Antonio Garcia – Syndication Server

Corvette Racing wins again at VIR, PMR closes in on IMSA GTD title

Vasser Sullivan Racing and Corvette Racing looked pretty evenly matched on pace in GTD PRO, so it was pit stop strategy and execution on which the Michelin GT Challenge for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship ultimately turned to the favor of the No. 3 C8.R and delivered victory at VIRginia International Raceway to Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia. The boost to their championship hopes was small, however, as Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth finished second in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 and carry a 144-point lead into the final two races.

GTD, on the other hand, was another flag-to-flag romp for Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, Snow taking a 12.187s victory over a fuel-saving Robby Foley in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. In the process, the team set a record of five wins in GTD during a season, and all but clinched the Sprint Cup Championship, which would make them the first team to score back-to-back Sprint Cups.

“It’s amazing. It’s really wonderful,” said team owner Paul Miller. “I’ve just given everybody a hug on the team. It’s an unbelievable record. We’ve never won anything like that. We’ve never won more than one or two races in a season, so it’s crazy!”

Sellers and PMR even had the No. BMW in the overall lead after the first round of pit stops, but eventually the two leading GTD PRO cars would get back to the front, with Snow and Sellers finishing third overall.

In a race interrupted by only two cautions, and neither coming at a time when it would have any real effect on strategy, the first indication that maybe this wasn’t going to be a cruise for the polesitting No. 14 Lexus came after the first round of pit stops. Taylor took over the No. 3 C8.R from Garcia, dispatched Jules Gounon in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG rather quickly and immediately started knocking out fast laps. While Barnicoat would eventually take the fast lap back, it was an indication that Taylor had the bit between his teeth and intended to close the GTD PRO points gap to the Vasser Sullivan team.

Taylor’s first attack came as Barnicoat saw an opening to get by overall leader Bryan Sellers in Oak Tree. The move slowed Sellers enough for Taylor to also scoot past, but it also left Barnicoat vulnerable due to a lower corner exit speed. Taylor got alongside, had the inside line for Turn 14, but Barnicoat held the braking just a bit later and maintained the lead.

“I didn’t have a ton of confidence going there,” Taylor explained. “I think a lap before I braked kind of late and had a bunch of ABS interaction and almost hit the back of him. That lap I was going to be offline, so I wasn’t 100 percent confident that I would make the corner had I braked when he did on the inside. And yeah, he kind of did the exact same thing to me the last year when I had a similar run, so I knew he was going to go deep. At that point in the race, I knew had we got track position, it who would have transformed the race for us, but I also didn’t want to throw it away.”

Taylor would have to wait for the second round of pit stops to take the point. Corvette Racing brought Taylor in first, with just under an hour to go. The undercut strategy was compounded by the No. 14 Lexus stalling as Barnicoat was leaving the pits. He got it going quickly, and emerged from the pits ahead of Taylor; but Taylor was at full speed, and passed Barnicoat easily going into Turn 1. Barnicoat slid wide on cold tires, giving Taylor more of a buffer. Barnicoat kept the gap around 2s to Taylor until the end, but could never really close and attack, finishing second by 2.068s. It was a nice comeback from what was almost a sure win in the previous race at Road America, ruined by a penalty for insufficient fueling time.

“Pretty much that whole race I was pushing, even on the first cycle, just to close the gap to the Lexus and to see if we could make them make a mistake,” explained Taylor. “So when the [second] yellow came out, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen – those guys restarted really strong. The guys made an amazing call to kind of shortfill, get us out front track position-wise and then it was just down to saving fuel, managing tires and maintaining the gap. I was counting down the laps from about 25 to go, so I was very happy to see that checkered flag.”

The earlier stop left Taylor needing to save fuel, and he was denied his requested post-victory burnout because the team didn’t believe he had a sufficient supply to roast the rear tires and still get back to the pits.

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“It was amazing,” declared Taylor, whom his teammate compared to a Swiss watch. “That’s down to Corvette Racing, calling that strategy, getting us that track position. And then when they told me that fuel number, I was definitely worried. But the car was so good in fuel save mode, it actually helped me save the tires.”

The victory was the 115th for Corvette, 29th for Garcia and the 33rd for Taylor in IMSA competition as Taylor enters his final two races for the team. Next year he moves back to Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport to drive the team’s second Acura ARX-06 GTP car with Louis Deletraz. For Garcia, who moved the Corvette into second during the first stint, consistency was key to victory.

“Yesterday, we tried to do something different in qualifying, because everybody seemed to be so close,” he explained. “So that probably gave us some indication on how to set up for today and the car was pretty good. So I’m glad that during the first stint the car was where it needed to be. I was able to close to second. The Lexus was very, very strong today. So in a way we we kind of managed to stay in contention. We just had to be there and put pressure and at some point somebody will make a mistake, and it wasn’t us. Then Jordan worked really, really good for the rest of the race. Another great example of pure consistency and very, very well executed.”

