McNeilly tightens USF Juniors title race with Mid-Ohio win

Jay Howard Driver Development’s Liam McNeilly was not to be denied Saturday afternoon in the second USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire race which concluded the weekend’s Tatuus Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. McNeilly, from Brentwood, England, led from start to finish in the 20-lap race, closing to within nine points of yesterday’s winner Max Taylor (VRD Racing), from Hoboken, N.J., who still holds the upper hand as they tussle for a scholarship valued at $263,700 to graduate onto the next step of the USF Pro Championships driver development ladder, USF2000, in 2025.

Bruno Ribeiro (DEForce Racing), from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Ariel Elkin (InterMS), from Haifa, Israel, both battled past early season points leader Sebastian Wheldon (VRD Racing), from Coral Gables, Fla., on the final lap to complete the podium.

For the second successive day, McNeilly started at the front of the field, earning his fourth Continental Tire Pole Award by virtue of posting the fastest second-best lap of the field during the lone qualifying session on Friday.

The weather conditions today were markedly different from race one, with a dry track, comfortable temperature and minimal humidity ensuring almost perfect racing conditions.

After an early caution due to an incident in Turn 5, McNeilly took off into the lead and soon built a small margin over Ribeiro, who in turn came under increasing pressure from Wheldon. The InterMS pair of Elkin and Augusto Soto-Schirripa, from Miami, Fla., also remained firmly in contention.

Wheldon successfully made a move on Ribeiro for second place on the ninth lap, then immediately closed down the leader and began to pile on the pressure heading into the final stages.

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A late caution period due to an incident farther down the field set the stage for a one-lap dash to the checkers. Wheldon sought to challenge McNeilly for the lead under braking for the Keyhole, Turn 2, but the attempt cost him some momentum and allowed Ribeiro to slip past into second place and his maiden podium finish. Elkin also took advantage by moving into third at Turn Six to leave Wheldon a frustrated fourth at the finish.

The consolation for Wheldon was a new race lap record, which also brought a welcome championship point, along with the knowledge he finished one place ahead of Taylor to gain a few more potentially vital championship points. Wheldon is now tied with Elkin for third, 25 points adrift of Taylor with six races still remaining.

“I had a good race,” McNeilly said. “I led the early stages and built up a bit of a gap but then Sebastian was really fast and hunted me down the whole race. It was hard for him to pass. I defended well. We had a caution right at the end and that really helped me out. It was a one-lap dash and I had a really good restart, defended into Turn Two and got a good run out. That was half the battle really. Eyes forward and I was able to claim the win which was mega.”

DEForce Driver Development’s Patricio Gonzalez, from Mexico City, Mexico, secured his first Tilton Hard Charger Award by virtue of rising from 18th on the grid to 12th at the finish.

Jay Howard pocketed the PFC Award as the winning car owner.

A pair of tripleheader events will round out the third season of USF Juniors competition. First up is a visit to the challenging Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on August 10-11, followed two weeks later by the finale at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Ore., once again in support of the NTT IndyCar Series, on August 23-25.

RESULTS

O’Ward tops second Mid-Ohio practice

Saturday morning’s dry and warm 45-minute practice session for the NTT IndyCar Series featured more off-track adventures than any in recent memory as the 27 drivers tried to get a handle on their heavier hybrid cars. Only one of the incidents led to …

Due to the rain that prevented teams from making use of the Firestone alternate tires in Friday’s practice session, the series made an exception and allowed the faster rubber to be used in the second session as teams prepared for Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session, and with those red-banded alternates installed, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward led the field with a 1m05.9862s run in his No. 5 Chevy.

Home state product Graham Rahal was right behind O’Ward with a 1m06.0439s lap in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, and the rest of the top six was completed by Andretti Global’s Colton Herta (1m06.1639s), Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas (1m06.2076s), Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (1m06.2189s), and Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi (1m06.2517s).

Linus Lundqvist was the first driver to dip below the 1m06s barrier, logging a 1m06.9882s after 10 minutes of running. He’d have Ganassi teammate Marcus Armstrong improve it and take the lead after 15 minutes with a 1m06.7007s lap. After 20 minutes, it was Pato O’Ward who took over the top spot with a 1m06.5819s run, and Marcus Ericsson stepped ahead with a 1m06.5774s.

