road america – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Chastain diving deeper with Skip Barber Aston Martin IMSA experience

Ross Chastain may know Road America, but he’s quickly learning that racing the 4.048-mile 14-turn circuit in an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 vs. his familiar NASCAR Cup and Xfinity machinery is a whole new ballgame. Chastain, normally racing in NASCAR …

Chastain, normally racing in NASCAR with Trackhouse Racing, will make his first IMSA start in Saturday afternoon’s Road America 120 for the Michelin Pilot Challenge, joining Ken Fukuda in the No. 16 Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin. Coincidentally, Chastain’s background includes watermelon farming, and he’s competing in his first sportscar race on National Watermelon Day. Several factors came together to create the opportunity — NASCAR’s Olympics break; a relationship with Skip Barber Racing that goes back to his using the school to learn Circuit of The Americas (where he won); and a desire to return to the repaved circuit that NASCAR left off the schedule in favor of the Chicago street race.

“After the repave I wanted to come up here and run it,” Chastain explains. “If NASCAR wasn’t going to come up here, I was gonna find a way. I didn’t know how, but this opportunity came together. With this car, I’m driving past every brake marker I’ve ever learned, and I’m still wide open – and and I’m still not driving deep enough. This car, the brakes, the ABS, the tires — they just have so much more potential than our Xfinity or Cup cars ever had here. It’s a little unnerving. I’m going slower getting there – for me it’s human nature to resort back to some old habits – but I’m breaking those habits and Ken’s on me to drive further, push the brakes harder.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1406]

Chastain had coaching from Fukuda, having revisited the school to improve his road racing skills or learn a new track, so Fukuda is well equipped to help him get up to speed in the Aston Martin, even if it’s not happening as quickly as Chastain would like.

“About lap three on track, they keyed up and asked me if I was fully running, like fully pushing the car yet and I said yeah. I was out there with my tongue hanging out, trying to learn, and I was happy to let cars go by – they were definitely making a lot more lap time. I was like, ‘OK, yeah, I’m not up to speed here.’ But a couple of breaks for cautions and some checking tire pressures and stuff just gave me a minute to think, and watching Ken then run was helpful. I did end both sessions sliding off in Turn 14, so I’ve mowed the grass well. I didn’t have to stop, just rolled on back to pit lane, so finding the limits for sure. Those first couple of laps were slow, but in my mind, I was flying around here, but we’ve made quite a bit of lap time since then.”

In the race, Chastain will make his first driver change since he was 14 doing a street stock switch-off race, another thing he has to learn along with the capabilities of the Aston Martin, ABS, and traction control. Fukuda, who is the IMSA Driver Diversity Scholarship winner for 2024-’25, has respect for NASCAR veteran even making the attempt.

“I think it’s a brave thing,” Fukuda said. “He’s an established figure in his series, in his wheelhouse, even though he can drive anything because he’s a wheel man. But to come over here, and to come to IMSA … I mean, Michelin Pilot Challenge, it’s extremely competitive, if not the most competitive series in the world. It’s a premier series, and it’s a completely different car. To say, ‘I don’t care, I love driving. I want to learn, I want to figure this out…’ And he’s interacting with every single fan.”

The Road America 120 is scheduled for green at 2:45 p.m. ET. Fukuda will roll off the grid 17th in the Grand Sport class.

De Phillippi puts BMW ahead in second Road America practice

Connor De Phillippi, just as he did in Friday’s first practice session for the IMSA SportsCar weekend at Road America, set a quick time early in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8. In the second session, though, his 1m50.335s time (132.08mph) …

Just as the first practice ended under red flag, this session also was effectively ended when Ben Keating went off track in the Carousel and clouted an unprotected part of the concrete wall with the No. 2 United Autosports ORECA, after his co-driver Ben Hanley set the fastest LMP2 time. The ORECA suffered heavy damage, but Keating’s upturned thumb out of the door let emergency workers know he was OK. Keating had been wide at Turn 8 just before the accident, but it’s unknown if both incidents had the same cause, or if going wide prior left him with dirty tires unable to hold on in the Carousel.

