(Tooele, UT) 17 September— Michael Shank Racing will start Saturday’s Utah 250 from eighth and eleventh on the grid as the team pursues pursue a third win at Miller Motorsports Park for the penultimate round of the 2009 Rolex Sports Car Series championship.

Mark Patterson pushed the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford-Riley to a fast lap time of 2:41.030-seconds on the 4.4-mile circuit, with John Pew notching a spot on the sixth row with his lap of 2:42.935-seconds ahead of Saturday’s two hour and forty-five minute sprint race. Michael Shank Racing scored a debut victory in the event in 2006, and backed that up with another victory to close out the season last year.

“The car has been lovely, very drivable right out of the box,” said Patterson after the   session. “A fifteen minute session on a track of this length means you are just getting the tires up to temperature and then you only have a lap or two to get the lap in. We’ve only made small incremental changes to this car on the set up and we keep improving. It is really responsive in the quick direction changes, but in the longer-duration corners it can keep you on your toes! But it’s just up to me to manage that and turn the car over to Ozz in a good position.”

While Patterson was pleased with the session, Pew was left frustrated as he had been looking forward to making the most of his first opportunity to qualify at the track. But a loose-handling machine kept him from scoring the spot on the grid that he was chasing.

“The car was pretty good on the out lap and I was smiling in my helmet because I thought we might be looking good, but once the tires came in and were up to temperature, it was just too loose to set a good time,” said Pew. “With 24 corners, that is a big problem here at this track! I moved the bars around in the car and kept trying to make some adjustments in the car, but I still wasn’t able to get the rear planted. But we’ll go back and make some changes for tomorrow. I think the long lap could help us in terms of strategy, so we will see what happens tomorrow. It was a huge highlight for me to win here last year, so hopefully we can improve in the race tomorrow!”
 
The change of race format—from the endurance schedules that the Salt Lake City-area facility previously utilized to the current sprint set-up provides a new challenge as the team looks to once again be a part of the post-race podium ceremonies on Saturday.

“We’ve been so strong here in the past and we’d like nothing more than to close the year out like we did last year with a pair of wins,” said team owner Mike Shank. “We’ve got a little bit of work to do yet, but fortunately we’ll get the chance to keep improving the cars before the race. The long lap could play into our hands but we still might need a little bit of luck with the timing if there are any yellows. But we’ll just have to see how it plays out tomorrow.”