This weekend at Virginia International Raceway, the championship battles in all three classes, are coming into focus. This is a three and a quarter mile road course with 17 corners as we join Ryan Myrehn, and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth and Amanda Busick in the pit lane. No rain in the forecast. All three championships are poised at the halfway mark in the season. We are set to get race one underway. Lucas Catania, who finally won at Circuit of the Americas last time out and Maddie Aust who scored fastest lap at COTA as well. Lucas Catania loves a track where commitment and risk are paramount. Colin Garrett starts third at his home track, from nearby South Boston, Virginia, track champion in NASCAR late models at South Boston Speedway.
We saw Maddie Aust really come to the fore at Circuit of the Americas in the most recent race we had for you here on the blog for TC America. Colin Garrett was stunned by Maddie Aust’s potential. Jeff Ricca is back in the championship after competing in the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring. Catania on pole. William Tally is making his debut in TCX. Jeff Ricca is back. Chris Defreitas is back as well in a TCX Honda. Spencer Bucknum is the TCA pole man. Eric Rockwell is a series debutant in a Hyundai Elantra. We have seen him race an Audi in TCR in another championship, in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competition. Watch out for Hog Pen corner.
We extend our sincerest condolences to Jeff Ricca and his family after the passing of his father, Robert. We’re thinking of you in this tough time, especially with this race weekend falling on Father’s Day as it did. His dad Robert helped Jeff through his racing career and encouraged him. We will go green next time by. The speeds can be very high especially in touring cars where horsepower can be at a premium. Madison Avenue, the backstretch at 4,000 feet and the frontstretch at 3,000 feet. There is major compression through The Rollercoaster. This venue opened in 1957 and became a destination for road racing along the eastern seaboard.
This track fell into disrepair in the mid 1970’s and became overgrown farmland for decades until it was resurrected 20 years ago and took the vision of folks like Harvey Siegel and Connie Nieholm as well as others, who bought the land, found the centerline of the old track. It opened again in the year 2000 and has had safety improvements. Carrigan Smith and company have really been improving and upgrading the track year upon year. We are ready to get this race underway. Three separate starts for the three classes. Lucas Catania vs. Maddie Aust on the front row, in a mix of BMW’s and Honda’s.
Green flag! Away we go! Colin Garrett is trying to poke his nose inside Maddie Aust already as the TC field goes green. Jeff Ricca leads the field as Cristian Perocarpi challenges Celso Neto right from the start. Lucas Catania leads, and Colin Garrett moves to second into The Snake and into the climbing esses. Spencer Bucknum leads TCA being chased by championship rival Devin Anderson in the Subaru. P.J. Groenke gets demoted by Shaoyi Che as well, look. Colin Garrett’s car is coming alive early doors as they scream down Madison Avenue. Into The Rollercoaster, this is sketchy stuff, but Colin Garrett gots to the race lead!
That puts you to the outside into The Rollercoaster, but the hometown hero is in the lead and has scored podiums in the first half dozen races of the year. Here comes Kenny Schmied and Dai Yoshihara and the sister Honda from L.A. Honda World in the hands of Dr. William Tally is also dropping down the order. We have seen Tally racing in IMSA in the Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class and I want to say this Is his first start in TCX in SRO America competition. BMW strong in all categories and championships here at VIR for the SRO.
Bucknum gets into the corner a tad too hot and now we see the Honda driver, grandson of Formula 1 driver for Honda, Ronnie Bucknum, son of successful sports car driver, Jeff Bucknum, getting in a tad too hot. Devin Anderson tries something, but it is not on because now, Will Lambros makes a move in the Skip Barber Racing School Honda into The Snake. Anderson passes Lambros off in the dust and Bucknum is making good his escape. Anderson has an off-course moment. Techsport Subaru, this is their home track. Their shops are based right here at VIR. So, a bit of agro early doors. Oh no! Spencer Bucknum, the leader… crunch! He’s off course and in the wall!
Bucknum ran wide into Oak Tree and lost the front end. Lambros giving Anderson all he can handle for the class lead and here comes the second Subaru of Shaoyi Che! Che passes the Honda. Techsport now running 1-2 in TCA. Colin Garrett posts fastest lap of the motor race early doors at 2:01 dead. 2:01.095. Subaru are flexing their muscles early doors. Poor old Spencer Bucknum is trundling to the pit lane and will have to get set for tomorrow’s race. I think he is out. Game over. He will not score points and fails to make it to the halfway mark. Devin Anderrson can go for the championship lead as Joe Catania, Lucas Catania’s father, is scrapping with Kenny Schmied and Adam Gleason.
Colin Garrett is being reeled in hand over fist. Garrett’s advantage is nil, and Lucas Catania is right on his back bumper. Garrett knows the track well and will be under pressure. For Spencer Bucknum, the electronic stability control is all out of whack. There are safety nets built into these production-based cars. Shaoyi Che has passed Will Lambros and Che is catching his teammate, Devin Anderson. Oak Tree corner is so tricky. The old oak tree is gone but a new one is sprouting. Catania now pushing Garrett. Aust is in third spot.
