Darin Mock and the AANAdjusters Ford Mustang team of Mike Cope Racing qualified 15th and endured trying and changing track conditions for an 11th place finish. Not so much the track itself as the fact Mother Nature kept visiting and revisiting in the race.
Starting out in the rain, teams had put on the Pirelli rain tires to get as
much traction as possible under the slick conditions. Then, the rain stopped
and many teams were left out there to race with rain tires still on their
cars, Mock being one of them.
Later, the rains started again with the race ending under wet conditions.
When it was all said and done, Mock credited the team and strategy for
putting him in place for the much-needed good finish.
“We were good right from the start in both practice and qualifying,” said
Mock, who’s competing for Rookie of the Year honors in the TA2 Trans Am
Class. “It’s always good when you unload with a great car and it shows up
in the practice and qualifying efforts. The crew was spot on in every aspect
of the race weekend and I can’t thank them enough for their efforts.
“At one point, we were running sixth when a lot of teams pitted to put the
slicks back on once the track dried after the initial rains. Then, it started to
rain again at the end and they were caught out there with those tires.
“Our strategy was to keep the rain tires and not lose any time in the pits
by coming in to change from the rain to dry tires. It worked out pretty well
for us in the end. The only bad part was I used up, I think, too much of my
rain tires under dry conditions that prevented us to be better at the end.”
Towards the end, many teams started to fall out, spin out or crash out of
the race when it started to rain again. Mock was very complimentary to the
Mike Cope Racing team saying they were on their game all weekend.
“I couldn’t have asked anything more from this team,” he said. “They were
good from the time we unloaded through practice, qualifying, the race and
overcoming the adverse wet to dry to wet racing conditions.
“We all needed to have a good weekend and race finish like this one. I am
very happy for my Mike Cope Racing teammate Thomas Merrill winning the
race. That was great to see, they were on the same strategy we were all
day.
“Next up is Mid Ohio and I’m looking forward to that race because this is
one of the few tracks on the schedule I have some prior experience.”
Because of his good finish at Lime Rock, Mock now sits 17th in overall
points.