Although the session did go green with a little over 2m left, many cars remained in the pits and only one driver bettered his time in the final go.

Filipe Albuquerque, who set the fast time Friday, was only 0.009s off De Phillippi to lead the two Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06s in second and third. Jordan Taylor had a 1m50.620s lap in the No. 40 Acura to trail his teammate by 0.258s.

Jess Krohn was fourth quick in the No. 24 M Hybrid V8, but an off-track excursion in Road America’s notorious Kink may have damaged the car, and the crew was taking the rear of the BMW apart in the garage before the session ended. Gianmaria Bruni completed the top five in the No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 to lead the Porsche contingent.

Hanley may have pushed the No. 2 ORECA to the fast time, but the United Autosports crew has a lot of work ahead of them to get the car ready for Sunday’s race, much less Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session. Tom Dillmann was 0.053s off Hanley in the No. 52 Euro Interpol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA to split the United entries, Paul Di Resta having posted a 1m53.575 in the No. 22.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1406]

Scott Andrews in the No. 79 JDC-Miller MotorSports ORECA and Nicklas Nielsen in the No. 88 AF Corse ORECA rounded out the top five.

Jack Hawksworth, 2022 winner with Ben Barnicoat at Road America in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3, was the quickest GTD PRO driver in the session with a 2m03.475s lap (120.94mph). Alexander Sims followed in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R (2m03.615s), as did Bryan Sellers in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 (1m03.648s).

Dirk Mueller and Nicky Catsburg rounded out the top five for Ford Multimatic Motorsports and Corvette Racing by PMM, respectively, behind the top two GTD runners.

Loris Spinelli was at the head of the GTD field in the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, his 2m03.804s time 0.249s better than Onofrio Triarsi in the No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3, making its first appearance in a sprint race.

Mikael Grenier was third in GTD in the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3. Roman De Angelis (No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo) and Russell Ward (No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3) were fourth and fifth.

The session was interrupted by two red flags, the first a seven-minute stoppage for the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 stopped on course, and the second for Keating’s incident.

Qualifying is next, slated for a 5:20 p.m. ET start, carried live on IMSA.tv and on Peacock.

RESULTS

Albuquerque starts fast at Road America

Connor De Phillippi set a time far quicker than anybody else a third of the way into the first practice session for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America, and while competitors closed the gap, his time held until the final five minutes. Filipe Albuquerque then put the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti at the top with a1m51.089s time (131.18mph), 0.411s faster than De Phillippi’s 1m51.5s lap in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8.

“Not much [speed left out there],” said Albuquerque, who would love to have the No. 10 on pole tomorrow for teammate Ricky Taylor’s birthday. “It was a bit tricky to drive the track. When we were testing here, we were way faster. I think the track is just coming in, coming in. We did a qualifying sim on fresh tires.

“It’s always good to be P1 to tell my mom and friends, but it does not go beyond that.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1406]

There might have been more improvements in the final minutes as other teams attempted qualifying simulations in conditions — warm and humid — similar to what they’ll see tomorrow afternoon, but the session was cut short by Danny Formal getting the No. 45 GTD-class WTRAndretti Lamborghini Huracán stuck in the gravel in Turn 14.

Sebastien Bourdais set the third-quickest time in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R at 1m51.666s, followed by Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, winner at Road America a year ago. The second WTRAndretti Acura completed the top five in the hands of Louis Delétraz.

Paul DiResta led LMP2 for United Autosports, turning a 1m53.486s lap in the No. 22 ORECA, good for a 128.41mph average around the 4.048-mile circuit. That time was substantially quicker than the rest of the field, led by Tom Dillman in the No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports, 0.607s back. Ben Hanley was third for United Autosports in the No. 2 at 1m54.177s.

Frederik Schandorff was the quickest of the GTD runners by quite a margin, posting a time 0.629s faster than the rest, and leading all the GTD PRO entries with a 2m05.242s time (116.36mph) in the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.

