The Download: Microsoft Visual Studio 150

Subtitle:Notes And Quotes From Sebring International Raceway

Seeing his two cars dominate practice, qualifying and the race was mission accomplished for Stevenson Motorsports team manager Mike Johnson. One got the feeling he could have done without the drama at the finish, though.

Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis took their second consecutive Sebring victory in Friday’s Microsoft Visual Studio 150 in the No. 6 Camaro Z/28.R, with Liddell holding off Lawson Aschenbach’s No. 9 Camaro started by Matt Bell by .393 seconds at the checkered flag.

“Obviously, this early in the season, with two strong cars that were 1-2 in every practice, qualifying and through the whole race, there’s no reason to mess with anything,” said the Stevenson Motorsports team manager. “All the drivers understand that this is a two-car team, not two one-car teams. The whole team wants a 1-2 finish. If it had been the 6-9 or 9-6, it didn’t matter. “Our cars are always strong here,” Johnson added. “Pratt & Miller and General Motors build a great car that’s great over the bumps, and everyone knows that Sebring is bumpy. Once that last pit stop came – we pitted Andrew first because he was so hot – and Robin got one flying lap on sticker tires, and when Lawson came out of pit lane, there was nothing he could do. Everyone’s happy with the 1-2 finish – it’s a great start to the year.”Mystique of the Ambiguous Bumps: Speaking of the bumps, Davis wouldn’t like to see that Sebring tradition changed.“Sebring has some very ambiguous corners,” Davis said. “Part of me would want them to pave it, and be more like a Formula One track. But then the track might be boring and lose its mystique and character. That history behind it really makes it special. Even if you hate the bumps – your back aches when you hit them, and it throws you around and your fillings fall out – it’s still a great tradition.”Habit Forming?: Team TGM was “over the moon” after opening the season with a third-place finish at Daytona – the best for the team and owner/starting driver Ted Giovannis. At Sebring, there were a few high-fives and handshakes, but otherwise business as usual following a second-place finish.The fight for the runner-up slot was one of the best battles on the track at the finish. Stevan McAleer, driving the No. 5 CJ Wilson Racing Modspace Mazda MX-5, actually nosed ahead of David Murry ‘s No. 64 TGM Motorsports BMW 328i on the final lap. Murry fought back, and was a bumper ahead at the checkered flag in a fender-rubbing finish.“I didn’t want to give away second place,” Murry said. “My tires started going off and my exhaust was falling off over the closing laps. Stevan saw it and started charging. I had to baby it, but we still had more power. He could get there, but he couldn’t get by me on the straight. It was a nice run and a fun race – great and clean.”“The Modspace Mazda just kept getting better and better,” McAleer said. “Within reason, I gave it my best shot. I’m super proud of the CJ Wilson Racing guys. We replaced an engine just before qualifying and Chad (McCumbee) went out and qualified P-4 – and he ran super amazing on the first stint.”The engine change came at the expense of the team’s No. 3 entry. Not originally entered for Sebring, the team brought the car as a spare and managed to secure sponsorship the day before the race. The engine problems on the No. 5 car that resulted in an engine swap resulted in the No. 3 staying parked for the weekend.Unlucky Brakes: A comfortable second place for Andrew Carbonell and Staff Sgt. Liam Dwyer evaporated in the final 12 minutes with a late issue for the No. 26 Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5.“We had a great run going until we ran out of brakes,” Carbonell said. “The Continental Tires really held up, but it was the brakes that did it. When they went away, it was all over, because the MX-5 makes up all its time on the entry to the braking zones.”