3/13/2025
Race 2 of 2 – Mustang Challenge (Available Globally) Friday 10:15 – 11:05 AM ET
Noaker, Bachoura Capture Sebring Season Opener
- Robert Noaker secured a Dark Horse class victory after earning pole position in qualifying
- Alex Bachoura drove to a Dark Horse Legends victory, earning P3 overall
UNOFFICIAL DH CLASS TOP-FIVE FINISHERS:
1. Robert Noaker – No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing
2. Devin Anderson – No. 22 TechSport
3. Corbin Collins – No. 20 McCumbee McAleer Racing
4. Colin Harrison – No. 21 TechSport
5. Cristian Perocarpi – No. 37 LAP Motorsports
UNOFFICIAL DHL CLASS TOP-FIVE FINISHERS:
1. Alex Bachoura – No. 33 Spark Performance
2. Zachry Lee – No. 48 McCumbee McAleer Racing
3. Tom Tait – No. 8 Competition Motorsports
4. Drew Naubauer – No. 8 NV Autosport
5. Paolo Salvatore– No. 84 Torre Racing
ROBERT NOAKER, No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DH) – “It was definitely a good start for the year. To be able to carry the momentum from the end of last year into this year is what we were hoping to be able to do. We worked on the setup overnight on the car and tried to get it to where we wanted it, and we got it there. The first couple laps were just trying to build a gap and then once I got the gap, we just maintained the tires to try to keep something for the end of the race. If there would be a full course caution, which there was, I was glad I kept the tires for then and that restart was definitely hectic. Dealing with the debris leftover in Turn 1 and everyone skating through there on dirty tires and the dirt on the track, it was a good race to the end there.”
DEVIN ANDERSON, No. 22 TechSport Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DH) – “This first race was a ton of fun. It was so great to finally get out there for a full stint in these Mustang challenge Dark Horse R cars. It was also challenging. Robert Noaker really brought it today and I felt like for a while our pace was fairly maintained, but once those tires started to go, he just started to check out. The restart was crazy with tons of action. I’m happy we survived and got points.”
CORBIN COLLINS, No. 20 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DH) – “My first experience in Mustang Challenge was absolutely wonderful, very happy to be out here and it was an absolute blast. The car felt wonderful. It’s getting hot out there, very greasy, especially after the WeatherTech (Championship) cars go out. The car felt great, had a great car all race, and managed it well. The competition here is absolutely top of the notch, I love it. I’m out there with some of the best drivers I’ve ever driven with. It’s wonderful.”
ALEX BACHOURA, No. 33 Spark Performance Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DHL) – “I finished overall third starting from second to last after I got a three-pound penalty. We were three pounds short, and it was really heartbreaking. I was really devastated. I was hoping I’ll be in the top 10. A lot of people put new tires on, but I just had my qualifying tires. I felt like there was no point, to run a new set but “Sparky” (Nathaniel Sparks) and his team from Sparks Performance gave me a missile. The car was so fast. It was fast in the corners, it was fast on entry. I felt like I had the best car in the field. I slowly worked my way up one by one by one and a lot of this driving is consistent. I just never made mistakes. All of my passes were because somebody in front of me went off or made a mistake or braked too late. Consistency pays off in these cars. This is a great series, a great car, 500 horsepower, manual transmission. You can’t ask for more. Thank you Ford!”
ZACHRY LEE, No. 48 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DHL) – “I just went backwards the whole race. I thought I had some brake problems, so I dropped my way back and I just drove terribly. So we’ll see what happens tomorrow in Race 2. The upgrades for this season make the Mustang Dark Horse R just really fast. There’s tons of grip with the new tire. It’s actually hard to kind of deal with it because it’s so different from the old tire. I’m sure we’lll watch video overnight and make some setup changes for tomorrow, but the main change I gotta make is this in my head, I gotta just bring some more aggressiveness. I just went backwards all the time.”
TOM TAIT, No. 8 Competition Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DHL) – “It was a great race, we were able to come from dead last, one behind Alex [Bachoura]. We also had a weight penalty, so we started at the back and worked our way up to P2 in class, and had a fantastic race. The competition motorsports machine, Ford Mustang Dark Horse R was fantastic. We’re having just a great time here at Mustang Challenge and really appreciate Chris Ward, Glenn Long and Dave Born, and all of the Ford support team for being here and putting this together for us.”
Chelsea DeNofa, who earned a 2023 Formula Drift championship in a Ford Mustang, entered into Mustang Challenge this season, finishing in seventh place in the Dark Horse class.
CHELSEA DENOFA, No. 88 Creative Autosport Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DH) – “The Mustang Dark Horse R felt really good today. We had our fastest lap out there on the second or third lap, somewhere around the low 2:17s, which for me was a big improvement over the weekend. So we’re figuring the chassis out, getting it sorted, getting it to turn left and right, because for me, it was a little bit better at all the right handers then left earlier yesterday, but the set up overnight really fixed that. The start was clean and it was a really good race. Overall, the car stayed really linear throughout the race, so, I don’t have a whole lot of complaints. I do love the power, love the breaking, and honestly the turn in and and what the car does with feedback, it’s so neutral that it makes it really easy to drive.”
