The 2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season begins, today, with the traditional opener, the four-hour race, the BMW M Endurance Challenge on the fabled high banks of Daytona International Speedway. The weather may be the biggest curveball thrown at the teams for this one and for tomorrow's 60th renewal of the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the WeatherTech Championship. We are seeing very cold temperatures in Daytona Beach this weekend. How will that affect the racing, if at all? The new Porsche Cayman is ready to go and we have a stacked field for this race. There are 16 former Gtand Sport champions and five former TCR champions in this feild today for 11 different manufacturers.
Wow. Robert Wickens returns to racing. In 2018, he was near the top of the racing world in IndyCar before his horrid accident at Pocono in which he injured his spinal cord. Today is the day as Wickens uses hand controls and will share a Hyundai Elantra N TCR with Mark Wilkins, car #33. He and his wife Carly are expecting a baby as well. NASCAR is represented at PF Racing with Hailie Deegan and Chase Briscoe as well as Austin Cindric and Harrison Burton. There are five Ford Mustang's in the field. Daytona International Speedway is an hour's drive north of Orlando. Watch the entry to the infield, the road course. Turn six is critical, transitioning from the road course to the banking and the backstretch towards the Bus Stop.
Four hours duration for today's race. We are ready to go. Cinch down the belts. Get ready, get set, punch it! Andrew Davis on pole for Porsche and McCann Racing. Go! Andrew Davis jumps into the lead. We see Billy Johnson and Hailey Deegan racing for it immediately. Side by side into the International Horseshoe as the TCR cars start. Focus forward. The rules in Michelin Pilot, you can't change columns before the start/finish line. Billy Johnson will be penalized for a mistake. He had the red mist come down but you cannopt change columns. The stewards will want a word.
Ah yes. Drive through penalty for #59. In the meantime, the #2 Hyundai Elantra is slow, A.J. Muss at the wheel of it. This is one of the brand-new Hyundai Elantra TCR's and we see the black #5 Alfa Romeo coming up. That is Tim Lewis Jr. currently driving. Robert Wickens is being monstered by Cameron Lawrence in the #89 HART Racing Honda Civic TCR. Robert Wickens' dream is coming true. He is racing again after his savage IndyCar accident at Pocono Raceway. HART is a group of Honda engineers who work for the company in Marysville, Ohio, and some argy bargy, look, between Robert Wickens and the Honda. A.J. Muss cannot get the Hyundai into gear and there is a slight fire on the exhaust.
The engine has gone bang in that car. Muss is an Olympic snowboarder as well as a driver. Billy Johnson has to serve that penalty but he is monstering Andrew Davis right now. Porsche Cayman vs. Ford Mustang. You have four hours to race. Serve the penalty and get it out of the way. Billy Johnson's Ford GT4 Mustang is six or seven years old, chassis number one, and it is still competetive. Ford and Multimatic are building a new GT4 car for 2023 and a GT3 car for 2024 for the WeatherTech Championship.
#59 is in the lane. This is the very first customer car built by Multimatic in Canada. Johnson has been a Ford factory driver now for many years. He has served his penalty while we see Andrww Davis in the race lead, ahead of Stevan McAleer, Hailey Deegan, and Harrison Burton. Meanwhile, the scrum in TCR is still hot. Robert Wickens is pressing on and doing all he can to pour on the pressure on that HART Honda up ahead. Stevan McAleer meanwhile has Andfrew Davis in his sights. McAleer at the wheel of the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman GT4 sharing the car with Eric Filgueiras. McAleer wants the pass but he does not have the oomph to get it done yet.
It has been cold and wet at Daytona International Speedway this weekend and the drivers need dry conditions. The GS lead is really heating up. Daytona is such a unique track with the banking and the technical, flat infield part of the course. The history of this speedway is incredible. Yours truly has been to see races at Daytona, live, in person, in 2020. Robert Wickens is a racing driver and he wants to go for it again. He is so focused and driven to win races. He is back after it. What a fabulous story. He has come back and is right in the pocket. It is no surprise. He knew he was going to get back to racing.
It had to be a great moment to be back in a race car and being competitive. So, the race continues and Stevan McAleer has built a bit of a lead at the top of the shop, 1.1 seconds ahead of Andrew Davis. We see Hugh Plumb in the Team TGM Porsche Cayman, #46, in third spot. Now, a good battle here, look, as it is Mustang, vs. Cayman, vs. Mercedes. #93 overcooks the Bus Stop. That's the #93 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Porsche, Mark Siegel, Tom Dyer, and Tyler McQuarrie sharing the car. We go onboard with the #41 PF Racing Ford Musang GT4 too. Austin Cindric and Harrison Burton sharing that car.