Antonio Garcia led the GTD PRO field in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R that won last time out at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Garcia’s 2m05.369s lap led the No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 in the hands of Harry Tincknell by 0.219s.

Nicky Catsburg put the second Corvette into the top three with a 2m05.676s lap, while Laurin Heinrich was fourth in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, in which co-driver Julien Andlauer would later make light contact with a track barrier. Bryan Sellers in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 completed the top five.

Six-tenths of a second behind Schandorff, and ninth GT car overall, Loris Spinelli was second in GTD with a 2m05.871s lap in the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. Patrick Gallagher was third in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 with a 2m05.955s lap. Roman De Angelis (No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo) and Kenton Koch (No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes AMG) completed the top five in GTD.

Aside from the session-ending red flag, the session was interrupted for five minutes when Nick Boulle took the No. 52 ORECA off course in Turn 14, taking out a trackside sign and leaving some debris on the track.

The second practice session for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Road America takes place at 9:55am local time tomorrow, 10:55am ET. It will be the last practice session ahead of qualifying late tomorrow afternoon.

RESULTS

For Albuquerque, it’s ‘win or nothing’

Two years ago, Filipe Albuquerque made one of the most spectacular passes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at Road America, putting two wheels on the grass while fighting through traffic to put the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 in his mirrors, win the race for himself, Ricky Taylor and the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura squad, and keep the team in the championship fight.

Heading back to the Wisconsin circuit two years later, the desire to win burns strong in Albuquerque, for a different reason: With the championship off the table, it’s win or nothing.

“We are completely out of the championship because it’s only three races left,” explains Albuquerque. “We have nothing to lose. Unfortunately, Watkins Glen, that failure that we had in a wheel completely put us out of the championship — we were already in a tough position. Now we just go for single wins, put all the risks we have and make it happen.

“With that said, we need the luck to kind of start turning around and eventually we can make something happen. At Road America in the past we won there. We were competitive last year. So I just hope that we can be again competitive. We just need to hit our marks, try to get the pole position and then, you know, leave the car in P1. At this point, second place doesn’t mean anything for us; it’s definitely a win or nothing.”

For Albuquerque (left) and teammate Ricky Taylor, second places just won’t cut it. Richard Dole/Lumen

Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor are 380 points from championship leaders Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963. That was in large part due to a wheel failure and DNF for the No. 10 Acura in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, the result of slight, but just in the wrong spot, contact between Albuquerque and Cameron in the Porsche. To make up the gap, there are, realistically, only around 140 points available to gain each weekend, and even that would require pole and victory for the No. 10 Acura in each race, with the No. 7 finishing last each time out.

The WTRAndretti sister car, the No. 40 of Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor, though, is 199 points off the championship lead. Still quite a feat to make it happen, but not impossible. The one circumstance where “win or nothing” doesn’t apply for Albuquerque? If there were an opportunity to help his teammates.

“100 percent, we are going to try to help them as much as we can. And if that will cost us a win, we will back off for them to win,” he admits. “It’s those things that we talked about in the past — what if this situation happens or not — but I take it without any team call needed, because I’m a team player and know the situation. At the end of the day, we are working for a manufacturer, which is Acura. We are where we are for different reasons, and they are a bit ahead on the road. So if they can go for the win, we’ve got to support them as much as we can, take more bold strategy and car setup to see if it works, because we are the ones with nothing to lose.”

In the past two races at Road America, the No. 10 has a first and a third — an average of second. If Albuquerque and Taylor were in the championship hunt, that average would be perfectly acceptable; but this time it’s only the glory of a win that matters.

IMSA teams ready to go big at Road America’s full-field sprint

It’s a crowd, and driver, favorite. With fans packing the hillsides, the 4.048-mile Road America is the longest and perhaps the most anticipated circuit the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races on. It’s also the only event where all four …

The track is popular among fans for its variety of viewing options and park-like atmosphere that has earned it the moniker “America’s National Park of Speed.” Add that it has what many consider the best trackside food of any race venue in the country, and it’s a destination event. Drivers love the wide surface, the variety of corners — including the pucker-inducing 175mph “Kink” coming out of the long Carousel turn and leading down the back straight — the track presents.

