Can Lightning Strike Twice for Rebel Rock at Road America?

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. (28 July, 2020) – Rebel Rock Racing will be looking to see if lightning will strike twice at Road America when it returns to the 4-mile circuit for Saturday’s Road America 120 during the IMSA Sports Car Weekend.

Frank DePew and Robin Liddell will co-drive the No. 71 Urban Grid/Fifth Third Bank Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R in the two-hour race, the third round of the 2020 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

Last year, Liddell charged from fourth to first during a thrilling final lap, giving the team its second victory in three races as well as netting the Forgeline Spirit of the Race Award as voted by race fans on IMSA radio.

“We are really looking forward to getting back to Road America where we had such a great result last year,” Liddell said. “Road America is a driver’s favorite, one of the fastest and most fun road courses anywhere in the world. The competition will be fierce, but as we showed last year we are always going to be a threat. I’m feeling pretty upbeat about the weekend. Frank has been working hard on his driving and he’s really on the cusp of a breakthrough which will elevate him to the next level. I’m excited for him and the whole Rebel Rock team.”

Last year, Rebel Rock Racing won its first race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July. In August, the weather-plagued Road America event saw Liddell gain 10 positions in two laps following a late restart. Another caution set up a one-lap dash to the checkered flag. Liddell passed two cars with a brave three-wide pass in Canada Corner, then caught the leader 20 yards from the checkered flag. His margin of victory was 0.070 seconds, the fourth-closest finish in series history.

In the most recent event at Sebring, DePew, while pushing hard to make up positions lost in a messy start, came together in Lap 5 with a TCR car while completing a pass on a GS competitor under braking at the hairpin. . This cost the team 12 laps for repairs, resulting in a 22^nd-place finish.

“I am looking forward to Road America this week, it is a driver’s track and I feel comfortable there,” DePew said. “However, I only have a few days of experience on the track.  That said, I was comfortable there in the rain last year, and as a team we had an amazing performance. Robin’s coaching is really helping me close the performance gap in such a competitive series full of top professional drivers. The excitement of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with the large field of top competitors coupled with the incredibly fast 4-mile course at Road America is sure to be an exciting event.”

The weekend begins with practice sessions at 11:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. (all times CT) on Friday. Qualifying to set the GS grid begins at 9:20 a.m. on Saturday morning. The Road America 120 is set to start at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.