LNS Motorsport Porsche 997 campaign
Mike Johnson, owner of Archangel Motorsports, brings with him a wealth of motorsports knowledge, both as a driver and team owner. Johnson has scored five Rolex Championships serving as Team Manager for various teams including Archangel. Johnson's own driving career has at times been overshadowed by his success as a team manager. Over the years he has accumulated strong success including two professional wins in the Motorola Cup. As recently as 2006 Johnson scored a podium finish at the Petit Le Mans driving a LMPII class car.
Bob Heniff will be bringing his on track experience in the IMSA GT3 Cup series to the team. Heniff twice competed in the series last season with a Porsche GT3 Cup 997. One of those tracks that Heniff competed on was Miller Motorsports Park, a demanding track that the Koni Challenge will visit this year along the course of its twelve race season. In addition to his IMSA GT3 Cup experience Heniff has driven in various events across the country as a member of the Porsche Club of America.
"Bob and I are really looking forward to this year," commented Johnson. "Bob will be learning some of these tracks for the first time. My role will be to help him learn those tracks and adapt to the Koni Challenge. For me this year will serve as a chance to knock a little of the rust off as I have had sporadic driving career in the past several years. This will be the first time in a really long time that I have been able to get to drive without worrying about the function of being a team owner or team manager. I have a feeling I will learn that race track dinners don't always come from a pizza box and that there are actual restaurants in these towns."
LNS Motorsports has past experience in the Grand Am Koni Challenge. In the 2006 season the team campaigned two Porsches leading at the Mazda Raceway round and securing both cars a top thirty finish in the Team Points. The race team will campaign the Koni Challenge effort out of their Tennessee race shop.
"Bob and I are very excited about the coming season," added Johnson. "In addition to the friendship we have developed at the track, Bob and I spent some time this off season bench racing about 2007 while at Chicago Bears games and over the holidays. We really think that with strong prep from LNS and my past experience, we have a shot at scoring some good results this season."
Johnson will have a busy weekend during the upcoming weekend at Daytona. After the Koni Challenge race ends on Friday, Johnson will be preparing for his second role of the weekend, that of pit lane announcer for Speed TV during the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. In addition to serving as a Speed TV reporter for Grand American Rolex events in the past, Johnson's television background includes a stint on MTV's The Real World as well as stints on "The Real World / Road Rules Challenge".
The Grand Am Koni Challenge begins with the Koni Challenge 200 at Daytona International Speedway. The 200 mile event will run on January 26th as a precursor to the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. For more information visit: http://www.archangelmotorsports.com/