“One of the crown jewels of road racing in America. A place that everybody loves to go to,” says Sebastien Bourdais, driver of the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R with Renger van der Zande, of Road America.

Bourdais and van der Zande are second in the GTP points heading into Road America, and is looking forward to everything the unique track throws at drivers. “Super challenging, quick and a little bit of everything — slow-speed, high-speed corners and long straights where the cars can really stretch their legs,” he says. “The resurfacing last year made it a little tricky off-line. One year later it seems to have evened out some and all of the racing that we’ve seen so far has become less scary to go off-line, so it should definitely open some opportunities.”

As Bourdais notes, last year’s repaved surface provided more grip overall, but in the areas of the pavement that hadn’t seen much traffic, that grip dropped off precipitously. That made passing a challenge, and a minor miscue that sent a car off-line had more sever consequences than usual.

“I think it’s going to be a bit better,” reckons Filipe Albuquerque, who will be looking for the second win of the year for the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 with Ricky Taylor. “Last year was tricky as the moment that you had a locking wheel, you could never catch the car and you’d go to the grass. It seems like it’s more wide, the line. I know that the LMP2s were testing there with some GTs, so I think the more cars that drive around on that asphalt, it’s just better. So I expect a more forgiving track with the exact same grip on the ideal lap. I think that’s positive and just let the track come to us. So it’s going to be nice.”

The Cadillacs and Acuras are likely to be chasing last year’s winners, the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron. The victory at Road America has sent the squad on a run not even their teammates could touch, and if the championship went from August to August, the team could take home the crown now, having outscored everyone else in that timeframe. The only car with two victories this season, in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, the No. 7 Porsche has led the 2024 GTP championship from the beginning.

“Road America last year was truly a weekend that we could unlock the performance of the car, the pure speed of the car,” says Nasr. “[Campbell] and I were sharing the car back in 2023, and that was the first victory of the 7 car in the IMSA series. So a very special one in every way, just because the 7 car last year had quite a tough beginning of season so that win was really the breakthrough of of the 7 crew. Really ticking the boxes and making sure the car was up to the expectations in that track which is super demanding. It has a lot of high-speed corners, medium-speed corners and fast flowing corners, which is probably one of my favorites in the calendar, I have to say. And from from then on it really clicked.”

Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Riley Motorsports come into Road America as unlikely leaders in the LMP2 standings. Rookies moving up from LMP3, they have been consistent when others have had feast then famine — but mostly famine. Three podiums have put the No. 74 on top. Headed into a race where the team has claimed the LMP3 victory the last two years represents a good chance to solidify the title lead.

“It’s a great race for us,” says Robinson. “It’s a really valuable race to one of the main members on my team, John Donovan; he’s from Wisconsin, so I think that would that would be be really, really exciting for him. I’m excited for the opportunity to win anywhere. Winning races is is one of the goals, but having another having another good points weekend is probably a bigger goal than that.”

It’s tight for the LMP2 lead, though — Riley lead Euro Interpol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports by only 12 points, as Nick Boulle and Tom DIllmann closed things up by winning at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park last time out.

AO Racing comes into Road America leading the GTD PRO championship, but with a shakeup in the lineup for the car that will represent “Roxy” in pink this weekend. Seb Priaulx has been called away from the team to fulfill his duties for Multimatic, so Julien Andlauer is stepping in to partner Laurin Heinrich. While Andlauer is vastly experienced with the Porsche 911 GT3 R, Road America is new to him, as well as Heinrich, who has benefitted from Priaulx’s knowledge of the North American tracks.

So, it may be an opportunity for the chasing Heart of Racing team to make some inroads into AO’s lead. Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas won at Road America last year in the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3, and Gunn is trailing Heinrich in the championship by 98 points.

