It is the final weekend of SRO TC America in 2022 and this is the first of two races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the most hallowed motor racing track in all the world. Race one is indeed on deck. Two weeks ago at Sebring, Kevin Boehm wrapped up the TC class title but the TCX and TCA titles remain up for grabs as we have Ryan Myrehn, Calvin Fish, and Amanda Busick. A full 40-car field lines up to race today. Three classes ready to race for a 40-minute race. Temperatures in the low 50s compared to the 90s at Sebring International Raceway in Florida a few weeks back. Colin Garrett must finish ahead of Jacob Ruud to win the title. Carter Fartuch and Gresham Wagner will scrap again in TCA. The TCX margin is 30 points and only 25 points on offer for race two tomorrow.
Here we go. Chris Walsh, first-time pole man. Green flag and away we go! The TCX cars are off! The TC field are coming up. Three wide for second with Lucas Cattania, and now Kevin Boehm and Clay Williams fighting for the lead as Ken Fukuda is now third and the TCA cars thunder to turn one for the first time. Carter Fartuch had the pole. Chris Walsh has the confidence and is at the top of the shop on this 2.44 mile, 14-turn layout, a shorter track just as it was in 2020. One of the DRS Garagistic BMW's off the road, Matthew Ibrahim. He is in the fight with Jeff Ricca in the #78 GenRacer Hyundai Veloster. They are now in the south short chute of the oval. The BMW M2 CS is running it's final two TC races in SRO America this weekend.
Joey Jordan close company in the Mazda 3 as Lucas Cattania spins and trouble for defending champ Jacob Ruud with massive damage on the left front corner of the car! Ooh! He got around Walsh and caught the back of the #51 BMW in the hands of Brett Scroggin. Full Course Yellow. Jacob Ruud is in trouble. In replay, we can see too, a nbunch of hip and shoulder between a Honda and a Hyundai. Sally McNulty crunching into Tyler Delgado. Oh dear. A massive debris field through turns seven through ten. Ruud did not hit the pit lane despite the class split under Full Course Yellow.
That is going to be a bear for poor old Jacob Ruud. Yikes. He salvaged places at Watkins Glen in a similiar situation in July. Lots of time left on the board as we have run for just five minutes. Ruud's points lead is 30 points over Colin Garrett who had a monster of a start. Gresham Wagner has dropped like a stone to sixth place while Carter Fartuch is the leader, the two of them tied. Wagner has had the edge on race wins in 2022. Gresham Wagner's team has a new sponsor in TCL Television. The Honda's are running well in the cooler weather. Carter Fartuch has not had pace over the hot summer. But now the Honda may have an extra turn of speed with only three Honda Civic SI touring cars in the world. Fartuch has one and his teammate Sally McNulty is driving the test car.
Jacob Ruud has heavy left front fender damage rubbing the tire, digging into that Pirelli P Zero big style. Still over 30 minutes on the board. Bug damage for Devin Anderson as well in the #22 Subaru BRZ for TechSport Racing. In replay, we can see the contact and Tyler Delgado has damage as well getting off in the grass. Bucketloads of debris on corner exit later in the course and P.J. Groenke is also down the order. Ruud and the Fast Track Driving School team might be a day late and a dollar short, but the Full Course Yellow might save their bacon on this one.
Colin Garrett now moves up to second place. 70% of race distance is what counts for points but safety first and damage limitation are key. Fast Track Racing of course is the new name for Classic BMW but there is fluid pouring from the radiator so this might be more damaged that they think. Just go into damage control mode. Tomorrow is the finale as we shall see a support race for the TC cars before the Indianapolis 8 Hours. P.J. Groenke is now down at the tail of the TCA field as the safety car pulls off. Green flag. Chris Walsh followed by Colin Garrett. Side by side stuff, look, for third, fourth, and ffith. Fast Track Racing may go a lap down.