Klaus Bachler and Patrick Pilet in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports was a distant third in GTD PRO. Their run was aided by a strategy that had the No. 9 topping off fuel during the second full-course caution, leading to a shorter second stop. But what really secured the podium for them was Bachler having a bit of contact with the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG driven by Jules Gounon a little past the halfway mark of the race. The Porsche suffered minor damage, but the Mercedes needed a long stop to get bodywork back in a position so that the car could continue.

For Paul Miller Motorsports, the dream season continues. Snow put the No. 1 BMW on pole in yesterday’s qualifying, and never faced a serious challenge during the first stint. Sellers took over the car for the middle portion of the race, and because PMR was one of the first teams to pit and thus took less fuel, Sellers had the overall lead with PRO cars giving him a buffer behind. A slight bobble in Oak Tree let Barnicoat in the Lexus and Taylor in the Corvette get through, but the No. 1 never faced any real threat from another GTD car, either while Sellers was in the car or when Snow took it back over.

“If there was a secret, I definitely wouldn’t be trying to give it out,” said Snow of the team’s success this year. “But it’s really the team. We just worked really well together. We’re always trying to improve, we’re always helping each other out. But having grown as a co-driver really makes that possible. And Brian doesn’t get nearly enough credit for

how hard he works and how hard he brings the whole team together, but also car setup and strategy and everything else.”

But Snow was the driving force behind the victory today, countered Sellers.

“What [Madison] has stepped up and done this year has been has been unbelievable,” he said. “Like today, he, pardon my language, but he really saved my ass today. I didn’t feel well all weekend and I had to tell him last night, ‘Listen, if I don’t get better, I’m going to need you.’ You just have that trust in him all the time.”

The best opportunity for any team to stop the PMR juggernaut was Inception Racing. Frederik Schandorff was charging in the No. 70 McLaren 720S and had the car up to second. But during the final round of pit stops, a wheel nut rolled under the car and a mechanic reached under to retrieve it. Doing any work under the car during refueling is violation of IMSA rules, and the team was handed a drive-through penalty. Schandorff got the car back up to seventh, but a far cry from what might have been possible.

It was a BMW one-two on the GTD podium as Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher finished second in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport M4 GT3. Gallagher was saving fuel during his first stint, and like PMR, Turner brought both the No. 96 and the No. 97 M4 of Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull into the pits after only 50 minutes, 15 of which had been run under yellow. The shorter fill time helped propel the No. 96 from sixth to third, and eventually into second as Frankie Montecalvo in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 faded.

It was nearly a full BMW podium, until Philip Ellis pushed the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG into third past Auberlen in the No. 97. The BMWs were clearly strong at VIR.

“I think it’s a combination of things,” said Sellers when asked why the BMWs were so good here. “The BMW was obviously fantastic today and Madison did a great job. You know, I think one of the things that fits it the most is the high-speed nature of the track. There are a lot of places where it’s small and tight and the cars struggles, but here at VIR, where it’s wide and sprawling, it really stretches its legs so we’re super happy to be a part of it.”

For third-place finisher Winward, it was a nice change for last year’s winners Ellis and Russell Ward. The team has had its struggles this season, so a podium was quite welcome.

The two caution periods were both caused by single-car crashes, the first coming only 10 minutes into the race when David Brule crashed the No. 92 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 911 GT3 R in The Snake. The second occurred when Misha Goikhberg, attempting to get the No. 78 Forte Racing Powered by USRT Lamborghini Huracán back to the pits after a malfunctioning ABS system had sent him off course in Turn 1, lost the car under braking for Turn 14 and buried the Lamborghini in the tire wall. Neither driver was injured in their respective incidents.

RESULTS

Garcia puts Corvette ahead in second Lime Rock Park practice

Antonio Garcia posted the fastest lap of the second practice session for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series Championship race from Lime Rock Park. Garcia jumped to the top of the leaderboard in the final minutes of the session with a time of …

The fastest times in the session came in the closing 10 minutes when the GT Daytona PRO cars rattled off qualifying simulations on a quiet track.

Jack Hawksworth in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC-F GT3 was second quickest with a time of 51.155s, 0.126s behind Garcia’s time. If Garcia, or another driver, can match the Spaniard’s time, they will break the track record in qualifying later this evening.

Rounding out the top three was Patrick Pilet in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R with a time of 51.195s. The top time in GT Daytona was Frederik Schandorff in the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720s GT3 Evo who clocked a 51.589s after a session-leading 61 laps in the hour.

