Don Yount and JR Hildebrand Will Drive the No. 42 Audi
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Coming off an impressive fourth-place finish last month in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, NTE Sport will enter its first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sprint race in the upcoming IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America.
Don Yount and JR Hildebrand will be behind the wheel of the No. 42 NTE Sport Audi R8 LMS GT3 in the GT Daytona (GTD) class for the two-hour, 40-minute race on Sunday, Aug. 8. Yount teamed with Jaden Conwright and Markus Palttala to finish fourth at Watkins Glen International on June 27 in just the team’s second WeatherTech Championship race.
Yount and Hildebrand made up half the driving lineup, along with Andrew Davis and Alan Metni, when NTE Sport made its WeatherTech Championship debut in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. Gearbox issues plagued the car, which finished 15th in GTD.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the car with JR and seeing what the Audi can do at Road America,” said Yount. “It’s one of my favorite tracks and I’m sure NTE will bring a sorted, complete race car to the fight.”
The Rolex 24 this year marked just the fourth career IMSA race for Hildebrand, the 2009 Indy Lights champion and 2011 Indianapolis 500 runner-up. It was also his first IMSA event in a GT car, and he’s excited at the opportunity to drive the No. 42 Audi again.
“I can’t wait to jump back in the NTE car at Road America,” he said. “It’s such an awesome track. Anytime you get a chance to race there is a great opportunity. It looked like the guys definitely got dialed in at The Glen, so I’m looking forward to hopping in with Don to see what we can do!”
“We’re excited to be competing in our first WeatherTech sprint race,” added team owner Paul Mata. “We have some great momentum from our fourth-place finish at The Glen, and I can’t wait for our team to get on the ground at Road America. Having JR back is just icing on the cake. He did great at Daytona, and we’re thrilled to have him back as our program is continuing to progress.”
Practice for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend begins Friday evening (6:10 p.m. ET) at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. A second practice is set for Saturday morning ahead of qualifying at 2:50 p.m. that afternoon (livestream on IMSA.com). Coverage of the race begins at 2:40 p.m. Sunday on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold and IMSA Radio, with the NBCSN telecast starting at 8 p.m.