Mosack Makes Impressive Debut at VIR with M1 Racecars
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli returned to Virginia International Raceway over the weekend. This was a doubleheader race weekend to replace the Watkins Glen date, which was canceled due to COVID-19.
M1 Racecars entered two cars at VIR with Scott Lagasse Jr. and Connor Mosack teaming up to drive the M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaros. Connor is a full-time college student at High Point University and is a top performer in Late Model short track racing, but new to road racing and Trans Am racecars. Scott Jr. knows both types of racing well and is the perfect teammate to help shorten the learning curve for young talent.
Connor sponsored by Nic Tailor Custom Fit Underwear and Interstate Foam and Supply (IFS) experienced full wet conditions throughout practice and qualifying on Friday. Scott Jr. worked closely with Connor helping in this transition and provided valuable insight and techniques. Connor’s impressive qualifying effort of 5th caught the attention of everyone. Scott Jr. chose not to change to a wet setup for the qualifying session, as these were the first laps on the newly reassembled car which was heavily damaged in a fiery wreck with Sam Mayer in Road America. The team felt that most important was to run a few laps in the race setup feeling sure that the race would be in the dry and not concerned with Scott Jr. starting deep in the field.
On Saturday, in the first of two races for TA2, Connor drove the Nic Tailor/IFS M1 Camaro to an outstanding 5th place finish. Scott Jr. started 22nd and drove all the way up to the 11th position before having a mechanical issue, which kept him from finishing the 31-lap race.
The starting grid was determined for Sunday’s 31-lap race by fast lap times on Saturday. Connor would start 6th, and Scott Jr. would start 5th. However, unlike Saturday, all six classes of Trans Am Cars were on the track together. After a few laps, both M1 Racecar drivers moved forward with Scott Jr. climbing all the way to 2nd and closing on the leader. Unfortunately, 6 laps into the race, Scott Jr. experienced a fuel system issue, and had to retire from competition. He finished 18th. Connor was having a great race, running solidly inside the top-5, until passing a slower TA1 car, and the two cars made contact, causing damage to the No. 96 M1 Nic Tailor /IFS Camaro. This required a lengthy pit stop to repair the damage. The young driver continued to impress and drove to a hard fought 14th place.
Connor Mosack’s main racing focus for 2020 has been in Late models for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team (JR Motorsports). He is scheduled to race in approximately 20 races this season. Connor has accomplished a lot on the track over the past several years including: 2019 Winter Nationals Pro Champion, 2019 Cook Out Winter Heat Pro Champion, and in 2018 was the champion in the Asphalt Nationals Semi-Pro class, Road Course World Finals Semi-Pro Champion and Bojangles Summer Shootout Semi-Pro Champion. Connor's road racing experience is limited to a few races in Legends cars. Connor as well as Sam Mayer chose M1 Racecars/SLR)/Fields Racing for their vast experience in Driver training and long successful history.
“Connor is a smart young man, he listens well and is all business at the track. He was quick to learn the track, learn the car, and the many specifics needed to be fast in these cars. It is a lot to learn all at the same time. Connor has true talent, a sharp thought process and the work ethic it takes to be a really good race driver,” said Scott Lagasse Sr.
“Driving these TA2 cars was a lot of fun. I don’t have a lot of experience on road courses but being able to work with Scott Jr. and Scott Sr. definitely helped my transition and allowed me to learn a lot quickly. The team worked hard all weekend, and it was fun getting to know everyone. Finishing top-5 on Saturday in my first Trans Am start was really cool. I was hoping we could follow that finish up with another good finish on Sunday, but unfortunately, we got caught up in someone else’s mess. I hope to be able to get back into an M1 Racecar soon, and continue to learn road course racing, and fight for wins,” said Mosack.
“VIR is one of my favorite tracks we come to each year. Our team has experienced a lot of highs and lows at this track. We brought a car that had sustained major crash and fire damage from Road America this weekend. We wanted to complete a new car for a customer before we could even start on these repairs, so we didn’t even have time to do a shake down of this car and much of practice was rained out. It is unfortunate that we needed to use the race to sort out the issues, but we showed we had speed in our M1 Racecars Camaro, and will use this weekend to get better,” said Scott Jr. “Connor did a great job all weekend long. I think he showed how talented he is as a driver. Throughout the weekend he continued to get better, and that is all you can ask for from a driver. He asked all the right questions and I am glad I could help him along. I’m proud of him and look forward to his next race with M1 Racecars.”
M1 Racecars is one of three approved chassis builders for the TA2 series. M1 Racecars has established a solid reputation for being a top performing car with a strong safety record. M1 Racecars provides cars at any level of completion, technical support as well as support from Factory driver Scott Lagasse Jr. and his data for comparison evaluation to aid M1 drivers in reaching their potential. We are consistently building cars for new customers, taking orders and currently selecting drivers for the 2021 season. For more information please email: abarnett@teamslr.com.
The next race for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli will be November 6-8 at Circuit of the Americas. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the race at Lime Rock scheduled for Oct. was canceled.
