Rounds 11 and 12 of the 2023 SRO GT America championship are set to take place on the streets of the fabled "Music City", Nashville, Tennessee. The championship is racing here, in support of the IndyCar Series. Two 40-minute races set to come your way, tonight, and tomorrow morning. We do have a situation for these races where there is crossover with an event for a different sports car championship, and hence, some drivers we would normally expect to see are not here in Nashville, but instead competing at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Our mate, Calvin Fish, has duties for the broadcast at Road America, so, we welcome alongside play-by-play announcer Ryan Myrehn, veteran ace race broadcaster, Bob Varsha, and Amanda Busick reporting from the pit lane. This first race on the 11-turn, 2.1-mile circuit, incorporating the Nissan Stadium and the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, on the banks of the Cumberland River. The field is not large but there is plenty of depth in SRO3 and in GT4. We have a grid of 14 cars starting these two races, so an even split of seven cars apiece for SRO3 and for GT4. We tend to see fireworks with a handful of effective passing opportunities on the circuit. Seven of the top 11 in SRO3 and six of the top seven in GT4.
It has been quite the day with a cancelled qualifying session because of rain earlier in the day. Some drivers have taken naps and others have taken walks around Nashville. Strapping into a race car puts your energy up. Coming into this race weekend, Jason Daskalos is ten points behind Memo Gidley in the run for the championship. Now, if you must press the fast forward button and "go forward to go back" as it were, you can check out my race reports of what was the next pair of races on the schedule from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. But, for the time being, the focus will indeed be on the streets of Nashville and the two races we have coming up for you.
Memo Gidley has zero experience here at Nashville and Mirco Schultis finished on the podium in his older Callaway Corvette C7.R GT3. Yesterday and today caused qualifying to be a total washout and the grid was set from Free Practice earlier in the weekend. It has been raining and this is a packed schedule of motor racing with many different championships. This is a race into the sunset and there will be a night race for the Toyota GR Cup cars later on. Everyday traffic, concrete walls, oil dropped from road cars. After a ton of rain, the street course here at Nashville is dry.
There are two long trips over the Korean War Veteran's Memorial Bridge, shaped like a musical note. We have a slight delay before this race begins, so in another ten or so minutes. Johnny O'Connell is a star and a veteran sports car driver who has raced a bunch of street courses. The precision and commitment will be high and Johnny O'Connell and SKI Autosport have been improving the car with their older generation Audi R8. In 1987, Johnny O'Connell won the Formula Atlantic Championship and Bobby Rahal came to him and gave Johnny O'Connell his card. Rahal is a leader in this sport for sure.
Our mate, Bob Varsha, he called one of O'Connell's races on television back in the day and O'Connell's goal now with a Bronze driver rating, he can go back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Bob Varsha was working on the broadcast, when O'Connell won alongside a few other legendary names, David Hobbs, and Brian Redman. Endless connections in the world of motor racing for sure. Johnny O'Connell is racing in this event and his son Canaan is racing in the Toyota GR Cup one-make championship. Townsend Bell's son Jaxon Bell is racing in the GR Cup as well, taking a job sweeping out someone's garage, found out his pal had a GR Cup race car, went to the Skip Barber Racing School, and then came into racing.
Jason Bell, a contender in the GT America GT4 fight. He is alongside polesitter Robb Holland followed by Gray Newell and Ross Chouest. There are positions down the points table that could change with many season long contenders not in the race tonight. We pay tribute to the late, great Reeves Callaway who passed away weeks ago and one of his cars, a Callaway C7 Corvette is on the front row of the grid with Mirco Schultis at the wheel of it. Here is the track map and what we are dealing with, with Alex Vogel.
We come across the bridge first off, the fastest part of the course setting braking up for turn nine in third gear. Roll speed through there before many second gear turns and back to power. There is elevation change here. Onto the start/finish straight, the chicane comes up for turn one quicker than you think before going through turns three and four back onto the bridge. The car is stable over the bridge and there is far more lift and coast than drivers are used to. Slice through the GT4 cars and get through these tight corners before turn eight and back onto the bridge once more before the bridge. In the dry there is no drama but it gets spicy in the wet.