UP NEXT: Qualifying is later this evening at 5:40pm ET. The race is tomorrow, Saturday, as opposed to the usual Sunday main event.

RESULTS

Corvette Racing has their greatest day – from Monza to Mosport

Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia scored their first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD PRO victory since Sebring 2022 Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. On the other side of the Atlantic in Italy, their sister team finished fourth in the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Monza. Not a very remarkable result, but on the back of victories at Sebring, Portimão and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it clinched the GTE-Am championship for Ben Keating, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone with two races yet to run.

“A very good day. I don’t think it could have gone much better,” said Taylor after celebrating on the top step of the podium at CTMP. “We have our remote ops here as well, so during our pre-race meeting and warmup we were listening to their intercom and what was going on there. (Chief Engineer) Kyle Millay is usually on the WEC side, but he came here this weekend and they were still talking to him here during our pre-race meeting about strategy for there. It’s a team effort from both sides. Nicky texted us just now saying that they were on our intercom during our race. It’s one big family. They’ve obviously had an unbelievable year winning as much as they did – winning Le Mans and able to clinch the championship, so I think it was a good decision for Corvette to stay in the WEC to execute that championship and open up some doors for the future.”

GM Sports Car Racing Program Manager Laura Wontrop Klauser was at Monza to see the team linch the WEC title. In the second year of running a dual IMSA and full WEC program, it’s certainly a trans-oceanic success for the ages.

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“I can’t think of a better weekend for Corvette Racing,” Klauser declared. “A World Championship in the WEC and a race win in IMSA on the same day is something we all will remember. It shows how strong this program is in both series and how much both sides work together to get the most out of these Corvette race cars. I’m incredibly proud of both the No. 33 and No. 3 Corvette teams on this unbelievable day.”

Ben Keating, the defending GTE-Am champion who came on board the Corvette program for this season after WEC shelved the GTE-Pro class, is often lapping the No. 3 Corvette regularly in IMSA competition aboard the PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 car. But he is now part of the Corvette championship family.

“I’ve said it over and over, but in this championship and in each one of the five races we’ve had, it has been a true team performance overall. You win as a team and you lose as a team, but we’ve also been lucky in quite a lot of places. It’s just been a magical season,” he said, a sentiment echoed by Catsurg.

“Honestly, this season might have been one of my nicest in motorsport,” Catsburg said, who also wont he 24 Hours of Nürburgring, albeit with a different marque. “It has been so cool right from the start. It was always very relaxed with not a lot of pressure. Somehow the results just kept coming. I cannot deny that we have a great car, a great team and we have an awesome lineup. But we still need to execute, and I feel like we did that really well.”

For Garcia and Taylor, there is still the opportunity to produce a championship of their own. They are third in the GTD PRO points, although with a 109-point deficit to championship leaders Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth, it’s going to take a lot of luck in the five remaining races to achieve. For now, though, they get to celebrate Corvette Racing’s “unbelievable” day.

Embrace the bumps: Drivers’ love-hate relationship with Sebring

We’ve all been in a love-hate relationship with something or someone. Sometimes that comes from hating part of it, but loving another aspect. Other times it’s something that makes you so miserable that you can’t help but love it. Sebring? Yeah, for …

Sebring International Raceway is legendary for its bumps and its surface that alternates between concrete and asphalt. During next week’s Twelve Hours of Sebring for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as well as the WEC 100 Miles of Sebring the day before, there will be a time when the position of the sun entering a couple of the critical turns is almost unbearable. Then there is the darkness — darkness unlike most endurance racers encounter at any other circuit.

“It is the most unique track that we go to on the schedule at least,” explains Andy Lally, fresh off a GTD podium finish in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage at Daytona (and pictured above at Sebring last year). “There aren’t too many places where we combine asphalt and concrete racing surfaces. In fact, I think it’s probably the only one with the exception of some places with small patches. The fact that we know there’s problems with the track and we don’t want to fix it, we know that there’s some treacherous corners and we know that there’s bumps and and cliffs and holes and stuff … that is all part of the historical value of Sebring and what it brings. As it is fairly grueling on a driver and it’s barely ever really nice weather there, that’s what makes it satisfying if you do well.”

There’s also the way the circuit changes over the course of the race — set the car up to be fast for the finish, and in the middle of the day it will be an absolute handful.

“Understanding the unique challenge of that is that the track gets good and bad at different points in the day, so and then even some of the asphalt corners get good and bad in different points in the day. So Sebring, in particular, you know your morning goodness is worn off and you’re going to the afternoon sliminess as soon as you get a little too sideways coming out of (Turn) 5, and you know, pretty much on that lap, that Turn 16 is going to start to be horrible,” says Lally, who ran his first race at Sebring in 1996. “And every bit of feedback and everything that you do for the rest of the day until about 4:30 or 5:30 p.m. is useless to make 5 and 16 good. And then gradually some of the other corners drop off; you get some corners like 11 that stays shaded with the trees there but you get a lot of different corners that progress from good to bad differently.

