The world's greatest racetrack, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, "The Brickyard", so named for the yard of bricks from the original racing surface here at the speedway when construction was completed in 1909, iconic it is. Todzay, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge takes to "The Brickyard" for the second and final 4-hour endurance race of the 2023 championship season, and it serves, too, as the penultimate event of the overall championship with titles for Grand Sport and TCR both hanging in the balance. On the pole in Grand Sport, the #69 MIA (Motorsports in Action) McLaren Artura GT4 to be driven by the Canadian duo of Jesse Lazare from Montreal, Quebec, and Alex Filsinger who hails from Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
In the TCR division, the Minnesota based team, Unitronic/JDC Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR has pole, and is set to be driven by the duo of Minnesotan Chris Miller, and South African, Mikey Taylor. Five miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis, this is the proving ground for innovation in automobiles. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the racing capital of the world and IMSA is back for the first time in almost a decade. Michelin Pilot Challenge kicks off the weekend with a 4-hour endurance race. It has been beautiful all day, but we may have rain during this event.
In the championship, the Grand Sport class seeing some close racing and the points are only 90 between the top three and 340 within the top five. The battle is between Murillo Racing and Turner Motorsports. Mercedes-AMG vs. BMW. Frank DePew starts the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4 sharing with Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis. In TCR, it is a 50-point swing between JDC-Miller Motorsports and Audi, and Hyundai/Bryan Herta Autosport for Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker. We have Kevin Lee and Calvin Fish reporting from the broadcast booth and have Matt Yocum and Hannah Newhouse reporting from the pit lane.
At Indianapolis Motor Speedway, just shy of two and a half miles, which is the length of the speedway. It is very smooth and fast. Watch your braking zones into turn one and turn seven. Turns five and six, a chicane, that's tough, and watch for the rhythm section between turns seven and 11. There will be tire degradation to look out for as well. We have 41 cars starting the race and we will have even more for tomorrow.
Green flag! Away we go! McLaren to the front with Jesse Lazare and they head for turn one for the first time. Jesse Lazare has two or three car lengths currently as we watch the TCR start. Chris Miller leads from the pole, 50 pints back of the leaders in the championship. Tread carefully on cold tires as Bryce Ward spins the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. He got tipped by Luca Mars in the #59 KohR Motorsport Ford Mustang. Michael Lewis in the #1 Hyundai Elantra N TCR to the front. Here comes the sister car and then the #89 HART Honda Civic of Chad Gilsinger.
Bryan Ortiz in the #91 van der Steur Racing Hyundai Elantra beginning to push but we have four hours of racing and have just gotten started. Plenty of time left on the board. Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler looking for a podiim spot as Billy Johnson passes Stevan McAleer. Aston Martin Vantage GT4 vs. Porsche Cayman GT4 with a seven-speed gearbox in it. McAleer looking over Billy Johnson who has the most wins in Michelin Pilot Challenge. Jesse Lazare has made good his escape and had one full second over everyone else as McAleer tries a lunge, but no. Johnson has the preferred line, look.
To turn one they go, flying down the straightaway. McAleer makes his move. Don't fight. Think of the big picture. A drive through penalty has been assessed to the #59 KohR Motorsports Race for RP Ford Mustang GT4 with Luca Mars at the wheel of it, sharing along with Bob Michaelian. Lazare is now opening a nearly second and a half buffer over McAleer as the GS cars remain mostly single file although Mars pokes his nose inside the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 with Cameron Lawrence the starting driver. Lawrence sharing with Roberr Megennis.
Good battle too between a couple of the Aston Martin's. Austin McCusker vs. Hugh Plumb and there is an aggressive move for the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR. Chris Miller though in the JDC-Miller Audi, who was on TCR pole, has flown Plummet Airways down to ninth place. Harry Gottsacker and Robert Wickens have not gotten the start they've wanted. Chris Miller's Audi sounds fine and looks fine. I wonder why he has dropped like a stone. P9 early doors is extreme and not good. Gavin Ernstone is pushing hard but he did shortcut the circuit. Good to see Gavin Ernstone and Jon Morley.
