Blackdog Speed Shop unofficially captured the Pirelli World Challenge GTS Team Championship on Saturday – its second such title since 2013. Lawson Aschenbach finished sixth overall, and teammate Tony Gaples was third in GTSA in the first of two GTS races at Sonoma Raceway.
“First off, congratulations to everyone at Blackdog Speed Shop for winning the GTS Team Championship,” Gaples said. “Every single person on this team has put total effort into this year, and there’s no group that deserves it more. Thanks to them and the Chevrolet for their dedication.”
Blackdog Speed Shop, in the first year of the Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R program, has 11 podium finishes in 17 races – the most of any team in GTS.
“I’m really pleased for everyone at Blackdog Speed Shop,” said Aschenbach, who clinched his third GTS Driver’s Championship and fifth World Challenge title in the last event at Circuit of The Americas. “The Team title is a really big deal and I’m super excited to race week in and week out with the people on this program.”
Aschenbach qualified the No. 10 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevy Camaro fourth and moved to third on the opening lap, where he stayed for the better part of the race’s first half.
“That was a pretty frustrating race,” Aschenbach said. “Things started out promising for our Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. But as has happened so many times this year, we don’t have the performance to match our competitors over a long run. I wish I could say we didn’t expect it. It’s tough when you see your crew and engineers doing everything they can to prep the car and we can’t fight to give them a race win. Frustrating all the way around.”
Gaples began 12th overall in the No. 11 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro. Like Aschenbach, Gaples made an early move forward and spent most of the 50-minute race locked for a battle for second in GTSA – a fight that went down to the final corners.
“Today was a really enjoyable race until the last lap,” Gaples said. “The Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R was solid from the start. I had a really hard fight with one of the McLarens, which was good fun. I could build a little bit of gap toward the end. Unfortunately things didn’t end up how I wanted. Lawson and I have one more chance tomorrow, and we’ll do our best to close the 2017 season on a high note.”