Aust will be waiting and watching if the two leaders get into a dust up. Rooster Hall Racing are also at their home track. They have Colin Garrett here in TCX and he will also be racing as part of a two-car team for them in Pirelli GT4 America competition later today. We will keep tabs on their progress when that race rolls around, so you don’t want to miss it. Garrett has more power than Catania, perhaps. The road falls away a wee bit through that off camber turn. Good scrap hotting up in TC. This is Sally McNulty who has her hands full with Cristian Perocarpi. Hyundai vs. Mini in TC competition.
Jeff Ricca and Clay Williams are also doing well. Williams swept the weekend at our most recent event at Circuit of the Americas as Jeff Ricca was on duty for the Hyundai factory team at the Nurburgring 24 Hours. 13 points is the championship lead for Clay Williams over Jeff Ricca as Lucas Catania resets fastest lap bringing it down to 2:00.845. The fast laps today will set the grid for race two tomorrow. Sally McNulty just did her personal fastest lap working on left foot braking. GenRacer are motivated to make the most of a trying weekend thinking of Jeff Ricca’s dad.
Meantime, back to the top of the shop, and poor old Garrett is having a hard time trying to move away from Lucas Catania. Catania is sticking to him like glue. Garrett is feisty and he will not roll over and play dead. He battled hard with Jacob Ruud in 2022. The TCX field is so competitive in 2023. It is absolutely bonkers. Watch out for the Honda’s as well. They too have the performance as Celso Neto runs wide and off the road into the dust. You don’t see that often from the Brazilian. So, now we can see McNulty fending off Cristian Perocarpi.
Christopher Defreitas is third in one of the Ian Lacy Racing Honda’s. Dai Yoshihara and William Tally are both beginning to push. Ricca is seven and a half seconds ahead of Clay Williams as the McNulty and Perocarpi battle rages on. McNulty, she is cool under pressure, and she knows she is on the verge of her first podium for GenRacer. Defreitas next up followed by the recovering Celso Neto. How much crud did he get on the tires? He might regain grip on those Pirelli P Zero’s before long. Keep the car on the road and try not to let instinct take over.
Defreitas is the cork in the bottle of this TC scrap. In the meantime, traffic will be ahead and stymie the lead battle between Garrett and Catania. At high speed, Garrett has more power. But it is tight trying to pass Eric Rockwell! Rockwell off the road and now, Catania is closing in. That was a heart in your throat moment! Egad! Catania is still pushing. He has latched on like a terrier. Maddie Aust is falling into the clutches of Kenny Schmied, meanwhile, through NASCAR Bend. GARRETT ROLLING SPEED AND Catania has the preferred line to turn four through Left Hook.
Colin Garrett goes down to second place as we get closer to the halfway mark in the motor race. There is still traffic ahead for these two blokes to deal with. Garrett has the straight-line speed and the leaders will now have to deal with the lapped Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si in the hands of Cooper Broll. No worries. They continue scrapping through Oak Tree corner. Be proactive in picking your line. Garrett goes for it around the outside into Rollercoaster and he makes the pass on Catania! Catania had to pause and ease out of the throttle a wee bit.
Meanwhile, look, P.J. Groenke is coming on the scene in the blue Mini Cooper JCW and is racing hard with Shaoyi Che. This is for second in TCA. Sally McNulty has also dropped behind the recovering Celso Neto and ditto for Cristian Perocarpi as Dai Yoshihara has gone off the road, getting into the corner too deep and onto the grass in turn one. The track is dusty on the outside. Schmied, oh my goodness, he is to the inside of Aust down through the Rollercoaster and takes the spot away! A great drive for Kenny Schmied now in third place. He has understeer as Maddie Aust is more conservative with her line. Garrett has gapped Catania by 2/10ths, 3/10ths of a second.
Poor old P.J. Groenke has made his way to the lane and Jeff Ricca, the TC leader is in the lane too with the bonnet up on the Hyundai! This is heartbreaking! He won four races on the bounce to start 2023. Catania is trying to solve Garrett’s riddle. You need a little of everything and Colin Garrett seems to have the straightaway speed as Clay Williams is the TC leader with Sally McNulty second and Celso Neto third. The top five is rounded out by Cristian Perocarpi and Jeremiah Burton. McNulty leads Neto by 1.7 seconds or so. The only silver lining in Ricca’s cloud is that he is close to making to halfway for earning points.
Traffic ahead as Ricca is back out doing a test session for race two tomorrow and an insurance policy for getting to halfway. In the meantime, Catania is trying Colin Garrett again in turns one and two. Garrett may be being too kind to Catania and must push a wee bit harder. Fool me once, shame on me. This race is a mental chess game and now P.J. Groenke is back on track. He is second on the road. Maddie Aust is still pressuring Schmied. Ricca has his hazard lights on, so he is having a power problem. Aust wants by Schmied and makes it stick in the braking zone. Schmied has been doing a good job. After limited single seater experience, this is Aust’s fifth tin top race.
