BALTIMORE, MD, (Sept. 3, 2011) - Alex Job Racing's (AJR) Bill Sweedler and Leh Keen drove to a second-place finish in GTC in this afternoon's running of the inaugural American Le Mans Series (ALMS) presented by Tequila Patron Baltimore Grand Prix.

In front of huge Baltimore crowd Sweedler had the wheel of the No. 23 Battery Tender Porsche for the start. The Westport, Connecticut resident was up-on-the-wheel right from the drop of the green flag. He was able to avoid a first turn pile-up by navigating around the outside avoiding a group of cars that were completely stopped on the track. After that he was able to make a competitive run, pressuring the eventual winning 54 car for the front spot for the first hour. On lap 29 the field was bunched-up under a yellow for a manhole cover that came-up. On lap 35 Sweedler turned the car over to Keen who exited the pits in the third position, still under caution. On the restart Keen made quick work of the No. 68 and began to pressure the 54 car again. As the race progressed the rear of the black and yellow Battery Tender 911 began to lose traction and Keen was able to hold onto second place at the checkered the flag.

"It was a crazy start," Sweedler said. "I saw a small hole on the outside and went for it. It proved to be the right move as the cars that went to the inside were completely stopped. It is a great new track here in the streets of Baltimore - Long Beach on steroids. I have to hand it to the 54 guys, they were very tough this weekend. I could keep pressure on them at the start and was right on their bumper nearly the entire stint. Leh took over and did a great job to bring the car home in second. We had a good day. The car was great and we both had a clean drive."

Keen exited the pits in third, but was quickly able to take second on the restart.

"In the beginning I was able to get right by the 68 and took off after the 54," Keen said. "We were able to gap the field, and I was feeling pretty good pressuring them. I had a lot of confidence in the car, and I thought we had something for the win. Then the rear tires began to fade early. I was fighting the car from the middle of my stint to the end. I was able to hold off Craig Stanton (driver of the 77 car) for second. The Alex Job Racing guys did a great job with the Battery Tender Porsche all weekend. It's nice to help the team get back-up on the podium."

Team owner, Alex Job, is happy with the way the race went.

"Bill had a great start and made a nice move around the outside of the traffic jam into Turn One, which separated him from the rest of the GTC field," Job said. "From there he was pushing the 54 car for the lead. Leh got in and was aggressive on his restart and made quick work of the 68 car. He looked strong right behind the 54 and then his tires started to fade. He did a great job to hold off Stanton, who is a real pro. We are back on the podium and going onto Laguna Seca with some momentum."

TheAmerican Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron Baltimore Grand Prix broadcast will be rebroadcast on ABC at 4 p.m. ET, tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 4.

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron will travel to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the penultimate round to be run on Saturday, Sept. 17.

Alex Job Racing is one of the most successful teams in ALMS history with 39 wins. This record is supported by 46 pole positions and 75 podium finishes. The team has won three championships (GT in 2002, 2003 and 2004) complimented by their two GT class wins at Le Mans. The team also boasts seven Sebring 12-hour wins.

The ALMS GTC category is specific to one of the most popular factory produced racing cars in the world, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Developed for Porsche's one-make series around the world, the new version of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is based on the road-going 911 GT3 RS. The power unit featured in the new 911 GT3 Cup is largely identical to the production engine of the 911 GT3 RS with the same output of 450 bhp and the same maximum engine speed of 8,500 rpm.

AJR 2011 GTC Season