They are not planning on running the finale at Road Atlanta next month. What is the spot of bother for the #17 team? Poor old Chris Miller has not said anything on the radio. It seems like he got passed and they know the car is fast. Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller achieved maximum points last time out at Virginia International Raceway even though they did not test here at Indianapolis beforehand. A couple of passes, look, as another Audi RS3 goes by. This is the father and son team of Gou Racing for father and son Lalo and Eddie Gou. At the top of the shop, Jesse Lazare is being put under pressure by Stevan McAleer.
Motorsports in Action are showing pace with the McLaren Artura, which is a hybrid powered car on the road but has no hybrid unit on the race car like we see with the GTP cars in the WeatherTech Championship. Eric Filgueiras and Stevan McAleer have a lot of experience running the SRO GT races here at Indianapolis and Jenson Altzman tries to make a move on one of the Porsche's but it is just not on. Alfredo Najri takes the place aboard the #14 Toyota Supra GT4 for Ave Motorsports. The Ford Mustang's might struggle through the braking zones here at Indianapolis. There is a new Ford Mustang for next year not only in GT4 but also in GT3 in the WeatherTech Championship.
Bryan Ortiz and Mason Filippi going hammer and tongs between a couple of the Hyundai's. Bryan Herta Autosport had six cars racing in Pilot Challenge but for next year they are paring it down to four. Much more manageable in that sense. At van der Steur Racing, Tyler Maxson said that sim racing has helped because in Free Practice they had an engine go bang and they lost time. But they don't mind it if there is weather in the area during this race. Oy yoy yoy! We've got two cars off the road as one of the TGM Aston Martin's and Roy Block spins the Alfa Romeo and almost wallops the side of the race leader! That is Lazare in the McLaren!
That was a block pass by Victor Gonzalez biffing Ted Giovanis into the grass and now the Gtand Sport leaders come on the scene and it's nearly calamity corner! This is a long race. Don't get your elbows out. Keep your noses clean. Trouble for the #14 Toyota Supra with Alfredo Najri getting back on the road and the #93 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Porsche Cayman shared by Brady Golan and Cameron Shields. The right rear of the car is tweaked. They also have a new BMW M4 GT4 in the field today with their #39 entry being driven by Sean McAlister, Nolan Siegel, and Jeff Westphal. The poor old Porsche has a wobble wheel as we have rain here at Indianapolis.
We could have a night race in the rain. Oy yoy yoy! Talk about bringing the action! We saw that in the overnight hours of the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans earlier this summer. Ugh! Another spin for a TGM Aston Martin and this time it is the #46 of Hugh Plumb sharing with his brother Matt Plumb. Was there some argy bargy that put him off the road? He seems fine now. I think the #95 Turner BMW of Cameron Lawrence may have tagged him, accidentally, not on purpose. The stewards have assessed a drive through penalty to the #14 Toyota Supra for Riley Motorsports currently in the pit lane for repairs.
So much GT4 success for McAleer and Filgueiras in SRO and in that series, they are now running a GT3 entry. But they have had bucketloads of success over here in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge as well. McAleer the meat in the sandiwch between a couple TCR Audi's. We have an overall lead change that we were just talking about and there's a long way to go yet, folks. If you are watching on Peacock, you have seen the bonus coverage and if you are watching on TV, have a Captain Cook at the highlight's packages. Those will be helpful. Believe me. In fact, this race can be seen in abbreviated form on TV, soon.
It has been a topsy turvy season for the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 of Cameron Lawrence and Robert Megennis. Meanwhile, every time the #17 Audi wns the pole they win the race but there's still over three and a half hours to go. Do not count ye olde chickens until they hatch. There is drizzle, it is overcast, and it is cooling down here at Indianapolis on a chilly, fall, Saturday afternoon. Stay on slicks though because we just have a wee bit of drizzle at this moment. It has not started to pour down with rain yet but if it does, look out, and go for the rain tires. Don't use the windscreen wipers yet either because if you do, the oil, rubber, and other junk on the screen will just smear it and you cannot see anything.
