Racing to End Alzheimer’s driver maintains podium streak in front of NASCAR crowd
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (31 July 2023) – Mark Kvamme continued his drive towards a potential second-consecutive championship in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America, scoring a pair of second place finishes to extend his streak to 10 podiums in 10 races.
Kvamme’s bid for a seventh victory in the No. 43 MDK Motorsports Racing to End Alzheimer’s / Drive Capital / Avery’s Trail Porsche 992 ended when teammate Scott Noble made a successful dive to the inside to take the lead with 6:30 remaining in Sunday’s race.
Unofficially, Kvamme maintained the lead in the championship by 34 points (237-203) over Noble with three two-race weekends remaining.
“We would prefer to be in first, but Scott was able to jump on it and he drove a great race. It’s fun to show the NASCAR guys what the sports cars can do,” Kvamme said, with the Porsches paired with the NASCAR Xfinity Series. “We’re about the same pace – or maybe a little bit faster. The fans have been great, looking at the cars, and the Racing to End Alzheimer’s guys have lots of people going by their booth, which is fantastic.”
The Racing to End Alzheimer’s Porsche driver took the Am class lead on a restart with 27 minutes remaining in Sunday’s 40-minute contest. He managed to preserve his advantage on a restart following the second full-course caution, before Noble made his winning move.
“I got hit several times, but we managed to keep it on the track,” Kvamme said following Sunday’s race. “Unfortunately, a hit going into Canada Corner screwed up my rear end and slowed me down by a second. Luckily, it wasn’t terminal, and we were able to get it around to finish second.”
Kvamme finished second in Saturday’s opening race behind Noble in a race that saw a lengthy red flag delay that led to a three-lap shootout at the finish. Starting second in class and 24th in the 33-car field, Kvamme gained three overall positions on the opening lap before an incident sent the field back to the pits for the delay. Competition resumed with five minutes remaining, with Kvamme chasing his teammate while holding off another competitor in the fight to the checkered flag in an event that covered seven laps.
“The three of us battled hard,” Kvamme said of Saturday’s contest. “Scott and I were really going at it for the first three quarters [of the opening lap], then I got stuck out on the Carrousel, it was really slippery out there, and Scott went by me. Then there was a massive crash, and we had three laps at the end. Not a bunch of racing, but it was a lot of fun. He and I were right next to each other the whole time. It was a good race.”
Racing to End Alzheimer’s founder Phil Frengs appreciated the chance to return to one of the team’s favorite tracks – albeit in front of a new audience.
“Road America is one of our favorite places,” said Frengs. “The fans here are always supportive and always want to talk, interested in what we’re doing. So it’s great to be here. With the NASCAR fans, we have even more people to meet, and that’s our mission: to get the word out about Racing to End Alzheimer’s. It really was a great weekend, especially with Mark getting two podium finishes. As a team, it’s wonderful to see that!”
The Deluxe Carrera Cup North America has three weekends remaining, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Sept. 15-17), WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (Sept. 28-Oct. 1) and Circuit of The Americas (Oct. 20-22).
Next up for the Racing to End Alzheimer’s team will be the Sports Car Challenge Canada tripleheader at Trois-Rivières will be contested August 4 and 5, with the three race times TBD. The races will be live streamed on the FEL Motorsports YouTube channel.
About Racing to End Alzheimer’s
In 2013, Phil Frengs’ wife Mimi was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Their experience with the disease led Frengs to a seminal moment: his company, Legistics, had long sponsored a team in IMSA sports car racing and he realized an opportunity to raise money and awareness for the fight against the disease. In 2017, he formed Racing to End Alzheimer’s, giving fans the opportunity to honor loved ones by putting their names on the race car via donation – with Legistics matching each donation. 100% of those donations go to the two organizations the team supports:
The Nantz National Alzheimer’s Center at Houston Methodist Hospital is exploring cutting edge strategies in therapy, care and research to find a cure for these dementias. NNAC was founded by longtime CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz and his family in honor of his father, Jim, Jr., who passed away after a 13-year battle with Alzheimer’s.
The UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program is a nationally-recognized grant-funded program designed to help patients and their families with the complex medical, behavioral and social needs associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
