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CA Sport-Skullcandy Nissan 370Z Takes Tenth at Thunderhill

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CA Sport-Skullcandy Nissan 370Z

No. 33 CA Sport-Skullcandy Nissan 370Z

Imagine taking a stock car—even one as impressive as the Nissan 370Z—straight off of the street and trying to turn it into a podium finisher for an endurance rate. Oh, and another caveat: you have two weeks to it. Sound improbable? That’s what the CA Sport-Skullcandy Nissan team did with a black 370Z that became the third-best-in-class, tenth-overall finisher at the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill.

For as much credit as the team of 2011 Nissan GT Academy champ Bryan Heitkotter, Vesko Kozarov, Lara Tillman, and Aaron Pfadt deserve, a great deal of the recognition should be placed upon the CA Sport team that turned a street car into the No. 33 Nissan 370Z in just 14 days.

“The car was so easy to drive; it is amazing to think it had never turned a lap on a race track until Saturday,” said Heitkotter. “We all ran consistent, steady laps to conserve the car, and after some early setbacks our race went like clockwork.”

Heitkotter was particularly impressive, piloting the 370Z through a triple shift after saving the day on Friday by driving three hours to Santa Clara in order to pick up a spare power steering pump.

When it was all said and done, the No. 33 finished third in class and 10th overall after fueling penalties and technical issues resulted in a diminished lead.

Between the 370Z and the CA Sport No. 32 BMW M3, the team ran 45 successful pit stops in 25 hours.

“We’ve got a couple beat up looking cars and we’re all very tired. The crew did an awesome job to get both cars across the finish line and on the podium,” said team owner and driver Lara Tallman. “It’s time to pack up and head to the shop now, but I can’t wait to drive the Nissan on track again.”