James Pesek and Chad McCumbee drive the #40 sister car and the third entry has Hailie Deegan and Chase Briscoe sharing the driving chores. We also saw another spot of bother for the #59 Mustang, Billy Johnson and Bob Michaelian for KOHR Motorsports. The heat is rising in TCR, look. It is still this Hyundai vs. Honda battle. Chris Miller anbd Tuim Lewis Jr. are scrapping for a spot as we see the #09 Aston Martin also in a battle of it's own. Slow on the course is the #43 BMW M4 GT4 for Sean Quinlan and Greg Liefooghe. That car pulls off the road to a corner station.
What could be the problem in #43? He was fading fast. Meanwhile, a humdinger of a scrap with the Unitronic JDC-Miller Motorsports #17 Audi and the KMW TMR Alfa Romeo. Tim Lewis Jr. wants by Chris Miller. But the Audi driver has put a tremendous amount of daylight between the two of them. We are just over 20 minutes into a four-hour motor race. There's a long way to go yet lads. Stay focused. In the battle of the Porsche's at the sharp end it is McAleer, Davis, and Plumb, the top three. Ford Mustang's are next. Harrison Burton, Hailie Deegan, and the #24 Ian Lacy Racing entry for Frank Gannett and currently at the controls, Drew Staveley.
Deary me. More woes for Hyundai as #98 is in a spot of bother. That Elantra is moving slowly on the apron of the track. He could be a sitting duck here before too long and bring out a Full Course Yellow. Pit stop time at Honda, the #99 VCMG entry is in the lane. Victor Gonzalez sharing with Ruben Iglesias. Both drivers hailing from Puerto Rico. Harry Gottsacker is stopped on the road, sharing that automobile with Parker Chase. Alfa #5 back in the lane as well. Ah yes. Yours truly predicted it. We have a Full Course Yellow here, chaps.
So, the Alfa Romeo of Daytona entry has made it's pit stop just before the yellow flew. Could this be a good strategy call? We'll find out. Ah. It is Harry Gottsacker, who was stranded out on course and now the towtruck is pulling the car away to safety. So, it could be game over for the Gottsacker/Chase portion of the factory Hyundai team. It is remarkably cold in Daytona, and these cars don't like running in the extreme cold. This had to be some type of mechanical issue with the Hyundai. We cannot say what it is just yet.
The field is now in control of the safety car. One of the TCR's is pointed by. Harry Gottsacker simply lost drive. So, the Porsche battle for the lead, McAleer has moved by Andrew Davis, a couple Porsche veterans. McAleer's car is carving the corners better. RS1 has more experience with the Porsche than does McCann Racing. Pit stop time. Minimum drive time is 40 minutes. Will we see driver changes? The Grand Sport cars are now halfway through a fuel load. The #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4's are struggling a wee bit against the Porsche's and the Mustang's. Harrison Burton and Hailie Deegan will not quite be used to these longer pit stops.
But, Hailie Deegan and Harrison Burton, both of them have been really impressive. Deegan stalls momentarily. Joey Hand is on site this weekend. He will drive six road races with Rick Ware Racing in NASCAR this year. Robert Wickens, we go onboard with him. On lap seven of an IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway, he had a savage accident. He was paralyzed in the crash and survived. But he is now back to racing for the first time in nearly four years. He knew he wanted to race again and here he is. Team boss Bryan Herta called him and he accepted the invitation to come and test the Hyundai.
His speed was there. How did he feel about being back in a car? Michael Johnson, who is a paraplegic driver, he has been able to help Robert Wickens get back into racing. His co-driver, Mark Wilkins, wants to be there as a teammate for Robert Wickens. Wickens has the desire and the fire to win. That is his plan. If you have a dream, go to it. You can plan all you like. But go do it. It is an emotional deal. But the scoop is, you just want to get out there and drive. Wickens wanted more in qualifying. Jim Leo with Pit Fit is Robert Wickens' trainer and Leo will assist Robert Wickens on the driver changes.
His upper body strength is good. Mr. Leo has been training drivers and pit crews for 30 years and is now going over the wall for the first time in his career as well. We continue under the safety car. Drew Staveley has now motored his way to second spot behind Andrew Davis followed by Mark Siegel, Ted Giovanis, Tim Lewis Jr., and more. We have a TCR car up in the midst of the GS battle. We will continue under yellow for the time being. A great field of cars assembled for this season opening event for Michelin Pilot Challenge. OK. We are going back to green, Andrew Davis leading this motor race.
