The Mathiasen Motorsports team came to Cleveland hoping to rebound from a disappointing doubleheader weekend at the last race in Portland. Justin Sofio, pilot of the # 26 RLM Investments car, had run well there previously on a track that was suited to his driving abilities, and the car was proven reliable by completing every lap of all the previous races of the 2007 season. By the end of qualifying on Saturday, however, the team was still chasing their set-up and the outlook was not good as the best that they could muster was 19th to start the race.
It was later in the day after final qualifying that the team’s fortunes began to turn as they were informed that, once again, they were the winners of the Sherwin Williams “It’s All in the Finish” award recognizing the car with the best livery in the Atlantic field. Mathiasen Motorsports has been recognized with this prestigious award five times in a row dating back to last year’s judging event in San Jose, and it is something that Mathiasen Motorsports owner Ray Mathiasen truly appreciates.
“I want to personally thank Sherwin-Williams and its customers, who have participated in the judging, for the special recognition they have given our cars over the last two years. Their program has given us the opportunity to showcase their automotive finish products, which we use exclusively on both our cars, and has helped us to cover some of our costs of racing at the same time. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t recognize International Paint Specialists in Indianapolis for their great paint jobs and, of course, Justin Sofio who in addition to his driving responsibilities designed the winning paint schemes in 2006 and 2007” said Mathiasen.
After receiving the news that they had won the paint award and some hard work put in by the team to get the car prepared for the race, Sunday saw Justin post the 10th fastest time in morning warm up. The team knew that the opportunity was there to show what they were really capable of doing. Through some determined driving, and a little good fortune, Justin came home in tenth place and received an extra point for improving the most positions during the race.
This is the third top ten finish for Mathiasen Motorsports this season, and brings Justin Sofio back up to 12th in points for the season at its halfway point. With the exception of their weekend in Portland, the team has shown the consistent results that Ray Mathiasen had hoped for this year. “Justin did a terrific job driving the car during the race. He showed me a lot. In my opinion, this was his best drive of the season” said Mathiasen.
The team now travels to Canada to participate next weekend in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship event at Mont Tremblant.
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