IMSA: Bryan Sellers’ favorite Falken memories

The fan-favorite Team Falken Tire program comes to an end this Saturday at Petit Le Mans. Factory driver Bryan Sellers shares some of his favorite memories of the TUDOR Championship's underdog GT effort in a farewell column for RACER.

1: Some of my favorite memories of Team Falken Tire start at the beginning of the program. I remember when we first announced that Wolf Henzler (near left, with Bryan) would be a part of the effort in 2010. There was an excitement for me but I also didn't know what to expect! I knew he would be the best co-driver I had ever driven with so, honestly, there was a little intimidation factor there at the beginning. The language difference, the difference in our respective "status" at the time – he was a factory driver and that was still sort of my introduction into a Porsche program.

I remember going to the first test and being nervous. I wondered if we would mesh? After the first meeting in the morning I knew it was going to be OK. I remember going out to the racecar just like it was yesterday. Wolf got in first and asked for some changes to the seat. I got in after and it was good, almost perfect fit. He set the belts and I got in, slide the seat forward, and the belts matched. It was right where we needed to be. No need to adjust anything. It was just the perfect scenario from the beginning. There was no introduction period between the two of us. It was great from the start. We have been fortunate enough over the years to win some races and become pretty good friends along the way too.

2: Our second race as a program at Long Beach in 2010 stands out to me as a very special memory. We were still pretty young in our life as Team Falken Tire. Wolf had an amazing first stint after qualifying on the front row. He led most of his stint. We had a problem with a wheel nut on the pit stop and that dropped us to fifth or sixth in the end. But that was a moment when I knew we would win races. It was only a matter of time before we would be fighting for wins. To be able to compete so early on in the program in a championship so evenly matched while simultaneously developing a tire was more than I could have expected. To really challenge for race wins, was pretty eye-opening for me! I knew we had something really, really special.

A lot of good things happened for the Falken program at Long Beach, including the team's first-ever race, but that second race at Long Beach was very, very special to me. I guess few people on the outside would ever really recognize the significance of that.

3: When you are with a team that has been together for so long like we have been, you are bound to create a lot of special memories with the crew. My favorite away from the track took place at Lime Rock back in the ALMS days. We had a team dinner there after winning Mid-Ohio. It was a celebration dinner but anyone who knows Lime Rock knows that you don't always have restaurants close to the hotel. And where we were, there was nothing! We decided that we would barbeque. We bought a cheap grill and hamburgers, bratz and sausages. Some of the guys also got water guns. We just had a massive party in the parking lot.

To me, that was a little piece of how special a team Falken is. We all got along and were all able sit out there and just have a good time. We threw water balloons and dumped trash cans full of water on one-another and it was a party! It was a way for all of us to come together and enjoy each other's company away from the racetrack. You don't get to have those opportunities that often. It was a good team bonding experience.

4: Maybe my favorite memory with the crew was at Sebring in 2013. It is an odd favorite memory to think about since we finished third but it was clear at the end of the race that we were on that podium because of the crew. They had the least amount of time in the pits of anyone in the race. They were so fast and never made a single mistake. Every stop we would gain spots. That is a huge advantage at an endurance race. To be able to look at them and say, "Thank you! This result is because of you!" is probably one of the most rewarding things I've ever gotten to do.

We didn't win but it didn't matter. We finished on the podium. And we finished on the podium because of the crew. It was a real honor to be a part of something that was a full team effort. To look at them and see the look on their faces when it was all over, to see the look that they knew that we knew it was because of their efforts was very rewarding! That is always going to be a very special memory to me. Those guys have made a major impact on my career, everyone at Falken has, so to be able to turn around and give them that, well, that is a really big deal to me.

That kind of impact on my career, the faith they put in me all of those years, is hard to put into perspective. Somehow just saying "thank you!" to everyone at Team Falken Tire and Falken Tire both here in the States and in Japan isn't enough.