“The challenge is not being fooled by the temperature change during the day,” he explains. “You know, there’s other tracks around the U.S. that do this. But as far as what’s on the IMSA calendar, nothing changes like Sebring. If you drove out at 9am and threw down a lap and then left the car alone, put another set of stickers on it and drove out at noon, just three hours later, your time difference would put you from qualifying first on the grid to last on the grid. It’s such a change throughout the day. That afternoon part is just so potentially treacherous. And you can also chase something that sets you down the wrong path for the night.”

Sebring’s sunsets can be spectacular, and the photographers carefully plan their location to be in the right place at the right time to capture that beauty as a stunning backdrop to the cars. But there’s half an hour during the race until the sun goes below the horizon that is treacherous for the drivers. Unlike the photographers, they’re hoping the sun goes down behind some clouds.

“Sunset … definitely going into (Turns) 17 and 7, you’re hoping to get any clouds,” says Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia. “If it’s a full bright sky, you know it’s going to be really, really tough. That also goes into the point that, at times, I got into the car with three-hours-and-something to go. So that means that you get the sunset, and then you go full into the dark. So you need also to pick the right visor, everything needs to be perfect.

“I have had every single condition there and every single moment of different weather. But, yeah, for sure the sunset, if it’s full bright, is tricky. That’s something you don’t want to be fighting too much with somebody, or traffic gets very, very tricky in those conditions because somebody might not see you. It’s only 20, 25 minutes; but it’s it’s very tricky.

Garcia, though, confesses he loves the track in darkness, while also admitting that that can depend on one’s position in the field: “I love the racetrack, the whole lap at night. So when it’s full dark, and you know it’s coming to the end of the race, that’s the more joyful time of the of the race. No matter how tired you are, if you’re up in contention for the race, especially, that’s when the whole magic of Sebring comes.” Garcia has been there, most recently last year when the No. 3 Corvette team won the Twelve Hours of Sebring, its only victory of the season, but also three GTLM wins before that.

There’s no passion for the track when Sebring brings an end to a team’s race before the 12 hours is up. But make it to the finish, make it to the podium, and the torture is worth it.

Antonio Garcia among 3 OTs to tryout for Colts on Monday

Colts brought in 3 OTs.

The Indianapolis Colts brought in three offensive tackles for a tryout, per the league’s transaction wire on Monday.

In light of Le’Raven Clark missing the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles and starter Anthony Castonzo still dealing with an MCL sprain, the Colts are extremely thin at left tackle.

Chaz Green will be the one to replace Clark as the backup and Castonzo if he can’t go against the Raiders in Week 14, but the Colts need to bring in some depth to the offensive line.

Per the wire, the three offensive tackles the Colts brought in on Monday were Antonio Garcia, Casey Tucker and Christian DiLauro. Garcia is a name that has familiarity with the Colts and could be the one they ultimately bring in.

The Colts desperately need some depth on the edge and with Castonzo potentially missing another week, it is likely to be one of these three that are brought in to the active roster.

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Report: Texans bring ex-Patriots offensive tackle Antonio Garcia for a visit

The Houston Texans brought in former New England Patriots offensive tackle Antonio Garcia for a visit.

The Houston Texans are evaluating the veteran talent that is currently in the free agency pool.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans brought in former New England Patriots offensive tackle Antonio Garcia for a visit.

The Patriots drafted Garcia in Round 3 of the 2017 NFL Draft, but he never played a game for the AFC East club. Garcia developed blood clots in his lungs, and it impacted his ability to practice with the team. New England waived the 6-7, 300-pound tackle in May of 2018 after he spent all of his rookie year on the non-football illness list.

Patriots Wire managing editor Henry McKenna said Garcia was in New England’s plans at tackle.

Garcia spent the balance of the 2018 offseason and preseason with the New York Jets, who cut him at the end of preseason. The Indianapolis Colts signed him to their practice squad in late October, and ultimately to a reserve/future contract at the end of the year.

In 2019, Garcia was suspended for the first four games of the season due to violations of the league’s substance abuse policy. The Colts waived him at the end of preseason, and the Miami Dolphins picked him up for their practice squad in early October, only to release him two weeks later.

Left tackle Laremy Tunsil and right tackle Tytus Howard will be the starters for Houston. The depth consists of Roderick Johnson, rookie Charlie Heck, Brent Qvale, Rick Leonard, Kyle Murphy, Elijah Nkansah, and David Steinmetz.

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