Prototype Lites Standouts Slusher, Falb Preparing For First TUDOR Championship Start

Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda standouts and teammates Todd Slusher and John Falb will make their first climb into the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in early May at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

 

Lites 2 championship leader Slusher will team up with two-time reigning Lites 2 champion Brian Alder in Alder’s BAR 1 Motorsports Prototype Challenge entry in the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix Powered by Mazda on May 1-3.

 

Reigning Lites 1 Masters champion and current Masters point leader Falb will join Slusher in the No. 16 BAR 1 PC entry at the picturesque track near Monterey, California.

 

Slusher and Falb, both from Las Vegas, are teammates with ONE Motorsports in Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, an International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Development Series.

 

“I’m really excited about this opportunity,” Slusher said. “It’s one of those things you dream about, never knowing if it could all come together. To have it actually become a reality now is very exciting.”

 

Slusher and Falb’s opportunity to take the next step into the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship arose during a conversation between Slusher and Alder during a recent Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda race weekend. Alder mentioned he was able to run a second PC car at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and Slusher and Falb had space in their racing schedule since the next Prototype Lites event is June 25-27 at Watkins Glen.

 

Las Vegas housing developer Slusher had previously reached out to former Lites 2 competitor and current Performance Tech Motorsports PC endurance driver Jerome Mee while competing at Petit Le Mans last year. Mee made the jump from L2 to PC at that race and encouraged Slusher to try the bigger, more powerful car.

 

With the approval of IMSA, Slusher and Falb’s deal was set with Alder’s team.

 

“This will be the first time either of us have raced in a PC car,” Slusher said. “Prior to the race we’ll have a full day of practice (at Mazda Raceway) to get ourselves acclimated. After thinking about some things Jerome Mee had said, it seemed like a good time to make a change and go for it.”

 

Slusher will not enter the series blind to the competition. Prototype Lites cars raced alongside Prototype Challenge cars twice in 2014, at Kansas Speedway and VIRginia International Raceway.

 

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca also is familiar to both Slusher and Falb, as each driver has previously challenged the 2.238-mile circuit – featuring the famous “Corkscrew” turn complex – in other classes of racing. But to help recall and conquer the nuances of the track, they will have 2013 Prototype Lites Champion Sean Rayhall as their driver coach.

 

Rayhall won both Prototype Lites races in 2013 at Mazda Raceway and finished second in the PC class last year at the track.

 

“I’ve been to Laguna Seca once, and I think John has been twice,” Slusher said. “Being from the West Coast, this track is kind of like a mecca. It’s like how in golf everyone wants to play at Pebble Beach; on the West Coast, we all want to race at Laguna Seca. So this was really the perfect time to try the PC car.

 

“We’ll have our driver coach, Sean Rayhall, there to help us get up to speed, and we’ll have the support of Brian’s team. They’re all really great guys.

 

“The exposure from racing against some of the PC guys last year I think will also help us out. That’s part of the attraction of racing in PC is being out on track with the professionals. Hopefully we can learn something and do a good job – if anything, do a good job of imitating them.”

 

The Monterey Grand Prix is not part of the Tequila Patròn North American Endurance Cup. But the two-hour, 40-minute race length could feel like an endurance race compared to the 30- and 45-minute sprints in Prototype Lites.

 

But Slusher has a few races under his belt that make him stand out from his fellow Prototype Lites competitors and have prepared him for longer events. Late last year, Slusher competed in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance classic for the third time. Falb also raced in the event at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Northern California.

 

Thunderhill featured 65 cars of varying power and speeds in a 25-hour event. That provided Slusher and Falb with plenty of experience of navigating faster and slower traffic in a race setting.

 

“Being on track with faster cars like prototypes can be intimidating,” Slusher said. “But in this instance, not as intimidating as it could be. We’ve done endurance races where we’ve been the faster car on track, so we’re experienced in traffic. Sometimes when guys come on track that have fresher tires, they might overtake you, so we have experience there, too.”

 

But Slusher thinks his extensive seat time in a Lites 2 car will prove most valuable in his first foray in the TUDOR Championship. He started his rookie season in 2014 in a Lites 1 car with ONE Motorsports but moved to Lites 2 midway through the season.

 

“Last year I switched to L2 so I could improve my racecraft,” Slusher said. “In an L2, I negotiate with many cars on track. It’s about where you are in comparison to the people around you. I would say it’s as much of a mental craft as it is skillful.

 

“I usually say I’m not racing the teenagers upfront. I’m still racing, but I’m not necessarily out to make a “racing” name for myself. I’ve been able to work on my craft without racing in the front of the pack with those guys, its allowed me to race where I feel comfortable and I really enjoy working against cars that have a little more power. It’s really given me confidence.”

 

ONE Motorsports has played a major role in building Slusher’s confidence behind the wheel. Paired with motorsports veteran Jeff Shafer, ONE Motorsports has become a major player in Prototype Lites after just one season.

 

Falb won the Lites 1 Masters championship for the team in 2014. He leads the standings by two points over Joel Janco after four rounds this season.

 

Slusher finished second to Alder in Lites 2 last season despite racing only eight rounds in the class. Slusher leads Alder – his boss for the Laguna Seca weekend – by 12 points this season in Lites 2.

 

“It’s a lot of fun,” Slusher said. “Jeff has a ton of experience and background in the sport. We were able to compile the right guys who know what they’re doing. Safety going into this is obviously a concern, but Jeff knew what he was doing and promised we’d have all the right resources.

 

“To have the success we have experienced, we can say we really pulled it off. It’s exciting. It’s fun to go home and tell everyone stories from the weekend. They’re always surprised and impressed like, ‘You did what this weekend?'”

 

Slusher and Falb’s PC debut at Mazda Raceway will be televised live from 4-7 p.m. (ET) Sunday, May 3. Qualifying will be streamed live on imsa.com from 7:15-8:45 p.m. (ET) Saturday, May 2, with live timing at scoring.imsa.com. For updates on the race, follow @IMSALive on Twitter. For updates from the team, follow @OneMotorsports on Twitter.

 

The next Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda race weekend will be June 25-27 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race weekend features the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen Tequila Patròn North American Endurance Cup race. 

 

For more information about Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, visit www.imsa.com, follow hashtags #CTPL and #MRT24 @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.

Adam Sinclair