The No. 22 WeatherTech Racing Porsche driven by co-drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Leh Keen (Charleston, S.C.) will start from the outside pole in the GTD class of Sunday’s TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Round Eight race at Virginia International Raceway (VIR).
MacNeil and Keen have been fast all weekend at VIR. In fact, the tandem posted the fastest lap time in this morning’s GTD practice, with a 1:48.038 (108.962 mph). The speed the No. 22 Alex Job Racing-prepared Porsche showed this morning was duplicated again in GTD qualifying this afternoon. Keen turned the second quickest qualifying lap with a 1:47.957 (109.043 mph) around the 3.2-mile, 18-turn track. MacNeil and Keen won at VIR in 2012 and the co-drivers look to replicate that effort in tomorrow’s Oak Tree Grand Prix.
“That’s a good place to start tomorrow’s race” MacNeil said after qualifying. “The AJR WeatherTech Porsche has been quick all weekend. We were quickest in the last practice session. So, we knew we had a good car for qualifying. Leh laid down a really good lap. Unfortunately, we don’t have anything for the [No. 007] Aston Martin because it has so much straight line speed. We are the quickest Porsche by a few spots. We’re feeling pretty good about the race tomorrow.”
“We are on the front row, I feel really good about that,” Keen said. “This is the fourth front row start for us this year. But, most importantly, we are starting in front of some of the cars we are fighting against in the Championship. I really only did two laps on these tires. We should be able to give Cooper [MacNeil] some good tires to start the race tomorrow. Everything is looking good. The guys have been doing a great job on the WeatherTech Porsche.
“We’ve been really consistent [all year], that just goes to show what kind of car Alex Job prepares. We got on the podium at Road America and we’re looking for another podium tomorrow. There are some really strong cars that we’re worried about that are really close to us in the Championship. We’re worried about those cars winning the race. We just really need to beat them and get on the podium, or maybe get our win. Two years ago in GTC, Cooper and I won here. It was a great race for us. We hope to do it again.”
Consistency has been a common theme all season for this duo. They are only three points behind the GTD Championship point leaders. MacNeil and Keen will need another consistent performance tomorrow to keep them in the championship hunt with three races remaining.
“Greg Fordahl has done a great job with the setup on the car,” Team Owner Alex Job said. “Cooper and Leh have done a great job driving it. Leh put in a really strong qualifying run. So, we’re real pleased to be starting on the front row. Fortunately, the Championship leader did not qualify so well – maybe that will work in our benefit during the race. The third place car, the BMW, is right up there. That car, for sure, will be the tough one to beat throughout the race.”