Back to turn nine, good passing opportunity, and then back around to the finish. Alex Vogel finished fourth, a career best, at Virginia International Raceway in race one. This track is unlike anywhere else. Some cars do have headlights on and the sun will officially set at 7:48 P.M. It is now 7:09 P.M. We have a single driver, multiple class format, for single drivers. SRO3, a catch all for modern and past GT3 cars and the GT4 class. This is races six and seven of the title chases. There will be an event drop in terms of points. Robb Holland is 15 points behind Ross Chouest and Jason Bell three points further in-arrears.
Robb Holland swept the weekend at VIR and was on pole for race two at VIR as well. Robb Holland is from Denver, Colorado, driving and running his own team, and raced a lot at the Nurburgring in Germany, moving their base from Germany, back stateside. Holland has run the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, the British Touring Car Championship, and the Nurburgring Endurance Series. Jason Daskalos in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, he is one to watch on a street course and Jason is one of them, running an older Audi R8 years ago but now in a Mercedes. CRP Racing based for years in North Carolina and now out of Sarasota, Florida. Free Practice times, again are the basis of the starting grid as we get set to race. Mirco Schultis has run NASCAR Euro Series, prototypes, and now this Corvette.
He has an affinity for Chevrolet and found a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV as a tow vehicle, in Germany, and has loved Chevrolet since then, the U.S. military members who serve in Europe bring American cars over to the continent. The start of this race is on the bridge for safety. The circuit is 2.170 miles with 11 corners. As you look at the map, it does resemble a musical note, a quarter note, most likely. A good look down Broadway where this track will be shifting to, next year. Nashville has a rich heritage of short track stock car racing here and a large oval speedway as well. We will see race cars going down Broadway, next year.
So, the pit lane and paddock are in the parking lot for Nissan Stadium, the football stadium for the Tennessee Titans. There will be a baseball stadium coming as well. Nashville is also a sports town in addition to music. Football, hockey, soccer. The engines have fired up for the formation laps. It will be dry and it is twilight right now. This will be a fascinating race. Some temporary lighting but not as much as expected. The Callaway Corvette will not start. Rain and the electronics on these race cars, don't mix. The car has fired via the jump battery. OK. Jason Daskalos and Mirco Schultis on the front row followed by Johnny O'Connell and Memo Gidley. We did have a recalcitrant GT4 Camaro in the hands of Tony Gaples take a couple of times to fire up. But everyone is off and running to get this motor race underway.
Race cars look and sound different at night. There is no science behind it but there is something about hearing a race car driving at night. That is the beauty of sports car racing. Each car looks different and sounds different. 6, 8, 10, 12 cylinders, turbo, naturally aspirated, you name it. Give credit to the folks who do Balance of Performance. It is a tough job. GT3 and GT4 globally are in great health. This street course is very bumpy and there is no point in repaving it. Turn 11 had a paving job on it. Turn nine on the opposite side of the bridge has been reprofiled.
Hard to get rubber down with the rain washing the track clean. Here we go. They are lined up two by two. Green flag on the bridge! Away we go! Jason Daskalos takes the lead and Johnny O'Connell slides inside Mirco Schultis already! 40 minutes on the board. A clean start in SRO3 and Robb Holland consolidates his advantage over Jason Bell, Ross Chouest, and Gray Newell. Chouest poking his nose inside Bell. Three Aston Martin Vantage GT4's as they cross the bridge for the first time of asking. The car gets light over the top of the bridge. Memo Gidley is the points leader but by just ten markers. Gidley has the most wins. He had a win at VIR taken away due to a tech infraction.
He has won fve races but Jason Daskalos giving him a tough run for his money. No time for pit stops in a sprint race like this one. No margin for error. He was a winner on the other street course on the schedule at St. Petersburg, Florida. Jason Bell continues being harried by Ross Chouest. This is a battle royal indeed for second spot and Gray Newell in another Aston, keeping a watching brief. Robb Holland has had success in the past at Nashville, winning both of them and scoring fastest lap in race one in 2022. The Pirelli P Zero's screeching into the braking zone after IndyCar and Stadium Super Trucks raced and qualified on the circuit.
