After a thriller in the Indianapolis 8 Hours yesterday, there is even more SRO racing on this Sunday morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We have the second races for the other SRO America support series' where championships are on the line. It is championship day, number three at "The Brickyard", Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Let's start with GT America race two for GT3, GT4, and GT2 class cars. This is the eighth and final round, the 16th and final race of the season long championship. The championship began in February on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, and it ends today at the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We join Ryan Myrehn, and Calvin Fish in the booth and Amanda Busick in the pit lane, for the finale. It is still extremely chilly. 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can see your breath, steaming, down on the grid. Gray Newell and Seth Lucas (a winner yesterday in class in the Indianapolis 8 Hours). We are now ready for the finale for GT America. Cold temperatures but hot action. This will be intense motor racing again this morning. Adam Adelson in the fight as well behind Jason Bell. Ross Chouest in second. In GT3 the title is wrapped up. George Kurtz has it. He dominated race one yesterday for win number nine and is going for ten this morning. The third place battle is between Mirco Schultis and Jason Harward. Harward and Lucas, and Jason Daskalos, shared a GT3 Lamborghini in the 8 Hours yesterday.
C.J. Moses once again has the lone GT2 car, an Audi R8 LMS GT2, in the field. Hug the curbs and get the car to rotate. No tire warmers in GT America so the Pirelli P Zero tires are stone cold. Kyle Washington, another driver who ran in the 8 Hours yesterday. Andy Pilgrim in his Ferrari 458 GT3 missed yesterday's race but he is back today. Gray Newell has GT4 pole in The Heart of Racing Aston Martin. Chouest and Bell start side by side going for the GT4 championship title today. 25 cars in three classes start today.
Harward is back in the Lamborghini he used in the 8 Hours last night which ended at 8PM last night, the latest a race has run at the speedway. Alright. It is time for the GT America final! Let's go racing! Green flag! We are underway! Punch it! Kurtz leads from pole and here comes Mirco Schultis and Kyle Washington. Gray Newell at the top of the shop in GT4 and here comes Chouest right on Bell and now, Adam Adelson squeezes past Bell and Seth Lucas is running too and Adam Adelson pushes it. Washington spins the Porsche. Oh dear. Here comes Bell. He has to go to win his second straight title.
Custodio Toledo is pushing as well, and Seth Lucas is having a wee bit of trouble right now. Adam Adelson being monstered by Gray Newell on cold tires! Gray Newell now second and Jason Bell is pushing like made. Adelson leads GT4. This is fraught action early doors and poor old Seth Lucas is falling back. I wonder if he is tired after the big race yesterday. These blokes are athletes indeed. The Premier Racing Porsche Cayman has come alive. Adelson is in full send mode. George Kurtz sitting pretty right now. He had trouble with his car yesterday. Jeff Burton and Mirco Schultis follow. Jason Harward ran the Audi R8 in race one.
Kurtz had a frustrating and lonely race in the 8 Hours yesterday losing out to Racer's Edge in the Pro-Am championship. But he is back in the saddle in GT America as they scream down Hulman Boulevard. Jason Daskalos scrapping with Andy Pilgrim who did not start race one. Schltis and Daskalos fighting for it. He has work to do. He too was in the 8 Hours along with Harward yesterday. Pilgrim had a great win at Road America. Adam Adelson went from tenth to the lead in a single lap. Holy mackerel! Gray Newell is second, a second and a half adrift. Bell locks the brake on the right front. Whoops!
Bell is now three points ahead. If Chouest passes Gray Newell, he is in the fight. Bell has to gallop here. Get on the horse and gallop away. Adelson dropped one of his bad scores and is 15 points behind Bell. Bell has to finish in the top four if Adelson wins the motor race. It would come down to number of wins in a tiebreaker. This season started, gosh, eight months ago. It has been a long one. Single driver format in this championship of course. Jay Logan in the other GMG Racing Porsche Cayman. Tom Capizzi has not had success in the cold putting the power down in the BMW M4 GT4. Jason Bell cannot let Custodio Toledo go by and Chouest must not pass Newell.
Jason Bell may be sending a thank you note to Gray Newell if he can hold off Chouest. Newell has a head of steam. Adelson slams the door in his face. Toledo to the inside of Bell. Toledo slams the door in Bell's face! Oh dear! Adelson might be in the pound seats. You know Jason Bell is going to be up on the wheel thinking, I must win this! Everyone wants it. Just a wee bit over half an hour to go. Jay Logan nearly gets the door slammed on him by Todd Coleman. Porsche Cayman vs. Toyota Supra. Gray Newell is looking very racy. Is Newell patient enough?
