It is time for the first of two races of the weekend, in the penultimate race weekend of the season for the SRO TC America championship powered by Skip Barber Racing School. Two more 40-minute sprint races are upon us, including this one, this morning. Four races left, for three class titles. Colin Garrett in TCX and Clay Williams in TC can clinch today. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish set to call the action topside and Amanda Busick in the pit lane. The championship is the big deal. All three classes still up for grabs. We could see drivers clinch before we get to the finals at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Devin Anderson and Spencer Bucknum scrapping it out in the TCA class. Bucknum may have the upper hand on pace and Devin Anderson will have to catch up. Honda vs. Subaru. Bucknum's team at LA Honda World underwent an engine change on their race car.
One bad race in the four remaining could mean someone might lose the title. Will Lambros another driver to take a look at. We have seen incidents in qualifying as a wheel comes off one of the cars through the esses. That is Dai Yoshihara, the drift king and Jeremiah Burton speared off the road in Sunset Bend with a possible braking problem. Burton will start today's race. Relatively mild temperatures for September in central Florida. These cars are closely linked to their road going cars. Mild temperatures are going to help. Colin Garrett is the overall polesitter. Maddie Aust back in the championship and driver Joseph Pizzuto is making his debut in the #45 Extreme Velocity Motorsports BMW M2 CS (Cup).
Spencer Bucknum is the TCA class pole man. Shaoyi Che starts caboose on the field in this 25-car grid with three classes. One more formation lap on the cards and then we will turn them loose. Colin Garrett has stock car championships but wants to add a road racing title to his CV. Bumps all over this track. Challenging, and legendary as we have talked about. Turn one and turn 17 are the two most challenging turns on this track. The bumps through Sunset Bend at turn 17 is a rollercoaster ride. Compliance over the bumps makes a big difference and there's lots of straightaway as well.
Lucas Catania is one driver who knows he needs good luck to have a shot at the TCX class title. Control your own destiny and try to win. Lucas Catania got a breakthrough win but has also had tons of runner up finishes and he will be competing against his dad, Joseph Catania, as well. The field ready for the green flag and away we go! Good jump by Colin Garrett and Lucas Catania is going for it around his father. The TC field has a strong start with Jeff Ricca and Celso Neto. The Mini's in TC strong from the start. Celso Neto passes by Jeff Ricca already for the lead.
Celso Neto to the top in TC. In TCX, Joseph Catania has lost spots to Maddie Aust and others. She had a difficult time at Road America and on the rebound for Fast Track Racing. She is ready to get going and push hard. She is a freshman college student at TCU as well. Neto almost spins and Ricca and Williams both have a head of steam into Bishop Bend. Ricca the polesitter back to the top of the shop, also racing at the Nurburgring. He won in class there. Down the Ulmann straightaway they come. Jeff Ricca nails Sunset Bend and ekes out a gap.
Williams to the outside of Neto into turn one. Honda vs. Mini. Safety Car on the speedway. Full Course Yellow. Ruben Iglesias is stuffed into the tire barriers at Sunset Bend! Trouble for the Puerto Rican driver. Colin Garrett's lead over Joseph Catania has evaporated. Spencer Bucknum now ahead of Devin Anderson in the TC class. Short races for the touring cars and any yellow will eat away the clock and reduce the size of the pie we are working with. Drivers trying to gauge where the car's handling is and they know they want to be more proactive in defending as well.
Garrett had a clean getaway and Lucas Catania whistles past his dad, Joseph Catania. Jeff Ricca has a great start in TC and Celso Neto pushes the afterburner button and takes the lead into Kristensen Corner. The TCA Order is Spencer Bucknum, Will Lambros, Devin Anderson, P.J. Groenke, and Shaoyi Che. Ruben Iglesias is out of the car and perfectly OK. In replay, we can see that Ruben Iglesias could not stop and biffed it into the tires, similar to Jeremiah Burton's qualifying crash. It is game over and the team will focus on fixing the car for race two tomorrow.
Three races left in the championship, tomorrow here at Sebring, and then, the final two races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Racing mechanics are amazing, as they can turn a pile of scrap into a race car in such a short period of time. The layout here at Sebring makes for wonderful racing in spite of the bumps. Championship newcomer in the #45, Joe Pizzuto, from Jupiter, Florida, a hometown race for him here at Sebring. This is Extreme Velocity Motorsports out of West Palm Beach, Florida, looking for a full-time effort in SRO TC America in 2024. His mom and dad are here to support their son's racing debut. Jupiter, Florida, not Jupiter, the planet. Hardy har har.