Keep your foot planted. The brain trust at Flying Lizard Motorsports looking on, with veteran Race Engineer Owen Hayes calling strategy on the pit box. Owen Hayes engineered the Porsche RS Spyder program with Roger Penske in the old American Le Mans Series. Seth Neiman, team owner, has been in this game for a long, longtime racing all over the world with the silver and red Flying Lizard logo for Andy Wilzoch. Daskalos is three seconds to the good over fourth place driver Memo Gidley for TKO Motorsports. This team is also associated with Flying Lizard. Gidley felt like he was behind the eight ball and focusing on a couple track walks around the circuit. Gidley uses them to learn new circuits and he has a bunch of experience.
His massive crash at the Rolex 24 at Daytona almost a decade ago was scary. He was unsighted by a car ahead and clobbered a slow car, having severe injuries and taking a long, grueling recovery and rehabilitation and the managed to get back. TKO Motorsports and team boss Dave Traitel has taken Gidley under his wing and brought him back to being a competitive driver. Whoops. We have Todd Treffert off in a runoff zone in the #41 Mercedes-AMG GT3, the CRP Racing car. He is a vintage car racer and really is only now dipping his toe into more professional racing. He is the teammate to Jason Daskalos and poor old Treffert has left rear damage on the car.
Treffert just pulled off the circuit. He knew something was wrong and needed a safe haven to pull off. Treffer has won many major vintage races in North America and his pace is coming along in a modern GT3 car. Oh no. Jason Daskalos has spun off from the race lead as well, and damage to the car, so both CRP Racing Mercedes' are in trouble! Egad! Formula E teams have measurement devices for the degree of aggregate on the courses they run on, the electric racing cars. Johnny O'Connell now has cycled to the top of the shop, but the #3 SKI Autosport Audi driver has Mirco Schultis hot on his heels and only eight tenths of a second behind.
Gidley passes Daskalos for third place. Jason Daskalos has to play catch up. Memo Gidley does not have the experience here at Nashville. Daskalos has to decide if he wants to continue, wants to fix the car, or believes retirement is the only option. He won race one at St. Petersburg and race two at Circuit of the Americas. Oof! lapped traffic in the way and Gray Newell, the fourth-place runner in GT4, slides nearly down the escape road, Daskalos is unsighted, and... boom. He just ran right up the back of Gray Newell who I don't think even saw him.
Ten minutes of this race now on the board and Mirco Schultis is beginning to reel in Johnny O'Connell hand over fist. Audi vs. Callaway Corvette, two of the older generation GT3 cars. Schultis doing this for the late, great Reeves Callaway, their team leader. How odd to see Johnny O'Connell, a former General Motors driver, being harried by a Corvette! By criminy! So many years in the old Pirelli World Challenge days of what is now SRO America, racing and winning four straight championships, with the Cadillac brand, Johnny O'Connell, and of course, Cadillac now firmly ensconced in prototype sports car racing both stateside and in Europe.
It is not often these previous generation GT cars are at the top of the shop. Jason Daskalos is back at it, lighting the fire, big style. Daskalos two seconds a lap quicker than O'Connell and Schultis and with a wounded race car, Daskalos has uncorked the Crowdstrike Fastest Lap of the motor race thus far at 1:29.400, with still 28 minutes of racing on the board. Daskalos is probably thinking, "damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" He is 12 seconds in-arrears of the leading trio. Where will he make the pass? He is chasing Gidley, Schultis, and O'Connell. Johnny O'Connell has not won yet.
This team started at the third round of the championship in the springtime at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Louisiana. O'Connell finished third. They have run a Ferrari 458 Italia and now the Audi. Mirco Schultis runs extremely wide and slides his way down the escape road, look. Oh dear! He stays in the runoff and will lose positions hand over fist! He couldn't get the car slowed down in the braking zone. No time for picking up Nashville hot chicken for a takeout dinner meal until after the motor race. We'll party on Broadway later on, boys. There's more racing in store.
