USRRC: TRV Set for the Glen
22 August 1998
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., Aug. 20 - The Toledo, Ohio-based TRV Motorsport Can-Am team and drivers Lyn St. James of Indianapolis, Jeret Schroeder of Vineland, N.J. and Tom Volk of Blissfield, Mich., are all set for this weekend's First Union Six Hours of the Glen at Watkins Glen International.As they were when they recorded top-10 finishes in class at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and the Exxon Superflo 12 Hours of Sebring, they'll be behind the wheel of their yellow and black Supreme Exhaust System Products/Purity Farms Chevy Kudzu No. 95.
The race, which will start at 11 a.m. Sunday and conclude at 5 p.m., will be held on Watkins Glen's famous long course. It is sanctioned by the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC). Schroeder and Volk are currently tied for fifth in the USRRC Can-Am driver point standings.
"The Glen's long course is my favorite road course in the country, and I'm really excited about this weekend," said St. James. "I have fond memories of Watkins Glen because I won the GTO division in the 500k race there in 1985 in a Mustang, which made history," she added. "I've also run several Trans-Am races at the Glen." (St. James was the first woman to win an endurance road race "solo" when she won the GTO division of an IMSA race at the Glen in 1985. She also was the first woman to exceed 200 mph that year when she drove a Ford Mustang Probe prototype at 204.233 mph at Talladega, Ala.)
Schroeder, one of motorsports' brightest rising stars, loves the Glen too. "It's where I had my first pro win, which came in the U.S. Formula 2000 division in 1995. I went on to win the championship that year.
"I think it's a great track," he elaborated. "It's one of the tracks in the Northeast division of the SCCA that I ran on during my club racing days. I learned a lot racing at the Glen because it has a wide variety of turns.
"It's a six-hour race and dependability has been a strong suit of our team all year, so providing we don't have any unforeseen difficulties or get caught up in any accidents, I think we'll have another top-10 finish," he added.
St. James said she's optimistic about another good finish too. "Reliability and consistency of tires is very important in a long race," she said. "Our team is on Goodyears, which gives us a lot of added confidence because Goodyear makes great tires."
Co-driver and team owner Volk is optimistic too, but he's going to be looking to his co-drivers for help in finding the fastest way around the track because he's never been to the Glen before this weekend.
"Maybe I'll have beginner's luck at the Glen like I did at Homestead," he said with a grin. "I never raced on that course before either, and we got our first podium finish there in May." (The team finished third in the Can-Am division in a race at the Miami-Dade Motorsports Complex in Homestead, Fla. May 17.)