Mild conditions in the low 40s ambient. Adelson still being monstered by Newell. Newell has to know Adelson is desperate and has to go. Newell tries the outside and now Chouest has come to the party, uninvited. Hey dude, where did you come from? One position will change the day and turn the worlds of these contenders, upside down. Chouest held off Seth Lucas and raced for his life yesterday morning. I could have been a contender! Moisey Uretsky meanwhile is turning it on as well, look. Jason Bell must be really upset. He wants to make this happen. It is not looking good for him right now.
Bell has to continue motoring. Chouest has dropped back and is told to just sit where he is now. George Kurtz leads Jeff Burton by a second or so. Whoops. He kicks up the dust running a tad wide. Kurtz going for win number ten. Jason Harward has hit pit lane going down something like four laps. Andy Pilgrim in the Ferrari 458 Italia is catching Mirco Schultis. 1:25.229 is the Crowdstrike fastest lap set by Pilgrim, chasing the Corvette C7 GT3. Pilgrim drove Corvette's for years and also drove in the old World Challenge series for Cadillac with their GT3 cars.
Gray Newell is still monstering Adelson and Adelson opens his hands and gives him room. Custodio Toledo is right on Chouest's gearbox. Newell wants a run into turn seven. He is trying to figure out the puzzle. Setting up the chess board. King me, mate. King me. George Kurtz is the GT3 champion for 2022 and has that in his pocket. GT4 hangs in the balance. Right now, Ross Chouest would have enough to be the champ, but Adam Adelson is really flying right now. Jason Bell in fifth has 23 minutes to push. Chouest has no pressure and Bell cannot like this. He needs Custodio Toledo to apply the heat to Ross Chouest. The Conquest Mercedes is coming in a hurry.
Bell's Aston Martin is beginning to come to life and he must pass Toledo. Uretsky and Lucas, look, are closing in on Bell. The track surface is warming up as we come towards the halfway mark. Good scrap between Moisey Uretsky and Seth Lucas. Bell will have a couple minutes in his pocket but he has to dig deep and get around Custodio Toledo, the Brazilian. Seth Lucas is coming to life in the Toyota Supra. I wonder if he had trouble with the car. He dropped seven or so spots but it is such an adjustment from the GT3 car back to the GT4 car. Newell is doing all he can and getting a run on Adelson, look.
Newell to the outside and into turn one he is pushing as Adelson maintains his line. He did a partial schedule of Pirelli GT4 America in 2021. Co-driver Elliott Skeer has to be on the horn to him and now, Bell is going to pass Toledo. Toledo is going to get chopped and here comes Kurtz. Bell up one more place. He is still in the title fight. He can claim it. Halfway home. Ross Chouest now has the pressure. He has to fight. Bell just has to hold on. Jeff Burton slicing through the traffic. Adelson guarding the line on Newell and Newell does not have the oomph really. He does not have much seat time. He is doing all he can.
Adelson controlling the motor race with the Porsche Cayman not being as quick as the Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Newell has his hands full, and Ross Chouest is told, push it, man, push it! The championship is in front of you. Go and grab it! Jeff Burton is dropping like a stone. He must have trouble. He maybe went off the road. Lucas has a mountain to climb to catch Jason Bell. Andy Pilgrim racing for Ski Autosport in the older Ferrari 458 Italia and now, the new GT3 Ferrari, the 296 is coming next year to replace the current 488. Adelson has no pressure but if he wins he won't have enough to overcome Chouest or Bell in the standings.
Chouest has to throw the kitchen sink at this. People are driving for their lives. It is like the title of the Formula 1 docudrama, Drive to Survive. Chouest is losing ground to Gray Newell. He has to punch it. He has to go if he wants this title. How deep can he dig in the final 15 minutes of the season. Adelson doing all in his power leading GT4. It might not be enough. Mirco Schltis flying ahead of Andy Pilgrim. Schultis is a Chevrolet or GM afficionado. He loves being the underdog. Mirco Schutlis is a very consistent driver. George Kurtz looking for win number ten, leads by seven seconds.
Pilgrim had contact with Kyle Wsshington and they could not find a part for their Ferrari. Kyle Wsshington and GMG felt so bad about the contact, they hand delivered a part. Pilgrim might expand. He and Anthony Bartone may be in GT4, or they could step up to GT3 next year. Great to see teams helping each other and having camaraderie. Daskalos is moving up. Chouest closes in on Gray Newell. This is a nightmare for Jason Bell! Bell will be going, "oh no!" Adelson in the meantime must catch Gray Newell and pass him.
