PRESS RELEASE: ETHAN LOW AND MARK GIBBONS TEAM TO WIN FARA’S MIAMI HOMESTEAD 200
Sunday was a junior sort of day. Prior to Dale Earnhardt, Jr winning the Daytona 500, a junior at Clearwater High School (Florida), Ethan Low, was takin...g the checkered flag at FARA’s Homestead 200 at Homestead Miami Speedway. Low and teammate and team owner Mark Gibbons drove their Rossini powered, Old Dogs Racing, white and red, #66 Mazda Miata to the winner’s circle in convincing fashion.
Gibbons took the green flag to start the race and set a blistering pace pushing the lead out to nearly 30 seconds as the first hour of racing was in the books. A caution flag created the perfect opportunity to come into the pits and put Low into the cockpit to run the races’ final hour and a half. Low was strapped in and ready to go but his car was held by crew on pit lane. Low offered this insight immediately after the race.
“I guess there was an issue with fueling but I couldn’t see very well as having the HANS safety device on keeps me from being able to move my head much, so I was just watching Selin (Rolan, Sr.), who was standing in front of my car, until he moved out of the way signaling the car was ready to exit the pit stall.” Low ended up on track 12 seconds behind race leader Selin Rolan, Jr and began to methodically close the gap.
Rolan’s lead was down to six seconds when a caution came out and tightened up the field. On the restart Low took the lead in what was an exciting back and forth race down the stretch between the two.
“I was starting to stretch my lead a little bit on Selin” Low explained, “when all of a sudden I saw him coming back up on me. He picked up Ernie (Francis, Jr.) as a pusher and the two drafted their way back up to me. I was kidding Ernie after the race about where the push was for me, but it was all in the fun and spirit of racing and once Selin was back with me, he and I battled it out from there. Selin is such a great driver that it took all I had to hang with him.
”Often turning laps nose to tail or mirror to mirror trading the lead back and forth, Low finally wrestled the lead back from Rolan. Low had stretched the lead back out to 6-8 seconds and Rolan had to duck in for a splash of fuel at the races’ final caution which sealed the outcome for Gibbons and Low.
Low shared, “I love racing with Mark. He is such a competitor. Mark stayed out there longer than the other top contenders’ first driver and that ended up helping because we knew we were good on fuel at the end while the others had to come get that extra splash of gas to make sure they could finish the race. “Old Dogs Racing had a stellar showing at the Homestead 200 sweeping the podium with John Watson and Selin Rolan, Jr finishing second and Phil Williamson and Jose Ulfe coming in third. Low emphasized, “I am so thankful to be racing under Old Dogs Racing. Both John (Watson) and Mark made this great weekend possible for me. With the awesome attitude, teamwork and equipment, we were able to post a podium sweep this weekend. I cannot thank Mark and John enough for doing what they have done for me.”Low, Gibbons and Watson will be headed to Road Atlanta in late March for the next round of SCCA Majors competition. Low, meanwhile, will first be hopping in the white and blue #40 Mazda MX-5 of Sick Sideways for his professional debut on March 13th in the MX-5 Cup Pro Series opener at the 62nd Annual Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh From Florida race week.
Low continues to look for partners to join him in his racing career.