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Moments later, his teammate Colton Herta slid into the tire barriers at Turn 13, stalled his car, was unable to refire with the energy recovery system, and saw a red flag thrown to have the AMR Safety Team resolve the situation. Herta broke his front wing and also threw the left-front suspension out of alignment in the contact.

With 25 minutes left when the track went green, drivers headed out to complete their running on Firestone’s primary tires before switching over the perform qualifying simulations on the alternates. Kyffin Simpson drew the next red flag with just under 20 minutes to go after spinning and stalling his car.

Returning to green, the last 19 minutes saw a slow flurry of tire changeovers, and before times started to drop, Alex Palou went to first on primaries at a 1m06.4925s with 11 minutes to go. O’Ward shot to a 1m06.1415s on alternates as the clock counted down to eight minutes and improved it to a 1m05.9862 on his next lap which stood for the remainder of the session.

UP NEXT: Qualifying, 3pm ET, on Peacock.

RESULTS

Taylor does a Friday double with USF Juniors win at Mid-Ohio

Max Taylor is on a roll. Moments after scoring an accomplished USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire victory Friday afternoon in wet conditions at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the VRD Racing driver hopped over to his awaiting USF Juniors Tatuus JR-23 and repeated the feat in the first of two races that will comprise the Tatuus Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. Incredibly, he managed to take the victory despite making two visits to pit lane.

Taylor’s second win of the USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire season vaulted him from third in the points standings to the lead after former championship leader Sebastian Wheldon, from Coral Gables, Fla., was involved in a collision while competing for a podium position. At stake is a scholarship valued at $263,700 to graduate onto the next step of the USF Pro Championships driver development ladder, USF2000, in 2025.

An intense qualifying session earlier Friday saw England’s Liam McNeilly secure his third Continental Tire Pole Award for the Jay Howard Driver Development team. InterMS teammates Ariel Elkin and Augusto Soto-Schirripa lined up second and third on the grid with points leader Wheldon on the outside of the second row.

The track was still damp following the earlier showers and USF2000 race when the 20-lap contest began, although it was drying quickly, and immediately apparent that the teams would be required to switch from wet to dry-weather tires at some stage.

McNeilly led convincingly in the early stages, but when VRD Racing’s Christian Cameron, from Sonoma, Calif., was involved in an incident while disputing sixth place with Canadian Ayden Ingratta (Jay Howard Driver Development) and the pace car was called out for the first time, the majority of the field opted to dive for the pit lane and change tires. McNeilly and Elkin were not among them.

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A couple of contenders already made their tire switches, including JHDD’s G3 Argyros, from Newport Beach, Calif., who took advantage of warm slick tires to grasp the lead shortly after the restart.

Later on the same lap, Wheldon, in second, was unfortunately collected by Brazilian Bruno Ribeiro (DEForce Racing) at Turn 9, ending his day prematurely.

After another short caution, Argyros was overtaken firstly by Soto-Schirripa, then by a charging Jack Jeffers (Exclusive Autosport), from San Antonio, Texas, and finally by the inspired Taylor, who had pitted for slick tires with the majority after five laps but was obliged to return to the pit lane because one of the safety wheel-nut retaining pins had not been properly fitted at the first attempt.

Taylor fell back to 16th but immediately began to charge forward, passing Jeffers for the lead with five laps remaining and romping clear before the race finally ended under yellow due to another incident farther down the field.

Jeffers held on for a fine second, while McNeilly, despite pitting one lap after most of his rivals, flew back through the field to finish third and keep his title hopes well and truly alive.

“What a stellar day here at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and on the Fourth of July week. I am happy to be on the top step on the podium twice in two different categories,” Taylor said.” The VRD car was amazing. Rain or shine I am able to put it on the top step of the podium. I definitely had to work harder for this one with the tire strategy. We had to pit twice and I ended up nearly dead last so I had to work hard for it. I just kept my head down, kept it smart and was able to get into the lead.”

Jeffers’ drive from 15th on the grid secured him the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

The PFC Award went to VRD Racing’s Dan Mitchell as the winning car owner.