Be patient in sector one. It is extremely technical. Front Wheel Drive is how all TCR cars are set up. You are turning and accelerating at the same time. Bryan Herta Autosport have a yellow and white car for a charity for fighting pediatric cancer and helping the kids, honoring the 25th anniversary of Hyundai Hope on Wheels and Riley Childrens' Hospital here in Indianapolis. Awesome. Oh dear. Road Shagger Racing have to go to the garage and assess what we are hearing is a battery problem or maybe something wrong with a power steering system or a serpentine belt.
Michael Lewis leading by just over a second trying to get rid of the understeer in these TCR cars. He wants a win and even a podium with co-driver Taylor Hagler. Meanwhile, Stevan McAleer now leads by six and a half seconds over the McLaren in the hands of Jesse Lazare. Oh dear oh dear. We have one of the Audi's off the track grinding to a halt. This is the #10 car, one of the two Rockwell Autosport Development RS3 LMS TCR's. They are both sequential gearbox cars. #10 has the trio of Preston Brown, Alex Rockwell, and Jerome Guzman. Meanwhile, a battle rages between a couple of the BMW M4 GT4's as well. One of the Turner Motorsports cars and the Stephen Cameron Racing entry.
Full Course Yellow. We are under Full Course Yellow for the stricken Audi off on the side of the road. So, the #10 is now being towed away and we look at this massive facility, the great, fabled, fabulous "Brickyard" named after the yard of bricks on the frontstretch that came from the original pavement here when the speedway was built in 1909. Sports cars picking back up with illustrious history here that dates back over a decade but of course there have been countless Indianapolis 500's, NASCAR has run here, Formula 1 and MotoGP ran here. Many types of vehicles have graced the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A wide variety of productionsports cars and touring cars in this race. Porsche, McLaren, Aston Martin, BMW, Ford, Mercedes-AMG, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Alfa Romeo, Honda. A great mix of brands in Pilot Challenge and plenty for people to cheer for. Cars that could even be in your driveway, but that are obviously heavily modified for racing. The field continues in the crocodile behind the safety car. Pit stop time now for the Grand Sport cars under yellow with 40 minutes now on the board. How will the strategy play out? We have a long, long way to go. Tires and fuel being the main ideas and we see a few driver changes.
Eric Filgueiras taking over the #28 RennSport1 Porsche Cayman. Fuel going in the tank. Five lug nut wheels on most of these cars as opposed to single lugnut wheels we are seeing on the IMSA WeatherTech cars in GTP, LMP, and GTD or even with the new generation NASCAR Cup cars. McAleer leading Filsinger under yellow in Grand Sport and the overall while we now see pit stop time for the TCR teams. Again, tires, fuel, and driver changes. Tires and fuel only it appears for the Hope On Wheels liveried Hyundai and maybe also for the more conventional blue liveried car.
The refueling probe was stuck on the specially liveried Hyundai and thank heavens the fueler pulled it out of the dry brake connector to the tank, just in time. Whoops! We have an open door on one of the GT4 BMW's somehow or other and I wonder why that is. Poor old Harry Gottsacker has lost oodles of time with that fuel rig snafu. Victor Gonzalez now the overall and erstwhile TCR leader in the VGRT #99 Hyundai Elantra. Pit stop time too for the #27 Mercedes-AMG GT4. This is the Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Anton Dias Perera and Scott Andrews. We will see this duo tomorrow in the WeatherTech Championship Battle on The Bricks in a GT3 spec Mercedes-AMG for the same team.
So pit stops are out of the way and the single file order resumes as we were, behind the safety car. That car we saw with the open driver's door was the Random Vandals Racing #92 BMW M4 GT4 of Paul Sparta and Kenton Koch. Eric Filgueiras now at the top of the shop with Nolan Siegel in second place in the #39 BMW M4 GT4 in second place with Kenny Murillo third and we are back to green! Nolan Siegel wants to block Kenny Murillo but Murillo says "no way, sunbeam" making the pass in the #72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.
Rory van der Steur is now in the #19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. van der Steur raced an Indy Next car last weekend and then ran an LMP3 car for the WeatherTech Championship race tomorrow and the Aston Martin in this race as we watch Chad McCumbee having taken over the #13 Ford Mustang GT4 from Jenson Altzman. This is the McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4. The torque curve of whatever engine you run will help achieve lap time. That is a big deal here at the speedway especially on the infield road course.
