| AUSTIN, Texas (August 28, 2024) – After opening the season as a startup with a family run team, Max Opalski has made a significant additional investment in his racing future as he joines McCumbee McAleer Racing (MMR) for the remainder of the 2024 IMSA Ford Mustang Challenge season. Max Opalski Racing was formally established at the start of the season in conjunction with the decision to join the newly-formed championship. In the opening three event weekends, the 18-year-old Opalski drove the No. 2 Team MOR/Opal Enterprises Ford Mustang Dark Horse R to a top-five at Watkins Glen after driving from the rear of the field, and earned a pair of sixth-place finishes at Road America that were on the pace of the race leaders. Despite the clear steps toward success, Opalski felt the realities of the situation required a shakeup. That begins this weekend with Rounds Seven and Eight at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, in conjuction with the World Endurance Championship round August 30 – September 1. Both 45 minute races (Saturday at 4:40 a.m. CDT, and Sunday at 8:40 a.m. CDT) can be seen on IMSA.tv or on Peacock for streaming subscribers. “We put in a tremendous effort as a team and a family to launch Max Opalski Racing and are proud of the effort that we have collectively put in to find top-five pace under difficult circumstances all year,” Opalski said. “Our guys worked extremely hard and didn’t make very many mistakes, but it became clear to us that this Dark Horse R and this series requires more data and development to get the last bit of time out of the car . McCumbee McAleer Racing has that already, both with this version of the Mustang their knowledge of the Ford Mustang platform in general.” |
 The opportunity to join MMR’s now four-car program comes with the expectation for Opalski that it will give him an opportunity for even better results. “I’ll have very fast teammates now, and that will help,” Opalski said. “It will help us collect a lot more data for ‘r and d,’ and we know going into a weekend that we’re not going to be behind on setup in the first session like is possible on your own. We can concentrate on fine tuning within the setup window right from the start.” Opalski has seen MMR in action as a competitor, both in Mustang Challenge and previously through the Mazda MX-5 Cup. Opalski finished fourth in that championship a season ago. “Chad McCumbee, Steven McAleer and the entire MMR team have always been a great team to race against,” Opalski said. “They had things dialed in MX-5 Cup, and always seemed to be well-oiled and organized. We did the best we could under difficult circumstances and limited testing as an independent team and feel like we did a great job. But I’m ready to see if we can take a step forward under their tent and am confident that we can.” Opalski will get his first laps in the McCumbee McAleer Racing prepared Ford Mustang Dark Horse R during Friday morning’s opening practice on the 20-turn, 3.426-mile Circuit of the Americas. Qualifying is Saturday morning at 9 a.m. CDT in advance of Saturday’s 4:40 p.m. CDT green flag, with the second race beginning at 8:40 CDT on Sunday morning. |