Newell not fighting for the title. C.J. Moses is moving up. Now, Seth Lucas is closing up on Jason Bell. If Lucas passes, Chouest can lock up the title. Bell has to move. He has to get back on the horse and ride like the wind. This is hot stuff! Ross Chouest also has to go. The time for being complacent is over. Hit the warp drive button. Newell has to know the two cars either side of him are desperate as they come! Newell, the meat in the sandwich.
Through the apex of turn seven. New Orleans, Louisiana, native Ross Chouest pouring on the steam against Newell. Through turn 12 with less than ten minutes to go. Newell slips up a tad. Down the front straight across the yard of bricks. Down to turn one of the road course. We have a waving yellow. Oh dear. Someone is off the road. Lucas goes inside of Bell but could get pinged for passing under a local yellow. The track looks clear. Let's see. Lucas ahead of Bell hands Chouest the title. Bell has to push if he wants it. The flag was pulled.
The stewards will have a Captain Cook and see. Lucas has the speed but he might run out of time. Shades of the finish in the 8 Hours last night. Schultis giving the championship contenders racing room. Adelson, Newell, Chouest, 1-2-3. Chouest is not motivated to charge anymore? Adelson given a warning. Could he have a mulligan in his pocket? If so, use it. Ross Chouest in his second season could become a GT4 champion. Pilgrim not into turn seven deep enough. Schultis, the German, holding the U.S. based Englishman at bay. Warning to Adelson for shortcutting turn six.
Newell has a head of steam. He has to go for it with five minutes left. Adelson squeezes him. Ross, be careful, mate. You have the title. C.J. Moses in the GT2 Audi right there too. Chouest needs a picture of what is going on. You just never know what will happen. Pilgrim passes Schultis for second in GT3 as George Kurtz is out front by 11 seconds. George Kurtz, champion elect in GT3 going for win number ten. Newell has the place. He passes Adelson. Ross Chouest does not need to do anything unless Seth Lucas should have trouble. Well, well, well.
Gray Newell could get a podium out of this. He scored his first and only GT America win at Indianapolis a year ago and Adelson almost goes off the road! He threw the block at Chouest and it didn't stick. Oh man! Adelson forces the issues and spins, and the radiator is gone! Moisture on the road. Adelson's radiator has gone bang! Adelson went from tenth to the lead and now it is game over. Race done. They need to fix that radiator for the GT4 SprintX final in a couple hours. Toledo in the gravel trap. He's buried in the kitty litter.
Kurtz leads Pilgrim and is poised for win number ten in GT3. In GT4 Gray Newell at the top of the shop with Chouest second. Lucas and Bell next. Bell cannot challenge. He does not have a chance for the title. Schultis around Pilgrim for P2. Pilgrim wants it. Callaway Corvette vs. Ferrari. Incident under review between Chouest and Adelson. Kurtz might be off the pace and here comes Schultis and Pilgrim! Oh man, oh man! Out of time. Final lap. Schultis looking for his first win and Pilgrim looking for win number two. Kurtz back on the pace. He will win. The others come up short. Kurtz wins. Schultis second. Pilgrim completes the podium. Gray Newell is going to win in GT4 after a massive accident at Road America and missing the Sebring races.
Jason Bell has to go now if he wants a chance. Newell off the pace! Chouest goes by! Oh my gosh! Chouest through. Ross Chouest wants to sweep and get the title. He is going to do it! Bell has run out of time. Chouest sweeps! He is the champion in GT4! Seth Lucas and Jason Bell go up another place each. James Sofronas, team owner for Jason Bell cannot believe his eyes! Chouest Povoledo Racing celebrate with team manager and tuner, Marcus Hasselgrove.
Overall/SRO3: #04 George Kurtz CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3
GT4: #50 Ross Chouest Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4
It is not enough in GT4. Five wins in a row for George Kurtz and in GT4 it is Ross Chouest, the champ! George Kurtz is so happy about his switch to Riley Motorsports. He had ups and downs in GT World Challenge America but has had a breakout season in GT America. It has been a tough year for George Kurtz but one of the best in his racing career. Kurtz, GT America champion, 24 Hours of Spa class champion, and runner-up in Pro-Am in Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.
Ross Chouest is amazed. He couldn't be happier after a rollercoaster season. He says he was having a hard time sleeping. But now, he can celebrate and get ready for 2023. Your GT America GT4 champions, Ross Chouest and Aaron Povoledo. We will see them later this morning in GT4 America.
Champons:
SRO3: #04 George Kurtz CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3
GT4: #50 Ross Chouest Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4
We will see you, for more thrilling GT America action in 2023. It should be fun. For now, so long everybody, from "The Brickyard". Take care.
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