Skeen Steps Up for Conquest Racing’s Championship Push
The roar of engines at Road Atlanta is about to get a whole lot more interesting. Mike Skeen, that crafty road course veteran who knows his way around a racetrack better than most folks know their own neighborhood, is climbing into the cockpit with Conquest Racing for what promises to be one heck of a season finale at the Motul Petit Le Mans.You can practically feel the electricity in the air down in Daytona Beach, where Conquest Racing just dropped this bombshell announcement.
After watching their No. 34 Ferrari 296 GT3 grab a podium spot at the recent TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks, team owner Eric Bachelart knew he needed something special for the big dance at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. That something special turned out to be Skeen, a driver whose resume reads like a love letter to American motorsports.
Mike Skeen Brings Championship Experience to the Table
Let’s talk about what Skeen brings to this party, because it’s not just another pretty face behind the wheel. This guy has been grinding it out in racing’s trenches for years, cutting his teeth across multiple disciplines that would make your head spin. From the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Skeen has been there, done that, and has the t-shirt to prove it.
The man’s got podium finishes at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring under his belt. Those aren’t just races you stumble into success at. They’re grueling tests of endurance, skill, and pure grit that separate the pretenders from the real deal. When you’re talking about 12 to 24 hours of wheel-to-wheel combat, you need someone who won’t crack under pressure. Skeen has proven time and again that he thrives when the heat gets turned up.
But here’s the kicker that really gets your blood pumping. He’s already familiar with the Ferrari 296 GT3 platform. That’s not some happy accident. that’s the kind of preparation that wins championships. While other drivers might be learning the nuances of a new machine, Skeen will be focused on extracting every ounce of performance from a car he already understands.
Road Atlanta: Skeen’s Home Away From Home
“Road Atlanta is like a home track for me,” Skeen said, and you can hear the confidence dripping from those words. When a driver talks about a track being home, they’re not just throwing around casual conversation. They’re talking about knowing every bump, every banking change, every sweet spot where you can gain that crucial tenth of a second that separates victory from heartbreak.
The upcoming test sessions have already shown promising results, with Skeen immediately clicking with the Conquest Racing setup. Team owner Bachelart couldn’t hide his excitement about what he witnessed during those early sessions. “He immediately showed very promising pace,” Bachelart noted, and coming from a team owner who’s seen plenty of drivers come and go, those words carry serious weight.
Conquest Racing’s Championship Momentum
This isn’t just about adding another name to the driver roster. Conquest Racing is coming off their GTD class victory at last year’s Petit Le Mans, and they’re hungry to make it two in a row. There’s something magical about defending a championship at the same track where you tasted victory just twelve months earlier. The team knows every inch of that Georgia asphalt, every challenging elevation change that makes Road Atlanta one of the most demanding tracks on the calendar.
Joining full-season drivers Manny Franco and Daniel Serra, Skeen completes what Bachelart calls “an exceptional lineup.” Franco and Serra have been building chemistry all season long, learning each other’s driving styles and developing the kind of communication that’s absolutely critical during those long endurance stints. Adding Skeen to that mix creates a three-headed monster that could absolutely terrorize the GTD field race weekend.
The Petit Le Mans Challenge Awaits
The Motul Petit Le Mans isn’t just another race on the calendar, it’s a 10-hour marathon that pushes every component of a racing team to its absolute limits. From October 8 to 11, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will host what many consider the crown jewel of American endurance racing. Those dramatic elevation changes and technical corners that make the track so visually stunning also make it incredibly punishing for both man and machine.
When the checkered flag drops on this season finale, Skeen and the Conquest Racing crew will have given everything they’ve got to bring home another GTD class victory. With their combination of proven talent, championship experience, and pure determination, they’ve positioned themselves as serious contenders for what promises to be an unforgettable conclusion to the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
