Timmy Megenbier seeking return visit to Mid-Ohio victory lane in Rounds Seven and Eight
MELROSE PARK, ILL. - The steady climb towards junior formula car success resumes this coming weekend (August 6-7) for rookie squad Sick Tea Racing. The team’s driver - American up-and-comer Timmy Megenbier – will return to the cockpit of his Sick Tea / Caputo Cheese / Rahal Foods Van Diemen for the seventh and eighth rounds of the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda, which are being held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. As part of its ever-improving race program, the Illinois-based squad enters the second half the highly-competitive development series seeking to benefit from Megenbier’s previous race-winning success at the technical road course.
When Sick Tea Racing decided to enter the demanding USF2000 National Championship just prior to season getting underway in mid-March at Sebring, one of the events highlighted on the calendar was the August doubleheader in Ohio. The combined IndyCar Series/American Le Mans Series not only allows Megenbier and his team to display their talents and skills in front of the top formula car and premier sports car outfits, but it also marks the first track on this year’s schedule where Megenbier has both past experience and a winning record. All of the previous facilities that they have visited this season have been new territory. The 19 year-old pilot has fond memories of the technical and undulating 2.25-mile road course, having scored a Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup win at the track in 2009, en route to capturing the series title.
“Mid-Ohio is a very smooth but tricky course, with crazy elevation and it is demanding on the tires,” offers Megenbier. “From racing there in the Jetta TDI Cup in 09, the track is very fast, big and busy with traffic! When we had the USF2000 series test a few months ago, it was a totally new feeling to me and the team, since we had no previous data from the track we were put into a tough position in that we went without an engineer for the test. Despite this issue, I believe that I have a good feel and understanding of how the car will work out on the track for the test day on Thursday. Now with my engineer Don and mechanic Mike back on board to push the team and car to its full potential, were ready for the weekend to kick off!”
Now that Megenbier has transitioned back to the open-wheel ranks, the goal is to build on this previous success. Reuniting with his No. 17 Sick Tea/Caputo/Rahal Foods Van Diemen and his highly regarded race engineer Don Connor after the lengthy summer series break, Megenbier is poised to put in his best weekend to date. Back-to-back seventh place finishes on the short fast Lucas Oil Raceway Park and Milwaukee Mile ovals has indicated that the Sick Tea Racing squad is ready to make the move from a solid top-10 squad to becoming podium contenders.
“We’re coming off a nice month off from racing, during which we had a lot of time to go through the car and the team order,” Megenbier continued. “We got in a great three-day test at the Autobahn Country Club as well. Don and I got down to business quickly at the test to get the car to work the best from the start, and we tested a few different setups and made changes to find out what worked best for me and the car. Now with a good test behind us, we’re ready to show that we've made progress. The Sick Tea Racing team has a good feeling coming back to Mid-Ohio from a past race win. We’ll see how the weekend progresses after every session and we’ll work hard to get on the podium again!”
Sick Tea Racing begins the second half its inaugural Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda campaign on Thursday (August 4) with two promoter’s test sessions at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. On Friday (August 5), the schedule features the official start to the IndyCar Series/American Le Mans Series event, with two 30-minute practice runs for the USF2000 drivers. Day three will see Megenbier get behind the wheel for a morning qualifying session, followed by Round Seven of the series at 12:05 p.m. local time. Race two of the doubleheader will take place on Sunday (August 7) at 12:45 p.m. local time.
Fans and supporters of Sick Tea Racing can keep abreast of the action at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course via Live Timing. (http://livetiming.net/imsa/usf2000/html.asp)