Kansas CTSC Pre-Race Notebook

***Tom Kimber-Smith is the only Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge driver flying immediately to Le Mans following this weekend’s race in Kansas. Kimber-Smith will join up with his Greaves Motorsport co-driver, Matt McMurry, in France.

***TKS is entered in Turner Motorsport’s sole GS class No. 97 BMW M3 with Michael Marsal; the No. 96 co-driven by Bill Auberlen and team principal Will Turner at Lime Rock drops back off the entry list this weekend.

***NF Hero Jeffrey Owen Hanson, who authored the Children’s Tumor Foundation “art car” livery this year that’s been seen across Compass360 Racing’s season-long efforts, will be at his home track this afternoon along with roughly 25 local CTF supporters. CTF works to raise awareness to end NF (neurofibromatosis), which is a common yet under-recognized genetic disorder that can cause tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. There’s two CTF-liveried cars for C360R this weekend, the No. 76 GS class Subaru WRX-STi of Pierre Kleinubing and Ray Mason and the No. 75 ST class Honda Civic Si of Ryan Eversley and Kyle Gimple.

***The ST class Honda Civic Sis have received their first brake caliper upgrade in at least six years. It paid dividends with the Michael Valiante/Chad Gilsinger HART No. 93 first and the Eversley/Gimple Compass360 No. 75 fifth in opening practice. The No. 93 qualified sixth, the No. 75 15th for Saturday’s race.

***Daytona GS winners Shelby Blackstock and Ashley Freiberg return in the No. 48 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 after missing Lime Rock Park. Blackstock is scheduled to miss the Watkins Glen round June 28 due to his Pro Mazda commitments with Andretti Autosport in Houston.

***TRG-AMR’s second GS Aston Martin Vantage, the No. 09 driven by James Davison and three different co-drivers in the first three races, and at Lime Rock by Santiago Creel and Martin Fuentes, is not entered this weekend. Davison joins Kris Wilson in the team’s polesitting No. 07 entry.

***Former Pickett Racing driver Tom Dyer joins the Rebel Rock Racing lineup this weekend, sharing the No. 88 ST Porsche Cayman entry with Jim Jonsin and Corey Lewis.

***Dan Rogers returns alongside Seth Thomas in the No. 82 Bimmerworld Racing BMW 328i (ST), after James Colborn filled in at Lime Rock. Meanwhile Eric Zimmermann replaces Kevin Gleason alongside Corey Fergus in the sister No. 80 entry.

***Mitchum Motorsports’ second ST class BMW 128i, the No. 11 driven by Dane Moxlow and Lee Carpenter, and the No. 4 LRT Racing Honda Civic Si (Juan Carlos and Jorge Leroux) are also among those off the entry list this weekend.

***The 2013 overall winners John Edwards and Matt Bell have the chance to defend their 2013 Kansas win with different teams. Edwards and Trent Hindman seek their second win of the season with their No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3; meanwhile Bell and Andy Lally look to get on the board for the first time in the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro Z/28.R.