With a sweep of the weekend at VIRginia International Raceway, Oliver Wheldon leaped to second in the 2024 Skip Barber Race Series standings. Wheldon has now won four straight races, beginning a summer surge for the Andretti Autosport Junior Development driver. Championship leader Dean Lambros, meanwhile, defended Wheldon’s charge up the standings with a pair of second place finishes to remain at the top of the table.
Wheldon’s victories didn’t come easily as he withstood challenges from Lambros, Ryan Giannetta, and Caleb Campbell in both races. In Race 1, the four drivers were packed together as they charged out of Oak Tree Corner and towards Turn 13. Using the draft, Wheldon moved to the outside of Giannetta and completed the pass for the win as the duo descended the hill toward Turn 15.
In the Master’s Class, Rob Tarlton broke his twin brother Thomas’ streak of wins and claimed victory on Saturday and Sunday while Robert Perlmutter, making his season debut, completed the class podium in both races.
This weekend at VIRginia International Raceway marked the maiden opportunity to experience the Skip Barber Racing School’s brand new corporate facility with state of the art classrooms, an open-air dining area that overlooks the maintenance floor, and more. It’s the first of two races at VIR this year, with the second slated for the season finale in September on VIR’s Grand Course.
Among the standout performers were Jack Mohrhardt, who matched his season-best finish of 7th with a strong run in Race 1, and Caleb Campbell whose pair of top-five finishes earned him his largest points haul, 56, of the season.
Skip Barber Racing’s Alex Garcia made his Formula car debut this weekend. The Toyota GR Cup North America and TC America powered by the Skip Barber Racing School driver finished 8th in both races. Garcia’s trend of Hard Charger Awards in sportscar translated to Formula cars as he passed five drivers in Race 1, the most of any driver throughout the weekend.
Another strong weekend from Alan Orzynski has the Mexican driver firmly in the conversation for a top-five finish in the overall championship with his pair of sixth-place finishes, building on the momentum from a top-five at Circuit of the Americas earlier in the season.
Griffin Yellin improved four positions in Race 2 to secure his second-best finish of the season with a strong seventh-place result. Yellin, Mohrhardt, and Thomas Nordquist are separated by just 12 points after eight races, setting up an intriguing battle for the trio as the Skip Barber Race Series prepares for its final six races.
A strong effort from Talley Fare helped the Georgian improve his fastest lap in every session. He was rewarded for those efforts with a top-ten finish in Race 1 where he passed two cars in the 12-lap sprint.
Since joining the series at COTA, Ethan Booher has been a consistent factor in the top ten and he proved that once more at VIR. Booher now has three top-ten finishes in four races.
The Skip Barber Race Series will travel to Road America on August 9 – 11 before visiting Lime Rock Park on August 21 – 22. The four races at those two tracks will be pivotal in determining who is in position to capture the 2024 Skip Barber Race Series crown when the series returns to VIR on September 18 – 19 for the season finale.