The top four cars did not pit for fuel. James Sofronas in the GMG Porsche is not on the same strategy as Ted Giovanis pits on an alternate strategy. #28 did a driver change on their stop. The #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 is in the lane,a nd Michael Dinan will get into the car. He is making his IMSA debut today. Robby Foley will finish the motor race in that car. Battles everywhere. For third spot, we see James Sofronas and Michael Cooper battling each other. Cooper in the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R sharing with Robin Liddell. 45 minutes now on the board.
Some spinning there in the International Horseshoe. Could not see who had rotated back there. In replay, we can see onboard with one of the Mustang's, of Harrison Burton. A Porsche Cayman spun and one of the Aston Martin's goes off the road, look. Robert Wickens is now third in TCR. He wants to win. He has to catch both Chris Miller and Tim Lewis Jr. The rest of the top ten has Cameron Lawrence, Taylor Hagler, Tyler Maxson, Eric Rockwell, Michael Johnson, Rory van der Steur, and William Tally.
Wickens does a Kimi Raikkonen on the radio to his team and says, "please leave me alone. Let me drive." Davis leads Filgueiras now by 1.3 seconds. You have missed nothing up front. Meanwhile, Harrison Burton is trying his best to catch a couple of cars and looks like he will do so into the Bus Stop. One of the Toyota Supra's is up there in a battle with him and running ahead is the #12 NTE Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT4. That is being shared by Manny Franco, Josh Hurley, and Thomas Merrill. Poor old Chris Miller is having issues with the #17 Audi. The Unitronic JDC-Miller Motorsports car is stopped on the road in the infield here at Daytona, on the road course.
Full Course Yellow number two. Andrew David dives for the pit lane. Fuel, tires, and a driver change it appears. Michael McCann will get into the car. There's frantic activity at the McCann Racing team. Fuel only? No tires? No. I take that back. They are changing the tires and there may be a slight problem but it seems everything is going to plan. So, McCann is back on the road. The order is chopping and changing at the sharp end. Filgueiras leads Staveley with Michael Cooper now third. The safety crews are attending to the stranded Unitronic JDC-Miller Audi. He appears to be back on the button.
We return you to your regularly scheduled programming here on ye olde sarcasm channel. Some great onboard camera views we can see, looking in the sides of the GT4 cars at the drivers at work. Once again, this is the second Full Course Yellow of the race. That Porsche that spun earlier was Tom Collingwood, aboard the #83 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman. Collingwood sharing with John Tecce and Spencer Pumpelly. Eric Filgueiras will lead the field to green, in a car that has a slightly misaligned steering system. We are now an hour into this race. Michael Cooper is a five-time SRO World Challenge champion. He and Robin Liddell are going to be in the fight all day.
Two wide through traffic, very sketchy through the road course as Harrison Burton is pressing the Volt Racing Aston Martin, the #7 entry. Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman sharing that car. BMW vs. Camaro in the tri oval. Dillon Machavern wants by Michael Cooper. Drew Staveley now in the lane for service. The scrap is Filgueras vs. Cooper vs. Machavern. 11 brands in Michelin Pilot Challenge as Michael McCann goes off the road and back on. Filgueiras is doing very well. He and McAleer will be racing in SRO later on in the year and they were able to do this event because it is so early in the year. Michael McCann is doing all he can. Andrew Davis will finish the race.
In TCR, the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi had a great pit stop, but Gavin Ernstone has been penalized for a pit stop infraction of a fire extinguisher. Dillon Machavern has made his move on Michael Cooper on the banking. The Camaro punches a major hole in the air. Machavern had a head of steam and ,ade it work. Michael Cooper has a lot of experience with the Camaro, but not with this Michelin Pilot tire. Michael McCann Jr. had a massive head of steam and there are five Toyota Supra's in GT4 this year. There's at least three there. Sheena Monk in one of them, in the #3 entry for JG Wentworth Racing by Infinity Motorsport.
Sheena Monk now sharing with Kyle Marcelli for this season and with a Toyota Supra while the team raced a McLaren 570S GT4 last year. Eric Filgueiras is doing a phenomenal job in the lead of the motor race at this time. Mavhavern and Cooper chasing, followed by Hugh Plumb, Hailie Deegan, Matt Travis, Jim Michaelian, Kenny Murillo, Harrison Burton, and James Sofronas. This race has bee a barnburner so far. James Sofronas battles with Owen Trinkler. GMG Racing vs. TGM Racing. Archangel Motorsports is being operated by Wright Motorsports this year.
