Mike Forest Racing

To follow up Beyer Racing’s impressive 4th place finish in Montreal, drivers Mike Forest & Ricky Taylor delivered the team’s 2nd best finish with an 8th place at the 4.5 mile, 24 turn Miller Motorsports Park.

The weekend started with a solid qualifying effort by Forest, 7th, which gave them a great starting position on the inside of the 4th row.

Forest struggled to find grip at the start of the race on his qualifying tires.

"It was a bit odd.  Usually when you start on the qualifying tires they come in quicker than the slicks because they have already been scrubbed.  But this time, as I was warming them up, I could feel that they just weren't under me," remarked Forest.

Forest lost three spots on the start, but within 6 laps had taken them back. With a very committed pass on the #59 car of JC France, Forest regained one position on the second lap. Next up was closing the gap to the #02 car driven by Rob Finlay. Within 5 laps Forest had closed the 5 second gap, pressured Finlay and made the pass stick going into the difficult triple left hand corner.

Forest was called into the pits from his 7th position for a full pit stop - driver change, tires & fuel.

Taylor took over the reins of the #13 Lennox/Brach's/Dynacor Media car for the remainder of the race. Running strong in 8th position the race went under full course yellow 3 times during the remainder of the race which created drama for many competitors.

On the 2nd restart, the #58 Brumos Porsche of Donahue and Law was able to slip by, but the young driver was able to remain close and stay tucked under his tail. Banging his way forward was the #06 car driven by Michael Valiante. On lap 43, Valiante was able to slot into the middle of the 3 way battle for 8th position.

In the closing stages it was Taylor who shined. First making his way back past the #06 car when a tire lock-up forced Valiante to run wide giving back 9th position to Taylor. On lap 55 of 56, Taylor was also able to force his way back past the #58 car to vault the Beyer Racing squad back up to 8th, where they finished.

"It was another good day for the team. I think we are gaining momentum as a team & for myself as a driver," Forest said.

The next event will be the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway where the driver line-up within the Beyer Racing team will change. Forest will switch cars and be teamed with Jared Beyer in the #5 Crawford-Chevy. Due to commitments to Brachs Candy, the Taylor brothers sponsor, they will be paired together in the #13 Riley- Chevy which will feature a Brachs paint scheme. The race will take the green flag on Oct 10th at 10am M.S.T. and the outcome will determine the winner of an extremely close 3 way battle for the title.

For more information visit www.mikeforestracing.com