Adam Adelson in the #47 Nolasport Porsche Cayman has his hands full with Cameron Lawrence, trying to fidn a rhythm and the #74 Hyundai Elantra of Jordan Wisely, the MTV reality television start taking up motor racing, sharing with rallycross racer Cabot Bigham. Poor old Wisely used the curbs and then got into the gray stuff and spun out. He will continue. A good battle for fifth now between Cameron Lawrence and Nolan Siegel. Daniel Morad has taken over the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. Daniel Morad has moved to second place and is in hot pursuit of Eric Filgueiras.
Koch, Foley, and Adelson in a massive battle. Robby Foley in the sister #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 has his hands full in this little scrap. Chad McCumbee sees all of this unfolding ahead of him, the former NASCAR driver turned sports car endurance driver. This is a scintillating little battle we are seeing unfold in the middle of the pack. Who is the bloke behind Foley at this moment? It looks to be, well, the aforementioned Mustang, of McCumbee and then the Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4, car #43. That is the car being shared by Sean Quinlan and Greg Liefooghe. Foley wants to be the fly in the ointment here trying to give poor old Kenton Koch a really hard time.
More smoke emanates from the #14 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra, a car we saw in a wee spot of bother earlier. This is the all-South American driver trio, the car of Alfredo Najri of the Dominican Republic, Fernando Etchegory of Uruguay, and Thomas Steuer of Colombia. We are now one hour into the race, so 1/4 of the distance has been completed. Winward Racing are making strides here in Michelin Pilot Challenge and in the WeatherTech Championship led by Ed Hall. Alex Filsinger is now seventh in the #69 MIA McLaren. Jesse Lazare is not surprised, and they put it together in qualifying. He thoroughly used up his tires, but Alex Filsinger is definitely going for it.
With the nighttime driving to come, it is hopeful there will be no rain. Let us cross our fingers and we shall see, hoping it will be dry. Some teams have two driver lineups and others have three. A spin for the #70 Hyundai Elantra with Sally McNulty at the controls. McNulty in the #70 Deily Motorsports Hyundai sharing with Jacob Deily. We have seen her race in another TCR championship in SRO. But right now she is getting back on track at the end of Hulman Boulevard. She is a fun personality doing video blogs and her boyfriend is also supportive of her racing efforts. The #88 Aston Martin for Archangel Motorsports has now been taken over by Todd Coleman, 21st in GS and in the overall. With Victor Gonzalez, he indirectly took a wave by and had to pit to reset.
So that team is now out of contention, unfortunately. Billy Johnson says there is a vibration in the steering of the Archangel Aston Martin and the steering rack is in a mess, currently. That is not good. There is brake knockback as well where the pads push into the calipers and the rotors which will affect the braking in this enduro. Johnson says if they try to fix it, it could be game over for the team. So, they'll have a long road to hoe here. The rain is picking up in the pit lane. Dear me. If you have a wounded race car, rain could help. The car took a slight ride through the grass but did not turn into a lawn mower trying to manicure Mr. Penske's grass even more than it already is.
The rain is surely on the radar. Morad keeping Filgueiras honest in the battle for the overall lead and in Grand Sport for the GT4 cars. Windscreen wipers on for some of the cars, clearly. Filgueiras flashing the lights signaling a TCR car to move over. The top five are Filgueiras in the Porsche, Morad in the Mercedes, Murillo in another Mercedes, van der Steur in the Aston Martin, and Nolan Siegel in the BMW. Andrew Davis is still in the fight with Scott Andrews. Rebel Rock Racing Camaro vs. Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.
The #96 BMW M4 GT4 is eighth with Robby Foley now in the car after Vincent Barletta has met his drive time requirements. Kenny Murillo will hand over the #72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 to Christian Szymczak. Andrew Davis runs high to try passing Adam Adelson and Scott Andrews is right on Davis's six as well, look. Scott Andrews and Anton Dias Perera will be racing in the WeatherTech Championship event in GT3 tomorrow as we talked about earlier. Michael Lewis leading in TCR and Taylor Hagler has changed her watch and had a favorite meal of gluten free macaroni and cheese, but she is changing her plans to see about winning.
