News > News Archive > August 2008

Muniz Runs Strong for 12th, Part Failure Destroys Skerlong’s Top-Five Finish
Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres
August 17, 2008

Trois Rivieres, QC- The weekend was as bumpy as the track at Trois Rivieres for Pacific Coast Atlantic Drivers Carl Skerlong and Frankie Muniz. Carl finished in the top-three in both practice sessions, but just outside of the top-three in both qualifying sessions. In the race, he was forced to come into the pits under green flag conditions for a new nose, due to contact with Markus Niemela. Although it seemed like trouble, he was back on track in a flash, coming out just behind the current race leader, Jonathan Bomarito. He stayed on Jonathan’s tail, and even snagged the fastest lap at one point, before a mechanical issue beckoned him back into the pits, where he had to park the King Taco car.

Frankie’s race followed his plan, he drove a clean and consistent race, gaining six positions and finishing up in 12th position. He just missed the point for gaining the most track positions by one place; Simona de Silvestro gained seven positions.

Although the weekend was filled with ups and downs for the drivers, they fought hard against everything that stood in their way and still came out of the weekend with some championship points and a hunger for victory in New Jersey next month.

CARL SKERLONG, #14 King Taco/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Warm-up
Finish Position 7th
Time 1:00.325
Speed 90.768

Race
Start Position 6th
Time 0:59.481
Speed 92.056

Finish Position 18th
Time 1:00.267
Speed 73.001

Carl on the race: “Today was a disappointing end to the weekend. We’ve had a fast car at every track we’ve been to all season, and if we don’t have any incidents, we’ve finished at the front. This weekend, we had a car that if not capable of winning, was at least close to it. Unfortunately, I got hit by (Markus) Niemela right at the beginning of the race and had to come in for a new nose under green. The guys did a great job getting me back out there quickly. I then raced for about 20 laps before having to park the car because of a broken rear sheer plate. We had a tough weekend, but I want to thank the guys for all their continued hard work with the King Taco car.”

Frankie Muniz #41 PCM/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Warm-up
Finish Position 16th
Time 1:01.333
Speed 89.277

Race
Start Position 18th
Time 1:00.461
Speed 90.564

Finish Position 12th
Time 1:01.312
Speed 79.359

Frankie on the race: “First of all, I’m very happy to have finished the race today. I struggled all weekend with this track and the right mind set to race on it, so to finish and to finish in 12th makes me so happy. I’m really glad I was able to drive a clean race and stay in it until the end. I want to thank the guys for sticking with me when things got tough. I’m really looking forward to New Jersey next month. It’s my real home race, so it’s going to be great.”

Shane Seneviratne, Team Manager: “We didn’t necessarily get the results we were hoping for this weekend. Unfortunately, Carl had some bad luck in the race. He had contact with Markus Niemela on lap 3 and had to come in for a new nose under a green flag. The guys did a fantastic job changing the wing so quickly. Despite such a short track, Carl ended up returning to the track right behind the leader (Jonathan Bomarito). He hung right in there with Jonathan (Bomarito) and even had the fastest track time at one point before his rear sheer plate failed near the end. Frankie drove a decent and consistent race. He gained six positions, moving from 18th to 12th. It seemed like he had a good battle going with (Douglas) Soares and (Dominick) Muermans and was having fun out there. I want to thank the team for all the hard work and dedication they’ve put into this weekend. We’re looking forward to New Jersey next month.”

Visit the Pacific Coast Motorsports website at www.pcmracing.com


Trois Rivieres Challenges Result in Disappointing Qualifying Results for PCM Drivers
Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres
August 16, 2008

CARL SKERLONG, #14 King Taco/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Practice 2 Position Time Speed
Finished 3rd :59.545 91.957
Qualifying 2 Position Time Speed
Finished 6th 59.481 92.056

Carl on qualifying: “The last two days have been a little frustrating for me. I’ve been quick in both practice sessions, finishing in the top three, but I haven’t been able to get the same results in qualifying. Today was about finding track position, but unfortunately we were not able to get a gap and qualified in traffic. I’ll have a lot of work to do in the King Taco car in tomorrow’s race to get back up front, but the guys have continued to give me a good car all season, so I’m hoping for positive results.”

Frankie Muniz #41 PCM/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Practice 2 Position Time Speed
Finished 18th 1:00.959 89.824
Qualifying 2 Position Time Speed
Finished 18th 1:00.461 90.564

Frankie on qualifying: “I’ve been struggling all weekend. This is a really difficult track to drive on, and I haven’t been able to find the right mentality to conquer it yet. You’ve got to be really competitive out there and fight for position. I’m slowly getting there, but I just didn’t have enough today. Tomorrow is going to be a long and tricky race, but hopefully other people will make some mistakes, and I can drive clean; then I can gain positions and championship points. I want to thank the guys for all the effort they’ve put into this weekend, and I’m hoping for a good day tomorrow.”