“I think the energy is really positive right now,” says Gunn. “On the 23 side, we are in a very good position in the championship. We’re not quite where we want to be, but we’ve gradually been progressing throughout the year with fourth at the start of the year, then third, and now second. There’s a little gap to the Porsche in front, but we’re gonna give it everything we can.”

Winward Racing would like to forget last year’s race at Road America where the No. 57 Mercedes AMG only ran 15 laps. The season that the team have had so far should go a long way toward erasing that memory, as Russell Ward and Philip Ellis lead the championship by a massive 240 points on the strength of four victories. Ward and Ellis won here in 2022, so they have a history of getting the job done at Road America.

The 2h40m race is scheduled for a green flag at 3:10pm Eastern on Sunday, with live coverage on Peacock beginning at 3pm ET. Saturday’s qualifying at 5:15pm ET will also be streamed on Peacock, as well as on IMSA.tv, while a replay on CNBC starts at 6:00pm ET. Commentary from select sessions will be carried live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com.

New cars, new faces for IMSA WeatherTech Championship at Road America

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will feature 47 entries for its annual visit to the track known as “America’s National Park of Speed,” Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The 2h40m race around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit will mark the …

In that total are 10 GTP entries, 12 LMP2s, 10 GTD PRO cars and 15 GTDs. The GTD PRO field grows by one from its usual sprint-race entry thanks to the addition of a Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 for Daniel Serra and Giacomo Altoe. Conquest entered GTD PRO earlier in the season at Detroit when GTD had the race off, but this is the first time the team will bring two cars to a race, a PRO entry in addition to its GTD Ferrari for Manny Franco and Albert Costa Balboa.

Another change in GTD PRO is the absence of Seb Priaulx in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, which will be in the pink “Roxy” livery for Road America. Priaulx’s replacement to partner with Laurin Heinrich has not been named.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1406]

A new LMP2 entry comes from JDC-Miller MotorSports, the No. 79 ORECA LMP2 for Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews in addition to its Porsche 963 GTP entry. However, the LMP2 field won’t be any bigger because CrowdStrike Racing by APR will be absent as driver and CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz continues to deal with the fallout from last week’s worldwide IT crisis.

Another change in LMP2 is 2022 Prototype Challenge champ Tonis Kasemets subbing for Lance Willsey in the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier while Willsey is committed elsewhere.

The GTP entry looks exactly as expected, with all the usual players present, but there are a few changes in GTD. Triarsi Competizione makes its first appearance in a sprint race with the No. 023 Ferrari 296 GT3 (pictured above) for Onofrio Triarsi and Alessio Rovera. That will make three Ferraris for Road America, when typically last year there were none in the sprint races.

Sandy Mitchell is driving the N0. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, subbing for Kyle Marcelli, Danny Formal’s usual co-driver. Kenton Koch will be partnering with Mikael Grenier in the No. 32 Korthoff-Preston Motorsports Mercedes AMG. Koch has featured with the team in the endurance races this season, but will take Mike Skeen’s place for Road America and VIR. Zacharie Robichon will again join Roman De Angelis in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo; De Angelis and Spencer Pumpelly won the last race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

The WeatherTech Championship will be joined by IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup North America and Mustang Challenge at Road America. The race is scheduled for a green flag at 2:10pm local time (3:10 ET) on Sunday, Aug. 4. The race will be streamed live on Peacock, and on IMSA.tv outside the U.S.

Crews wins first time out in Trans Am at Road America

The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli race at Road America was one of attrition and consequences, with both mechanical failures and penalties ultimately affecting the outcome of the race. A four-time winner this year, Paul Menard led much of the 25-lap race after early contact took Chris Dyson out of contention. However, an avoidable-contact penalty moved Menard to second in the finishing order, resulting in 2023 CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series champion Brent Crews earning the victory, fighting back from engine issues and an eighth-place starting berth to win in his first-career TA start.

