Jeremy Swenson is expected to become the first-ever repeat champion in GRIDLIFE Touring Cup history when the single-class sprint racing series concludes the season at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca this October 20-22.
With his closest championship rivals Luke McGrew and James Houghton sitting out GRIDLIFE’s first-ever west coast race weekend, Swenson only has to take the start in his 2001 Chevrolet Corvette to clinch his second title.
With eight sprint race wins and only one finish outside the top 10, consistency and speed have vaulted Swenson clear of any other points attack in the final round. He also won the title in his rookie 2021 GLTC season.
While the title is all but decided, the race is wide open. Expected to challenge at the front of a stacked 46-car lineup is Shawn Krebsbach, a longtime TrackBattle Time Attack competitor who this year converted his Mitsubishi Evolution to GLTC-spec. Krebsbach showed the pace to be a serious contender at GRIDLIFE’s Midwest Festival in June before mechanical troubles dampened his debut. Krebsbach’s Evolution is one of only a handful of all-wheel-drive cars to race in GLTC, and the first to show serious speed in the field.
At a technical track like WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, circuit knowledge is key, and that could give San Jose’s George Koustoumbardis the edge. He hasn’t started his turbo Mazda MX-5 in a GLTC race since April 2021 but he has stayed sharp by racing locally in California and heads into the finale weekend with a home-field advantage. While GRIDLIFE has hosted GLTC races as far south as Georgia’s Road Atlanta and as far east as Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park, this is the series’ first competition stop in California.
The GRIDLIFE Laguna weekend October 20-22 will also include the season ending NOS Energy TrackBattle competition as well freestyle drift sessions, alongside a concert stage featuring Grammy Award winning artist T-Pain.
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca marks the eighth and final stop of the 2023 season for the GRIDLIFE Touring Cup Series.