Jeff Ricca lost turbo boost with a loose intercooler hose. That hose was adjusted and reattached. Aust has a big head of steam balked by the Subaru. Schmied off in the clag. Aust bottled up behind Devin Anderson off in the dust through The Snake into the climbing esses. Oy yoy yoy! A tail wagging ride for Schmied! He almost goes off the road! Joseph Catania and Adam Gleason have been involved in their own battle for a wee while too, look. Scraps everywhere as the drivers in TC America are really digging deep. Schmied and Aust, you can cover them with a blanket. Aust gets the draft down the front straightaway.
She will try rolling speed ‘round the outside. No dice I don’t think. AOA Racing are in giant killing mode against the powerhouse Fast Track Racing team which was known as Classic BMW for years. For Kenny Schmied, he can score his first career podium spot. AOA Racing could have a second car for the race at Road America next month. There is a driver who has applied for a license. The BMW M2 is a popular platform. In the meantime, Aust to the inside of Schmied and she makes her move. Well done! Maddie Aust was a former competitive cheerleader and has now become a full-time race car driver.
Fast Track Racing team boss Toby Grahovec is a driver but also can spot talent and has done so with both Adam Gleason and Maddie Aust. Clayton Williams leads Sally McNulty by seven plus seconds as William Tally has a loose wheel and is trailing copious amounts of smoke. McNulty and Neto continue in a battle of their own as Clay Williams continues working traffic as we get closer to the end of race one for the touring car classes here at VIR. Lots of marbles offline. The tires are being worked over for sure. This is shaping up to be quite the day for Devin Anderson in the Subaru who won at the tail end of 2022 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last fall.
Catania is hanging tough against Garrett. Garrett has made zero mistakes currently. He was very aggressive at the start and needed to be. Even in the draft, Catania is gaining nothing. Celso Neto steadily closing up on Sally McNulty as we speak. McNulty’s best finish in 2023 is fourth, twice. Neto passes the lapped car in a different class of Cooper Broll in a Skip Barber Racing School team car. Hit your marks. Stay in a rhythm. Sally McNulty in search of her first career podium. Garrett and Catania remain tied together.
Catania won last time out at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, finally. These cars are identical BMW M2’s with a rear wing. Maybe a wing adjustment is what the difference is weighing downforce vs. drag as well as the subtle rake adjustments you can make. We are going to be on the penultimate lap with the leaders running in the 2:01 bracket. Lucas Catania had 11 podiums in 2022 but never made it to the top step. He had four consecutive podiums and then won at COTA. Garrett is sideways and had a wreck that didn’t happen. Yikes! Catania drafting up on Garrett, but he can’t do anything with it.
Down Madison Avenue the Rooster Hall Racing BMW is faster. The ideal situation is for Catania to set up a pass through Hog Pen and then to get a head of steam through the first four corners but that will be difficult to do. Garrett has not played his hand yet. White flag this time by. One more lap to go. Garrett vs. Catania. Garrett is going for it and so is Catania. Garrett sttuggling under braking. Catania must send it. No. Garrett through turn four. Garrett defends. Catania has had enough and tags Garrett into a spin! Sooner or later, you just had to see that coming.
Garrett is a shot duck. Aust passes by and so does Adam Gleason and more. This is a disaster for Colin Garrett as TC America race one is ending at VIR. Aust to second place. Catania could have subtle damage to his car. Colin Garrett off the pace. The contact is under review by the SRO stewards. Catania through Rollercoaster and Hog Pen for the final time. Catania wins the race for now, but we’ll see if this stands. Aust second and third, Adam Gleason for his first podium. Joseph Catania in fourth. Colin Garrett in fifth. The home team at Techsport Racing run 1-2 in the TCA class.
Devin Anderson wins in the TCA division. Shaoyi Che will complete a 1-2 for Techsport. Clayton Williams scores his third straight win in TCA! Sally McNulty second in TC America and Joe Catania scores Crowdstrike Fastest Lap at 2:01 dead. 2:01.096. Check that. It is Lucas Catania, I think, at 2:00.845. But the move for the lead with the bump and run must be reviewed by the stewards and they are working on it now.
Drive through penalty and incident responsibility for Lucas Catania! He will finish sixth and Maddie Aust will win her first ever touring car race in her fifth start! Lucas Catania will be very disappointed with this result.
Overall/TCX: #09 Maddie Aust Fast Track Racing BMW M2 CS Racing
TC: #60 Clayton Williams MINI JCW Team Mini JCW Pro TC
TCA: #22 Devin Anderson TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ TCA
Congratulations to Maddie Aust! We’ll see you for race two here at VIR tomorrow. Bye for now, everyone. Plenty more racing remaining this Saturday. So, stay tuned for all of it.
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