Lucas Cattania is pushing while Colin Garrett is right on Chris Walsh's six. Walsh is invisible for points. Garrett would get first place points. I wonder if the team knows that at Rooster Hall Racing. Jacob Ruud would also not be mired in the deep end but if he does not get back on track it could be game over. P.J. Groenke is still running right in front of teammate Bruce Myrehn who is the father of lead SRO America race commentator, Ryan Myrehn. Meanwhile, Ruud's team has replaced a radiator according to team boss Toby Grahovec.
Garrett presses Chris Walsh into the braking zone and now, Walsh continues to lead and here comes Garrett Adams as well, look, monstering Colin Garrett. Adams wants a win and so does Walsh. Walsh driving a car prepared by Samantha Tan Racing with crew chief and former driver Jon Miller. ST Racing are of course from Canada but are also working in shops in Orange, California. Chris Walsh, a longtime Formula 1 fan and an active duty member of the Air Force. Walsh's favorite F1 driver, Ralf Schumacher, brother of the legend, Michael Schumacher, who has a phenomenal record here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when the United States Grand Prix was run here.
Kevin Boehm leads TC while Carter Fartuch does so in TCA. Wagner is pushing on, regrouping and putting a gap in over Branyon Tiner and Cristian Perocarpi. He is a full second faster than is Carter Fartuch. 2021 Mazda MX-5 champion who came up short in their races last weekend at Road Atlanta. Branyon Tiner, a runner up finisher at Sebring last time out, is being harried by Cristian Perocarpi, trying to figure out how the puzzle fits together. Look for the sweet spot of your gear ratios in your transmission. Lead change in TCX as Colin Garrett is now at the top of the shop over Chris Walsh.
Garrett wants the win while Jacob Ruud is still languishing down the order as we get close to the end of the motor race. Walsh is also a former member of the U.S. bobsled team, another sport like motor racing that relies on speed and precision. So, Bruce Myrehn in the #63 Mini, he is getting int the race and knows the track here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Louis Perocarpi, is next up, team boss for the Mini JCW team. Many Mini off road racing entries like rallying, Lpuis Perocarpi has competed. He wants to race the Dakar Rally one day.
Meantime, in TCX, this is good stuff, mate. Walsh as been passed by Adams and he ducks for the pit lane. A cut tire? A tech issue? His debut is going pear shaped as we speak. Garrett's lead has ballooned to two seconds over Garrett Adams as Lucas Catania, a five-time runner up finisher, is pressing hard. He has had ten podiums in a dozen races while Jacob Ruud is still struggling as we are now into the second half of this motor race. The championship points lead he had, has evaporated. He absolutely clobbered Brett Scroggin in the wreck. If Walsh retires from the motor race, it shall not help Ruud's points deal.
For the lead and the title in TCA, Wagner wants by Fartuch! Wagner is a speeding bullet! Who is going to have the advantage for Sunday's title decider? We'll have to see. Wagner is right on Fartuch's six and pouring on the steam! Wagner has the tiebreaker. He has won six races while Fartuch has won only three. Fartuch protects the inside. Wagner moves ahead and has the power. Beautifully judged move by Wagner. Fartuch though, that Honda Civic has the torque. No track limits in place. Walsh's woes are no more and he is back on track. Fartuch wants the over/under but Wagner is motoring. He has the oomph in that Subaru BRZ.
P.J. Groenke, out of race. Game over for the Canadian and was on the outside of the front row in TCA. Fartuch pressing Wagner with everything he has with 15 minutes to go. 30 NASCAR drivers went through the Skip Barber Racing School and Carter Fartuch has become a coach and friend to NASCAR driver Noah Gragson. The touring cars do not run tomorrow on the same day as the 8 Hours but will race again on Sunday. Now then, with Gresham Wagner, he is in the TCA class lead. Wagner has been able to adapt in his transition from Mazda MX-5 racing to the touring cars. He is still active in MX-5 Cup of course.
Lucas Cattania wants to get back on the podium and wants to get his first win and now, Brett Scroggin has uncorked fastest lap of the race, being coached by Tony Kester, a well-known former sports car racing driver now coaching the next generation of racers. Colin Garrett is having a real dream day at the top of the shop with Jacob Ruud having trouble on the car in this race. If he wins on Sunday, Ruud cannot do a thing about it. Kevin Boehm signed, sealed, and delivered the TC championship for 2022 at Sebring International Raceway. He is dominating the race and is glad of the cool temperatures here in Indianapolis.
