SMR – Logging in the miles!
SMR Testing at Gingerman Raceway
Columbia City, Indiana – With an entire month of May off, our usaautomotivesupply.com, Berryman, Liqui Moly, Stevens-Miller Racing team powered by PREFIX has been busy testing and tuning, on the track and on the dyno.
After three events our team stands strong with Marc Miller third in the championship and Ethan Wilson in eighth. As good as we are in the overall standings winning is in our blood-and winning is what we strive to do. To that end Joe Stevens and his team have been burning down the dyno at PREFIX testing the latest lubricants and additives from Liqui Moly.
“It’s been very exciting for us,” Stevens-Miller Racing Owner Joe Stevens said. “We’ve learned a lot working with PREFIX and Stefan Braun of Liqui Moly. The Liqui Moly products absolutely have an advantage over our previous lubricants. The testing we’ve done so far has proven what we’ve seen in the field and on the track. We are really looking forward to getting on the PREFIX chassis dyno after Detroit.
Chassis dyno testing will allow our team to test all of the Liqui Moly, drive train lubricants, additives and gear oils. “I’m sure we will see additional gains in these areas that are so often overlooked by teams,” Stevens said.
Fresh off the Dyno the team moved testing to GingerMan in Michigan for a day of on-track testing. “It really helped-every lap in the car helps me but having a track to ourselves was fantastic,” Ethan Wilson driver of the #49 Lifograph, Western Grinding, usaautomotivesupply.com Dodge Challenger said. “Pull in to review the data and we’re right back out turning laps. The cars as prepped by Stevens-Miller are great out of the box. Most of the improvements can be found in my driving-and that comes down to getting seat time. Learning the car and its limits comes with turning laps – lots of laps,” Wilson said.
Testing continues after a quick return to the shop the team headed off to Watkins Glenn for two more days of track testing. “We have a great setup for Watkins Glenn. We sat on pole last year here and it is a great base line setup for some of the tracks coming up,” Stevens said. “We were fast right off the trailer and in fact we only made one small shock adjustment the whole test.
“My guys did a fantastic job preparing the cars. We had zero mechanical issues and the cars ran fantastic. I can’t really express how proud I am of my guys and their work. They consistently prepare our cars at a very high level providing our drivers a great base to develop their skills,” he said. “We are gearing up for the Detroit Grand Prix and Indianapolis just two weeks later. We are almost there but there is plenty of work to be done. My goal is to have our drivers on the podium and contending for the championship. We are committed to do what it takes to achieve this goal,” Stevens said.Part of the success is because of great support of the sponsors, he said. “usaautmotivesupply.com, PREFIX, Berryman, Liqui Moly and so many others have really stepped up to support our program. We are excited about the nine races left in this season and looking forward to the opportunities for 2019.”
Just as our on-track performance is being developed so too is the marketing side. We are working on our programs, offerings, and event planning to help sponsors get the best bang for the buck. The Trans Am series is exciting racing and offers sponsors a tremendous value, Stevens said.
About Stevens-Miller Racing – Stevens-Miller Racing; formally known as Miller Racing, has one of the highest winning histories in Trans-Am TA2. Our staff has earned 25+ podiums, two championships, multiple Hard Charger Awards, Rookie of the year, and countless other victories big and small for our drivers. Our primary focus is always achieving the driver’s desired goals. Whether that’d be just having fun and developing driver skill or focusing on winning championships, SMR does it all and has the winning history to back it up.