After a hectic day comprising official practice qualifying and the race, Saturday will be slightly more relaxed for the USF Juniors contingent with merely one more race to complete the schedule. The green flag is slated for 12:10 p.m., and McNeilly once again will start from the pole position by virtue of posting the best second-fastest lap by each driver during Friday morning’s lone period of qualifying.

RESULTS

Palou leads first session of IndyCar hybrid era at Mid-Ohio

The NTT IndyCar Series’ hybrid era opened with rookie Toby Sowery doing most of the lapping on his own in dry and overcast conditions to start on Friday at Mid-Ohio and ended with Alex Palou on top and rain limiting the running in the final 20 …

The new energy recovery systems made in partnership between Chevrolet and Honda performed as expected, with no major issues surfacing during the afternoon.

Palou delivered a 1m07.0650s lap in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, which was well clear of Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi who ran second in the No. 7 Chevy with a 1m07.5093s tour. Ganassi’s Marcus Armstrong was third with a 1m07.5442s in the No. 11 Honda.

“It was very valuable,” Armstrong said of the dry running in the heavier hybrid car on the new Mid-Ohio pavement. “It’s a new track surface here. It seems to be pretty grippy and smooth. So I was happy with the car — the car felt really good, considering there’s 105 lbs more of weight and quite a rearward weight distribution. It should have felt a lot more different than it did, but overall, I was happy with it, and good potential for tomorrow.”

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Timing of the rain meant teams didn’t get a chance to head out on Firestone’s faster red alternate tires — which are only available to try in the first practice session — to perform qualifying simulations. As a result, qualifying could be an unpredictable affair and deliver results that stray from expectation. The handful of quick times that were set by Palou and the rest came on the slower primary tires as the rain prevented anyone from setting a representative lap at ultimate speed.

Led by Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, a few drivers went out to explore the newly-paved track surface on rain tires, but they were scrambling for grip and lapped more than 20 seconds off of the primary tire pace until the checkered flag emerged.

Applaud the effort, @PatricioOWard 😅

📺: #INDYCAR practice on Peacock pic.twitter.com/mTthUT55Ta

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 5, 2024

The 75-minute session was clean to start, barring a harmless spin by Josef Newgarden, until the clock wound down to 50 minutes when a fire in the engine bay of Agustin Canapino’s car — which extinguished itself — led to a red flag after the car rolled to a stop.

At the time of the red, Graham Rahal was fastest at a 1m07.7452s. It took almost 15 minutes to return to green, and with 36 minutes left, cars rolled out as light sprinkles fell in some areas. O’Ward moved to second with a 1m07.8407s, and Colton Herta and Armstrong moved ahead of Rahal in rapid succession, and then it was Palou who went to first with a 1m07.0650s.

At the same time Palou went to P1, Armstrong went off and stalled as the rain started to pick up. Jack Harvey also spun and a second red flag was required to deal with two stranded cars at the 26-minutes-to-go mark.

The green flag waved at 21 minutes, but with the heavier rain, and no expectation for more rain for the rest of the weekend, most of the 27-car field chose to stay on pit lane until the session expired.

UP NEXT: Practice 2, Saturday morning, 10:50-11:50 a.m. ET, on Peacock.

RESULTS

Sowery’s IndyCar debut was years In the making

It’s OK if most IndyCar fans don’t know who Toby Sowery happens to be or why, at the age of 29, he’s making his debut in the series this weekend at Mid-Ohio. And there’s no guarantee the open-wheeler from Cambridgeshire, England, will get a second …

It’s OK if most IndyCar fans don’t know who Toby Sowery happens to be or why, at the age of 29, he’s making his debut in the series this weekend at Mid-Ohio.

And there’s no guarantee the open-wheeler from Cambridgeshire, England, will get a second chance to race in the NTT IndyCar Series after he’s done with Dale Coyne Racing’s No. 51 Honda on Sunday. But if you’re a fan of underdogs, or just have an affinity for scrappy people who refuse to give up on their dreams, Sowery is someone who might be worth following.

He took his first turn from Europe to the American racing ladder — known then as the Road to Indy — in 2017 with a couple of impressive outings in USF2000, returned for a few more in 2018 in the series we call USF Pro 2000 today and scored a double podium, and made the full-time commitment to reaching IndyCar in 2019 when he joined the precursor to HMD Motorsports.

