Double Victory For Team Panoz Racing At Watkins Glen - Speedway Digest

Team Panoz Racing achieved podiums across the board and extended Championship statuses at Watkins Glen International this weekend, with two wins and a second-place finish. Ian James in the #50 Panoz Avezzano bought home a win in the Sprint Race 1, but it was the #51 Panoz Avezzano, driven by Am pair Preston Calvert and Mathew Keegan in the Sprint-X Am category, who bought home a second-place in Sprint-X Race 1, followed by a win in Sprint-X Race 2.

In a thrilling first race, James in the #50 Panoz Avezzano started in second, but following the first couple of laps, dropped back to fourth. Deciding to save and conserve tires, James kept pace but remained in fourth until passing the #18 McLaren to take third with 30-minutes remaining. With four minutes left, James claimed second position with an inside move, followed by a battle for the win in the final two laps using the same maneuver, before claiming victory over the #74 Camaro. Race 2 for James today was more chaotic, and despite starting third, James took the checkered in seventh.

Keegan and Calvert had a fruitful weekend in the #51 Panoz Avezzano. Starting in Calvert’s qualifying position of second yesterday in Race 1, the pair drove fantastically and maintained the starting position throughout, to cross the checkered in second. In Race 2, the pair started on Keegan’s pole qualifying position, and Keegan maintained the lead throughout his stint. With 26-minutes remaining, Calvert returned to the track in the lead. With 23-minutes remaining, a full course yellow was issued with Calvert still leading the pack. The race was called to an early end with eight minutes remaining, meaning victory for the Am pairing of Calvert and Keegan, Sprint-X Am Driver Championship leaders.

The next race for Team Panoz Racing is at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, September 20th – 22nd, 2019, where both the #50 and #51 Panoz Avezzano GT will be racing.

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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.