May 10th 2021 – Elkhart Lake, WI.
The 2021 World Racing League season kicked off for Kenny Schmied this last weekend at Road America. Schmied was driving the #981 W2W Racing Porsche for the two 8-hour endurance races. It was an eventful weekend as it was Kenny’s first time on one of the longest circuits in North America. At over 4 miles long, this fast, traditional circuit was the proving ground for this weekends event.
Schmied was quickly up to speed in learning the long and fast circuit. “It’s quite a ride out there.” Schmied exclaimed. “I grew up in Missouri, so Wisconsin isn’t too different from home. I’ve never been to this area of the country before before but so far I’m really enjoying it and it definitely reminds me of Missouri. The land is beautiful and the people here are incredibly nice. I might have found a new favorite place to race.”
Schmied set the cars quickest qualifying time on Friday with a 2:29.66 which was good for a P10 start for Saturday’s 8-hour race. Schmied would take the reigns on the grid for the start. Before pitting at the end of his first double stint, Schmied had brought the #981 up to P4 from P10. The other drivers would fight hard for the rest of the day, with positions ebbing and flowing as pit stops completed. A well thought-out fuel strategy saw the team secure a 5th place finish overall and in class during Saturday’s race.
“It’s a great finish for the team today” said Schmied. “P5 is a good haul of points, and we’re starting in the same P10 tomorrow as we did today, so hopefully we can grab even more points in tomorrow’s race”.
Kenny’s stints were later in the day on Sunday, but not without their challenges. Schmied got in the car with several hours to go on Sunday in P6, and while marginal on fuel and having to save, continued to make progress even making a pass for P5 in class with 15 minutes to go in the race.
“I can’t believe I was able to save the fuel and keep moving forward” Schmied said. “I had to really focus on saving fuel, but thankfully I think some of the people I was passing were needing to save even more than me. It’s a great result to bring home two P5 finishes for my first time at this track, and it sets us off to a great start in the 2021 championship.”
Kenny said he was excited to return to Road America in 2022 for more racing. “This was such a great place… not just the circuit, but Elkhart Lake is really beautiful and I had a great time out here this weekend. I can’t wait to come back next year, because this track has definitely earned permanent rotation on my race calendar!”
Schmied heads to the high banks of Daytona next month for the only 14-hour race of the season.
Photos from the event can be found below or at the photo gallery page here.