TCA leader, Spencer Bucknum, grandson of Ronnie Bucknum, son of Jeff Bucknum, both great racing drivers. Spencer Bucknum racing for Honda and his grandfather ran Formula 1 with Honda back in the 1960s. Techsport Racing are also racing their Nissan Z GT4 cars this weekend and we will see them later for race two today and race three of the weekend, tomorrow. Nissan management are here at Sebring checking out what Techsport is up to with developing the cars. They are also racing for Subaru in TC America and Jeff Ricca and GenRacer, they will have five Hyundai's on the grid in SRO America next year. He is team boss and development driver. He has also been racing a lot at the Nurburgring.
He has no regrets over this championship. He is going to race for Hyundai in Korea as well. We are set to go back to green and Colin Garrett keeps the field at a modest pace. Green flag. Colin Garrett leading Lucas Catania and Maddie Aust. Now, Dai Yoshihara is really pushing as well in the TCX class. Celso Neto now right on Jeff Ricca's six. He is looking feisty, Neto is. There will be overlap between TC and TCX competitors. Joseph Pizuto is also in the fight and now, Clay Williams makes his move on Jeff Ricca and actually got around Neto for second spot and Cristian Perocarpi is pushing hard, and he was a debutant here at Sebring a handful of years ago.
Perocarpi impressed in his debut here at Sebring a few years ago. Jeff Ricca wants a points cushion but he will have to push hard. Devin Anderson moves to second in TCA and now, Will Lambros is giving him all he can handle and Spencer Bucknum can whistle off into the distance as Shaoyi Che passes P.J. Groenke as well, look. Will Lambros is scrapping hard with Devin Anderson in turn one. That is hard, clean, fair racing, just as we like it to be. The Honda is strong over the bumps compared to the Subaru. The gear ratios with the engine torque have to be matched up at certain tracks.
You cannot change gear ratios. These cars are homologated a certain way and have to stay that way, flying over the bumps. It is a bone jarring ride at turn one and turn 17. Same thing with the suspension. These cars are stock in the suspension area unlike the GT3 and GT4 cars. Lucas Catania fighting on as we approach halfway. Dai Yoshihara, as we said, lost a wheel in qualifying, but he is coming fast towards a podium place. Dai Yoshihara chasing Maddie Aust. Honda Civic TCX vs. BMW M2. In 2024, there will be a TCX spec Acura. We are looking forward to that. Just like the early days of World Challenge in touring cars back in the 2000s.
Joe Pizzuto is now running ahead of Kenny Schmied and Schmied has had a turn of speed all year long and with vastly more experience. Maddie Aust, Dai Yoshihara and Joseph Catania, all in a three-way battle. Whoops. The #37 Mini of Lewis Perocarpi is off the road with smoke billowing out of the car. He needs some help. This race car is on FiYah! A colloquialism of fire. Oy yoy yoy! Full Course Yellow, now. The Perocarpi team builds these Mini Cooper JCW's from the ground up. Such a shame for Cristian Perocarpi. Just past the halfway mark in the race.
Rare to see too many Full Course Yellows with the touring cars. Lucas Catania will now close in on Colin Garrett. CrowdStrike Fastest lap to Colin Garrett in the lead at 2:18.865. Other contenders in the 2:19 range. Cristian Perocarpi radioed to the team about smoke in the cockpit and he bailed out. The car I think will need to be fixed. He had a double podium in his debut here at Sebring in 2021. Something went bang inside the engine of the Mini. The touring car classes will be a part of our final races of the year for the Indianapolis 8 Hours. It will be crisp when we get there, deep into the autumn season.
Teams coming from Asia and Europe for then Indianapolis 8 Hours. It is a massive event. So excited to bring it to you. The TC America cars have been fabulous at Indianapolis over the years. Cristian Perocarpi's car is being rescued on the flatbed truck. The leads in all classes have evaporated. This is going to be a four or five lap shootout to the end of this motor race. Relatively mild temperatures here in central Florida. Williams is well aware that even if he finishes second a few times he can gain the drivers' championship. But the manufacturers' champions cup is what Mini, and Hyundai, both want. Jeff Ricca and GenRacer, he is 40 years old, and a driver's championship means a lot, but the manufacturers' championship is what he wants and GenRacer could have a five-car team for 2024, for next year.
