Lone Star Racing’s 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin Endurance Cup GTD Entry with IMSA Confirmed
BRASELTON, Georgia (October 11, 2024) – Fast off a pair of races at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), Lone Star Racing arrives at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for yet another blockbuster endurance event with the team’s first running in the IMSA Motul Petit Le Mans.
Completing the fifth and final round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup is Lone Star Racing’s driving trio of Salih Yoluç, Rui Andrade and Scott Andrews in the No. 80 ACS Manufacturing/Sonangol/Visit Angola Mercedes-AMG GT3. All roads lead to Saturday, October 12th’s 10-hour race, with the green flag scheduled for 12:10 p.m. EDT. The race can be viewed in its entirety on the Peacock streaming network, with the opening three hours broadcast live on NBC, and the closing stint from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT on USA Network.
Lone Star most recently competed at Indy in IMSA’s Battle on the Bricks in September and last weekend’s SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge Indianapolis 8 Hour.
In the Indy 8 Hour, Lone Star rebounded for a third-place Pro-class finish despite never having a chance to fight for the victory. The team and drivers Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and three-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou persevered through electrical issues for the majority of the race but turned in a no-quit performance straight to the checkered flag in the No. 4 Mercedes-AMG Team Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
That Indy 8 Hour weekend included a GT2-class win in Friday’s GT America race from Lone Star Racing team owner and driver Dan Knox. The Indy title gave Knox a three-for-three-win record in the GT2 configuration of the Mercedes-AMG, adding to a pair of wins at Long Beach in April. All three convincing victories were flag-to-flag triumphs from the pole in the No. 10 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2.
A one-off Michelin Pilot Challenge GS appearance with Knox and Andrews also earned Lone Star Racing a solid result during the IMSA Indy weekend with a fifth-place finish while closing fast to the leaders in the final stages of the race in the No. 79 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.
“Dan achieved a clean sweep of the GT2 races he entered this year, and I’m really happy to see him having fun,” said Lone Star Racing Team Manager and Technical Director AJ Petersen. “Success follows that, and he’s relaxed when he is racing too. The fifth place in GS Dan and Scott had on the IMSA Indy weekend was punching above our weight class to be able to step in and do a one-off like that. We’ve got a great group of people, and when we’re all pulling in the same direction, it’s pretty magical.”
Lone Star Racing is searching for a season-best result this weekend at Road Atlanta after a challenging Endurance Cup campaign. In the Indy IMSA six-hour race, Yoluç, Andrade and Andrews battled through wet and treacherous conditions for nearly the first half of the race but soon found some pace and grip in the dry. The race seemed to be coming to Lone Star in the closing hours only for the team to literally be knocked from contention by a GTD competitor more than 20 laps down. The No. 80 returned to the race after being retrieved from a gravel trap but was then four laps down after the needless delay.
“I’m definitely hopeful that we get some good breaks in the Michelin Endurance Cup finale at Petit Le Mans,” Petersen said. “It’s a race that we haven’t campaigned as Lone Star Racing before, but we’re going into it with some experience in the event with different members of the crew. We always have a solid car, but honestly, I don’t know what to expect. We’re just going to give it our best and see what happens.”
The team is ready to turn that luck around in the IMSA WeatherTech Series finale this weekend, and its drivers have a blueprint to complete the process. Andrade is a 2022 Petit race winner, having captured the LMP2 class with Tower Motorsports. Andrews most recent Road Atlanta win came at the 2021 Motul Petit Le Mans in the LMP3 class.
Not only is Motul Petit Le Mans the final race of the Michelin Endurance Challenge, which included endurance races at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Indianapolis, but serves as a springboard for Lone Star Racing for 2025. Lone Star Racing was among 21 teams announced by IMSA on Thursday confirmed and committed to the IMSA WeatherTech competition. Lone Star is set for a return to the Endurance Cup next year, with a GTD driver line-up to be announced in the near future.
The Motul Petit Le Mans weekend began with three practice sessions on Thursday, followed by Friday’s 3:25 p.m. EDT qualifying session. Racing begins at 12:10 p.m. EDT on Saturday afternoon.
About Lone Star Racing: Based at Motorsport Ranch within the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area in Cresson, Texas, Lone Star Racing is competing in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing/ACS Manufacturing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the 2024 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup in the GTD class. Lone Star Racing and its team members have won races across North America spanning sprint and endurance racing formats. The crew has worked together on many different teams and various types of cars, developing a strong bond and proven capability that gives them a competitive and winning advantage. Lone Star Racing competes with the support of primary partner ACS Manufacturing, Inc. (www.ACSManufacturing.com). Look for Lone Star Racing and team owner/driver Dan Knox on Facebook and follow the team on YouTube at Lone Star Racing, on Twitter and Instagram at @LSRTeam and on the official team web site at www.LoneStarRacingTeam.com.
