Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Pre-Race Notes – Memphis International Raceway
Round 1 of 12 in the 2017 Red Bull Global Rallycross Season
RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING MAKES GLOBAL RALLYCROSS DEBUT
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has added a new series to its resume with the addition of the Global Rallycross entry for Austin Dyne. The team has competed in CART, Champ Car, Toyota Atlantic, ALMS, and IMSA and also currently fields cars in the Verizon IndyCar Series and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The M-Sport Fiesta is prepared in the team’s Hilliard, Ohio shop.
COURSE DETAILS
The Red Bull GRC Memphis layout will be built into Memphis International Raceway’s (MIR) 0.75-mile oval. Drivers will take to the grid at the start-finish line, launching from 0 to 60 in 1.9 seconds directly in front of the fans on site. Continuing around oval Turns 1 and 2, drivers will take a hard left off of the backstretch into the dirt section, which includes multiple turns and the series’ signature 70-foot jump. Returning to pavement, drivers will charge up the pit lane towards a complex paved section that includes multiple left-right combinations. Also included in this section is the Joker Lap, a shortcut that will allow drivers to avoid the complex corners once per race session. The rhythm section rejoins the course in oval Turn 4 to complete the circuit.
AUSTIN ON THE 2017 SEASON OPENER, WHAT’S NEW FOR 2017 AND HIS OFF SEASON
“I’m just super stocked for this season to start. First off being with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is a true honor and the people that work for this team are top notch. We have completely rebuilt this M-Sport Fiesta and I’m looking for a fresh start to the season with this group! There are a few new rules this year. One is adding another heat race and getting more points in the heats so it will be more important than ever to push hard. Not that we don’t already! As for the off-season, I have been working on building apartments. Our off season is so long apparently you can have two jobs and now I’m a real-estate developer and a race car driver.”
AUSTIN ON THE NEW EVENT IN MEMPHIS
“Memphis looks like a pretty rad track. It’s an oval so it looks a lot like Seattle but more high speed. I have quite a lot of experience on ovals so it should be a lot of fun.”
AUSTIN ON HIS EXPECTATIONS FOR 2017
The goal is to get settled with new team for the first race but we need to be contending for podiums every event and wins. I really believe we can be competitive with the mix of some of my old guys and new guys.
THINGS AUSTIN LEARNED FROM 2016 FOR 2017
“I learned so much last year as an owner and a driver. This year I finally am able to focus on just driving on race weekends. I’m still very involved and have helped with this transition but I have to thank Steve Dickson, the general manager, for how much effort he has put into this program to make it work. I also want to thank every person who has been involved in this new GRC team. It’s really a special group of people and I have never felt more at home.”
ABOUT AUSTIN DYNE
Dyne, a native of Los Angeles, California, got his start in racing in karting at the age of 15, progressed to the Skip Barber Regional series in 2010 and raced late model stock cars at Irwindale Speedway in 2011. He moved up to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, where he was the Rookie of the Year in 2012, and competed in the East division in 2013. Also in 2013, he made his move to Red Bull Global Rallycross in the GRC Lites class and earned a season-best second place at Bristol. He moved up to Supercar with Barracuda Racing in 2014 then competed for Bryan Herta Rallysport in 2015 where he earned his first podium (Daytona) and first pole (Barbados). For 2016, he started his own team — AD Racing — and finished a career-high eighth in points as well as added a second car to his team at Phoenix.
ABOUT RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS
The 2017 Red Bull Global Rallycross season will kick off with a brand new event at Memphis International Raceway on Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29. The new event will represent the first of 12 rounds on this year’s championship schedule. For more information visit www.redbullglobalrallycross.com, or follow Red Bull GRC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @GRCseries.
WHERE TO WATCH RED BULL GRC
NBC and NBCSN will combine to produce more than 20 telecasts of the Red Bull GRC Supercar and GRC Lites series, and all events will be live streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming platforms for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs. See above for broadcast times for this event.