1:36.7 his quick qualifying time with the overall TCX pole at 1:35.5 in qualifying this morning. A Happy 40th Birthday to Jeff Ricca who reached that milestone birthday, yesterday, extending his points margin over Matthew Ibrahim in time for Sunday's final, and Celso Neto is in fourth place. Cristian Perocarpi is a native Hoosier and is racing here at the speedway. He raced here at Indy last year as well as he has some donuts on the driver's door of the car and some argy bargy as Branyon Tiner has run well at both Road America and Sebring.
Hyundai vs. Mini. This is the dyno run down the front straightaway. Colin Garrett playing through while Tyner chops the nose and slams the door in Perocarpi's face. nRunning the chicane instead of the loop from last year's course, it is hard to set up a pass and we will see that with the higher downforce of the GT3 cars when they qualify after this event is over. The front wheel drive cars are much better through this new layout and less strain on the front tires. There are rear wheel drive TCA cars as well such as the Subaru. This is a very technical track at Indianapolis.
Steve Streimer is in a good scrap for position passing Olivia Askew and Brett Scroggin who are locked together. Streimer side by side with Olivia Askew. Jacob Ruud is next in line with a damaged, crunched race car. Jeff Ricca is pushing and so is Bruce Myrehn. Colin Garrett has really dominated the motor race this afternoon. Can Jacob Ruud reach 70%? Will he be classified in the official results sheet? Trouble for Branyon Tiner in the Hyundai Veloster Turbo who was wrestling with Perocarpi. Game over for Tyner who had a great race or two at Sebring and he may have found a safe haven to have the marshals attend to that car.
Carter Fartuch in the meantime, is second over Gresham Wagner. Still three minutes to go. If Wagner wins and Carter Fartuch wins on Sunday, then, Fartuch still would not have enough for the title but Kevin Boehm is going to win another race. He has been dominant in this TC class car, challenging the now retired driver, Eric Powell, last year. Boehm's engineering background and his passion for the sport, has done very well and has yet to finish off the podium. His worst finish was third in race two at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Louisiana, back in May. 95 seconds left. White flag flies over Colin Garrett and he will take a huge bite out of that points gap to Jacob Ruud for the finale on Sunday.
Wagner and Fartuch caught in traffic, look. Wagner is in the pound seats or so it appears through turns four, five, and six, heading into championship Sunday. TCL Television, their new sponsor, will be loving this. Shaoyi Che also a Techsport, is fourth and will get a good finish despite being ill this weekend. Colin Garrett over the yard of bricks, and he wins! He is back in business to go for the title. Catania, Adams, Scroggin, Streimer. Wagner wins TCA and Boehm wins TC.
Overall/TCX: #44 Colin Garrett Rooster Hall Racing BMW M2 CS Racing
TC: #9 Kevin Boehm Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R TC
TCA: #21 Gresham Wagner TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ TCA
So, there you have it. Race on for TC America at The Brickyard is in the bag. Cattania has now gone with six runner up finishes in 2022. He wants a win but Sunday will be his last chance to get it. Shaoyi Che and Colin Harrison finish fourth and fifth. Brett Scroggin will be on overall pole tomorrow. Scroggin is the man who earns CrowdStrike fastest lap honors at 1:36.102. Wow. Victory Lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where every driver wants to be in their career at the greatest track in the world.
Garrett will have to execute on Sunday. We shall see how the race turns out. So, the title fight is now down to two drivers going into the finale. Kevin Boehm, the champ, nine wins for #9 to match the car number. Kevin Boehm has won three in a row now at Indianapolis. It was quite the race for the touring cars, race one at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Coming up, it is qualifying for the Indianapolis 8 Hours, and we will have that for you after it is complete. Lots to play for. Perfect weather, as the track is getting cleaned up before we go qualifying in ten minutes or so. It will be great!
For now, bye bye.
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