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Sowery took seven podiums from 18 races and finished third in the Indy NXT championship behind champion Oliver Askew and runner-up Rinus VeeKay in a team that was exceptional, but wasn’t on the same level of Andretti Global (Askew) or Juncos Hollinger Racing (VeeKay).

The story went in a familiar direction afterwards as a lack of funding took the Briton out of the series in 2020, and while he put together a partial season of NXT in 2021, and did three races in 2023 which produced a podium,

While working on IndyCar opportunities, Sowery has shown well in other realms like IMSA LMP2 with Crowdstrike. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Sowery’s hopes of getting to IndyCar ground to a halt. Even so, he raised enough funding to do his first IndyCar test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and hoped to get the nod for the No. 30 Honda seat that eventually went to Pietro Fittipaldi, and from there, he picked up paying rides in global LMP2 and GT racing as a pro positioned alongside pro-am drivers.

And thanks to the tough season for Coyne and the steady rotation of drivers through the No. 51 entry, the chance for Sowery to break into IndyCar with grateful support of some backers has given him one shot, at least, of realizing his dream.

“A lot of the motivation is if you quit, you’re never going to get there,” Sowery told RACER. “We’ve been working towards IndyCar for a very long time. And looking back, I think COVID actually put more of a dent in my career than I perhaps gave credit for; it really blocked our momentum. We lost the momentum coming off 2019 and it’s been very up and down for me, doing some part of [NXT] seasons, and then obviously the test with Rahal. It’s been a difficult couple of years in terms of direction and progression and momentum in my career, but after the start of this season, it’s been very, very different for me.”

Hired to race in sports cars, Sowery has re-established his name — albeit mostly outside of the U.S. — which only helped in negotiations with DCR.

“Working with the Crowdstrike group (in LMP2) and in the Fanatec (GT World Challenge Europe) series has given me a platform to have stability and race again, and allowed me to re-introduce myself, which is obviously led to an opportunity with Dale,” he said.

“Resilience is probably a good word for this. You know, we’re not quitters in my family, we never have been. I’ve got a great team surrounding me and there’s a lot of good people that we’ve got on board to help give me this opportunity.”

And so, Sowery will strap into the No. 51 Honda with no testing, no experience with the new hybrid powertrain, no pre-existing working relationship with his race engineer or crew, and no reason to believe he’ll be competitive in a car that has consistently qualified and finished towards the back of the 27-car field.

The best Sowery can hope for is to show well against his veteran teammate and countryman Jack Harvey and do his best to make team owners — including Coyne — recognize his talent. It’s a heady task, but Sowery isn’t afraid to face it.

“It’s about really, really enjoying the weekend and putting a performance in as well, because it’s something we’ve been working to for a long time,” he said. “IndyCar is a fantastic series. It’s arguably the most competitive in the world. So it’s going to be no small challenge for me. But again, at the same time, everything I’ve ever jumped in and raced in, I’ve had to make an impression because as a family, as an individual, we don’t have the money just to not worry about that and know that we’ve got other routes.

“Every time I jump in the car, I have to fight for my career and put a good enough impression out that people actually give me the opportunities further down the line.”

Taylor slips and slides to sopping USF2000 win at Mid-Ohio

Max Taylor kept a clear head while many of his rivals were losing theirs amid treacherous conditions Friday afternoon, sweeping home to a well-deserved victory for VRD Racing in the opening leg of the Tatuus Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio tripleheader. Taylor, 16, from Hoboken, N.J., moved up to third in the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire points standings with his third win of the season.

Championship leader Max Garcia, from Coconut Grove, Fla., overcame a spin under yellow-flag conditions to finish second for Pabst Racing, while 2023 USF Juniors champion Nicolas Giaffone, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, secured third for DEForce Racing.

Jay Howard Driver Development’s Evagoras Papasavvas, from Loveland, Ohio, set what he hoped would be the tone for his weekend early Friday morning by turning the fastest time during practice, then continued his form into qualifying to secure his first Continental Tire Pole Award of the season. Both of those sessions had been held under clear, sunny skies, although by the time race time rolled around the weather – and track – conditions had changed dramatically due to persistent mid-afternoon rain showers.