Nick Galante, in the #6 Forbush Performance Toyota Supra has some damage ot the left rear corner. Galante sharing with Tom Long and Luke Rumburg. Thiago Camilo, meanwhile, in the #14 Toyota Supra is chasing the aforementioned #12 NTE Sport Aston Martin. Julian Santero and Alfredo Najri are his co-drivers for Riley Motorsports and the Toyota Supra GT4. Hailie Deegan is holding her own with a few of the champions of this series like Michael Cooper, Hugh Plumb, and Dillon Machavern. Hailie Deegan knows how to absorb information. Deegan is being monstered by Michael Cooper and she is drafting right up on the BMW.
Hugh Plumb fends off the challenge. Hailie Deegan will run the NASCAR truck series again this year. Cameron Lawrence, meanwhile, is battling with Tim Lewis Jr. The HART Honda North America Honda Civic TCR vs. Tim Lewis Jr. in the KMW TMR Alfa Romeo. Trouble for the #540 Porsche Cayman GT4. The Black Swan Racing Porsche is back up to speed. Tim Pappas sharing with Jeroen and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen. An hour and 15 minutes have elapsed since we started the motor race. So, we'll be at the halfway mark soon. The battle of the American muscle cars, the Camaro and the Mustang, continues. Deegan and Cooper are reeling in Dillon Machavern.
Whoa! Cooper runs wide into the corrner as they are now working back through the International Horseshoe. Two years ago this weekend, yours truly was down in the International Horseshoe watching this race happen. So, we move backt o TCR and a scrap between the Hyundai's. Michael Lewis goes by Mark Wilkins. Lewis sharing the #1 BHA Hyundai Elantra N TCR with Taylor Hagler. Up on the high banks once more. This is thrilling to watch as we see now, Tim Lewis Jr. monstering Cameron Lawrence in that Honda vs. Alfa Romeo dust up as well. Steadily clawing back is the third Hyundai, the #98 entry for Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker.
Tyler Maxson in the #77 BHA Hyundai is also in the fight. Mason Filippi is his co-driver. Hyundai are showing what they're made of in TCR at this moment. Blimey! Troubles for the Honda and we have spinner in the horseshoe, too, look. So, the car Cameron Lawrence is driving is in a spot of bother, sharing with Chad Gilsinger and Steve Eich. To the lane he comes. They might be going for tires at HART. These boys were leading TCR. Cameron Lawrence has lost drive! It could be game over for HART. Right front axle failure. Oh dear. That's a huge load for the front wheel drive TCR cars here at Daytona. They have a long road to recovery.
Cameron Lawrence slipped through the net. He did win in 2020 driving with Robby Foley at Sebring in 2020. He is a Trans Am champion. Robert Wickens heads for the lane and taps the brakes at the very end. His trainer, Jim Leo, helps him. The other driver, who is paralyzed, Michael Johnson, is also in the lane. Stephen Simpson takes over. Mark Wilkins takes over the #33 and Stephen Simpson the #54. So, the HART Honda Civic goes behind the wall. Robert Wickens has indeed made his return to racing and we will hear what he has to say, soon.
Meanwhile, on track it is hot and heavy. The #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang is in the pit lane. This is the team's third car, and their regular MPC entry for James Pesek and Chad McCumbee. Hyundai #1 is in the lane too. It seems that Taylor Hagler will get into the car replacing Michael Lewis for the last two and a half hours of this race. Still a traffic jam in Grand Sport. #41 is also in. This is the Harrison Burton, and Austin Cindric entry. We saw a replay of some contact there between the PF Mustang and another car. Machavern and Deegan come in as the leaders, running 1-2. Bill Auberlen is getting into the BMW.
Hailie Deegan is staying in the Mustang and not handing over yet to Chase Briscoe. Stevan McAleer was pointing fingers at Hailie Deegan for an earlier incident and Tom Dyer is the same, but Deegan is really pressing hard. We are looking at the new Ozark Raceway in Missouri, which is the sponsor of this car. The SRO series will be racing there. Now, Michael Cooper has finished his driving for the day and Robin Liddell now is into the car. Liddell is a hot shoe in WeatherTech and Michelin Pilot competition. Michael Cooper will also be in the Rolex 24. The Rebel Rock Racing team is the only GT4 spec Camaro in this race today.
