- John Allen, Kris Wilson and Gary Ferrera Co-Drive No. 60 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 to 17th Place in Competitive Grand Sports (GS) Field in IMSA and Watkins Glen International Debut
- Capstone Supports University of Alabama College of Engineering Sports Car Racing Internship Program in 2021 and Beyond
WATKINS GLEN, New York (June 29, 2021) — Capstone Motorsports, a new-for-2021 sports car racing and motorsports company headquartered in Parker, Colorado, checked a major box on the team’s list of first year goals with a solid finish in its first visit to Watkins Glen and IMSA debut in Saturday’s four-hour IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race.
Surviving a caution-plagued race that many of their more experienced competitors didn’t, John Allen, Kris Wilson and Gary Ferrera co-drove the No. 60 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 to a 17th place Grand Sport (GS) class finish.
“We looked at 2019, which was the last four-hour here, and saw all the mayhem that happened in that race,” Wilson said. “We decided we would try to get as much experience as we possibly could and do as many laps as we could. We also wanted to try to finish on the lead lap, but we knew our strategy was probably going to keep us down a lap or two, which was OK. We got all the pit stops well done within reason and got both John and Gary lots of laps in a four-hour race.”
Capstone principal and driver John Allen enjoyed his new team’s first foray into the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series.
“I was very pleased with the first IMSA outing for Capstone Motorsports,” Allen said. “Most of our crew had never worked with one another but came together as if they had been a team for years. They executed flawlessly during pit stops while other seasoned veteran teams struggled on pit lane. Most importantly, we all had fun, everybody is safe, the car is unscathed and we learned a ton. We can’t wait for our next IMSA event.”
Starting driver Ferrera and Allen traded off driving shifts in the first half of the race.
“Gary had never gotten into a race in the middle of the race,” Wilson said. “Even though he started the race, everyone was like ‘why is he getting back in?’ It’s because he’s never done that before. That was the whole idea and point of this weekend. We wanted to learn as much as we could and get everybody experience doing different jobs.”
Ferrera partnered with Allen and Wilson for the first time in a Capstone driver lineup at The Glen, which joins the season-opening four-hour at Daytona International Speedway as the two longest races on the Pilot Challenge event schedule each year.
“It was my first race of 2021, it was good to get back in,” Ferrera said. “I hope to do a couple of more races with these guys this year, but it is really about preparing for next year. The team was great this weekend. No screw ups, I was super impressed and the interns were fantastic.”
The Glen four-hour brought Capstone’s growing University of Alabama College of Engineering Sports Car Racing Internship Program to the IMSA paddock for the first time. Capstone continues an evolution for Allen and the UA Engineering internship program which has been an at-track technical curriculum the last couple of years. Allen is a 1979 UA College of Engineering graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and was named in 2018 a UA Distinguished Engineering Fellow in acknowledgement of his vast professional, military and philanthropic achievements.
“The University of Alabama College of Engineering interns got thrown into key roles at The Glen and they stepped up and performed very well,” Allen said. “The interns are very much a part of what happens on track, and their efforts are extremely important to the outcome of every race. All in all, I think it was a great weekend and a great start for Capstone in this endurance format.”
About Capstone Motorsports: A professional sports car racing team headquartered in Parker, Colorado, Capstone Motorsports competes with the support of the University of Alabama College of Engineering, Class VI Partners, K3 Energizing Beverages, Long Game Financial, NuCalm, Orion Consult Group, Pocono Outdoor Adventure Tours and Dr. Sanjay Jatana.