Discretion is indeed the better part of valor, and he was a lucky luck boy to not hit the tire bundle side on! Yikes! Schultis has flown Plummet Airways down to fourth spot ahead of the Porsche 911 GT3R of Andy Wilzoch. GT4 remains status quo with Robb Holland at the top of the shop. The chassis O'Connell is driving is the car that Jason Daskalos drove last year. It could be. Hard to say. It is a shame, because Audi is coming to Formula 1 in 2026 with the new engine rules and to fund that effort they are cutting back their customer racing efforts save for parts.
The financial support is drying up. Audi has been associated with sports car racing for many years including prototypes and GT racing in addition to sedan racing in the 1990s. Porsche were linked to Formula 1 for a wee while but that has gone dry. Jason Bell, second in GT4, three and a half seconds behind Robb Holland coming up on halfway. Great to see the headlamps and they sound wonderful in the evening. Jason Bell is fond of the Nashville street course but he has left several points on the table and wants to stop making mistakes. In one word Nashville is "intense". Hard to find rhythm, unlike being in a band that plays music here in Nashville. Jason Bell very nearly won his home races at St. Petersburg in Florida.
Some drivers excel in street course racing in every form of racing imaginable. Mea culpa in that the Audi being driven by Johnny O'Connell raced last year. However, it was raced by veteran SRO World Challenge campaigner James Sofronas. Jason Daskalos drove a different car. Thank you, GT America driver C.J. Moses, for that info. Gidley being harried by Daskalos as the lap past the Porsche Cayman GT4 car in the hands of local driver Rusty Bittle. But here comes Jason Daskalos like a steam locomotive, looking to atone for his earlier transgression. Aa the sun sets and the darkness falls, you have bright headlights in your mirros and cannot tell if the driver behind is faster than you or if he won't bug you.
If you are approaching a slower car, you hope he sees you coming. They fly over the bridge as Daskalos is right on Gidley's six. Daskalos has a wounded bird and is closing in trying to negotiate another GT4 car. That is the Toyota GR Supra GT4, Nick Shanny at the wheel of it. Shanny moves out of the way, wisely. Daskalos within a credit card of the outside wall going to the bridge again at the halfway mark of the race. Nick Shanny and Caras Callas Racing steadily improving with driver coach Terry Borcheller. Gidley ten seconds down on race leader Johnny O'Connell who has ripped off the best lap he has run in this race thus far. Daskalos getting stymied in traffic.
Being held up behind Memo Gidley is a nightmare as Daskalos makes the pass on Gidley but runs a wee bit wide and now Gidley is going to have a moment of opportunity for, get your own back time! Gidley takes the spot back and Daskalos is on the charge again, look. This is like a boxing match as they go back over the bridge and these two blokes have lost time to race leader, Johnny O'Connell who is ahead by 11 seconds and grinning like a cheshire cat inside his crash helmet, I am sure. The end of the bridge is the best place to pass but the braking zones are downhill and at an angle. To turn nine, and Gidley covers off Daskalos this time by.
This is good stuff here. Good stuff. These Bronze graded, nonprofessional drivers, with veterans who have more years behind them, this is a special thing. CRP Racing team boss Nick Short communicating on the radio to his driver. We are fast approaching sunset here in Nashville with 17 minutes of racing to go. There is quite a bit of light even downtown and we can see streetlights on. Alex Vogel has had a spot of bother and has spun, but I think he is going in the other direction. Could not see where he was with the Porsche.
Daskalos did race, but not for a full season, during the old Pirelli World Challenge days. This is the battle for second and third place and Gidley nearly matches O'Connell's best lap in the 1:30 range. A minute and a half. Johnny O'Connell nearly 12 seconds up the road. 18 points for second, 15 for third. Daskalos could lose three points or gain three. It will be a six-point swing depending on the outcome of this scrap. Fastest laps set the grid for race two tomorrow morning. Daskalos driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 and is night and day to the Audi he drove last year. Trial by fire indeed. GT4 traffic ahead.
They run up on Ross Chouest in the GT4 Aston. Memo Gidley and Jason Daskalos, the fastest drivers in sector one of the circuit. Daskalos accord to Race Vision powered by AWS has the top speed at 155 miles an hour, two miles an hour faster than Mirco Schultis. Here are the drivers and their speeds as we look at that chart.
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