BOULDER, Colo. — Loni Unser will race with the Shift Up Now organization in this weekend’s USAF 25 Hours of Thunderhill at California’s Thunderhill Raceway Park.
“Racing the 25 Hours of Thunderhill is a giant challenge that attracts some of the best teams in the country,” said Unser. “It’s a bucket-list race for me and I’m grateful to Shift Up Now for the opportunity.”
The Thunderhill event is a highlight stop on the amateur racing calendar each year. The field is typically deep, with a number of leading professional teams viewing it as an unofficial test for the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona.
Shift Up Now will partner with HQ Autosport for the event, fielding the No. 28 BMW 128i in the competitive E2 class.
“I love that we’re racing on these mixed teams with men and women taking turns behind the wheel,” said Unser. “It’s what racing is supposed to be: a racecar driver is anybody who can drive a car fast – regardless of gender.”
Unser will share driving duties with fellow Shift Up Now drivers Sarah Montgomery and Michele Abbate, along with HQ Autosport regulars Peter Engels and Travis Weltzien.
HQ Autosport is an endurance racing team founded by Paul Quattrocchi and Rob Henretta. They are the 2018 defending NASA Western Endurance Racing Champions and the 2018 NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill Champions in the E2 class.
Shift Up Now is a collective of female racers who strive to inspire confidence and courage in girls and women through motorsport. It was founded by Lynn Schultz Kehoe in 2016. The racing program is managed by Karen Salvaggio.
Unser started competing in 2017 and has shown promise in NASA Rocky Mountain Spec Miata competition as well as the professional Global MX-5 Cup.
Unser’s grandfather, Jerry, was the first of the famous Unsers to race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
She is currently a student of Environmental Design at the University of Colorado Boulder.
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