Lux Performance Travels to Minnesota Looking For "Lady Luck"

by Thomas Moore

Cindi Lux To Make Personal Debut at Brainerd Raceway in Trans Am Headliner

Brainerd, Minnesota, June 29 2015 – Lady Luck can be a fickle mistress. She often forces you to chase her to new locations in pursuit of reward. That is the case for the Lux Performance Group as the two-car Trans Am effort travels to Brainerd, Minnesota for the Sunday, July 5th 100-mile “Ryan Companies Independence Day Classic” race. The Aloha, Oregon-based race prep shop opened its short, “getting re-acquainted” season with a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway in March. However, since that time, the team’s “Return to the Road Tour”, starring Cindi Lux (Aloha, Oregon) in the No. 45 Lux Performance Group Dodge Viper ACR-X and Steve Streimer (Sherwood, Oregon) behind the wheel of the No. 42 Viper, has fallen on some hard times. They are looking for the July 4-5, Trans Am Championship stop at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) to return to good favor with “Miss Luck”.

Surprisingly, team leader Cindi Lux will be visiting the track for the first time. It is strange for the 12-time road racing champion to have not competed at a track before. Learning the new track is the first, and quickly tamed, issue. Finding the final tenths of a second to play with the “big boys” in the championship who are familiar with the venue is harder feat.

The ultra-prepared and professional team headed by Fred Lux (Aloha, Oregon) does not usually suffer from a bout of bad luck. However, upon returning to national competition with an eye towards a full Trans Am championship run in 2016, the team’s Vipers seem to be snake-bit. Since that HMS victory neither Lux nor Streimer – who scored the debut TA3i class race victory in the No. 42 – has seen the podium. The trial has been even harder on Lux herself who missed the team’s Florida season-opener with a torn meniscus in her left knee. Rehab returned her for race two at Lime Rock but a rare engine problem kept her out of the feature. In the team’s SCCA “June Sprints” weekend at Road America two weeks ago, Streimer took a top-five but Lux had the same dark cloud floated above her.

Coming to the 2.5-mile, 12-turn BIR facility is a shot at redemption. Trans Am has a long history at Brainerd and, despite the fact that the Northwest-based team is new to the series and seeing the track for the first time, Lux Performance hopes to draw from that tradition on America’s Independence Day weekend. If it can, it will be doing so in front of a nationwide audience. The race will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network, Saturday, July 25, Noon Eastern Standard Time.

Quotes

Fred Lux, Lux Performance Group Team Principal: “It’s exciting to come back to Brainerd, I haven’t been here in 28 years. Things have come a long way since I worked for Team Mitsubishi and raced the SCCA Coors Racetruck Challenge series back in 1987. It will be neat to see all the upgrades to the facility. I know these Dodge Vipers are going to spank those old stock trucks we raced here in the ‘80s.”

Cindi Lux: “I need to find out where Lady Luck is hiding and get to the bottom of why she is pissed off at me this year! Most folks call this kind of year ‘character building’ but I think this will show others we never give up. I have the best equipment and car prep in the industry so it’s my job to do the rest on the track. I just need to lose this silly black cloud that seems to be following me this year. On the light side of things, I am still carrying my rookie status going into Brainerd this week which is fun. I kind of dig older, bumpy tracks that have a lot of personality.”

Steve Streimer: “Having never been to Brainerd, I am not sure what to expect. Now, when I think Brainerd, I think ice fishing, Paul Bunyan, minus 40-degree temperatures and of course the Minnesotan dialect. I’m pretty sure in the future when I think of Brainerd I’ll think of racing the number 42 Viper! Am I ready for this race? You betcha!”

About Trans Am – The Trans Am Series, America’s Road Racing Series, began igniting the passion of motorsports fans across the world in 1966 and has been home to some of the greatest names in road racing. Today, Trans Am continues to honor its legacy, while challenging the status quo in racing, through meaningful racing platforms and a driver-oriented focus. The Trans Am Series is operated by The Trans Am Race Company, LLC (TARC), through a five-year agreement in which TARC oversees the management and marketing of the Trans Am Series. SCCA Pro Racing sanctions Trans Am events and provides operations services to the Series. More information is available at www.GoTransAm.com .

See more about the Lux Performance Group’s 2015 season at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PDB6AF90Gc&feature=youtu.be

For more on Cindi Lux, please visit www.CindiLux.com. Follow Cindi on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/CindiLux, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/OfficialCindiLux and http://instagram.com/cindilux on Instagram. Stop by Steve Streimer’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/OfficialSteveStreimer .

For more on the Trans Am Series visit www.gotransam.com, “like” Trans Am on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gotransam, or follow Trans Am on Twitter at @gotransam.

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