Stereotypical Ohio summer struck once again at Mid-Ohio just in time for the race start. Gavin Baker Photography

The 2.258-mile road course remained wet as Papasavvas led the field toward the green flag, all 18 cars now fitted with grooved Continental tires, but it didn’t take long before a pair of separate incidents brought out the waved double yellow flags for the first time.

Unfortunately, the majority of the 40-minute race was spent with the field circulating behind the Honda Civic Type-R pace car, but even before the first lap had been completed, Taylor had moved into the lead despite lining up in seventh on the starting grid.

Taylor maintained his advantage during the numerous additional full-course cautions, and cemented his authority by claiming an additional championship point after posting the fastest lap of the race following a one-lap dash to the checkered flag.

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Garcia, who fell as far as 10th during the middle stages, charged his way back up to second immediately prior to the final full-course caution to extend his championship lead to 42 points over Pabst Racing teammate Sam Corry, from Cornelius, N.C., who finished fourth behind Giaffone.

“I was able to lead the entire race and control the pack during the restarts and just had amazing pace with the VRD car,” Taylor said. “Thanks so much to everyone involved. It was an amazing race.”

Hudson Schwartz, from Arlington, Va., earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after steering clear of the carnage and rising from 15th on the grid to fifth.

Dan Mitchell of VRD Racing scoped another PFC Award as the winning team owner.

The USF2000 contenders will be back in action Saturday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. EDT for their second race of the tripleheader weekend which will conclude with a third and final race at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday.

RESULTS

Engine change penalties for Armstrong, Fittipaldi and Rosenqvist at Mid-Ohio

IndyCar has announced six-position starting grid penalties for the No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda driven by Marcus Armstrong, No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda of Pietro Fittipaldi and No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of Felix Rosenqvist for this weekend’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The penalties were assessed for unapproved engine changes following the team test last Thursday at Iowa Speedway.

The teams were in violation of:

Rule 16.1.2.3.2. A fifth engine is eligible to earn engine manufacturer points if a full season entrant has completed the full season entrant engine mileage with its first four engines. Otherwise, a fifth or more engine does not earn engine manufacturer points and will be considered an unapproved engine change-out.

According to Rule 16.1.6.1.2., the penalty is a six-position starting grid penalty on road and street course events and nine positions at oval events and will be served at the series’ next event.

Racing on TV, July 4-7

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted. Thursday, July 4 Road America TA2 8:00-9:00pm (D) Road America TA 9:00-10:00pm (D) Friday, July 5 British GP practice 1 7:25-8:30am British GP practice 2 10:55am- 12:00pm Mid-Ohio practice 1 …

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted.

Thursday, July 4

	Road America TA2	8:00-9:00pm (D)
	Road America TA	9:00-10:00pm (D)

Friday, July 5

British GP
practice 1

7:25-8:30am

British GP
practice 2

10:55am-
12:00pm

Mid-Ohio
practice 1

3:20-4:35pm

Saturday, July 6

	British GP practice 3	6:25-7:30am
	Sachsenring sprint	8:30-10:00am
	British GP qualifying	9:55-11:00am
	Chicago qualifying	10:00am- 12:30pm
	Mid-Ohio practice 2	10:50- 11:50am
	Chicago qualifying	12:30-2:30pm
	RedBud	1:00pm (P) 2:00-3:00pm (NBC)
	Portland race 1	1:00-2:00pm (D)
	Portland race 2	2:00-3:00pm (D)
	Chicago	3:00-3:30pm pre-race 3:30-6:00pm race
	Mid-Ohio qualifying	3:00-4:30pm

Sunday, July 7

	Sachsenring	7:30-10:00am
	British GP	8:30-9:55am pre-race 9:55am- 12:00pm race
	Mid-Ohio warmup	10:25- 10:55am
	Mid-Ohio	11:15am- 12:30pm
	Mid-Ohio	1:30-2:00pm pre-race 2:00-4:00pm race
	Chicago	4:00-4:30pm pre-race 4:30-8:00pm race

Key: SDD: Same day delay; D = delayed; R = Replay

MotoGP is now airing live on TruTV and Max’s B/R Sports Add-On. Check your streaming provider for air times

