Here we are at Daytona International Speedway for the first IMSA event of the season. The weather is beautiful and I was very excited to get on track for the first time yesterday in our brand new Audi RS3 LMS. Britt Casey, Jr. and I are driving the TCR car in the Continental Tire Series this year. The Compass Racing team had been working overtime to get our car prepared for this weekend since all the plans came together quite rapidly for us.
There is so much anticipation from all sides coming into this event, and we were definitely ready to get on track yesterday! The team had a very successful test at the Roar Before the 24, but our No. 77 TRUMPF Audi hadn’t turned a wheel yet, so all the little detail items required to get through IMSA tech as well as all the driver-centric pieces were unproven.
Yesterday, it was finally time to get on track for the first official day of practice, which was really our only day of practice since today is qualifying and tomorrow is the race. The team did an incredible job, and we had no issues with the car even though it’s brand new. That allowed both the drivers and the team to continue learning the car, develop the setup, and get comfortable with it.
By the end of the day, Britt and I were both really pleased as our comfort level continued to increase, our pace was good, and we ended with the second-quickest time of the day. Our teammates were the ones ahead of us with the quickest lap time, so I think it shows that Compass Racing will be a contender this year!
I’m really proud of the effort everybody has put in to get us here, and I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow! The four-hour race starts at 1:00pm ET, and you can watch it live at IMSA.com or on the IMSA app.