Racing drivers are superstitious. Taylor Hagler says that she has run the Indianapolis 8 Hours as well, and so, she is very used to this track, but they want to kiss the bricks, a tradition that began in NASCAR with Dale Jarrett winning the Brickyard 400 in 1996 for Robert Yates Racing. Morad makes his move on Filgueiras and takes the lead of the motor race. Both classes are chock full of action and there are battles everywhere. John Tecce in the #83 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman is flying being chased by Bob Michaelian and Toby Grahovec.
Grahovec sharing the #26 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 sharing with Garrett Adams and Neil Verhagen, and now, Kyle Washington goes off the road and was going to run over the car ahead. He was a lucky luck boy to get away with that shemozzle. Jeroen Bleekemolen is his co-driver and he gets into the dirt and nearly spins out approaching turn seven! Oy! That's plus one, minus two or three. Six of one and half a dozen of the other. Criminy! Settle down. Hit your mark. That was a late lunge and into turn seven he was off in the grass trying to pass Uretsky and there was a TCR car in the way. We have seen sprinkles and spritzes and no heavy rain yet.
It has stopped sprinkling here at dusk. It was not supposed to be dusk after 7PM but sunset is two hours away and now, Cameron Lawrence has passed Kenny Murillo. Foley is moving up and is right there. Cameron Lawrence is fifth and making up ground in the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, so both Turner Motorsports BMWs are running well. Foley and Barletta want to seal the deal and gain the championship. The strategy deal will be the biggest deal. It will get dark and the last thing anyone wants towards the end of the motor race is another yellow.
Chris Miller, our TCR pole man, he is dragging and clawing the Audi back up into the top five in TCR. There was indeed a drive through penalty for the stuck fuel rig for the #33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra. 30 points the difference in TCR between Wickens and Gottsacker, Miller and Taylor, and Filippi and Wilkins. We have a good battle now in the second Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4, car #77 being shared by 18-year-old driver Nick Shaeffer from Salt Lake City, Utah, sharing with driver coach Peter Mercier, a local Indiana native, from Kokomo, Indiana.
Adelson gets tapped by Shaeffer it looks like. The gap was not there. Scott Andrews has not made a major move just yet and he could conserve fuel and leapfrog the field on pit stops. Chad McCumbee still in the #13 Ford Mustang GT4 with the roaring Coyote 5.2-liter V8 and the distinctive whine from the drivetrain and the straight cut gears in the gearbox. It is hard to find your depth perception in turn one on the road course which is speedway turn four. Kenton Koch teaming up with Paul Sparta, he is chasing down Robby Foley hand over fist after finishing fifth at Road America.
Paul Sparta has a new shop for his team and Kenton Koch is an accomplished driver. Kenny Murillo is keeping Cameron Lawrence honest in the meantime. Side by side stuff now, look, as Cameron Lawrence had a head of steam on Kenny Murillo and Robby Foley said "thanks, boys", and moved in. In the meantime, KLenton Koch too sees an opportunity and walks right through the open door. Poor old Murillo has lost three places in one lap. Dear oh dear. Koch and Murillo are the villains of the peace here trying to chase down and spoil the party for the Turner Motorsports boys.
Chad McCumbee is of course racing against his business partner and the two of them first teamed up in the old Street Tuner class. The #72 Murillo Racing Mercedes is in the lane for service and a driver change. Christian Szymczak will be getting into the car I think and now we see the #88 Aston Martin ij pit lane as well. Billy Johnson jumping back in replacing Todd Coleman. The #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman is in the lane and Eric Filguerias is into the pits. We have 20+ minutes before the halfway mark in this race and maybe Stevan McAleer will get in for a double stint to the end.
The #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 in the lane for service. Foley will do a double stint now and maybe hand over to Vincent Barletta later on. Fuel and tires, the car down off the air jacks already. Two different strategies at Turner Motorsports. Daniel Morad now in the lane at Winward Racing as well, adjusting the tire pressures but also changing the tires and of course these GT4 cars, as we talked about, have five lug nuts on the wheels. The sister #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 is in as well and they have a fuel probe connection problem.
