Pennkraft BMW makes it back out for 2023 and finishes on the podium!

The Path to Reading Success/Ground Control/Racing Diffs BMW # 65 of Ben Penn returned for round

two of the USTCC series after a long winter refresh, to finish third place in the Sportsman category.

Penn completed Round One in Las Vegas, driving the Go-Go Gear Honda Civic and finishing in fourth.

Now Penn is back in the familiar seat of the BMW, albeit with no test time. The pressure is on, with

the return to the track where the BMW has a win and a second place finish in 2022 finale.

Saturday morning practice and qualifying times weren’t as hoped however. When approached on the

subject, Penn indicated that any new or fresh build will need some sorting out and adjustments, and

this was no exception.

A call out to Jay Morris at Ground Control suspension netted a suggestion in spring rate adjustments.

After a late evening hovering over the engine’s induction system and making adjustments, Penn was as

ready as he could be for Sunday.

Sunday morning brought out an entirely different machine. A transponder issue kept the BMW from

having a recorded lap time, but there was no doubt the car was different. When asked about the

changes, Penn just responded with a big smile and said, “We’re heading in the right direction."

The qualifying session later that morning put the Path to Reading Success/Ground Control/Racing

Diffs #65 BMW in second position, just a tick behind Tom Lepper in the Go-Go Gear/Tom Lepper and

Associates Honda Civic.

For the start of the race the # 37 BMW of Chris Eversten that started third, came up between Penn and

Lepper to take first place going into turn one. Penn and Lepper were door to door through turn one

and heading into turn two when Ben was able to pull in front of Lepper in the middle of turn two to

take second place, right on the rear bumper of the # 37 BMW of Eversten. Penn was able to keep up

with Eversten through turn 6 when a gremlin popped up on the BMW, resulting in a loss of power

heading to turn nine. Lepper who was coming up fast made the pass on the troubled BMW as they

headed for turn 10.

Penn held on to third place to finish on the podium. When asked about the finish, he said, “After

feeling the power loss I knew I had nothing for Chris and Tom. I needed to focus on the best finish I

could. Overall, I’m happy with the performance of the car and all the changes. I think we showed some

solid potential, and once the bugs are worked out, you will see the BMW up front!”