Dyson led the field to green in his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang after taking the pole position and got off to a great start, pulling ahead of both rows of traffic. Second-place starter Menard (No. 3 Menards/Masterforce Tools Ford Mustang) was quickly challenged by third-place Adam Andretti (No. 17 Top Liner/Go Share Chevrolet Camaro), but he maintained the second position and proceeded to chase the leader. By lap two, Menard had closed in on Dyson and dove to make the pass in Turn 8 and the two made contact, with Menard bumping Dyson’s left-rear, causing the three-time champion to spin. Dyson was able to get moving again, but he’d fallen all the way back to the eighth position.

While Menard led the field, Crews, who started in eighth place in his No. 2 Mobil 1/STEEL-IT Dodge Challenger after engine problems plagued him in qualifying, had already fought his way into the second position by lap three. Dyson, on a mission to return to the front of the field, began to pass his TA competitors, and by lap 11 he had driven up to fourth. However, Dyson faced even more adversity, as he lost voltage in his car on lap 13. Dyson pulled off the racing surface, and despite a tireless effort by CD Racing crew, he was unable to return and relegated to finishing last in the TA class.

A few laps later, the Camaro of third-place Andretti began to pour smoke due to a left-front tire rub. Andretti quickly came to pit road for a tire change, but his new tire also smoked. The team determined that a nose brace had broken, leading to bodywork causing the rub, and Andretti was forced to retire to the paddock. This led to Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co./Valley Automotive Chevrolet Corvette) taking over the third position, and behind her, Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Drissi Motorsports/Lucas/Mission Chevrolet Camaro) and teammate Don Yount (No. 7 Drissi Motorsports/Franklin Road Chevrolet Camaro) battled for the fourth position.

As the laps clicked down, Menard had opened an insurmountable lead over Crews, and he took the checkered flag in the first position. Crews and Ruman followed, with Yount ultimately taking fourth and Drissi finishing fifth. After the race, Menard was issued a 42s penalty for avoidable contact, dropping him back to the second position, and Crews was awarded his first-career TA win.

“These TA cars [really are the most fun to drive],” said Crews in GYM WEED Winners Circle. “I just want to thank Pancho Weaver and all the guys over at Weaver Racing Concepts for getting this thing back on track. I don’t know if everybody knows, but yesterday, we had a whole motor swap. The guys stayed up pretty much all night and then got up super early this morning to get this thing fixed up. I’m just happy to be here racing. I had a great time. I want to thank my dad for helping me be here; he did a great job spotting today. I just want to say thanks to all my sponsors. Thank you to Mobil 1 Racing and STEEL-IT and all the guys that are on that race car. They did a great job. Thank you to everybody at Toyota Racing for helping me be here. I’m looking forward to the next one.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1479]

The XGT race appeared to be in Danny Lowry’s hands, as he led nearly every lap in his No. 42 Bennett/BridgeHaul/PitBoxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3. However, in the final laps, the plug on the steering wheel that allows the car to shift disconnected, and Lowry was stuck running in second gear. This allowed Ricky Sanders to pass Lowry in his No. 43 BridgeHaul/Bennett/PitBoxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3 and secure the victory.

“This feels great; Road America is just an awesome facility,” said Sanders. “The first time I came here 10 or 12 years ago, I thought it was one of the best tracks in America. Every time we come back, it gets better and better. It’s like, how can they keep improving it? And we come back and it’s an even better facility. It’s a beautiful place, with amazing workers here. It’s just a joy to come here because everybody treats us so well. We really love coming up here, running with Trans Am, running at Road America.”

Joshua Carlson (No. 36 Enseva/TC Fab/Diercks Ltd. Ford Mustang) led the SGT field to the start, but experienced a mechanical issue on the first lap, smoking heavily and dropping fluid on the track. Once Carlson retired to the paddock, Lee Saunders (No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper) took over the point position, opening up a large gap over his competitors. Behind him, Richard Forsythe (No. 58 GSpeed/Sambuca Restaurant Chevrolet Corvette) held second place for the first 10 laps, but on lap 11, Kaylee Bryson made the pass for second in her No. 02 Logical Systems Inc./Sam Pierce Chevrolet Corvette. While Saunders cruised to victory, Bryson and Forsythe ran close together, but Forsythe was unable retake the runner-up position.