Oh boy. Losing time on a recalcitrant fueling probe. That's not good. We are looking at 48 seconds for a full fuel fill on these cars as the TCR leaders are now in the lane, the #1 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra. Michael Lewis into the lane and I believe Taylor Hagler is back into the car. A close shave between the #95 BMW leaving the box and the #1 Hyundai entering. No contact. No worries. The #19 van der Steur Aston Martin now in the lane, pitting from P2. A three-driver trio in that car with Austin McCusker, Rory van der Steur and Valentin Hasse-Clot, the Parisian French driver who is a real flyer in an Aston Martin especially in GT4 but also in GT3 as we have seen "VHC" as we call him by his initials, do a great job in GT3 in another championship, in SRO competition.
More pit action as the #59 Ford Mustang GT4 is in with Bob Michaelian and Luca Mars. We are fast approaching the halfway mark in this motor race. This is a precursor to an endurance race we will see here at Indianapolis for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship next fall. They will be racing a conventional sprint event tomorrow. 2 hours and 40 minutes duration. Pit stop time now for the #79 Ford Mustang GT4, the Ford Pro entry for NV Autosport and drivers Stephen Vadja and Drew Neubauer. Pit action in TCR again and some gamesmanship between Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai and JDC-Miller Audi. Robert Wickens now into the car replacing Harry Gottsacker. Wickens will run the final half of this race.
Again, Wickens, taking it to the finish, running at Indianapolis, bursting onto the American scene and had run very, very well internationally. Wickens is still working on an Indianapolis 500 program for the future. It is possible. Wickens wants to test an IndyCar. The #91 van der Steur Racing Hyundai Elantra N TCR is in the lane as well. Meanwhile, some aggro, some off course racing with the #27 Lone Star Racing Mercedes because you cannot take a shortcut and poor old Scott Andrews was forced off the road by a TCR car in the chicane.
Jenson Altzman is now back at the controls of the #13 Ford Mustang GT4 replacing Chad McCumbee. McCumbee says they are struggling with pace for whatever reason. The car is good on a long run and they need more pace. They are going for strategy. Next year, the team will be swapping over to the new generation Ford Mustang GT4 and as we talked about there will also be a GT3 spec version of the car as well. Harry Gottsacker has just handed over the #33 Hyundai Elantra to Robert Wickens and the Hope On Wheels car is extremely fast as is Robert Wickens. Plenty of time on the board with some fickle and fascinating weather in the Indianapolis area.
Car #55 beached in the gravel and we might just see a Full Course Yellow. Lalo Gou, the father of Eddie Gou, is now in the car and they are off the road and fairly beached. Full Course Yellow. I thought so. Nearly halfway home. The Audi though is buried up to the splitter. This team will be full-time in Michelin Pilot Challenge in TCR with a two-car team for 2024. We just had a one hour and five-minute green flag run before the second Full Course Yellow. TCR cars can pit now and do it on one more stop but it could be a stretch for Grand Sport and the GT4 entries. It is a wee bit too early to hit the lane.
Topping the car up with fuel never hurts but it can burn you if you are not careful. With the length of the pit lane, you could go down a lap. There will be a full sweep of the circuit under yellow as the marshals are blowing the gravel off the road with a leaf blower. Audi #55 is back on track. There are marbles and clag from the tires all over the racing line and that will be tough for going double file into a turn. BHA is a Purdue University Engineering program pipeline. Students are brought to the racetrack to see what goes on in motor racing. A lot of these students seem like they want to do motors;ports engineering.
Robert Wickens has many of his pals, the NTT IndyCar Series drivers, here, cheering him on. Pit stop time from the lead for Daniel Morad and the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes. He is doing it from the front and there are a handful of GS cars also in the lane. Fuel only, a top off, no tires or adjustments. Cameron Lawrence gfets back into the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4. I think the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4 was also in the lane and they were, they topped up on petrol. We are into the second half of this race as the lights come on here at "The Brickyard" taking this race into the twilight.