Visit the Pacific Coast Motorsports website at www.pcmracing.com


Skerlong Searches for Second Pole, Muniz Struggles with Gears
Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres
August 15, 2008

CARL SKERLONG, #14 King Taco/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Practice 1 Position Time Speed
Finished 1st :59.853 91.466
Qualifying 1 Position Time Speed
Finished 4th 1:00.142 91.045

Carl on qualifying: “Finishing fourth in qualifying after being fastest in this morning’s practice is a little disappointing. I know we have a car that is fast enough for pole, as we proved this morning, but we just didn’t have the best run out there this afternoon. I was fastest for part of the session, but (Jonathan) Bomarito got it in the end. Still, I was about .2 of a second off from pole, so hopefully we can do it tomorrow.”

Frankie Muniz #41 PCM/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Practice 1 Position Time Speed
Finished 18th 1:02.229 87.974
Qualifying 1 Position Time Speed
Finished 15th 1:01.444 89.115

Frankie on qualifying: “Overall, I’m not extremely satisfied with the day. I had an issue with my gear box cable this morning, so I ended up missing about fifteen minutes of practice time. We still had some issues with the gear shifter in this afternoon’s session, but I’m happy that I improved positions from this morning. You have to be comfortable when driving this track, and I’m not quite there yet. I’m happy that we have another shot to make it into the top-ten in tomorrow’s qualifying.”








*Noteworthy: Frankie Muniz met with Trois Rivieres Mayor and Atlantic race fan, Yves Levesque (pictured left) today at the racetrack.

Visit the Pacific Coast Motorsports website at www.pcmracing.com


Skerlong Knocking on the Door for Maiden Victory, Muniz Races to the Top-Ten
(August 14, 2008)
Event: Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres
Round: 8 of the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda
Where: The Streets of Trois Rivieres, Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada 1.521 – mile temporary street circuit
TV: August 17, 2008 at 1:30 pm ET
Drivers: Carl Skerlong #14 King Taco and Frankie Muniz #41 PCM/USRT

Maiden Victory: Carl Skerlong is a proven front-runner and contender in the 2008 Atlantic championship. He’s scored a pole position and three podium finishes in seven races. His average starting position is third and he’s finished in the top-five, five times. One achievement eludes the 19-year Seattle racer…his first Atlantic victory and Skerlong believes it could come this weekend, “We have a good street course car, and I think we’ve got a good shot at this event, not least with the track being new to virtually everybody. I’ve been studying the course with the computer games and I am definitely still in the running for the championship so I’m hoping we can put it all together this weekend and get a strong result. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and enjoying the passion of the Canadian race fans. They really love their racing here so it always makes for a great atmosphere!”

Top-Ten Racer: Frankie Muniz has stated his goals publicly since he signed with Pacific Coast Motorsports in January. He intends to run inside the top-ten in the world’s most competitive driver development series and he achieved that goal last weekend. Muniz has finished every race this season and improved from his starting position in six of the last seven races. At Road America last weekend, he achieved his goal and finished 10th in the second race of the double-header battle at one of America’s most famous road courses. “It’s great to be competing inside the top-ten in this series. With just three seasons of racing under my belt, this is a huge achievement for me personally and I intend to make a habit of it! I am so excited to race this weekend in Trois Rivieres. This event has so much history and it is an honor to participate here. The track is tough, it is fast and bumpy but Tim (Lewis, race engineer) and I are working well together and I am sure we are going to put out a fast race car.”

Road America Correction: Following the second race of the Road America double-header last weekend, we inaccurately stated Skerlong’s damage to his car was a result from contact with Markus Neimela. The suspension damage was in fact due to a bolt which was not properly fastened. Skerlong’s performance on the series’ fastest circuit with loose suspension was phenomenal; he finished the race in fifth position despite nursing a compromised race car.

PCM Online Team Members: Pacific Coast Motorsports recently activated their online team member program. Fans who sign up at www.pcmracing.com are invited to private meet and greet sessions with the Atlantic and IndyCar drivers at each event. In addition to garage tours, ticket give-aways and discounts on merchandise. Join the team today!

Visit the Pacific Coast Motorsports website at www.pcmracing.com


Muniz Achieves Goal of Top-Ten at Road America
Road America Showcase
August 10, 2008

It was a successful day at the end of a double-header weekend for the Pacific Coast Motorsports drivers Carl Skerlong and Frankie Muniz. Both drivers had a strong start, each gaining a position within the first couple of laps. Carl made a beautiful pass for 3rd in the carousel right before Tom Sutherland spun, causing a caution and also allowing Frankie to move up to the 11th position.

On the restart, both Carl and Frankie were challenged by other drivers for positions, but they continued to fight back. Halfway through the race, Carl and rookie Markus Niemela made contact, which resulted in broken rear suspension on the #41 King Taco car. He didn’t let that hold him back though, and continued to race until the end, finishing fifth.

Frankie fought hard for his best finish of the season. He’s been stating all season, that his goal is to run in the top-ten, and he earned it today with his hard-fought 10th place finish. Both Carl and Frankie moved up in the championship, making it an all-around great weekend for the Pacific Coast Motorsports Atlantic team.

