Q AND A With Lawson Aschenbach

DAYTONA BEACH, FL. - Lawson Aschenbach heads to the second round of the 2010 GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season at Homestead-Miami Speedway as leader of the points standings with co-pilot David Thilenius.

The pair won the season-opening Fresh From Florida 200 in the Street Tuner class and hold a three-point advantage (35-32) over Seth Thomas and Bill Heumann. The car Aschenbach and Thilenius will drive won last year’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and with Aschenbach having won four of his 11 career Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge starts, the 2009 championship-winning Compass360 Racing team is expected run near the front again on Saturday, March 6.

Since the Fresh From Florida 200, Aschenbach has stayed busy working on deals and programs. He took some time to answer questions on his programs, as well as running with Thilenius and Compass360 and what he expects for Homestead-Miami Speedway.

What has kept you busy since the Fresh From Florida 200 at Daytona International Speedway?

LA: “Over the past few years I’ve become very motivated to explore opportunities inside and outside of racing and work hard on the Business-2-Business platform. Drivers can’t just be drivers anymore; we have to become business-minded and work to create relationships and successful ventures. My goal is to make these programs a reality, so between meetings, phone calls and travel, I’m starting to get excited about the potential. I was also able to take a short family vacation and do a little coaching. So between all that and training, I’ve stayed quite busy!”

You have had a short but prosperous career in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, winning four races in 11 starts. How is it that you have adapted to these cars so well?

LA: “I’ve been fortunate to race for some extremely professional and successful teams in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, such as Motorsports Technology Group, Georgian Bay Motorsports and my current team, Compass360 Racing. All of these teams have worked hard to give me top of the line cars and they have everything in place to make my job easier! I’m always pushing myself in my preparation each weekend to become better, so it’s great to be a part of teams that share that thinking.”

How have you like working with the Compass360 Racing team so far? Has there been one thing this team has done better than any other with which you’ve worked?

LA: “It’s been a great experience! Karl Thomson has truly put together a first-class operation at Compass360 Racing. Ray Lee, the technical director, has done an amazing job on these Honda Civic Sis and he has definitely done his homework. The car handles perfect when you’re pushing it to the limits and the engines have great power. I would like to thank all our partners: HPD, Skunk2, OMP, Piloti and EB Performance. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and working hard on our title defense!”

Talk about David Thilenius. He has run a lot of laps in this series and has produced a lot of good results.

LA: “I personally didn’t know David until Daytona, but I have to say I’m extremely impressed with his speed and professionalism. He did a great job during his stint at the Fresh From Florida 200 and handed over the car in perfect shape. We meshed together quickly and I think our driver pairing will be a force for 2010. I’m looking forward to working with him for the rest of the season.”

Living in south Florida, do you expect a lot of people you know to be in attendance?

LA: “I had a bunch of friends come up to Daytona and I believe even more will be coming to Homestead-Miami Speedway. It’s always great to have races near your home base.”

You’re heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway with the points lead in the car that won last year’s race. What kind of shot do you think you have in attempt to going two-for-two this season?

LA: “We are going to be pushing hard to get the #74 Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si on the top of the podium at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Going two-for-two to start the season would be a great feeling and I believe we have a car capable to do just that! We are going to have some serious competition and I think many of the other teams will take a big step forward for the second race of the season, so we definitely have our work cut out for us.”

(Article courtesy of GRAND-AM)