ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sept. 25, 2011) – Chad Gilsinger, of Marysville, Ohio lands on the podium in a thrilling, come-from-behind run in his Acura TL SH-AWD during a rain soaked T2 Championship race.

Starting 15th in a large, 26-car Touring 2 field, Gilsinger’s all-wheel-drive package was the key during his 10-lap, rain-shortened race. Despite starting on slick BF Goodrich tires, Gilsinger was able to find traction on a damp-but-drying track in the early laps, then really began to move up in the order when rain returned with a vengeance on Lap Seven. With the rain increasing in severity, Gilsinger caught and passed everyone except winner Marty Grand, who started on full rain tires in his four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Evo.

“We started the race on slicks, and knowing we had all-wheel-drive gave me a little bit more comfort,” Gilsinger said. “At the beginning, it was wet enough that I was able to take advantage and move up many positions. Then, it started to dry out and our power-to-weight was not quite there compared to the 911’s, M3’s, and Mustang, so we started to move backwards. After a few more laps I saw the rain drops on the windshield and started to get a little bit excited again, but then it downpoured and there were puddles everywhere, and that’s when it got bad for everyone. You have to work really hard to keep it on the track in those conditions.

“Turn 3 and between the Kink and Canada Corner, there was just standing water in a lot of places. Under acceleration, braking, it didn’t matter, you had no control. Especially people on drys, there was zero grip, people were sliding off everywhere and even pulling into the pits. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see the checkered flag.”

 Gilsinger, the 2010 Touring 3 National Champion, started 15th in his No. 07 BFG/HPD/H&R/Recaro/BRM Acura TL SH-AWD and survived the conditions to finish second.

H&R Special Springs is a German-based suspension company that has been built on a foundation of superior quality, true performance and the best customer service. H&R has established a proven heritage of unsurpassed industry respect and customer confidence, all of which gives H&R the definitive edge in suspension tuning and design. All H&R products are crafted in Germany and exceed ISO 9001 quality assurance standards. H&R maintains a North American facility located in Bellingham, Washington, where additional testing and research are conducted. For more information, visit www.hrsprings.com and www.trakplus.com or call (888) 827-8881.