{"id":8474,"date":"2025-08-05T14:56:43","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T18:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/?p=8474"},"modified":"2025-08-08T14:59:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T18:59:11","slug":"roller-coaster-of-emotions-for-racing-to-end-alzheimers-at-road-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/05\/roller-coaster-of-emotions-for-racing-to-end-alzheimers-at-road-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Roller coaster of emotions for Racing to End Alzheimer\u2019s at Road America"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (August 5, 2025) \u2013 The Racing to End Alzheimer’s with Stephen Cameron Racing team appeared headed toward its second straight IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge podium in Sunday\u2019s Road America 120, but the effort fell victim to a late-race incident that ended the day early following extensive damage to the No. 19 Ford Mustang GT4.<\/p>\n

But the weekend also saw an enhanced partnership with the No. 31 RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate TCR entry. The team deployed a Racing to End Alzheimer’s livery at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca which will continue through the remainder of this season, and took that livery to the podium at the end of the two-hour race that was marred by five caution flags.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re grateful to RVA Graphics\u2019 Farran Davis and Speed Syndicate\u2019s Chris Vallee, who have adopted Racing to End Alzheimer\u2019s,\u201d said founder Phil Frengs. \u201cThey had a terrific race, challenging for the win. So it was definitely two sides of the racing coin on Saturday, with despair in one paddock and jubilation in the other, the two of them side by side. We saw all the emotions of racing \u2013 and that\u2019s what our weekends at the racetrack really epitomize. We’re touching fans with this program, fans are touching us with their stories, and we’re getting a chance to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

The No. 19 Racing to End Alzheimer\u2019s Ford Mustang, driven by Sean Quinlan and Greg Liefooghe, had earned its first podium of the season at the prior race in Canada, so much was expected as the pair took to the track for the first of two practice sessions on Friday. They ended morning practice P4, and P3 in the afternoon over Road America\u2019s demanding 14-turn, 4.048-mile natural terrain road course, and in qualifying at the end of the day, Quinlan put the No. 19 Ford Mustang onto the fourth row for the race start.<\/p>\n

Quinlan wisely held driver’s right through the tricky opening corners, and that move kept him from a turn three incident that put three cars out of the race \u2013 and brought out the first of three cautions in the first 45 minutes of the race. At the halfway mark, with Quinlan in P5, another yellow flag tightened the field and eventually opened pit lane, with the Racing to End Alzheimer’s Ford Mustang ducking quickly into pit lane for four Michelin tires, fuel and a change to Liefooghe.<\/p>\n

Taking the restart P12, Liefooghe immediately started making moves forward, capturing seventh position. But with 40 minutes remaining and running three wide through turn four, the car on the inside drove onto the grass and bounced back on track, sending the middle car into Liefooghe on the outside \u2013 and pitching Liefooghe hard into the wall. With extensive front damage, the No. 19 Mustang\u2019s day was done, but with Liefooghe thankfully uninjured.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the No. 31 Racing to End Alzheimer\u2019s TCR car was having its best weekend of the year. Driven by Luke Rumburg and Jaden Conwright \u2013 both age 26 \u2013 the team posted the quickest time in practice one and qualified fifth for the race. Rumburg took the green flag and moved up through the early chaos, taking P3 with just over an hour remaining. He pitted for fuel, tires and a change to Conwright with 55 minutes remaining. As the final laps counted down, Conwright \u2013 having gained a position \u2013 was able to hold off a late charge to bring home a very hard fought second place.<\/p>\n

Frengs began Racing to End Alzheimer’s after his late wife Mimi was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer\u2019s, and he now spends every race weekend speaking with fans \u2013 especially fans who come by to see their loved one\u2019s name on the car \u2013 and helping to spread the word about how the organization works to \u201cfund the care and find the cure.\u201d He especially looks forward to the Road America weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoad America has always been good to us and it\u2019s great to see some of the same supporters every year,\u201d said Frengs. \u201cSome have been with us since we started, and they come by to take a picture with their loved one\u2019s name on the car. They want to honor and love and respect somebody who’s in their family, and that’s what we do. We had one young woman come by to talk to us whose mother has had a trajectory similar to what Mimi went through, diagnosed at age 60. She\u2019s 72 now. While Mimi just passed away also at 72, her mom is still going through this very difficult journey. She wanted to put her mom\u2019s name on the car, and we were able to print it right at the track so she could add it before the race. It meant the world to both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The No. 19 Racing to End Alzheimer\u2019s Mustang gives families the chance to honor loved ones who have suffered from Alzheimer\u2019s disease or other forms of dementia. For a $250 donation, the family member\u2019s name and hometown is placed on the car, and their photo can be posted on the Racing to End Alzheimer\u2019s website\u2019s tribute page. All donations are matched by Frengs\u2019s company Legistics, with 100% going to the program\u2019s two beneficiaries \u2013 the Nantz National Alzheimer Center at Houston Methodist, and the UCLA Alzheimer\u2019s and Dementia Care Program.<\/p>\n

To date, Racing to End Alzheimer\u2019s has donated over $1 million to those two programs.<\/p>\n

Donate now at this link.<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
Next up for Racing to End Alzheimer\u2019s and the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will be the VIRginia is For Racing Lovers 120 at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, VA on Saturday, August 23.\u00a0 The race will be broadcast live in the U.S. on\u00a0Peacock TV<\/a>, and internationally on IMSA.tv and on IMSA\u2019s YouTube channel \u2013 ad-free courtesy of Michelin.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (August 5, 2025) \u2013 The Racing to End Alzheimer’s with Stephen Cameron Racing team appeared headed toward its second straight IMSA Michelin Pilot [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8475,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-race-2-end-alzheimers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8476,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8474\/revisions\/8476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}