Payne Brings Home Top-10
Las Vegas, NV (05.21.09): Byron Payne and VJ Mirzyian bring home a top-10 finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as part of the Verizon Festival of Speed this past weekend. Faced with handling issues on Friday, the duo of Payne and Mirzyian focused on improving their BMW 330i for Saturday’s 2.5 hour event.
Starting from the 16th qualifying position, Payne drove the first stint of the race, taking the wheel of the #127 Next Generation Motorsports BMW for just over 1 hour before handing over to Mirzyian. The team had a strategy to run certain lap times, conserve the car, and of course, stay out of trouble. Byron stuck to the plan and drove a solid stint, making up a few spots while on track. The NGM team also made up a few spots in the pits during the driver change and very quick pitstop.
With Mirzyian at the wheel, the team focused hard on staying clear of trouble, while pushing to bring home a solid finish. Turning in consistent lap times and staying on track while other cars began to have troubles, the team moved up to finish the race in 9th place. “It was a tough weekend as the BMW’s are down on HP compared to some of the other makes. We made several improvements to the car, drove a smart and patient race and are thrilled with a top-10 finish. I want to thank my sponsors: BPbenefits.net, eprodius.com, HemiFashion.com, and Next Generation Motorsports for the opportunity.” commented Payne.