A variety of motor racing is available for streaming on demand at the following sites:

MAVTV.com

MotorTrendOnDemand.com

Sowery to make IndyCar debut with Dale Coyne Racing at Mid-Ohio

Toby Sowery’s long-held dream of becoming an IndyCar driver is about to be realized, courtesy of Dale Coyne Racing in its No. 51 Honda at the July 5-7 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. The race-winning Indy NXT driver from England tested for Rahal …

Toby Sowery’s long-held dream of becoming an IndyCar driver is about to be realized, courtesy of Dale Coyne Racing in its No. 51 Honda at the July 5-7 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

The race-winning Indy NXT driver from England tested for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last year and was among the drivers considered for the seat that went to Pietro Fittipaldi, and despite the setback, the soon-to-be 29-year-old kept searching for ways to break into IndyCar and found the chance with DCR.

“Racing in the NTT IndyCar Series is an exciting challenge for anyone and I’m extremely fortunate to be given this opportunity by Dale,” Sowery said. “This race adds to an already incredible season for me, filled with two amazing programs in IMSA and GT World Challenge.

“Dale Coyne has been fundamental to IndyCar in giving drivers opportunities to prove themselves and I am eager for this challenge. It’ll be a difficult step to make, having only one day in the car over a year ago as well as adapting to the hybrid system, but I’m up for it!”

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Sowery will become the sixth driver to drive the No. 51 entry in nine events this season.

“I’ve been following Toby’s career for quite some time now,” Coyne said of the driver with 10 NXT podiums. “He’s shown that he can quickly adapt to whatever car he is driving and has a successful track record to prove it. We realize coming into the weekend at Mid-Ohio with no prior testing of the car in its hybrid form might be a steep learning curve, but we’re confident he will get up to speed quickly and we look forward to seeing what he can do.”

Menard wins wet and wild third straight Trans Am race at Mid-Ohio

Paul Menard once again drove to GYM WEED Winners Circle, this time navigating his No. 3 Menards/Masterforce Ford Mustang through heavy rain to win his third-straight race and fourth of the season. While Chris Dyson had the strategy to beat, early troubles for the three-time champion opened the door for Menard to win the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and increase his advantage in the point standings.

With a dry track before the start of the race, competitors in the TA/XGT/SGT/GT race were all starting on slick tires. However, just as the command to start engines was given, light rain began to fall over the track. While the field made its first pace lap, Dyson made the decision to bring his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang to pit road for rain tires, sacrificing his second-place starting position for treaded tires, betting on worsening rain. And worsen, it did. Polesitter Menard led the field to the green flag, but racing was slow going as competitors struggled to get up to speed on the slippery surface.

With grip on his side, it only took three laps for Dyson to race his way from the back and into the lead. As cars in every class began to dive to pit road for rain tires, Ohio driver Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Group Chevrolet Corvette) went off the track surface and into the gravel trap, bringing out a full-course caution on lap five. This allowed the remainder of the competitors on slicks to come to pit road for wets, and racing finally began in earnest when green-flag racing resumed on lap 10. Dyson led Menard and Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro) for the next five laps, but on lap 16, Dyson’s rear locked up, taking him off the racing surface and into a tire barrier. Despite the hard hit, Dyson was able to resume racing, but the heavy front-end damage required him to make a stop on pit road for body work. Fortunately, he was able to remain on the lead lap, but he trailed well behind once-again leader, Paul Menard, and second-place Tomy Drissi.

The three ran in that order until lap 33, when two competitors experienced major issues simultaneously. The No. 17 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro of Adam Andretti experienced an engine failure, bringing his car to a halt and oiling down the frontstretch. Meanwhile, Drissi went off course and got stuck in a gravel trap, allowing Dyson to pass him for second place. However, due Andretti’s inability to continue and the remainder of the TA competitors in the garage, Drissi was able to salvage the last spot on the podium. With the clock running out, Menard took the checkered flag and double yellow flags together, claiming his third-consecutive victory and fourth of 2024.

