The First-Person Account from the Meyer Shank Racing Driver, Then and Now, of Bravery and Commitment in 2022 QualifyingJuly 3, 2023By Tony DiZinnoIMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – IMSA.com is featuring a periodic series titled “What Was It Like?” where drivers and others throughout the paddock speak to special experiences they’ve encountered in their careers. The second driver up is Tom Blomqvist, who has been one of the fastest qualifiers in IMSA’s top-level prototype class the last two seasons with Meyer Shank Racing in two Acura iterations. Last year it was in his Acura ARX-05 Daytona Prototype international (DPi) car, and this year in his new Acura ARX-06 Grand Touring Prototype (GTP). As we head from one fast, flowing, high-speed, high-commitment road course at Watkins Glen International to another at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), Blomqvist took a moment to reflect on the fastest overall speed in an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship session. His CTMP pole speed last year was 137.472 mph, covering the 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course in just 1 minute, 4.394 seconds. It stands as the fastest official lap – it must take place in a qualifying or race session – at any track in WeatherTech Championship annals. Team co-owner Mike Shank recently called the lap a “piece of performance artwork.” What did the artist have to say? Here’s what Blomqvist offered last year in the immediate aftermath of his lap: “I gave it absolutely everything I had out there. I wasn’t sure I was going to survive the session and there were definitely a few hairy moments out there. I had to just close my eyes and be very, very brave. Our Acura has been really fast, especially in the last sector. “I think it’s a testament to these cars. Obviously, they’re a few generations old now, and we’re just getting them faster and faster. We’ve improved this package so much since the start of the season and I think that’s starting to show now on track. “Around here this is a high-, high-commitment track. The first couple of corners are insanely quick. It’s very bumpy as well, so the car is quite snappy. If you get that wrong, it’s going to be a big one. I nearly lost the car actually at basically the slowest part of the course on track (Turn 5B); I thought I was gone there. Anyway, we survived.” Twelve months later, here’s what Blomqvist added as he comes back to the scene of the speed. The bravery description still lingered. “That lap was definitely one of my more frightening qualifying moments, if that’s a way to describe a lap. “As a driver who is used to racing cars at the limit and looking for perfection, I was feeling very brave that day. Because to be honest, our car was difficult to drive and I don’t think we quite nailed the setup leading up to the qualifying session. “That track, if you risk it, you can get a better lap time. “It was definitely precision and an analytical approach and more bravery, and just putting it all on the line and trusting that I was able to take the car to pole position. “I definitely enjoyed that one, but it definitely wasn’t something that I could repeat!” The WeatherTech Championship returns to CTMP this week for the Chevrolet Grand Prix. The race airs live at noon ET Sunday on NBC. |