We have seen this being a sprint race all day. This is a frenetic pace for this event today! Holy cow! Races are so unpredictable, especially these endurance events. Just wait until the Rolex 24 tomorrow! Audi #44 has spun and is back in the game. That is the NGP Motorsports car of Tristan Herbert and William Tally. Mark Wilkins is currently pressing Gavin Ernstone for the final podium place in TCR while leading the class, the #73 LA Honda World Honda Civic. Mike LaMarra sharing with Ryan Eversley. Now then, we have a huge spin, and crunch into the wall for the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR, as Gavin Ernstone slides out of the Bus Stop, and wallop! Right into the SAFER barrier!
A massive accident. Will Gavin Ernstone be OK? Two decades ago, the SAFER barriers came into being and Thank God for that! Get your hands off the wheel, curl up into a ball, and hold on for the ride. There's nothing Gavin Ernstone could do. Thankfully he will perhaps be OK. The safety crews are remvoing him from the car. Ernstone is getting out of the car under his own steam. He will have a king size headache, but that is about it. Harrison Burton lost a tooth, when he was diving into a swimming pool as a kid, and then, the tooth worked it's way loose during this race. He will need a filling.
He is happy to be racing with Austin Cindric and he is going to have more experience now on road courses when coming to NASCAR. Kyle Larson, 2021 NASCAR Cup champion, has shown that racing in other disciplines of motor racing for NASCAR drivers, is a good idea. Plus, the new generation NASCAR Cup car is set up like a sports car and set up for road racing and oval racing, both. Currently, we are continuing under Full Course Yellow. The track is being cleaned up. Just over two hours on the board. So we approach halfway in this race soon. Leading overall and in Grand Sport, Eric Filgueiras in the RS1 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Leading TCR, Tyler Gonzalez aboard the #19 Van der Steur Racing Hyundai Veloster N TCR.
Looking at the replay of Ernstone's accident. he got loose and had a massive tank slapper. Again, Thank God for the SAFER barrier! So, Eric Filgueiras continues to lead as we are back to green. Filgueiras is flying and so is Austin Cindric right now. Owen Trinkler and Hugh Plumb are in this and Hailey Deegan gets taps by Robin Liddell and spins! Everyone sees it and she stopped in the middle fo the track. Tight stuff through turn two and Deegan slides across the road. Again, Thank God everything was safe! So, Deegan is now back on the road. Race Controlmwill have to look at that incident.
Liddell meatime, he is pressing hard and passing Bill Auberlen in the BMW for fifth place. Robin Liddell is so experienced in a Camaro. Billy Johnson is fighting back to the front in the #59 Ford Mustang after Bob Michaelian did his stint. He and Matt Plumb are tied at 23 wins apiece in Michelin Pilot Challenge all-time. Robert Wickens sees this event as just another race and he says he had a lot of fun. It felt great to take the green and compete again. He and his team have settled into a rhythm. A good fight too, for one of the Honda's and with his Hyundai teammate Taylor Hagler. His braking was feeling different in a race. He has done very well. Mark Wilkins will have a lot of work to do and Wickens says the Honda's and the Audi's are far quicker in a straight line.
They will keep plugging away. Welcome back to motor racing, Robert Wickens! Coming up on the halfway mark here at Daytona. We see intermingling now between GS and TCR cars on the road back into the road course section once more. Colton Herta will be racing a prototype tomorrow at DragonSpeed in LMP2. The goal is to win in LMP2. Tomorrow's race will be such a full field. Many IndyCar drivers were turned away from opportunities to race tomorrow. We will see cold and rain tomorrow, perhaps. Herta is sharing tomorrow with Pato O'Ward, Eric Lux, and Devlin DeFrancesco. I the meantime, we have passed the halfway mark in the Michelin Pilot Challenge season opener.
Positions are shifting around in TCR right now. Mason Filippi chasing Roy Block right now. There have been a couple cars visiting the pit lane as well. Porsche still lead with the Cayman's and Eric Filguieras has a three second gap now over Owen Trinkler. Mark Wilkins has his hands full with Stephen Simpson. William Tally has won at Daytona in Pilot Challenge and has a podium to his credit in one of the other MPC races. Wilkins and Simpson are wheel-to-wheel, and Simpson moves by! He takes no prisoners and has done very well in the past in the WeatherTech Championship. Two cars with drivers who use hand controls to race, Wickens, and Michael Johnson, are now leading TCR.