CARL SKERLONG, #14 King Taco/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Practice 2 Position Time
Finished 13th 2:01.635
Race 2 Position Time
Started 4th  
Finished 5th 2:01.476

Carl on Race 2: “Once again, we had a car that was capable of winning. We were one of the fastest cars on the track, and I had moved up to third, but about halfway through the race I was involved in an incident with (Markus) Niemela, and came out with a broken rear suspension. I was able to keep racing, even though I dropped back to fifth. I’m still very happy to finish fifth and gain more championship points, even though I wasn’t on the podium today. Thanks to my whole crew for a successful weekend. I can’t wait to race again next weekend in Three Rivers.”

Frankie Muniz #41 PCM/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Practice 2 Position Time
Finished 14th 2:01.632
Race 2 Position Time
Started 13th  
Finished 10th 2:02.261

Frankie on Race 2: “It’s been my goal all season to finish in the top-ten, so I am extremely happy and so excited to have finished tenth today. It was so much fun driving in this race, there was a lot of passing and cars touching, which was really exciting. This was my first top ten finish that wasn’t gifted to me. I felt like a real professional race car driver out there today. I really want to thank the whole team because the car was just perfect. This was the best race of my whole life.”

Shane Seneviratne, Team Manager: “I would definitely say that this weekend was a successful one. We started off with an open test on Wednesday, and at that point we were a little bit behind some of the other teams. By the second qualifying, we had two competitive cars. In the first race, both drivers did an excellent job. They both finished well and moved up in the championship points, which is our goal in the long-run. In the second race, Carl unfortunately had an ill-handling car towards the end due to a suspension problem. He drove a great race, and made the best of the situation, competing for points and finishing fifth. Frankie drove the best race I’ve ever seen from him, and I’m very proud. Now he’s added some fuel to the fire in order to finish out the season strongly. We had another double-header this weekend which was a lot of work, so I want to give a big thanks to the entire crew. Everyone worked really hard and did an excellent job, giving us another successful weekend. We’re looking forward to next weekend in Trois Rivieres.”

Visit the Pacific Coast Motorsports website at www.pcmracing.com


Skerlong Climbs to Fourth, Muniz One Step Closer to the Top-Ten
Road America Race Showcase
August 9, 2008

Pacific Coast Motorsports driver’s Carl Skerlong and Frankie Muniz rallied for strong results today at Road America after a frustrating start to the double-header weekend on Friday. The morning kicked-off with qualifying for tomorrow’s race #2. Both PCM drivers had strong sessions, Skerlong will start fourth tomorrow and Muniz 13th. This afternoon, race #1 was held and got off to a wild start, but both Frankie and Carl avoided the melee, for strong points paying positions. Skerlong started ninth and raced to fourth, while Muniz started 16th and finished 12th. The green flag will fall for race #2 on Sunday at 2:30 pm (CT) and live timing is provided at www.champcaratlantic.com.

CARL SKERLONG, #14 King Taco/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Race 1 Started Finished
  9th 4th

Carl on Race 1: “I didn’t have a great start at the beginning of the race, but I was able to stay clean and avoid the incidents. After 20 minutes, we had only raced two laps due to two cautions right at the beginning of the race. I’ve been struggling the past couple days, but I had two good restarts and was able to race the King Taco car all the way up to fourth. I scored a good amount of championship points, too, which I definitely want and need. Thanks to my team for giving me such a great car. I’m hoping for the same great car for tomorrow’s race.”

Frankie Muniz #41 PCM/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Race 1 Started Finished
  16th 12th

Frankie on Race 1: “The start was absolutely crazy. There was a lot of blocking going on, and it was probably the most nerve-wracking race of my career. After the cautions at the beginning, I had some oversteer and was having trouble turning left, but I was still able to hold on to my position. I’m happy to finish 12th, getting closer to my goal of a top-ten finish, and I’m now up to 11th in the points which is fantastic. Thanks to the guys, and I’m ready to race again tomorrow.”

Visit the Pacific Coast Motorsports website at www.pcmracing.com


Skerlong and Muniz Searching for Success on Saturday
Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
August 8, 2008

CARL SKERLONG, #14 King Taco/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Session Position Time Speed
Practice 1 5th 2.00.484 120.905
Qualifying Race 1 9th 2:00.486 120.950

Carl on qualifying: “I’m pretty disappointed with my qualifying results today. I was hoping to be in the top five, but instead I ended up ninth. I think we are getting on the right track with the car, but we still have a lot of work to do for tomorrow’s race if we want to finish on the podium. I’m hoping to have an all around better day tomorrow.”

Frankie Muniz #41 PCM/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires

Session Position Time Speed
Practice 1 17th 2:01.583 119.859
Qualifying Race 1 16th 2:01.032 120.405

Frankie on qualifying: “Today wasn’t a very good day for me. I felt like it was going well, but I’m disappointed with my result. Drafting is important on this track, and I was running by myself for most of the time. I am disappointed with 16th and my goal is to break into the top-ten, but at least we have another shot tomorrow. The races this weekend will be pretty sketchy now that we are allowed to block.”

Visit the Pacific Coast Motorsports website at www.pcmracing.com

Contact | Site Map