Robert Wickens inded in the pit lane, the TCR class points leader. Fuel and tires for Wickens and he is down and away. Victor Gonzalez gets out of the #99 VGRT Hyundai Elantra handing off to Tyler Gonzalez and the busted door after the contact with Ted Giovanis in the Aston Martin earlier, has dented and caved in the drivers' side door. Meanwhile, the #43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 is stopped dead in the water on the road. Never mind. He gets back on the button, refiring the motor and keeps on trucking. Track cleanup continues as the field trundles 'round behind the safety car.
We should be coming soon to a restart. Green flag. Again, Eric Filgueiras is now leading but has Robby Foley and Christian Szymczak going for it and Matt Plumb tries to get back on the lead lap but can't do it. Bold move by Szymczak on the inside of Plumb as Elliott Skeer cuts the chicane in the #47 Nolasport Porsche Cayman. Some hip and shoulder for Christian Szymczak. Oh dear. Oh boy! Kenton Koch wheel hops looking to the inside of Cameron Lawrence! That was a close shave! Robin Liddell is now at the wheel of the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R.
Morad hanging Szymczak out to dry. Meanwhile, Szymczak is now being monstered by the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing BMW M4 GT4 and another Mercedes. Jeff Westphal has the wheel of the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing car which will be back in 2024 with a two-car BMW M4 GT4 team here in Michelin Pilot Challenge. Dennis DuPont off sequence on the pit stops leading the TCR class in the #15 Audi RS3 LMS TCR SEQ for Rockwell Autosport Development. Now, side by side stuff look, in Grand Sport, and in TCR just the same.
This is slice and dice motor racing at it's finest. The TCR pack is carving it's way past a very slow Ford Mustang GT4, that is the #79 car we were talking about a wee while ago. It's definitely rush hour in the back half of the Grand Sport class. Some argy bargy between the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 and the #44 Accelerating Performance Porsche Cayman of Michael Cooper and Moisey Uretsky. We have not called their number too often in this event. Eric Filgueiras leads Robby Foley by about a second and a half and Stevan McAleer will be getting back into the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman soon for the final hour and a half of the race.
Bryce Ward tells us he got punted off the road early in the race and the team has moved up. Daniel Morad, the Canadian, and Bryce Ward, the South African driver. Many of these teams use fly-in pit crews but the over the wall gang usually needs fine tuning just like any other athletes. Vesko Kozarov runs on the ragged edge in the #21 Rearden Racing Porsche Cayman he shares with Jake Pedersen. Kozarov, we do not see him in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and he is more frequently racing in GT4 in SRO America competition. Robin Liddell, too, chasing down Greg Liefooghe but smartly, he is going into fuel save mode.
Kozarov forces Altzman off the road. He knows he has to push, he has to put the welly down and just go for it, taking loads of curb. Jenson Altzman has had enough of this and pushes the bye bye button. We live in a Balance of Performance scenario in sports car racing. People love or hate it but it does bring variety to the cars. Altzman, as we said, he was showing no respect to his adversary and simply said, "forget it. Please, get away from me! You are a pest!" Victor Gonzalez Racing Team in the pit lane.
Rest In Peace, Randy Ashton, who was a part of VGRT's pit crew. He died in a car wreck. Randy's son, Vincent, is working his father's pit crew position on fire extinguisher duties. We now have an hour and a half of racing left as the clock keeps ticking, the sand trickles through the speedway's hourglass. We are 50 minutes to an hour away from darkness before this race ends. Elliott Skeer leads this motor race over Daniel Morad, but they will need to pit. Morad is keeping Elliott Skeer honest. Eric Filgueiras is third and Robby Foley fourth. Skeer's car is loose on corner entry, but he can apply the power. Tyler Maxson has now taken over the #91 Hyundai and cannot hear his crew on the radio.
Maxson being told to push and we have yet another spin for the #77 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 with Peter Mercier at the controls. This is through turn 14. These two drivers have run in World Racing League and Mercier has also been an engineer. Billy Johnson tagged him. should say that tire smoking spin took place through turn 11. That was iffy! More trouble, braking issues for the #88 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin with the pad knockback where the pad backs out of it's spot next to the brake rotor.