It is great to see opportunities for drivers with physical disabilities or who have been injured in crashes and want to make a return to racing, be able to do so. Meanwhile, Ryan Eversley is really pushing and he is pressing Mark Wilkins. Eversley won an SRO TCR championship in 2018 battling with Mark Wilkins. Honda, Audi, and Hyundai have been battling each other. Hyundai does not feel they have the ultimate pace. But they are doing very well now. Mason Filippi and Tyler Maxson in the #77 BHA Elantra, did not get on track until Thursday, missing the Wednesday Free Practice. Simpson leads TCR while Billy Johnson has taken the lead from Owen Trinkler.
Also, we see Roy Block in the Alfa Romeo, he is pressing hard trying to catch Ryan Eversley. Block screams past Eversley! Wow! He is up to third in class as we see Billy Johson in the KOHR Ford Mustang GT4 leading the motor race overall with co-driver Bob Michaelian. Several manufacturers in the hunt in GS. Ford, Porsche, BMW, Chevrolet, Aston Martin, Mercedes-AMG, Toyota. Ditto in TCR with Hyundai, Audi, Honda, and Alfa Romeo. It is still a cat and mouse game between Robin Liddell and Bill Auberlen. Billy Johnson is whistling off into the distance.
The level of aggression in this motor race shows the frenetic pace. Pit stop time at Turner Motorsports. That is the #95. McCann Racing in the Porsche, the #8, is also in the lane. More pit action as well. PF Racing in the lane now. This is the #41 car. The Burton/Cindric entry. Sports car racing is really growing and we are going to have a massive race tomorrow at the Rolex 24. We will be covering it all for you. Check it out on Peacock, all 24 hours, and also on NBC and USA Network. The dominos are starting to fall. Backt ime the races. We have less than an hour and a half t go.
The #59 Mustang is in now. Billy Johnson pits from the lead. Billy Johnson doing yeoman service as Bob Michaelian did a single stint. Roy Block now leads in TCR in the Alfa Romeo. Ryan Eversley has now made his way back up the order in TCR. He is back chasing down Mark Wilkins. Hyundai vs. Honda. Ryan Eversley is only racing selected events in 2022 co-driving with Mike LaMarra. The Honda is nimbler on the infield with a short wheelbase, turning a Front Wheel Drive car with the rear end of it. Austin Cindric had a close call on pit entry, almost ramming the back of the #7 Volt Racing Aston Martin! Egad! I got this. I got this. I don't got this! PF Racing and the #42 Mustang are in the lane. Hailie Deegan hands the car over to Chase Briscoe.
Chase Briscoe is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year. He will have to keep it on the blacktop to the end of this race. Another Porsche Cayman resumes in the lead. Tom Dyer at the wheel of the #93 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Porsche entry sharing with Tyler McQuarrie. Dyer is in the pit lane now for service and the lead will recycle again. Some argy bargy in TCR into the Bus Stop. Top runners in GT4 right now. Tom Dyer, Billy Johnson, Owen Trinkler, Bill Auberlen, Matty Plumb, Stevan McAleer, Christian Szymczak, Robin Liddell, Trent Hindman, and Jason Hart. Porsche, Ford, Porsche, BMW, Porsche, Porsche, AMG Mercedes, Chevrolet, Aston Martin, and Porsche.
Roy Block in the Alfa Romeo has command in TCR. Roy Block, Ryan Eversley, Tyler Gonzalez, Stephen Simpson, Mark Wilkins, Mason Filippi, Michael Lewis, Tristan Herbert, Alex Rockwell, and Andy Willmot run at the head of TCR. Alfa, Honda, Hyundai Veloster, Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Elantra, Audi, Audi, Audi. Meanwhile, flat left front tire for Michael McCann and the #8 Porsche! Wow! Just over an hour to go. The Alfa is in the lane for service as well. From the TCR lead, it is KMW with TMR. Same program, and they want solid points in 2022.
They are going for a championship. They are hungry for a Daytona win too. They want a swig of the champagne. A good draft between two of the PF Racing Mustang's down the straight here at Daytona. Into the lane comes the #73 L.A. Honda World Honda Civic TCR for fuel and tires. Eversley might get a chance to pit again. We have 67 minutes plus on the board, but Eversley is slow out pf the lane and has to do a Control, Alt, Delete. Smoke billowing from the back of the #59 Mustang! That's oil smoke. Oh dear! Has that motor gone bang? He needs to get it off the road and pull over to a corner station. He will make it to the pit lane. No oil down on the road it looks like.
There's oil on the exhaust system. That car is draining oil out of the crankcase. Maybe an oil line has come loose. The hands across the throat sign means game over. Owen Trinkler now takes the lead aboard the #64 TGM Porsche Cayman. Also, the #73 Honda of Eversley and LaMarra is also out of the motor race. More debris on the road too. A piece off the car. It is the rear end of Chad McCumbee's #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang and he has damage on the rear diffuser and the right rear fender.
