Jason Daskalos was dominant once more in the GT America powered by AWS series’ SRO3 class as he took the top step of the podium for the second time this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. In the GT4 class, it was Isaac Sherman who walked away with another victory and the championship crown.
SRO3
Saturday’s winner and Sunday’s polesitter Daskalos had a great start from the front of the field in his No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, with Justin Rothberg trying to stay close to him in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.
In the opening laps, Ross Chouest was applying pressure on Johnny O’Connell as there was barely any distance between their No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and No. 3 SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3 machines. However, the battle was brought to an early close, as Chouest’s race ended abruptly when the No. 007 ProSport Competition Aston Martin Vantage GT3 commanded by Tim Savage lost control, taking the Mercedes out in the process.
The incident brought out an early safety car, and Daskalos got another clean getaway as the race went back to green, only for a second full course caution to emerge later in the same lap due to a GT4 car running off into the gravel.
The race resumed once again at the halfway mark, but the drama wasn’t over yet. Rothberg’s BMW suffered a tire puncture, bringing him back into pit lane as he dropped down the running order. Meanwhile, O’Connell was able to get past Washington to reclaim a position to move up into second place.
His Audi appeared to be coming back to life, with a pace advantage rapidly cutting into Daskalos’ lead as the final laps approached. The gap was reduced to less than a second, but Daskalos was pushing with all his might to stay ahead.
It was a tough fight all the way to the line, but Daskalos was able to keep his Mercedes firmly ahead, picking him his second consecutive win and extending his championship points lead in the process ahead of O’Connell, with Kyle Washing rounding off the podium in race two.
Washington was given a drive-through penalty, converted to a 39s post-race time penalty, for incident responsibility. As a result, Jason Bell was promoted to third place in the No. 2 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO.
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“This win was crucial, especially after the brake failure in Virginia,” Daskalos said. “I feel like things are even now, and we’re thrilled as a team. I love having Sheldon Miller by my side, making sure I’m ready to go. He’s facing a huge battle, and we’re right there with him, determined to win the championship for Sheldon. We came to test here, and the car broke down after just 20m. The weekend didn’t start well—our car wasn’t performing, but Nick stepped up and did an amazing job. To come away with two victories is more than we could have hoped for.”
GT4
Sherman was calm, cool, and collected in his No. 098 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport as he took off down the road as soon as the sprint endeavor got underway. Despite two safety car restarts, it didn’t take him long to pull away from the rest of the pack as he continued to re-establish a gap.
Behind him, Curt Swearingin was looking in the mirrors of his No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport as Gray Newell was on the attack in the No. 25 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
The battle for second and third place allowed Sherman to move further and further ahead, and as the checkered flag waved, he not only clinched an impressive eleventh win this year, but the championship title as well.
After a near-flawless debut season in the series, Sherman delivered another spectacular performance this weekend in Alabama, once again showcasing his dominance, and now standing out as a deserving champion.
“Winning the championship is an absolute dream come true,” Sherman said. “I can’t thank the team enough—they were incredible all season. Even during the tough moments, they pulled through, and our consistency really paid off. Huge thanks to them, as well as to Super Cuts and Porsche. This has been an amazing experience.”
The GT America Powered by AWS field will be back on track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, October 3-6 for the season finale event.