Lexington, OH --- The American Le Mans Series event at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course was another compressed two day schedule, and Autocon turned two lackluster practice sessions into a favorable points paying finish when it counted on race day, giving the team points in every race since it acquired its Creation P1 prototype.

“These two day events put a lot of pressure on to be quick right off the trailer and we most certainly were not so blessed this weekend,” stated McMurry. “The good news is that we kept after it, and come race day, the car was the best it had been.”

In the past, typical ALMS weekends involved three days, and more practice time, but the series has become increasingly competitive and filled with monied, manfucaturer-supported teams who supplement race weekend practice with special private tests. Some teams are said to be practicing on every circuit before the race weekends.

“At the beginning of the race I was still discovering things about the track on every lap, and we turned lap times as good as our qualifying times, which suggests we could have and would have qualified much better with a little extra time," continued McMurry.

Then, on the first routine fuel stop, the car failed to refire, and resulted in an anguishing eight-minute pit visit that took the team out of any contention for a podium. The team had run as high as 11th, after qualifying 15th. From the pit stop on, it was a race to ensure championship points, which the team accomplished.

“I was about two laps from pitting a second time, and handing off the car to Bryan (Willman), and the power steering went out. I managed alright, but felt really bad for what Bryan was about to face, an entire stint with a massively heavy steering wheel,” added McMurry who double-stinted for a clean 118 minutes.

Willman then took on the driving chores with the wounded car and soldiered on for his scheduled time on track. "The car was more than a handful," exclaimed Willman. "We weren't anywhere close to competitive and as soon as we passed the also-wounded Intersport Creation, and guaranteed ourselves a fourth place finish, I pulled in and parked the car. Not a fun day."

McMurry and Autocon owner Michael Lewis acknowledge a need for more track time. "We are planning on participation in more pre-event testing to get a handle on just what this Creation likes," said Lewis. "It is vastly different from our Lola and the mid-season change proved difficult. On the bright side the tracks coming up on the schedule for us, Road America, Mosport and Road Atlanta are far more suited for the strength of the Creation."

The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Generac 500 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc. The four-hour race is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 11. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage at americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA Live Timing & Scoring. NBC Sports will broadcast the race from 2:30-4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 12.