“It was a lot of fun, obviously; we wound up on top,” said Menard. “I just don’t have any experience [racing in the rain], but I learned a lot. I was running decent times, and I felt like the wetter it got, the better we were. But I was just learning out there; learning how to use the brake under wet conditions, and to set the car. Using the throttle is super tricky, but after running high-horsepower cars on skinny tires for years in NASCAR, you have to have an eggshell under your foot. So that wasn’t bad. It was all about the braking for me to gain my speed in the rain. Hats off to all these guys at 3GT. The car was so fast in the dry. I think [Chris] Dyson was a little faster than us in the wet, for sure. But we didn’t put a tire wrong, and the guys just did a hell of a job all weekend.”

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The SGT race was an exercise in patience, as competitors balanced right on the edge of control in the wet conditions. First-place starter Kaylee Bryson (No. 02 Logical Systems Inc./Sam Pierce Chevrolet Corvette) was quickly passed after the green by second-place starter Lee Saunders (No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper), and Saunders’ lead opened up further when Bryson, Richard Forsythe (No. 58 GSpeed/Sambuca Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette) and Milton Grant (No. 55 Sentry Self Storage/Springhill Suites Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup) came to pit road for rain tires. Saunders opted not to make the switch, which eventually caught up to him. On lap 21, Bryson made her way around Saunders, followed closely by Forsythe. Bryson and Forsythe battled hard for the next two laps, with Forsythe ultimately emerging with the lead. The following lap, Saunders found he was unable to continue on his slick tires and pulled onto pit road. As the race came to a close, Forsythe led Bryson across the line, with Grant earning the final podium spot.

“It was quite a battle, and you had to be patient in the rain,” said Forsythe. “We were just doing everything we could to not hit each other or slide off the track, because everybody around us was. So, it was not easy. Kaylee is a phenomenal driver; it was an amazing pole position for her. It’s such an honor to race with somebody of her caliber, with a past dirt track background like myself, actually. I have, fortunately, some rain experience in other series. You guys should know how thankful I am for G-Speed, Louis, Ian, Corey, Jason, Mike, Sandy, and all the background people that helped me out so much. I’m very thankful. I couldn’t do this without you, and you guys are awesome. Thank you so much.”

The GT race was a battle of endurance between David Hampton (No. 14 AR Motorsports/Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport) and Chris Coffey (No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4). Coffey was the fastest qualifier in yesterday’s session, but was forced to start the race in the back due to mechanical repairs, leaving Hampton with the point position when the green flag waved. Immediately after the race start, Hampton came to pit road for rain tires, putting Coffey in the lead until lap eight. Coffey then came to pit road, not just for rain tires, but also to replace brake rotors, which briefly gave Jack Rinke (No. 12 Ed Rinke Chevrolet/Chevrolet Performance Camaro) the lead. However, Rinke was without rain tires, and his slower pace allowed Hampton to regain the lead on lap 18. Once Coffey’s repairs were done on pit road, he had incredible speed, and he was able to work up to second by lap 19. For the second half of the race, Coffey relentlessly chased Hampton and seemed on pace to pass him, but Hampton was ultimately the victor. He was followed across the line by Coffey and Rinke.

“Well, we took the first [pace] lap and it started raining,” said Hampton on the podium. “As soon as it started raining, the guys said, ‘come in,’ so we came in. We did NASCAR pit crew stuff. They just went at us, started changing tires, and away we went. And the car is really, really fun to drive in the rain. I just had a great time. This is pretty amazing, sort of an incredible thing for us to do. I’ve got to thank my crew that worked so hard. Thanks to my coach, Thomas Merrill, and my wife, for all the support that they give me. We just drove. I just kept trying to drive as fast as I could and not fall off the track. It was just absolutely incredible. I’ve been watching [Chris Coffey] on television, and all of a sudden, I’m beating him, which is a pretty cool bucket list deal. And Paul Menard, I do business with him. This is just like, ‘pinch me.’ This is crazy stuff here. So, thank you all. This has just been a heck of a lot of fun.”

The full broadcast of Sunday’s race will re-air Sunday night on MAVTV at 8:30 p.m. ET. Highlights will air on MAVTV on Thursday, June 27 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The Trans Am Series TA/XGT/SGT/GT classes head to Road America next week for the Road America SpeedTour, June 27-30 Tickets can be purchased here on SpeedTour.net.

RESULTS