Rai Benjamin 09252021

Long Beach Notebook: Olympic Hurdler Benjamin Sees New Kind of Speed

Matt McMurry and Mario Farnbacher Are Reunited This Weekend; NBCSN Has Full Broadcast Team

 

By Mark Robinson

 

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Rai Benjamin knows something about going fast. But even the Olympic gold-medalist was excited to see the sparkling machines of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at speed and up close.

 

Benjamin is grand marshal for Saturday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and will issue the command for drivers to start their engines on the live NBCSN broadcast that begins at 5 p.m. ET. The New York native and former University of Southern California track and field star spent the day at the racetrack soaking it all in, attending the WeatherTech Championship drivers meeting, touring the paddock and talking with Daytona Prototype international (DPi) points leaders Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor to discuss and compare their own versions of what it means to go fast and how important hundredths of a second are to their specific professions.

 

Benjamin won the gold medal as the anchor on the U.S. 4×400-meter relay team and silver in the 400m hurdles at this summer’s Tokyo Games, his first Olympic competition. His time of 46.17 seconds in the 400m hurdles at Tokyo set the American record and is second fastest all-time.

 

The 24-year-old was eager Saturday to attend his first auto race of any kind.

 

“I’m looking forward to seeing some really, really, really fast cars,” Benjamin said. “On TV, you see what’s happening but it doesn’t seem like they’re driving that fast. To see it in person, it’s literally a blur. It’s a different level of speed. I’m pretty excited to see all the intricate details and actually see it in person.”

 

Unlike the intense preparation he undertakes for a hurdles event, Benjamin admitted he was approaching his duties to issue the command to start engines with no practice.

 

“I’m going to go up there and just wing it and see what happens,” he said with a smile. “I feel like if I thought about it too much, I’d mess it up. I hope I can get these drivers excited to kick things off with a bang. Hopefully, we get a really great, safe day of racing. I’m really excited.”

 

#76: Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3, GTD: Matt McMurry, Mario Farnbacher

 

Compass Racing Reunites Champions McMurry, Farnbacher

 

A pair of two-time reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship champions are reunited this weekend at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

 

Matt McMurry and Mario Farnbacher, who drove to the GT Daytona (GTD) class title last year with Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian, are back together this weekend in the No. 76 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 in a unique collaboration that will benefit victims of Hurricane Ida. Farnbacher also won the 2019 GTD crown with Meyer Shank, the same year McMurry claimed the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) championship with PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports.

 

The Compass Racing effort comes with support from CMR Construction & Roofing, which has been providing emergency relief work in the hurricane-inflicted area since shortly after the storm swept through Louisiana.

 

“Within 12 days of Ida hitting, we had responded to 30 schools, homes and government facilities with mitigation services,” said Steve Soule, CEO of CMR Construction. “We deployed a major operation and our staff have literally camped without elec­tricity, and they’ve even assisted in getting food to victims,” said Soule. “In the next few days, we’ll announce a major fundraising effort to take our response to another level.”

 

Farnbacher has driven in seven races this season. Six have been with Compass Racing, which is competing in IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup events this season. McMurry’s only series race thus far in 2021 was in a CORE autosport Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) in the season opener, the Rolex 24 At Daytona. McMurry qualified the No. 76 Acura in 13th of 17 GTD entries Friday at Long Beach, while Farnbacher placed 10th in the points-earning qualifying session.

 

“Before Ida was even a thing, I heard there might be a possibility of something coming together,” said McMurry, who also works as an engineer on Acura’s Daytona Prototype international (DPi) and LMDh programs as a member of Honda Performance Development. “I was really excited about it. Then Ida hit and created a mess that we’re hoping to help fix with donations and a great performance at Acura’s home race.”

 

NBCSN Providing Full Team Coverage for Live Race Telecast

 

With a doubleheader of premier races this weekend at Long Beach, NBCSN will employ full onsite team coverage of the WeatherTech Championship telecast of Saturday’s 100-minute race, beginning at 5 p.m. ET.

 

Leigh Diffey will call the play-by-play with Townsend Bell and Calvin Fish providing booth commentary. Marty Snider and Kevin Lee will report from pit lane. The NBCSN telecast is also available streaming on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

 

IMSA Radio adds its typical 2021 coverage, with John Hindhaugh and Jeremy Shaw calling the race, along with pit-lane insights from Shea Adam. The radio broadcast is available on IMSA.com, XM Channel 202 and Sirius/XM Internet 992.