Lux Looks to Austin to Closeout 2018 Trans Am In Winning Form
October 29, 2018
12-Time Road Racing Champion Has Four Podiums in Four Starts
TEAM NEWS - Aloha, Oregon, October 29, 2018| When you are a 12-time road racing champion, winning is what you become accustom to. Cindi Lux never expects to win, but she never plans to lose either. In a limited 2018 Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli season, the Aloha, Oregon-resident has entered the No. 45 Lux Performance Group Dodge Viper ACRX Fueled by Black Rock Coffee in four races; earning a win among four podium finishes and setting two new track records for the TA3 class in the process. Lux comes to the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas on Sunday, November 4 looking for a second 2018 race win in the historic series.
The task to add to her tally of race victories will not come easily. When Lux hits the Viper's V10 engine ignition button on Sunday morning, she will do so with one of the largest TA3 class grids of the season. The 12-entries in the production car-based class makes-up half the Trans Am field. While the series has one race remaining to close the year, this is the final race scheduled for Lux Performance Group's two-car effort. Cindi and teammate Dirk Leuenberger (Redmond, Washington) account for six podiums out of a possible seven opportunities between them. Thus far, Cindi's victory, from the pole position, at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex on August 5 is the high-mark for the Aloha, Oregon-based operation engineered by team principal Fred Lux. Leuenberger's best finish is a second-place at Watkins Glen International on September 8 in the No. 35 Dodge Viper ACRX.
While Lux Performance Group ran the Trans Am round at COTA in 2017, it was a one-car effort for Leuenberger only. That leaves Lux with no practical experience on the 3.427-mile, 20-turn racetrack that hosted Formula One's United States Grand Prix on October 21. Always one to look to add every tool she can to her toolbox but unable to test on the track, Cindi traveled to Los Angeles, California where she spent a day in the Base 51 professional simulator to familiarize herself with the twisty facility. Her first chance to turn an actual Forgeline wheel on the Texas-track will come on Friday morning, November 2. Qualifying will take place on Saturday with the 30 lap/70-minute race taking the green flag at 11:15 a.m. Central Time/9:15 a.m. Pacific on Sunday.
Lux Performance continues its longstanding relationship with Black Rock Coffee Bar in 2018. The ever-growing chain of coffee specialists has locations in Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona and Idaho. It breaks into the Texas market in 2019. Lux Performance Group and Cindi are ambassadors of the brand around North America helping to fulfill Black Rock's core philosophy to "Fuel Your Story""; a campaign focused on connecting and benefiting everyone in the community with interaction and communication. Black Rock has helped "fuel" Lux's story, and Lux theirs, since 2011.
Joining Black Rock on the No. 45 Viper will again be CoolShirt, Forgeline Wheels and MCS shocks.
Quotes |
Fred Lux, Team Principal/Engineer, Lux Performance Group Viper ACRX |
"Glad COTA had as support race a couple weekends ago in order to prep for our race. Austin is going to give us some fits. Cindi hasn't raced in there and the Viper is not the perfect car for the circuit. We are carrying so much weight it is hard to overcome. But I know Cindi and she isn't going to go into the off-season without another win if she can help it. Anyone that tries to keep her off that top-step is in for a battle they won't soon forget. I bet it will be a battle we will all remember."
Cindi Lux, Driver, No. 45 Lux Performance Group Dodge Viper ACRX |
"It doesn't happen very often anymore that I go to a new track. So, I am excited about going to COTA. Time to up my game and get my arms wrapped around it pretty quickly. I am going to have to hustle like an underdog and work harder than everybody else. Last year I wasn't able to run this race and had to watch from the side lines. It will feel like finishing some unfinished business to get out there.
We are also getting to introduce Texas to Black Rock Coffee Bar this weekend. That gives everyone at COTA a few months head-start on the rest of the state to learn all about fueling their story."
About Lux Performance Group, LLC. - Lux Performance Group provides full-service race services and custom components to both club level and professional series drivers. Their truly unique and eclectic background provides a limitless realm of possibility in the any area of car construction - including custom fabrication, specialty safety structures, platform development, hybrid technologies and electric motor specialization - as well as business plan development and implementation. A true "one stop shop" for all things automotive.
For more on Cindi Lux, please visit www.CindiLux.com. Follow Cindi on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/CindiLux, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/OfficialCindiLux and http://instagram.com/cindiluxon Instagram.