Chris Walsh secured his eighth TCX win of the season in the TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School championship at Barber Motorsports Park, bringing him that much closer to claiming the title. It was a similar story for Jeff Ricca, who overcame adversity in the TC class in order to extend his points lead. Meanwhile, it was a sweet victory for PJ Groenke, who was crowned the TCA champion.
TCX
Walsh led the pack to the green flag from pole position in his No. 104 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M2 CS (Cup). Celso Neto stuck close to the leader in the No. 22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S, and the two drivers pulled a healthy gap over the rest of the field.
A little further behind, Aaron Kaplan and Cooper Broll were involved in their own battle for the remaining podium position. As the halfway mark approached, Broll maneuvered his No. 19 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S past the No. 18 Kaplan Racing Systems BMW M2 CS (Cup) in order to move up into third place.
Thanks to traffic, the fight for the lead was considerably reduced. As the frontrunners made their way past a TCA class competitor, Walsh dipped a wheel into the grass but recovered well. However, this allowed Neto to get a clear run alongside him. The battle reached a boiling point when they dove into the next corner, which resulted in a collision that sent Walsh off-track into the gravel. He rejoined the track in second position, but was promoted back into the lead once Neto was handed a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility.
The Brazilian served his penalty and then focused on recovering lost ground, eventually getting back up to second position, albeit 22s behind the leader. Walsh went on to cruise to his eighth victory of the season, bringing the championship title that much closer to his reach. Teammates Neto and Broll completed the podium.
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“We ran into some TC traffic,” Walsh said. “I checked up a little bit because I was just being patient with him (Neto) and saw that he went around the outside. I lost sight of him, but I knew he was there, and I gave him space. It seemed like he missed the apex, hit my door pretty good when I went in, but I kept it together and kept the car on track. I was impressed with how the BMW held up after one of those hits. I couldn’t be happier about the win today.”
TC
Ricca uncontestedly won the opening race in his No. 76 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC, borrowing his teammate’s car in order to keep his championship hunt alive following a mechanical failure in Friday’s practice session, a great testament to the level of collaboration and sportsmanship at Ricca Autosport.
At the beginning of the race, Cristian Perocarpi was keeping Ricca honest aboard his No. 37 MINI JCW Team JCW TC Pro. However, Ricca was able to capitalize and gain momentum to pull a healthy gap.
Behind them, the fight intensified between the No. 780 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC of Sally McNulty and the No. 66 Scott Thomson MINI JCW Team JCW TC Pro for the last spot on the podium. It was a hard fought battle, but McNulty was able to fend off the attacks, claiming her third consecutive podium finish.
“I want to thank Ron Zaras for forfeiting his car because of my unfortunate accident, we won this race because of that,” Ricca said. “I’m pretty sure that we sealed the manufacturer’s title. I am extremely happy. The team worked all night long last night. The guys at Hyundai in Korea and in the USA are such a huge part of my program. This is redemption.”
TCA
Groenke masterfully navigated the twists and turns of Barber Motorsports Park, clinching his 7th win of the season and effectively claiming the championship title at the halfway point of the race. Behind the No. 62 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW, the fight intensified between Karl Hertel and Alex Garcia.
Garcia, commanding the No. 14 Skip Barber Racing Honda Civic Si FE1, started from third place in the TCA Class. However, he didn’t lose time pressuring local driver Karl Hertel for second place on the podium. The No. 93 HART Alabama Honda Civic Si FE1 driver ultimately finished third.
“I woke up knowing I had a job to do,” said the 2024 TCA Champion. “I wanted to bring it home for MINI USA, for MINI JCW, for all my partners. Oh man, second-time champion in this series. It just means the absolute world to me. Thank you to all my partners for letting me live my childhood dream and letting me do what I have always dreamed of doing. This is for everyone and for all the fans and the partners!”
The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School will return Sunday, September 8th for race two at 9:40 a.m. CT.