California Drive Ends With Disappointment for Damon Racing After Quick Paced Laguna Trans Am Weekend
May 7, 2019
BOW, NH - May 7, 2019 - Tom Sheehan and the LTK Insulation Technologies Damon Racing team were left with heartbreakingly bad luck as Trans Am returned to California for the first time in fifteen years. America’s premier road race series landed at the stunning WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, May 4-5, for Round 3 of the 2019 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Championships. The ultra competitive TA2 powered by AEM Infinity 70-minute / 45 lap race was the feature event on Sunday with an entry list of twenty-seven cars making it easily the biggest grid of the TA weekend.
It’s a long haul out west for most of the teams in Trans Am Racing - to a notoriously tricky track where the hallmark is the “Corkscrew” - a turn on the blind crest of a hill leading to the equivalent of a three-story drop. It’s also a track where few of the drivers would have had much experience of the twists and turns that make Laguna Seca such a difficult drive.
In just his third race in the new Mustang, having made the switch from running a Chevrolet Camaro at the start of the season, Tom Sheehan in the No. 97 LTK Insulation Technologies Ford Mustang had been showing good speed in the first couple of races as the team and car bedded in and he made a hugely promising start to the weekend. Sheehan posted eighth fastest in practice on Saturday afternoon with a lap time of 1:33:076. He duly improved on that figure in Sunday morning’s qualifying session with a time 1:32:390 on the fourth lap to secure a highly creditable top ten starting position in ninth on the grid.
When the race got underway on Sunday Sheehan progressed through the crowded field and was running in seventh place when appalling luck struck. The lower control arm broke - a simple but frustrating part failure - forcing Sheehan into the pits. Although the car was repaired by the team quickly enough, it was impossible for him to rejoin the race in a competitive position. The race was eventually won by Tom Merrill, who passed twenty five cars en route to the checkered flag, proving that in Trans Am, anything is possible.
Tom described the team as a “gutted bunch” after the race as they faced the long trip home to New Hampshire empty handed and the whole crew will doubtless be hoping for a change of luck in the next race.
Having lost a dear and long standing friend and colleague in Carl Wegner in the run up to the race at Laguna Seca, it has proved a difficult and challenging couple of weeks for Tom and the LTK Damon Racing team, but there is no doubt they will come back stronger when the racing resumes at Lime Rock Park. Round 4 of the 2019 Trans Am presented by Pirelli forms a key component of the Memorial Day Motorsports Festival at the Connecticut circuit, May 25.
Fans can keep up with Trans Am driver Tom Sheehan on social media – Facebook page is Damon Racing; Instagram is TomSheehanTA97 and Twitter give us a follow @TomTA2_97. For more information on LTK Insulation Technologies please visit the website online at https://ltkinsulationtechnologies.com/.
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