Jeff Ricca has spent a lot of time on the simulator working on Sunset Bend. Going testing with race cars is logistically difficult and budget limited. Well, a simulator can really help for track knowledge. Safety Car in the lane. We are back to green flag action with under ten minutes to go. Punch it. Colin Garrett, Lucas Catania, Maddie Aust, the top three. They thunder down to turn one. Pizzuto being monstered by Kenny Schmied who is getting into argy bargy with Catania and Celso Neto makes a pass in TC. Pizzuto beginning to jet away in the TCX car. Williams passes Neto back.
Jeremiah Burton scrapping with Sally McNulty and now in TCA, Will Lambros right on Spencer Bucknum's six, and Devin Anderson in the Subaru has disappeared as P.J. Groenke goes off the road. The only TechSport Subaru we see is Shaoyi Che. Where on earth is Devin Anderson? He has scored points but is it game over for him? Don't count your chickens just yet. Only five TCA cars in the race. Anderson, out. Game over. He will scrape together some points. Is there damage or a technical issue? He will hpope to race tomorrow but we'll see.
Colin Garrett gapping Lucas Catania with Maddie Aust third. Dai Yoshihara has designs to change that and is pressuring Maddie Aust. Aust was a cheerleader before she became a racing driver. A good scrap for fourth as Dai Yoshihara is falling into the clutches of Kenny Schmied as we look to the end of this motor race. AOA Racing, the team. Time running out, quickly. An endless corner, into Sunset Bend, playing chicken with the wall. Hard to see the exit curb into turn one as well. Garrett ahead of Lucas Catania by two seconds. Maddie Aust doing enough to have a gap but here comes Yoshihara and Pizzuto drops wheels! Yikes! He gathers it up, thankfully.
Devin Anderson's woes are unclear. His mom and dad simply said, we have no idea. Good grief. The car is on the tow truck. All the possibilities of what can go wrong can make you lose sleep at night as a racing driver. Spencer Bucknum leading the points, maximizing the opportunity. Spencer Bucknum in a solid spot now with two laps remaining. Colin Garrett at the top of the shop. He is only getting quicker, as Kenny Schmied scraps with Joseph Catania. Pizzuto back into his rhythm. Great braking zone into turn ten and the rhythm section through Collier Corner to the Tower Turn.
You come into that turn at a more severe angle. Be conservative about it and don't run wide. Will Lambros applying the blowtorch to Spencer Bucknum. Lambros a winner earlier in the year at Circuit of the Americas. He has pace. Lambros right on Bucknum's six. White flag. One more lap to race here at Sebring in race one. Maddie Aust still scrapping with Dai Yoshihara. Lambros over the curbs. Bucknum protecting his line. No team orders in the Honda camp. Door to door into Sunset Bend. White flag. One more lap to race.
Don't sleep on Shaoyi Che, and he is in the fight as well. Meantime, Kenny Schmied, Maddie Aust, both under pressure. Dai Yoshihara gives Maddie Aust the chrome horn. She is resisting the pressure. Figure out the solution to the puzzle, the answer to the riddle. One more chance for the final podium place in turn 17. Colin Garrett wins this race and will be one step closer to winning his first road racing championship and Maddie Aust holds off Yoshihara. Jeff Ricca wins TC and both TCA front runners are off in the grass down the Ulmann straight! Bucknum, Lambros, Che, last time into Sunset Bend. Spencer Bucknum wins and extends his points haul taking the championship lead!
Overall/TCX: #44 Colin Garrett Rooster Hall Racing BMW M2 CS (Cup)
TC: #78 Jeff Ricca GenRacer/Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TC
TCA: #5 Spencer Bucknum LA Honda World Honda Civic Si FE1
Cue the dance music for the results. These races are critical for keeping drivers in the game before the finals at Indianapolis in the weeks ahead. So, Colin Garrett is your overall winner, and he will also race in Pirelli GT4 America coming up this afrernoon. We'll see you tomorrow, for another TC America race here at Sebring. Bye for now.
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