“First of all, I’d like to thank God for this beautiful day in this great country we live in and the ability to come out here today,” said Saunders. “Thank you to the fans. Thank you to Trans Am for bringing us to world-class places like this. This is just fantastic. It’s unfortunate that Josh [Carlson] had problems, because he was obviously really fast. I was looking forward to racing with him and just had a great time with everybody out here today. I can’t thank my team, KSR, enough. We’ve got Eddie, CJ, Jameson, and they did a great job turning the car around. I’m just the idiot behind the wheel, they’re the ones that make it fast. Thanks again for everybody coming out today and thank you to my wife, who’s at home holding the fort down.”

Chris Coffey took the green flag from the first position in his No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4 and showed his raw speed from the start. On the first lap, a competitor in another class laid down fluid in Turn 5, briefly making the surface slippery. Coffey slowed through the affected area, allowing David Hampton to sail around his outside and take the lead. However, Coffey recovered quickly, reclaiming the lead before returning to the finish line. From there, Coffey was unmatched, leading every lap until the checkered flag. Hampton crossed the finish line second, followed by Colin Cohen in the No. 38 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4.

“Man, the race was pretty interesting,” said Coffey. “The track got covered in oil there right at the start, and so that made it really hairy. This guy [David Hampton] drove right around the outside of me, so I had to fight back for it. I’ll tell you what, we’ve done four races in six weeks, and I couldn’t have imagined it’d be as much work as it was. I couldn’t have done it without David Rice and Xavier, and of course, I couldn’t be here at all without Colin [Cohen]. Just want to thank my wife at home, who’s been having to hold down the fort and take care of our four-year-old son all alone. I’m ready to get home now.”

The highlight show of Sunday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, July 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

A select number of TA drivers such as Paul Menard, Amy Ruman and Boris Said will be at the SpeedTour All-Star Race at Lime Rock Park, July 19-20, where legendary drivers from all racing disciplines will pair up with the TA and CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series stars of today.

The Trans Am Series TA/XGT/SGT/GT classes will next hit the track at Watkins Glen International for the Mission Foods Watkins Glen SpeedTour, August 21-25.

RESULTS

Road America Trans Am livestream

Stream the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA and GT race at Road America starting Sunday at 2:05 p.m. ET. The race will also be telecast on MAVTV. The highlights show will air on MAVTV on Thursday, July 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Dyson rockets to Trans Am pole as Road America heats up

Chris Dyson in the No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang captured the pole for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at Road America with a best time of 2m02.352s. It is his second pole of the 2024 season. “I think this pole is a great place to start,” …

Chris Dyson in the No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang captured the pole for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at Road America with a best time of 2m02.352s. It is his second pole of the 2024 season.

“I think this pole is a great place to start,” said Dyson. “It’s a long race here, 100 miles, but the car has been great. The GYM WEED car rolled off the truck fast, and we’ve really just been fine tuning it since then. The track was a bit hotter this afternoon than it has been, and the track has been evolving a lot with the rain, but I think we’ve got a pretty strong car for all conditions, and I’m optimistic for the race tomorrow. This is a place that’s been very good to us in the past, and I hope tomorrow’s one of those days.”

The TA/XGT/SGT/GT race will be contested Sunday at 2:05 p.m. ET/1:05 p.m. CT. The race will be broadcast live on MAVTV and streamed live here. The highlights show of the race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, July 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

RESULTS

Matos grabs fourth TA2 win of the year at Road America

Rafa Matos drove to GYM WEED Winners Circle for the fourth time this season at Road America, earning his 24th-career victory as the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series’ winningest driver in history. After starting second, Matos made an early pass for the lead and was a force to be reckoned with, maintaining the first position through multiple restarts and overcoming late-race mechanical issues to take the checkered flag and extend his lead in the point standings.

