Ryan Myrehn, SRO America lead commentator sums it up, succinctly, and wonderfully. "In 1909, 3.2 million ten-pound paving bricks were laid down, giving this esteemed venue it's nickname, 'The Brickyard'." Hello, and welcome everyone, to the famed, fabled speedway. Today, we witness the first of two races in the final weekend of the season for SRO Pirelli GT4 America competition. The cars and stars are all here for the second to last races of the 2023 season. We are in Speedway, Indiana, just outside of the capitol city of Indianapolis, on this cool, chilly, Midwestern Friday evening with Ryan Myrehn, and Calvin Fish, in the booth, and Amanda Busick in the pit lane. James Clay and Charlie Postins have the Am class championship in their hip pockets. That deal is done and dusted. But for so many others, there's bucketloads more to play for this afternoon at Indy.
Matt Travis and Jason Hart, in catch up mode, qualifying on pole in class. Conquest Racing also in chase mode to keep the championship alive. Jesse Webb qualified the Mercedes-AMG GT4 at a rapid pace. Two different classes for these two GT4 cars. We have a massive field, and the track layout lends itself to good racing with fast corners, twists and turns, and a long straightaway. Elbows can be out if you keep it clean. This is race one of two of the weekend. 14 turns in 2.439 miles. The start/finish line is the yard of bricks. The other bricks are underneath the asphalt of course.
32 cars will start the Pirelli GT4 America race on this Friday afternoon. Matt Travis is in his 75th race with Nolasport, and his 100th professional race with Porsche. Today will be a crucial day for the Nolasport team putting the car on the class pole and the Bimmerworld boys have to respond. As they run now, they are tied for the championship lead and we have an hourlong race with a mandatory pit stop in a ten-minute window right in the middle for driver changes only, and no tire changes. We have a massive, 32 car grid. We have great manufacturer variety in the class, a real melting pot.
We can see one of the four holes of the Pete Dye designed Brickyard Crossing golf course. It would be fun to play a round of golf while watching a race, but that would be a little hard. How can I play a good golf game, if I want to watch a race? I would be too distracted, by the race itself! 500 laborers and 300 mules built this wonderful venue. Okie dokie then. The field is formed up out of turn 14 and we've got a green flag and we're underway! Go! Gray Newell getting a great start, and three wide, look. Matt Travis tries staying alongside Jesse Webb aboard the Mercedes.
Is that going work as they pour into turn one for the first time of asking? Kevin Boehm is pressing hard, and we've got two cars, three cars off the road. We've got a Smooge Racing Toyota, an Auto Technic Racing BMW, and a Bimmerworld BMW all on the whirligig down there. Well, well, well. Racing carries on at the top of the shop with Jesse Webb half a second clear of everyone else. Kevin Conway trying to go for it. Our Am class champions, James Clay and Charlie Postins, in the #36 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4 are stuck in the grass. Grazing in the grass, it's a gas, can you dig it? No! This is not hip. This, I can't dig!
Side by side and more spinners! Jason Bell is off the road early doors! He's right in the thick of the traffic, look, and punches it to clear out of there and get all four wheels back on the road. Jeepers creepers! He lost the race win in GT America earlier this afternoon before that one ended. For only the third time in 2023, Bell is teamed up with Michael Cooper in Pirelli GT4 America competition. Jason Bell's focus has been on the title in GT America. Two race wins in four starts for Cooper/Bell. We see both Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4's also in the thick of it.
Hannah Grisham took the Am division pole in the #25 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 she shares with Rianna O'Meara-Hunt from Australia. Rianna and Hannah do not know the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and have only learned it through the simulator. There was no practice yesterday because of the rain. Grisham and O'Meara-Hunt got this racing seat for the Heart of Racing team in a gong show at Putnam Park which is about 45 minutes due west of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Postins has trouble and is in limp home mode.
I wonder if he went off course after getting tangled with the Supra. Michael Auriemma, too, look. is off the road in the grass with damage to the back of the #89 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 he shares with Tommy Johnson. Postins has limped to a corner station and hopefully he is in a safe haven. Tough break for the Am class champion elect. Grisham is now chasing Francis Selldorff at the wheel of the #19 ACI Motorsports Porsche Cayman he shares with Andrew Davis. Am class leader fighting with fourth place in Silver. Francis Selldorff is a student at Boston College this year. He got the bug from his dad, also a racer.
He has learned a lot in 2023 and has run in another championship as well I believe. Currently, here are your top three.