Chase Briscoe goes by Chad McCumbee. It is coming apart for the Ford Mustang contingent. The #59 team has Race For RP on the side, to stop an autoimmune disease. Billy Johnson will be racing full-time in 2022, so they will be buried in the points at the start of this season. Owen Trinkler and Team TGM are leading the motor race at Daytona International Speedway. More woe for Hyundai as the #77 Elantra N TCR is slow. The battle for the lead is Owen Trinkler vs. Stevan McAleer. McAleer is goign to the inside of Trinkler. Trinkler has a head of steam to hold the spot. Trinkler held up by TCR traffic.
Porsche #28 is running very well through the infield. Trouble for the #09 Aston Martin too, for Automatic Racing. Trinkler has now gapped McAleer. McAleer caught then Alfa Romeo TCR of Roy Block and got stymied. The #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 is taking fuel and tires. This is earlier than expected. They have to go in GS, another ten minutes before the final stops. Mason Filippi has taken the #77 Hyundai Elantra behind the wall. Mark Wilkins in Hyundai #33 leads TCR. This is an endurance event and we have a Full Course Yellow once again. Billy Johnson says he lost oil pressure aboard the #59 Ford Mustang GT4.
This is a full-season effort for this team. #09 was off to the side of the road and Rob Ecklin Jr. also has an issue and made it to a corner station. There's debris on the road. Looks like an exhaust pipe or a piece of ductwork. The field runs once more behind the safety car. Final pit stops underway. TGM, Turner Motorsports, and more, are in. Robby Foley will finish the race for the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 and Stevan McAleer will be the closer for the #28 team at RS1. Just 51 minutes left on the board. Roll the dice, split the strategy. Pit stop time now for TCR. Everyone needed to come for fuel and tires. Mark Wilkins will take the Hyundai #33 to the end of the motor race.
Hyundai and BHA have not had success at Daytona, but that could change today. Hugh Plumb in the #46 TGM Porsche stayed out. Poor Mark Wilkins has a slow pit stop. He will have to really work hard there in the last 47 minutes. There was a red light at the end of pit lane and poor old Stephen Simpson might be penalized. Ditto for Patrick Wilmot. So, both those blokes will have to go for a drive through penalty. The engine oil light came on in the #33 Hyundai. Hopefully things will be OK. The motor bogged down on pit entry. The #42 PF Racing Ford Mustang is in the lane now.
This is Chase Briscoe's car, and ehre come the other GS cars. Porsche #46 at TGM is in, for the duo of Hugh and Matt Plumb. #33 stalled the car with mechanical woes. Bryan Herta Autosport have lost boatloads of track position. The loose undertray on one of the PF Racing Ford Mustang's is being strapped down. The whole rear bumper is off of that car. This is the fourth Full Course Yellow we have seen today. Stephen Simpson will get a drive through penalty. Did Hyundai's #1 and #19 pass in the pit lane when the red light was on? This is going to be a bit of a pickle. Green flag. Check out this restart! Oh manZ! Owen Trinkler has come out of nowehre and he is going to be scrapping with Bill Auberlen!
No track limits here at Daytona. Trinkler times it perfectly! Red light penalties issued to the #42, #54, and #85. TCR leader, Stephen Simpson, will have to serve a stop + 60 seconds. Bill Auberlen has indeed been passed by Owen Trinkler. Trinkler is having issues with a lapped Porsche, the #47, Jason Hart at the controls. The #85 Audi is serving a penalty. Jason Hart is running lap times identical to the leaders. Hart is a very good shoe running Porsche Cayman's in North America. The penalty box is busy. Nolasport won an SRO GT4 championship in 2021. Matt Travis and Jason Hart, the drivers. Robin Liddell is moving in on Owen Trinkler.
Jason Hart is down a lap and he has given way and let Bill Auberlen through. Hart won't give it up and Auberlen will be fuming! Porsche lead this motor race. Nine Porsche Cayman's entered in GS today. Stephen Simpson in the lead in TCR. He has to serve a penalty but has not been told to do so. Bryan Herta, team owner, is upset about it. The penalty is under review by the stewards. Robby Foley has his hands full with the Cayman's of Tyler McQuarrie and Stevan McAleer.
