Trinkler, Cattaneo Look to Carry Momentum to Watkins Glen

It’s easy to spot the CRG-I Do Borrow Honda of Sarah Cattaneo and Owen Trinkler in Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Street Tuner (ST) Competition.

The No. 44 Cruise America/Thor Motorcoach Honda Civic Si stands out in a pack of cars with its pink and black paint scheme. That bright pink hood will stand out in Sunday’s FOX Sports 1 (9 a.m. ET) broadcast of the recent Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Cattaneo and Trinkler worked their way through the pack to battle with the lead pack of Mazdas, barely missing a podium position at the checkered flag. Next up for the series will be the Continental Tire 150 at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, June 27. Trinkler has raced there 10 times, with his best finish fourth in 2013 for RSR Motorsports, the predecessor of CRG-I Do Borrow, while Cattaneo has three top-10 finishes at the circuit.When he’s not racing, Trinkler is busy coaching, teaching driving schools and works with the Ingram Collection – one of the best Porsche collections in the world. He and his wife Jennifer manage and run Birdsong, a family-owned property outside Nashville, Tenn., hosting weddings and other special events.

Owen Trinkler, who came up with the distinctive paint scheme for the CRG-I Do Borrow Honda?“That was Sarah. It was her choice, and I was OK with it if that’s what she wanted to run.”What are your thoughts looking back at the race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca?“It was a great race. I would have liked to have had a podium, but after all that’s gone on for us over the past year and a half, I’ll take a fourth place. We started shotgun on the field [after changing an engine following qualifying] and Sarah worked her way into the teens. The guys had a great pit stop, and by the time the stops cycled around under green I was probably seventh, eighth at worst.How has working with the Grand Sport Rum Bum Racing pit crew helped your team?“The guys at Rum Bum do a great job for us. That’s another key to our success. I don’t think we’ve ever lost positions on pit road during the year and a half that we worked together. I used them back in the RSR days. They’re really good, and they’ve been a key to our success. At [Mazda Raceway] Matt Plumb and I were both suited up, waiting to get in our cars, looking at [Rum Bum team manager Joe Varde]. It gets a little close at times, but we make sure we don’t step on each other’s toes under green flag situations. Jim Hasser, our engineer, makes our strategy calls and does a great job, but Joe [Varde] is up to speed on what we’re doing, and I have no issue with him giving us any input.” Do you feel the showing at Mazda Raceway can build some momentum for your team?“Gosh, we’re looking forward to the rest of the year. That was a good momentum-builder for us to run with the Mazdas at Mazda Raceway – a track where we shouldn’t be doing that – and now we’re looking forward to our next race at Watkins Glen, a track where we led some laps last year before we had to pit for fuel.What are your thoughts on the next race at Watkins Glen International?“I love that course, one of my favorites. I like all the places we go, but I’m looking forward to The Glen. The Honda really likes that course with its gearing and the handling package we’re taking there. We did a recent two-day test at VIRginia [International Raceway] before we went to Mazda Raceway, and that has a lot of high-speed stuff like The Glen. We learned a lot at the test, sorted out some handling issues we’ve had, and now we’re looking forward to The Glen in June. We led a few laps there last year. We worked our way to the lead, but we knew we were going to be short on fuel by a lap or two, so we played it on the conservative side and ended up ninth.”How is the chemistry with Sarah Cattaneo working?“It’s good. She’s getting her confidence back and getting to where she was in 2011, when she made a charge for the championship (she won a race and her second career pole en route to placing fourth in the final standings). She did a great job qualifying at Mazda Raceway, and I look forward to seeing her close to the top at Watkins Glen.”