Blackdog Speed Shop couldn’t follow up on Saturday’s encouraging results in the second of two GTS SprintX races for the Pirelli World Challenge at Circuit of The Americas on Sunday.
Both Chevrolet Camaro GT4.Rs had to make early pit stops in Sunday’s hour-long race that proved to be too much for the reigning GTS championship-winning team to overcome. The No. 11 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevy Camaro GT4.R of Tony Gaples and Michael Cooper placed 19th while Lawson Aschenbach and Andy Pilgrim were 33rd in the No. 1 Blackdog Speed Shop Camaro GT4.R.
It came a day after Gaples and Cooper placed third, and Aschenbach and Pilgrim seventh after starting Race 1 20th.
In Sunday’s opening laps, Aschenbach was the driver on the move by making up four spots in the opening two laps and He ran seventh before contact with another car damaged the Camaro so badly that it spent five laps in the pitlane before returning to the track. By that point, all the team would do was get Pilgrim in the car for the race’s second half in order to complete enough laps to score points.
Cooper got off to just as strong a start by gaining seven positions to 10th place after two laps. He had to pit after the third lap, however, to change from wet tires to slicks as the surface at COTA began to dry after some heavy morning mist. He pitted again for the mandatory driver change to Gaples with 26 minutes left and the No. 11 Camaro scored 25th during a full-course caution just after the driver change.
Once back under green, Gaples moved up six spots to 19th in just eight minutes. A final full-course caution that eventually ended the race stymied any chances of gaining additional positions and points.
The next event for Blackdog Speed Shop is April 27-29 at Virginia International Raceway for the second GTSX weekend of the season.
TONY GAPLES, NO. 11 BLACKDOG SPEED SHOP CHEVROLET CAMARO GT4.R: “What could have been today… it’s a mix of disappointment and frustration. We felt like wet tires was the right call but it became pretty obvious early that slicks were the best choice. So we lost time there with an extra stop. We had a chance to really move up after the first caution period. But there were again too many yellows. I don’t know how many green-flag laps I had the last two days… no more than eight for sure. That’s beyond troubling as a competitor. I don’t know what the fix is – if there is one. Hopefully VIR will be better from that perspective.”
MICHAEL COOPER, NO. 11 BLACKDOG SPEED SHOP CHEVROLET CAMARO GT4.R: “After Saturday’s results, we were really hopeful of another good charge but it didn’t unfold how we wanted. The tire choice was a tough one and we ultimately put ourselves on the back foot with the extra stop. It’s really hard to overcome that in this field. The yellows at the end didn’t help. Tony was really on it again today and staying green was the only chance we had to pick up extra points and positions. Hopefully we can have a better go of it at VIR.”
LAWSON ASCHENBACH, NO. 1 BLACKDOG SPEED SHOP CHEVROLET CAMARO GT4.R: “So disappointing… again. Our Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R was a rocket right away. We’re down on performance so I felt like the best way forward was to be as aggressive as possible early on. The handling of the car was spot on. Unfortunately it all came undone when I got hit at the second corner which knocked the steering out of alignment. It was a great job by our crew to get the car sorted so we could get Andy and collect some points.”
ANDY PILGRIM, NO. 1 BLACKDOG SPEED SHOP CHEVROLET CAMARO GT4.R: “Unfortunately our race was essentially over early in Lawson’s stint. He did a great job moving up the field before the contact knocked us out. It’s a real shame because the Blackdog Speed Shop guys did a great job of getting our Camaro GT4.R repaired overnight. Could have come away with a win? Maybe but definitely we had a car that was worthy of a podium finish. We’ll regroup and move ahead to VIR next month.”
