Lime Rock 2nd-Place in GRAND-AM Finale is Sweet But Slightly Bitter for Bryan Sellers

BCKSTGR/Fall-Line Driver Leads 12 Laps in Last CTSCC Race of 2012

LAKEVILLE, Conn., October 1, 2012 – Bryan Sellers came to the GRAND-AM Championship Weekend at Lime Rock Park with a bittersweet feeling. The Braselton, Ga.-resident left with a sweet second-place finish in the two-hour and 30-minute GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) race. However, being so close to the front at the checkered flag left a slightly bitter taste in his mouth; a taste that will drive Sellers and the crew of the No. 46 BCKSTGR/Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 he co-drives with Mark Boden (Winnetka, Ill.) until the 2013 season opening event in Daytona, Fla. in January. The podium at the Lakeville, Conn.-area racetrack was the team’s second, second-place in a row, their third podium of the CTSCC season.

As was the plan, Sellers took the wheel with approximately two hours remaining in the Grand Sport (GS) class finale. The former open-wheel racing champion worked his way through the field to take the lead for 12 laps in the BCKSTGR car. The Fall-Line team performed its final pit stop on the BMW M3 with approximately 50-minutes remaining. The No. 46 was third as the pit stop rotations ended. Despite a yellow flag period disrupting his pursuit, Sellers passed into second-place with just under 18 minutes before the checkered-flag. With each lap, the gap to the leading Porsche would ebb-and-flow with the Ohio-native able to close the margin to within two-seconds but not closer. The clock would run out with Sellers 2.2-seconds out of the win.

Sellers and Fall-Line have had a strong year in the BCKSTGR entry but failed to win a race. The team opened the season on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway finishing third after contending for the victory all day. A string of frustrations followed as the car suffered from a number of incidents not of its own making. Sellers missed an event in the middle of the year due to a commitment to race the Team Falken Tire Porsche in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón – a ride in which Sellers is a factory driver for Falken. Once back in the car, things got back on track. An impressive race in the inaugural sports car event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway resulted in a run at the front before a penalty dropped the car to sixth. The following event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Sellers was the class of the field leading multiple laps before a penalty forced the car deep in the pack. He pushed back to take the team’s second podium of the year, a second. That led the organization to Lime Rock where Sellers again put on a great driving display to earn the team’s third podium of the season. In total, the No. 46 BCKSTGR/Fall-Line BMW had three podiums, four top-fives and six top-tens in the nine races Sellers joined Boden in the car. Sellers finished 11th in the championship, Boden seventh.

SPEED will air a tape-delay broadcast of The GRAND-AM Championship Weekend at Lime Rock Park on Sunday, October 4 at 1 p.m. (ET) on SPEED.

Quotes

Bryan Sellers:

On the Lime Rock race: “We had a great car and things were clicking. It was a day where we were good in all the right places which allowed us to be good through traffic. The BCKSTGR/Fall-Line BMW has also been good over the long runs this year, and this was one of the first times we had a chance to show that. We have focused on keeping tire life alive all year and this time is showed.

It is always important to end the season on a high note. It gives you strength in the offseason and also drives you to be better when we return. We have things that need to be addressed, as do all teams, and the offseason will be a good time to re-evaluate and move forward to be better.”

On the season: “Hindsight is always 20/20 and there are always ‘should have’s and could have’s’. We had some bad luck that prohibited us from reaching our full potential. We got stronger every race. It’s always a development progress, not only with the cars but also with the team and drivers. We all learned each other as the year progressed and were able to learn how to work together and race together. I think that showed the last two races of the year. That is where we could have, should have been all season.”

For more on Bryan Sellers, please visit him on the web at "> www.BryanSellersRacing.com Follow Bryan on Twitter ("> www.Twitter.com/BryanSellers ) and LIKE him on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/BryanSellersRacing .

Learn more about Fall-Line Racing, visit www.Fall-LineMotorsports.com .

For more on the Grand-Am Sports Car Challenge go to www.GRAND-AM.com .

Visit www.FalkenTire.com for more on Team Falken Tire.

Go R/C racing with Bryan at www.HPIRACING.com .

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