1. #34 Stephens/Webb Conquest Racing - JMF Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4
2. #47 Travis/Hart Nolasport Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
3. #92 Koch/Boehm Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4
Kevin Boehm chasing Matt Travis. James Walker Jr. and Tyler McQuarrie who lead the championship, they are moving up. But, oh, no, no, no! It's the commentator's curse that strikes again! As I say that, he's off the road! The #82 BMW has pulled off in the grass! Oy yoy yoy! That is the championship leader! This is massive! My goodness! Their lead will evaporate! If it is indeed game over, they would be six points in-arrears of Matt Travis and Jason Hart going into the final race of the year which, I believe, is scheduled for Sunday. I thought it was tomorrow, but it could be Sunday as we have the Indianapolis 8 Hours tomorrow.
I haven't the foggiest what sent James Walker Jr. into the grass. Drama! I mean, the effort for the drivers and the teams for the whole season, and then, it comes to this! The safety car is deployed in oval turn two and the BMW is still stranded. Travis is good pals with James Walker Jr. and Tyler McQuarrie. Tyler McQuarrie is bitterly disappointed. They came in with a 19-point lead and he blames Elias Sabo for this incident. He believes that James Walker's opportunity for a title in 20 years of driving race cars, was taken away. He is mad at Elias Sabo and Andy Lee.
Nolasport with Jason Hart and Matt Travis still need to finish the deal. We do not have video evidence to support the allegations that Sabo and company at Flying Lizard were the culprit. Points as they run, there is a six-point deficit. 187 points to Travis/Hart at Nolasport and 181 to Bimmerworld with Walker Jr./McQuarrie. They will have no racing tomorrow. It will be Sunday that we see the GT4 America season finale. So, stay tuned, folks. The championship fights are not done yet. So many what if's in racing.
Matt Travis and James Walker Jr. are neighbors in Texas. Safety car lights off. Aaron Telitz is filling in with John Geesbreght after John had a huge hit at Sebring in turn one of course. Telitz in the #68 Smooge Racing Toyota Supra GT4 EVO sharing with Kevin Conway. Geesbreght had a brake failure at Sebring last time out. John is here watching. Okie dokie. Back to green we go again. 47 minutes plus, on the board yet. Kevin Boehm passes Matt Travis. Kevin Conway is right behind him. A frantic restart with a bunch of shuffling, 11 minutes before the pit window opens.
Elias Sabo in the #8 Flying Lizard Aston Martin, he is being investigated by Race Control for the incident. Jesse Webb at the top of the shop with Kevin Boehm second followed by Kevin Conway and John Capestro-Dubets. He and his co-driver Zac Anderson are going for it. Jesse Webb is trying to cut into the deficit to Zac Anderson which is 27 points. It is a ten-point swing with JCD running third. More trouble for Smooge Racing as their sister car, Tony Ave at the wheel of it, is trundling to the lane with a cut down left rear tire.
There is rear bodywork damage, and he spins and that had to be the Toyota we were wondering about being involved in the turn one shemozzle at the start. Kevin Boehm is keeping the pressure on Jesse Webb. Meanwhile, Kevin Conway, is drawing a bead on Matt Travis. Conway, in the other Smooge Racing Toyota Supra sharing with Aaron Telitz and he has been a NASCAR Cup Series driver before but has now focused on sports car racing. I wonder. With his current sports car experience, he could also do well in one of the new Generation 7 NASCAR Cup cars since they are set up similar to a sports car, with independent suspension and other components.
Hart and Travis really have been in the fight for these championships in GT4 America year after year after year. We could see an extended, 3–4-hour GT4 race next year which would be fun to see. John Capestro-Dubets is coming alive right now. JCD hurt his back in another race in a different form of competition earlier in the year. But he is here now. It was a Lamborghini Super Trofeo race where he was hurt but he came back for a race they had here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway a few weekends ago, supporting IMSA sports car competition. JCD did not get to race at Road America and Zac Anderson has taken the lead, himself, in points.
Hannah Grisham leads the Am class ahead of Gray Newell, her teammate, who is in a different division. Newell runs with Roman De Angelis in Pro-Am. Jesse Webb is doing all in his power to claw into the points advantage and he has indeed just set the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the motor race. We will have to update you on what that lap time is. A Porsche Cayman in the lane with front end damage. Hard to see which one but I think it is a car we have talked about. The Sabo and Walker contretemps we saw will be reviewed post-race.
We have more off course fun and frolics to have a Captain Cook at. Insert a Fred Flintstone tone of voice. Oh boy. Jason Bell skittering across the grass once more and I think one of the other Nolasport Porsche Cayman's was also involved, the Nelson Calle driven entry, car #83. The Venezuelan driver sharing with American domiciled Juan Pablo Martinez. Jason Bell has had a rough day today after surely an uncomfortable night's sleep and we will see the GT America finale on Sunday morning. Memo Gidley locked up the SRO3 championship in GT America earlier today.