Denis Dupont in the #15 Audi is off sequence and we could see Mark Wilkins and Robert Wickens in the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai pushing hard for the TCR victory. We are headed towards racing at night here at Indianapolis to finish this motor race out this evening. Don't go anywhere. You don't want to miss the thrilling conclusion of this one. Pit stop time at Turner Motorsports for the #96 car of Robby Foley and Vincent Barletta. Fuel and tires at the very least, and down and away. Jeff Westphal racing with Scott Andrews. BMW vs. Mercedes as the #44 Porsche Cayman is in the lane for servie, the Uretsky/Cooper Accelerating Performance car.
#28 in the lane for scheduled pit work. Tires, fuel, and a driver change. Again, five lug nuts on the wheels of the GT4 and TCR cars. No single lug jobs like the WeatherTech Championship or the Generation 7 NASCAR Cup car. You can hear the crewman yell, "put it down!" and the air jack is unhooked and the #28 Porsche Cayman speeds away. Morad clsoing in on Skeer and Westphal doing the same on Andrews. GS and TCR cars mixed up in that big, multi flavored candy dish we are always talking about in sports car racing.
The #70 Deily Motorsports Hyundai Elantra N TCR is in a spin again, the Borla Blaster, sponsored by the Borla exhaust company and a new muffler. Trouble for Sarah McNulty and Jacob Deily as we see the #69 MIA McLaren, the pole sitter, into the lane for routine service, fuel, tires, and a driver change. Wholesale GS pit stops definitely underway and so too for the #33 BHA Hyundai Elantra N TCR in the TCR class. Deary me. We are again under Full Course Yellow. The Borla Blaster is not blasting, ladies and gentlemen. The car is stopped. I see, Borla and Blaster I believe are two different products. I think they may both be mufflers. Hard to say.
It is twilight at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Car #70 is now back on the circuit. So, a premature demise it will not encounter. The #27 Lone Star Racing Mercedes along with several other Grand Sport cars are now in the pit lane for scheduled service. Now it is the turn of the TCR cars to pit. Neil Verhagen is the erstwhile overall leader. Driver changes as well as fuel and tires continue for the TCR field and a massive race off pit lane. Pit stop time as well for the #21 Rearden Racing Porsche Cayman of Vesko Kozarov and Jake Pedersen. The bonnet is up on the #13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang, topping off fluids in the motor.
Is that engine oil? Is it transmission fluid? I wonder. Good time to do it under Full Course Yellow. In another half hour, we will be into the darkness to finish this race. A beautiful sunset over Indianapolis, the Indiana state capitol, and the most famous racetrack on earth, probably followed only by such places as Daytona International Speedway, Le Mans, and Monaco. Sebring International Raceway can indeed be added to that list, and perhaps Road America as well. Spa Francorchamps. Nurburgring. Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. Take your pick. So many great palaces of speed around the world, and yet, Indianapolis may just be the greatest of them all.
One hour of racing to go. Green flag. Robert Wickens leads TCR and now, Neil Verhagen leads over all and Daniel Morad goes way too deep on the dirty side of the road on cold tires! He has gone way off track. Morad is back in line down Hulman Boulevard. Verhagen in the BMW is off strategy. Skeer dove into the lane before the Full Course Yellow. Michael Cooper has just gotten back on the lead lap. Verhagen did not stop and Skeeer goes to the lead or tries to.
Skeer has been flying in the Nolasport car racing with his regular teammate Adam Adelson in a number of championships. Robert Wickens leads Mikey Taylor and Denis Dupont in the TCR class. Hyundai, Audi, Audi. Wickens and Gottsacker lead by 80 points over Miller and Taylor and 180 points over Filippi and Wickens.
2. #17 Miller/Taylor Unitronic/JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR 2680 -80 points
3. #98 Wilkins/Filippi Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR 2580 -180 points
Darkness approaches and it is go time. Taylor chasing Wickens and Dupont. Dupont makes a mega move for second on Taylor chasing down Robert Wickens for the TCR class lead and here comes the #5 KMW TMR Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR of Tim Lewis Jr. sharing with Roy Block. The Rockwell Audi has had pace all day and is chasing the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai. Robert Wickens has finished second five times and has been so close. Wickens and company are leading the TCR championship fight with one more race when we are done and dusted at "The Brickyard" tonight.
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