Half an hour left on the board. Auberlen makes hus move on Liddell in the banking through NASCAR turn four. Tim Lewis Jr. in the Alfa vs. Michael Lewis in the Hyundai (no relation), for TCR honors. Foley and McAleer battle and now Stephen Simpson, serves his drive through penalty. It was deemed an illegal pit exit. The red light was there. Tim Lewis Jr. has control of the TCR field. It is a beautiful, and quick car, is the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Owen Trinkler continues to lead with just 24 minutes to go. There should be a hole shot award, because that is what Owen Trinkler got on the restart. The #56 Murillo Motorsports Mercedes goes off the road and back on in the banking towards the tri-oval! Wow!
That is the car being shared by Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss. They were squeezed by the #41 PF Racing Mustang, the Cindric/Burton entry. Stevan McAleer meanwhile, has caught up to Owen Trinkler and is right on his six. As predicted, this race has turned into a battle of the Porsche Cayman's. McAleer is looking for an opening, is the Flying Scot. Trinkler, the driver from Nashville, Tennessee. The alignment is out of square on that Porsche #28. How much tire has he worn off? Trinkler is pressing hard as TGM want a win with the new Porsche Cayman after racing the Chevrolet Camaro in 2020 and 2021.
Stevan McAleer had a massive accident at Petit Le Mans in the WeatherTech Championship at the end of 2021. He has a head of steam, trying to pass Trinkler. McAleer to the outside in the International Horseshoe. But he can't quite make it. The sun is dropping low in the sky. We will start seeing the cherry red glow of the brake rotors. What will happen through the Bus Stop? Through traffic, Trinkler fends off McAleer's challenge. Owen Trinkler has a lot of experience. McAleer is faster. Passing is a whole different kettle of fish. Side by side they go. McAleer s brave and he won't give up. McAleer closes up. Trinkler in the middle. McAleer still fighting hard.
Here he comes again. They will hit traffic. A lot of tire clag through the high speed kink. Back to NASCAR turn two. McAleer is pushing and Trinkler is using his mirrors. Here comes McAleer. No dice. Just a bite of the cherry. McAleer on the outside tries the momentum, NASCAR style side drafting. McAleer leads! Wow! Lapped traffic ahead. Trinkler will try coming back. McAleer has to be extremely careful. 12 minutes left in the MPC season opener at Daytona, "The World's Center of Racing". They have cleared some of the TCR traffic, not all.
One of the Toyota Supra's has a flat right front tire! Oh man. This might bring out a yellow if that car can't make it back to the pit lane. Drama building in the closing moments here at Daytona. A mega scrap in TCR. NGP vs. BHA vs. JDC-Miller. Chopping and changing between Hyundai and Audi in TCR. Mark Wilkins vs. Tristan Herbert. Here comes the #17 JDC-Miller Audi of Chris Miller as well! Good battle for seventh in GS too between Austin Cindric and Matty Plumb. Auberlen and Foley battle for third and have Tyler McQuarrie right in the fight in the #39 CarBahn Peregrine Porsche. Trouble with a cut tire for the #83 BGB Cayman. Robby Foley only took right side tires on his final stop.
Foley may just have to protect Bill Auberlen. He won't let McQuarrie get through. Two laps to go. Auberlen slides really wide and loses grip! Auberlen still has not won the BMW Endurance Challenge yet. McQuarrie is coming and Auberlen's tires are knackered. Thisis for the podium. A podium is what you want. Side by side through NASCAR turn two. Tyler McQuarrie on the podium, white flag lap. Stevan McAleer is on the final lap. Poor old Rebel Rock Racing, the Camaro is slow. A shame for Michael Cooper and Robin Liddell. McQuarrie gets passed by Auberlen. McQuarrie is wrestling with Foley!
Argy bargy. McQuarrie has fallen down to fourth. Half a lap to go. Not enough. What does McQuarrie have left in the locker? Stevan McAleer through the Bus Stop for the final time. Stevan McAleer and Eric Filgueiras win, and Auberlen and Machavern get the podium place! TCR win to Alfa Romeo, Tim Lewis Jr. and Roy Block! The Hyundai's will hold places on the podium. Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler second, and third, Mark Wilkins, and Robert Wickens! Wow!
Overall/Grand Sport: #28 Filgueiras/McAleer RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS
TCR: #5 Block/Lewis KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR
Congratulations to the winners in the opening event of the 2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship! Next up for the MPC cars, will be the "Super Sebring" weekend in mid-March. Excited for that event as well. We'll see you tomorrow, for the twice-around-the-clock odyssey that is the Rolex 24 at Daytona! So long, for now. Take care, everybody. Get a good night's sleep. You will need it.
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