D&N Motorsports' History

Infatuated with the sport of motor racing, Dennis Short and Nicole Lauerman formed D&N Motorsports in 2002 with an initial venture into club racing.  The team campaigned a 1995 Saturn SW2 for their first season in the Eastern Motor Racing Association (EMRA). 

New to road racing, and having little experience with car development and preparation, Dennis turned to veterans James Walker Jr. of Team SCR and John Comeskey of SPS for assistance.  With the knowledge they have gained from developing and racing Saturn cars, John and James provided some vital information to the team, which made their entry into the sport a bit easier.

Despite a few problems with the car, they achieved some outstanding results during their first season.  In their first event, a time trial at Pocono, the team took home a 3rd place finish after three timed runs in a torrential down pour.  In their first door-to-door competition, the D&N Motorsports Saturn finished in a surprising 2nd place, only two seconds behind the leader and six seconds in front of 3rd.  With those results, Dennis had caught the attention of some of the members of the organization, and was voted “Best New Driver” for the 2002 season.

Running on the adrenaline built up from their first season, D&N Motorsports started 2003 with an impressive 2nd place finish in their first race of the year.  They quickly backed that up with another 2nd place finish on the legendary three-mile Grand Prix course at Watkins Glen International.  With the momentum from two podium finishes, the team carried it on to a National Auto Sports Assn. race at Summit Point Raceway, where they clinched the 1st win of their racing career.  At the end of the season Dennis had earned enough points to finish 3rd in EMRA’s Driver Championship.

In 2004 D&N Motorsports expanded their team and moved up into the professional ranks.  Most of the season was spent preparing their Saturn wagon for the United States Touring Car Championship (USTCC).  Struggling with power and weight issues, the team made the best of the situation and ran a partial schedule late in the season.  Long nights at the shop, and long nights traveling to the races paid off in the end.  In their first race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, they made a charge from the rear of the field to bring home a 2nd place finish for the day.  In the season finale, the D&N Motorsports team finished off their season with a 1st place finish on their home track, Summit Point Raceway.

The team decided to take the 2005 season off from racing to further develop their racecar.  They had a new race engine prepared by Mark Womack, and spent a good part of the year getting it dialed in.  They also focused on suspension set-up as well.  The time spent testing and developing in 2005 did have its payoff’s in 2006.  They were setting their fastest lap times ever at each track they visited.  The team also finished on the podium in second place at their home track, Summit Point Raceway.

D&N Motorsports will now set their sites on 2007.  They will be working hard over the winter to get the car prepared for what should be one of the most exciting seasons yet.