Aloha, Oregon, October 29, 2018| When you are a 12-time road racing champion, winning is what you become accustom to. Cindi Lux never expects to win, but she never plans to lose either. In a limited 2018 Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli season, the Aloha, Oregon-resident has entered the No. 45 Lux Performance Group Dodge Viper ACRX Fueled by Black Rock Coffee in four races; earning four podium finishes and setting two new track records for the TA3 class in the process. Lux comes to the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas on Sunday, November 4 looking for a second 2018 race win in the historic series.
The task to add to her tally of race victories will not come easily. When Lux hits the Viper's V10 engine ignition button on Sunday morning, she will do so with one of the largest TA3 class grids of the season. The 12-entries in the production car-based class makes-up half the Trans Am field. While the series has one race remaining to close the year, this is the final race scheduled for Lux Performance Group's two-car effort. Cindi and teammate Dirk Leuenberger (Redmond, Washington) account for six podiums out of a possible seven opportunities between them. Thus far, Cindi's victory, from the pole position, at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex on August 5 is the high-mark for the Aloha, Oregon-based operation engineered by team principal Fred Lux. Leuenberger's best finish is a second-place at Watkins Glen International on September 8 in the No. 35 Dodge Viper ACRX.
While Lux Performance Group ran the Trans Am round at COTA in 2017, it was a one-car effort for Leuenberger only. That leaves Lux with no practical experience on the 3.427-mile, 20-turn racetrack that hosted Formula One's United States Grand Prix on October 21. Always one to look to add every tool she can to her toolbox but unable to test on the track, Cindi traveled to Los Angeles, California where she spent a day in the Base 51 professional simulator to familiarize herself with the twisty facility. Her first chance to turn an actual Forgeline wheel on the Texas-track will come on Friday morning, November 2. Qualifying will take place on Saturday with the 30 lap/70-minute race taking the green flag at 9:15 a.m. Pacific on Sunday.
Lux Performance continues its longstanding relationship with Black Rock Coffee Bar in 2018. The ever-growing chain of coffee specialists has locations in Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona and Idaho. It breaks into the Texas market in 2019. Lux Performance Group and Cindi are ambassadors of the brand around North America helping to fulfill Black Rock’s core philosophy to "Fuel Your Story"; a campaign focused on connecting and benefiting everyone in the community with interaction and communication. Black Rock has helped "fuel" Lux's story, and Lux theirs, since 2011.
Joining Black Rock on the No. 45 Viper will again be CoolShirt, Forgeline Wheels and MCS shocks.
Quotes |
Fred Lux, Team Principal/Engineer, Lux Performance Group Viper ACRX | "Glad COTA had as support race a couple weekends ago in order to prep for our race. Austin is going to give us some fits. Cindi hasn't raced in there and the Viper is not the perfect car for the circuit. We are carrying so much weight it is hard to overcome. But I know Cindi and she isn't going to go into the off-season without another win if she can help it. Anyone that tries to keep her off that top-step is in for a battle they won't soon forget. I bet it will be a battle we will all remember."
Cindi Lux, Driver, No. 45 Lux Performance Group Dodge Viper ACRX | "It doesn't happen very often anymore that I go to a new track. So, I am excited about going to COTA. Time to up my game and get my arms wrapped around it pretty quickly. I am going to have to hustle like an underdog and work harder than everybody else. Last year I wasn't able to run this race and had to watch from the side lines. It will feel like finishing some unfinished business to get out there. We are also getting to introduce Texas to Black Rock Coffee Bar this weekend. That gives everyone at COTA a few months head-start on the rest of the state to learn all about fueling their story."
Aloha, Oregon, May 16, 2018 | Cindi Lux has battled head-to-head with hundreds of competitors on the race track over her career. With 12 road racing championships on her resume, it is clear that the Aloha, Oregon-resident has been the winner more often than not. Amidst her 2017 Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli season, Lux was dive-bombed by an unexpected competitor: colon cancer. The multi-time Trans Am race winner faced the disease the same way she faces her competition in the No. 45 Lux Performance Group Dodge Viper ACRX Fueled by Black Rock Coffee, she tightened her belts and attacked it head-on. With the cancer faced down, Cindi is now ready to take-on the 2018 Trans Am TA3 class with a renewed energy that is sure to worry her racing rivals.
When veteran and versatile racer, John Andretti went public with his fight against colon cancer last year it forever changed the life of the former Dodge factory driver. Lux followed the advice of Andretti’s #Checkit4Andretti campaign and had a colonoscopy last fall. The results found cancer.
Like the champion she is, Lux faced the disease with her usual lighthearted but focused intensity. Upon reviewing the options for treatment, Lux scheduled surgery for September 26 – just two days after winning the TA3 class race at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) – with chemotherapy planned for late October through January. Having just started chemo one week prior and unsure of the physical toll the chemicals would take, Lux chose safety over bravado, quietly sitting out what was scheduled to be her 2017 Trans Am season finale at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in early November. Despite not driving, she maintained a full workload at the track as a team principal and driving coach for Dirk Leuenberger (Seattle, Washington) in Austin.
With the 2017 racing season put to bed, Lux and husband Fred began the joint task of battling the cancer and preparing for 2018. As the chemo killed the cancer it left Cindi with several of the well-known side effects. She fought through those continuing to work the business side of Lux Performance and her training routine for returning to the car. With the impact of the chemo fading following the final treatment in the first month of the year, Lux increased her training schedule pushing to the regain strength lost and to force the residue of the treatments from her mind and muscles. Progress was steady and Lux got her first laps behind the wheel of the black and red V10-powered American muscle car in April at Portland International Raceway (PIR). She returns to her home track to prepare for the season with a three-day test this week. Lux will make her competition debut in the Viper at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, June 14 – 17.
Quotes |
Cindi Lux, Driver, No. 45 Lux Performance Group Dodge Viper ACRX |
About the impact on her life | “This was a total wake-up call in life. I tried to approach it like I do anything: stay positive, put your head down and fight like hell. It makes you stronger. I am more focused on things now than I was before. You truly do find out what you have in you and what those around you mean. Fred is such a strong person and kept me laughing through the whole process. He is my rock.”
About announcing the cancer now | “John [Andretti] chose to go public with it and I really respect that. It saved my life that he did. Everyone approaches this differently and, for Fred and me, we wanted to keep it quieter. The hardest part was not telling all my friends in the paddock at the time because you know they care for you. I didn’t want a pity party though. That has never been my style. Now that we have overcome it and we are back on-track stronger and more committed to win than ever before, I wanted to step-up and show people that this is far from a death sentence. My message is simple: get checked people! If there is one thing I ask from all my family, friends and fans, get checked now!”
About the future | “This will not define me but it will make me a better person. Life is now back on track and somewhat normal. But the word ‘grateful’ has a whole new meaning. Getting back into the race car is my happy place and it is so relaxing and rewarding too. From the moment of the diagnosis my target was very simple and remains the same: be ready for Indy. It has energized me for the future and I can’t wait to put this Black Rock Coffee Bar Viper back on the top step of the Trans Am podium.”
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