Ostella starts sixth at The Glen - Speedway Digest

Canadian David Ostella qualified sixth in the Prototype Challenge class of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship on Saturday at famed Watkins Glen International. Ostella posted his quickest lap time of 1:41.897 for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen in the final minutes of the session, an improvement of 1.169 seconds over his fastest practice time of the weekend.

“The biggest difference during qualifying was having fresh tires,” Ostella said. “The clear track also helped a lot. We were really focused today on getting the car the way we wanted, and it was definitely setup right for that qualifying session. I am really happy. The Performance Tech team really got it right and the car is great.”

Lap times for the No. 38 Dash Neighborhood/Phillips 66 car improved on every lap but one during the session.

“In the one lap that I didn’t improve on, I went wide in the Turn 1 exit and messed that lap up a bit,” Ostella said. “The biggest focus for me was just being consistent and doing what I had to do to get our time down as quickly as possible. The biggest thing was Turns 7, 8, and 9; the Boot. That’s where I was struggling the most during practice. So I was just focused on getting through there as best as possible.”

While Ostella’s time was 1.335 seconds short of the qualifying lap record set by Colin Braun during the session, he still feels confident in his team’s ability to be competitive in the six-hour endurance event.

“We weren’t that far off the pole speed really,” Ostella said. “The race will definitely be better for us. I am more of a racer than a qualifier, so I am really looking forward to the race.”

Ostella pairs up with teammate Mike Hedlund, as part of a 55-car field. The Sahlen’s Six Hours Of The Glen live broadcast begins at 11 a.m. Sunday, June 29 on FOX Sports 1.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.