the table for the remainder of the season. I feel uncomfortable saying this, but everything is so good and so strong. I feel we will be competitive for the rest of the season.

“My goal is to win the championship, but my standpoint is we had a ninth-place finish at Daytona (he started the No. 33 Viper in addition to driving in the winning No. 93 entry). Even though the No. 93 won and I got to stand on the top step, receive a Rolex and get a trophy – the highlight of my career – the goal is to win the championship, and so personally I’ve got a lot of work to do. But we’re definitely still into the hunt, and I’m going into the rest of the season with a lot of confidence. We’re looking forward to Sebring.”