Capri Originals - Team Sahlen | Racing

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With a history that spans nearly four decades, Team Sahlen has been around the track a time or two.
Since 1984, this team has engineered fast cars and has the victorties to show for it.

In its inaugural race, Team Sahlen won the SCCA Endurance SSC class with a Volkswagen Golf. Back then, the team was known as Phoenix ProMotions. Following that first race,the team has been going strong for the past 38 years.

Where It Started

Phoenix ProMotions started at the “Longest Day of Nelson Ledges 24 Hours.” In its first race, the team entered a Volkswagen Rabbit in the twice around the clock event. Along with its victory in the Showroom Stock Class, the team came in 5th overall in the event. More victories followed. To date, Team Sahlen has a collection of championships —including seven driver, seven team, two sportsman, and 12 manufacturer ones. In 2005, the team partnered with Sahlen Packing Company, and Phoenix ProMotions rebranded as Team Sahlen. The name change was inspired by Roger Penske’s racing team.

Built for Stamina

Team Sahlen’s specialty is endurance sports car racing, in which events range from sevento 24 hours. Currently, the team’s roster of cars includes one Audi R8 GT3 Ultra, two Porsche Cayman GT4s, two Porsche Boxsters, two Mazda RX7s, one Acura Integra, and one Mazda MX6. Preparation begins in the shop long before each race begins. To handle the tough courses, which throw left and right turns, uphill, and downhill sections at each driver, cars must be equipped with replacement parts that can last throughout the event.

Throughout race day, the team cars make several pit stops at which they change drivers, add fuel, and change tires. The team uses its collection of Capri Tools to prepare each car for race day and at the various pit stops. Team members love the 3/8” Drive Universal Impact Socket Set because they can easily maneuver through all the tight spaces in a car with a heavy impact socket. This makes prepping each car more efficient.

A Team Built Around Experience

Team Sahlen features a well-rounded crew of full-time race mechanics and others who come in specifically for races. Car Chief Mechanics Mike Thomas and Trevor Whipple have been with the team the longest at 29 years and 22 years respectively. Tim Weyer, Lead Engineer, and Allen Wells, Team Manager round out the full-time crew.

The team’s weekend warriors include Rick Miklitsch —a retired engineer —as well as Shane Vallen and Chris Chatfield, who are both engineers who routinely work on streetcars. The team is rounded out by Ian Nonnamaker, a high school senior who comes from a racing family. He spends his downtime from school learning the family business.

Serving as part of a racing team during endurance racing is not for the weak. Since the races start around 8 a.m., the crew is ready to go before sunrise. Says the team, “It’s a rather eerie as the cars are rolled to the grid, in the daybreak of the morning. The sun starts to rise, the mist starts to fade away, and the entire crowd of 100+ race cars and hundreds of fellow racers mill about in the pits ready to take on the action for many hours on the track.”

Longevity Through Adaptability

When you’ve been in racing for nearly 40 years, you find what works and what doesn’t. Team Sahlen has over 100 victories under its belt, but the crew is proud of the team’s longevity. Its history spans over 10 different series through five decades. In total, the team has entered 1,068 races on 56 tracks in 27 states and four countries. The team has entered 62 race cars from 12 different manufacturers. With all this experience, the crew knows what it takes to outfit different cars for a better chance of success on the track. With each passing year, technology changes, and each crew tweaks its cars for the races. Team Sahlen has been able to evolve alongside its competition and keeps winning, which is its own achievement. To date, the team’s biggest race has been the ROLEX 24 Hours of Daytona, a race in which it has competed 10 times. Cars in the event range from Porches and Corvettes to a Daytona Prototype.

Racing is a Team Effort

Fans of endurance racing can follow Team Sahlen on YouTube. Its channel features race recaps, archival footage, driver profiles, and even a look inside the pit at a race. But the content is not always technical. Head over to the channelto see the crew hanging out in the race shop with Hotdog Boy.

Videos like these offer a glimpse into what makes the team so successful. Each member is passionate about racing, and the team comes together. Rising to challenges with teamwork is one of the parts of the job that they enjoy most. “In endurance sports car racing, everyone has to do their part to ensure that the many, many long hours on track result in the car crossing the finish line when the checkered flag falls. Sometimes that is in 1st place and sometimes it isn’t. But just crossing the line is a team achievement, especially when that race is 24 hours!”

Racing comes with its share of challenges. Sometimes a car breaks in the first hour of a 24-hour race. Sometimes, a part can malfunction snatching victory in the final minutes of a long race. Once, the team had to watch a driver being hit by another driverright after the green flag fell in the last race of the year. While these moments are heartbreaking, they come with the territory.

Over the years, more than 150 drivers have driven for Team Sahlen. Highlights of the most recent season included the 100thTire Rack ChampCar Endurance Series along with some milestone anniversaries within the team’s roster of drivers. As the Team Sahlen crew prepares for the 2022 racing season, they will likely see a few victories and suffer some heartbreak, but they will do it together. This tight-knit crew thrives on teamwork and a dedication to racing cars —and Capri Tools will be with them through every race.

Team Sahlen's Picks

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