Nunez Makes His Pitch to Win Historic Final Race on Detroit’s Belle Isle - Speedway Digest

By Mark Robinson

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Tristan Nunez hoped to witness a historic moment Thursday in Detroit. It didn’t turn out as he wished, so now the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship driver is focused on making his own history in the Motor City in six weeks.

Nunez threw the ceremonial first pitch at Comerica Park as the host Detroit Tigers took on the New York Yankees in a Major League Baseball showdown. Tigers great Miguel Cabrera needed one base hit in the game to reach the magical plateau of 3,000 for his career but was unsuccessful in four plate appearances.

Nonetheless, Nunez enjoyed the experience and was pleased with his “performance” on the mound. He also looked ahead to the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic, the WeatherTech Championship event June 3-4 at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, where he and co-driver Pipo Derani will try to put the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R in victory lane at the home race for the General Motors brand.

“It’s been an incredible day making the rounds – the media stops and finishing it off here,” Nunez said by phone from Comerica Park. “It’s really a special day and a special privilege to get to throw out the first pitch here.

“There was a lot of pressure on the mound but we didn’t bounce it, so that’s good,” he added. “It was a little high but I would rather it been high than low. Had a decent amount of juice on it, too, so I’m happy with it.”

The Floridian is also happy about returning in June to Belle Isle, where he achieved his first IMSA top-level series win as a teen driving a Mazda 6 in the GX class in 2013.

“It’s always a track that will have a special place in my heart, where I got my first IMSA win,” Nunez said. “Seventeen years old, it’s crazy to think. Feels like it was just yesterday.”

Nine years later, Nunez is amped about his ride in the No. 31 Cadillac operated by three-time Detroit winner Action Express Racing. June’s race takes on added meaning since it will be the last on Belle Isle before the event returns to a downtown street course in 2023. It provides a chance for Nunez and Derani to make history by becoming the last Daytona Prototype international (DPi) winners on the park circuit in front of the GM brass.

“It’s coming around full circle,” Nunez said. “It’s where my career really started to get the ball rolling and now to finish off the Belle Isle history with it being the last race at Belle Isle – wearing the Cadillac brand, racing on the home turf – it’s going to be a special race for me personally.”

The Chevrolet Sports Car Classic weekend includes WeatherTech Championship practice and qualifying on Friday, June 3. The 100-minute race for the DPi and GT Daytona (GTD) classes begins at 3:10 p.m. ET Saturday, June 4 and airs live on USA Network, Peacock and IMSA Radio. Tickets for the race weekend are available at detroitgp.com/tickets.

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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.