“I had a good stint going, after I had a little contact with a BMW on lap 2 or 3,” Dwyer said. “I was able to make that up – plus some – and was able to give the car to Andrew in 17th place. The team made a great strategy call bringing me in at the end of a caution, and then we got lucky, catching another caution right after that, and we went right to the front. We had some car issues after that, but Andrew was able to nurse the car home. A top-10 at Sebring is good for anybody else, but a little disappointing for Freedom Autosport. This is a championship-caliber team. If on a bad day you finish 10th, look out for the good days.”The Next First-Time Winner? The 2015 season has seen back-to-back first time winners in the ST category. Rennsport One broke through in its very first race at Daytona, while Next Level European broke the ice at Sebring. That streak could continue in the next Continental Tire Challenge race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Saturday, May 2. The teams finishing second (Team TGM), fourth (Bodymotion Racing), eighth (Rebel Rock Racing) and 11th (Strategic Wealth Racing) at Sebring have yet to win. “We’re looking forward to the next race,” said Ethan Low, driver of Bodymotion’s No. 31 Visit St. Pete/Clearwater Delaware Investments Porsche Cayman co-driven by Jason Rabe. “We were contenders both here and at Daytona, and we know what we’re capable of.”Also winless is the No. 34 Alara Racing Mazda MX-5 that substitute driver Justin Piscitell earned the TOTAL Pole Award at Sebring with in ST.Audi, MINI Take A Bow: Two new models debuted in ST at Sebring. Compass360 raced a pair of Audi S3, led by a 13th place finish for McGuire and Rondet while the No. 75 Holton and Kyle Gimple was caught up in contact. “We’d love to be on the box, but remember we’re still developing the car,” team owner Karl Thomson said. “We’ve raced Hondas since 2006, and our target coming in was to finish. Other than the wreck, we ran every lap of every session. We have a test scheduled in a week and a half, and we hope that by our next race we’ll have our traction control issues solved.”Luis Perocarpi rolled out a pair of brand-new MINI John Cooper Works for the event, with neither car turning a lap prior to Tuesday’s test day. In fact, the No. 52 was driven for the first time in Thursday’s qualifying. Remo Ruscitti and Dan Clarke managed to run a respectable pace, finishing 18th – with Ruscitti surging from 19th to ninth on the opening lap – while the No. 52 of Johnson and Simpson failed to finish. No. 2 With A Bullet: Matt Bell’s GS pole was his 10th in Continental Tire Challenge competition. That moves him to second on the all-time list, joining Joe Foster, David Haskell and Will Turner. Devon Powell remains the all-time leader with 11 poles. The Nonnamaker Diet: Looking to lose eight pounds in 90 minutes? Try driving a Continental Tire Challenge car for a double stint on a hot day. Will Nonnamaker weighed in at 168 pounds prior to getting in to the No. 42 Team Sahlen Porsche Cayman during Tuesday’s promoter testing. When he stepped out of the car, he weighed in again, and tipped the scales at 160.“It’s all water,” Nonnamaker said. “I’ll gain it all back when I rehydrate.” One gallon of water weighs about eight pounds.He does not recommend this method of dieting. Instead, Nonnamaker suggests the Subway diet made famous by Jared Fogle. His father, Joe Nonnamaker, opened his first store in 1986, and has added several stores since then in Central Ohio.Etc.Rebel Rock Racing rolled out a new sponsor – Angry Frog – including a fluorescent yellow paint scheme on the No. 88 Porsche Cayman. Angry Frog is a new company formed by team owner Jim Jonsin specializing in signs and wraps. … Former team driver John Edwards was a late addition to the entry list on the Fall-Line Motorsports No. 46 IHG Rewards Club/Trim-Tex BMW M3, joining Trent Hindman and Ashley Freiberg. It was a precautionary move, with Edwards standing by in case Hindman’s flight from Spain on Thursday was delayed. …  The Daytona-winning Rennsport One Porsche Cayman of Luis Rodriguez Jr. and Spencer Pumpelly failed to qualify due to a mysterious mechanical gremlin and was forced to start at the back of the ST grid. “We replaced all the logical stuff – then all the illogical stuff – and nothing worked,” Pumpelly said. Rodriguez and Pumpelly went on to finish 14th. While neither of the other two RS1 Caymans were affected prior to the race, the No. 18 of Adam Isman and Jon Miller was hit with the malady during the event, finishing 22nd. … Canadian L.P. Montour made his Continental Tire Championship debut. He ran in the top 10 throughout his stint in the No. 57 Racers Edge Ford Mustang Boss 302R, eventually finishing 13th with Nick Galante.