Jake Drew (No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro) started the race from pole after setting a new track record in Friday’s qualifying session. On the initial start, Drew easily maintained the lead, but a full-course caution was deployed on lap two for a car stopped on the back straight. When green-flag racing resumed two laps later, second-place starter Matos (No. 60 Concord American Flagpole/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) challenged Drew and deftly passed him to the inside. Thomas Merrill, who restarted fourth in his No. 26 HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang, quickly moved into third by passing Mike Skeen (No. 17 Team SLR-M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro), then made his way around Drew, costing the No. 7 another position and taking over second.

While Matos smoothly led, the running order behind him changed rapidly. Drew dropped back to sixth, and Merrill lost the runner-up position to Austin Green in the No. 89 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang, while seventh-place starter Connor Mosack (No. 57 Silver Hare Racing/PRG Chevrolet Camaro) moved up to fourth by the second double yellow of the day on lap eight.

The top five remained the same during the next green-flag run, but the field was grouped together by another caution on lap 14. When racing resumed on lap 17, Matos had another beautiful start, while Merrill reclaimed second after getting back around Green. Skeen got into trouble while racing with Drew, allowing Drew to slide back into the top five.

Suddenly, Matos began to struggle with a transmission issue, his car popping out of gear. One lap later, Merrill was right on Matos’ tail and looking to make the pass. Matos was forced to drive the rest of the race with one hand on the steering wheel and another on the shifter, allowing him to keep the car in gear, yet he was still able to hold off Merrill’s advances. Meanwhile, Drew had an excellent run in the final laps, picking off both Green and Mosack to find his way back into a podium spot.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1479]

When the checkered flag waved, Matos earned the victory, followed by Merrill, Drew and Mosack. Thomas Annunziata (No. 90 Bayshore Mortgage/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) amazingly worked his way all the way through the field after starting last due to a pre-race penalty, claiming the final position in the top five with a late-race pass on Green.

“It was a very special day for us; our fourth win of the season,” said Matos. “A great moment for us, a great moment for Nitro Motorsports. Hats off to every single member of the team. This is a group effort. They worked their [butts] off and prepared a fantastic car. Thank you to Concord American Flagpole and my biggest supporter, Chris Dyson. Thank you very much for believing in this program. I want to congratulate Tyler Kicera, also. A lot of times, Tyler is the mastermind behind the team. He’s a great man, great driver. It’s been a good day for us, and we’re just stretching that points gap even more. Hopefully we’ll come back after the summer break and wrap up the championship.”

The Pro/Am Challenge race was exciting, with four different drivers leading the class over the course of the race. Jared Odrick (No. 00 BLACK Underwear/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) started fourth in class and overcame a spin in Canada Corner to make a late-race pass for the lead, earning his first-career Trans Am victory with a 10th-place finish overall.

“I’m doing my best not to cry, you know,” said Odrick. “I have a lot of goals within racing, and I want to keep this going. I’m just so happy that I was able to run with Nitro Motorsports. Everybody there has just been awesome. It’s been amazing to be able to come over here and the welcome that I’ve received. Thank you to CB Motorsports, as well, for helping me get into this series in the first place, and to Mike Skeen and all of his initial convincing. He told me that if I want to become a better driver, then I’d better run TA2. I want to say thank you to my girlfriend, Crystal. Thank you to Black Underwear and to my crew chief, Cody. We had a tough first week at Pittsburgh, and we’ve just been fighting back ever since.”

The highlight show of Saturday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, July 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Next up for the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series race is the SpeedTour All-Star Race at Lime Rock Park, July 19-20, where legendary drivers from all racing disciplines will pair up with the TA2 stars of today.

The next points battle for the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series will be August 21-25 at Watkins Glen International for the Mission Foods Watkins Glen SpeedTour. Tickets can be purchased here on SpeedTour.net.

RESULTS