Magnus Racing Coasts to 12th at the Brickyard
Monday, July 28, 2014 at 02:27AM 
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (July 28, 2014)- Enduring a challenging day for the No. 44 Flex-Box Porsche 911 GT America, Magnus Racing would salvage a 12th place finish during Friday’s Brickyard Grand Prix. Encountering a number of handling issues and highlighted by an engine misfire, the team would manage to finish on the lead lap, and still a championship contender with four races remaining in the TUDOR United SportsCar GT Daytona (GTD) Championship.
“It definitely wasn’t the day we wanted, but we made the best of it,” stated Magnus Racing team owner and co-driver John Potter. “Indy has been such a good place to us in the past, we were hoping this would be a day that could turn our championship around, but it unfortunately wasn’t meant to be. We’re still well in the championship fold and satisfied that we were at least able to persevere in front of our friends at The Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bank and Flex-Box.”
With nearly two dozen guests on hand from sponsors Flex-Box and The Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bank, Magnus Racing returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway poised to continue a podium streak on the hallowed grounds of “The Brickyard” that began at the speedway’s first professional sportscar event in 2012.
Starting from the seventh row, John Potter would open with a steady drive, managing to avoid several incidents occurring around him. As the first sprint race featuring all four series’ classes on the same track at the same time, the expected chaos of the opening laps failed to disappoint, with several incidents leading to an extended period of caution laps throughout the first hour.
Pitting just past the one-hour mark, Potter would hand the car over to teammate Andy Lally with the duo looking to earn their third straight podium at the speedway. Unfortunately, a series of handling issues would keep the veteran driver out of immediate contention, with the Georgia resident aiming to preserve his tires in the hope of gaining ground during a long run. As the stint carried on, however, the team began to notice a souring engine with a series of warning lights calling attention to the problem.
Lally’s Porsche would eventually encounter a misfire, which he thankfully was able to manage for the remaining 90 minutes. Setting competitive lap times, the team would make one final pit stop with under an hour to go, sending Lally back on his way to manage the rest of his race. With the misfire causing the Magnus Porsche to lose position after position, the No. 44 would eventually cross the checkered flag in 12th, their worst finish in the three-year history of the Brickyard.
“It’s tough to just sit there and do laps, but we needed the points,” stated Lally. “We would have loved to have put on a good show for the fans and all of our guests at Flex-Box and U.S. Bank, but at least we were able to nurse the car home and focus on the next race. The guys did their best to get this car ready, and I’m confident we’ll be in good shape for Road America.”
Despite the rough finish, both team and drivers maintain fourth in GTD standings, part of an incredibly close four-way fight for the championship.
The series will return to action in just two weeks’ time, taking part in the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at the storied Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Practice will begin on Friday, August 8, with race coverage featured on Fox Sports 1 at 6:30PM EDT.