Ah. Here's Jesse Webb's fastest lap. The CrowdStrike Fastest Lap goes to Mr. Webb at 1:31.348. He is pushing, pushing, pushing. He leads to the tune of 1.7 seconds under six minutes away from the pit window opening. JCD slides inside Kevin Conway and that is a Silver class car splitting two Pro-Am entries. We are within the pit window opening. 108 seconds in the pit lane delta with the massively long pit lane here at Indianapolis. Tuey scream down the front straightaway into the braking zone for turn one. These GT4 cars do have ABS and one of the Supra's is having braking trouble. The road continues into speedway turn four and not into a typical braking zone like you'd see on a regular road course.
Furthermore, Indianapolis with the road course, goes counterclockwise, in the other direction compared to the oval. Smooge Racing will be concerned. The Tony Ave Supra may have had a wheel speed sensor torn out and that is playing up the handling. Co-drivers getting suited and booted for the second stint with 36 minutes on the board. Can John Capestro-Dubets run down Matt Travis? Can he bring Kevin Conway with him? Gray Newell is having a strong weekend and was the GT4 polesitter in GT America. Heart of Racing have made their massive announcement that they will run the Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar program in FIA World Endurance and in IMSA.
The Heart of Racing raising money for Seattle Children's Hospital. Hannah Grisham applying the pressure to Francis Selldorff. Tony Ave trundling to the lane. Hannah Grisham and Rianna O'Meara-Hunt were originally going to be in separate cars after the Heart of Racing Putnam Park female driver shootout gong show I mentioned but put the two of them together in the same car, and blimey O'Reilly, we've seen the results in 2023! That is for dead sure. They have been drinking from a firehose but really have given it their all this year.
They lead over Anthony Geraci who had a good finish with his co-driver Jaden Lander at Sebring a couple weekends ago. That is the #72 Krugspeed Toyota Supra. The pit window is open and will be for the next nine and a half minutes. You must be in the lane for your driver change in that time. Check and bleed tire pressures but that is all you can do. Webb in the lane to turn over to Michai Stephens. They are two equally matched drivers. Everyone comes in. The dominoes fall. Matt Travis will turn over the #47 Nolasport Porsche to Jason Hart who must deliver if they want the title. 33 minutes of racing to go.
Kevin Conway also pitted. Can Aaron Telitz put the pressure on Jason Hart? Conquest Racing, the hometown team, here in Indianapolis. Conquest will also have the Ferrari 296 GT3 racing tomorrow at the Indianapolis 8 Hours with Manny Franco, Alessandro Balzan, and Lilou Wadoux. The cars are released after not running afoul of the 108 second pit delta time. Michai Stephens will not be racing with Conquest next year and he is in audition mode. Where does he go? Does he stay in GT4? Does he move to GT3? Will he be eligible to race an LMP2 prototype? Where will he land in 2024? He is a Silver rated driver.
Jason Hart is able to come out ahead of the Pro-Am pack. Random Vandals brings Kevin Boehm to the lane, doing the overcut and handing off to Kenton Koch. He was bottled up behind another car in the pit lane. Kenton Koch has had a busy summer in various racing programs. There was a slight delay for Auto Technic with John Capestro-Dubets giving way to Zac Anderson and Jason Hart's stop was half a second slower than that of Aaron Telitz. Halfway home. Smooge Racing were more efficient but Zac Anderson will push his rivals to the limit in Silver.
Past the halfway mark. Robert Mau ahead of Hannah Grisham for the Am lead and for the overall lead. Third place, another driver who has not stopped yet. Colin Harrison at the wheel of the #22 TechSport Racing Nissan Z GT4 he shares with Eric Powell. Michai Stephens will lead the motor race once the pit stops recycle. Kenton Koch second, Jason Hart third, Zac Anderson fourth, and Aaron Telitz, fifth. Robert Mau has the wheel of the STR38 BMW M4 GT4 coming to the lane to hand over to Chris Allen.
Hannah Grisham was in the pit lane and handed over to Rianna O'Meara-Hunt. Oh dear! Aaron Telitz spins and if he got help, he would have gotten it from a Toyota/Lexus teammate, Parker Thompson, the Canadian. Deary me! The irony is that these two might be fighting it out for a seat with Lexus in IMSA next weekend at Road Atlanta for the Petit Le Mans. Jeepers creepers! Telitz continues but is very much delayed. This is manna from heaven for Nolasport. Stephens leads Koch, Hart, Anderson, and Thompson. De Angelis, Davis, Kay van Berlo, Andy Lee, and Harry Gottsacker, the top ten overall with 26 minutes left. Speaking of 26, Rianna O'Meara-Hunt is in that car, the second Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4.
Roman De Angelis monstering Parker Thompson and making the pass. No need to fight with an out of class car, but a scrap between two Canadian drivers. Incident under review between Telitz and Thompson. Thompson cops a drive through penalty for incident responsibility. The hammer, the sword of Damocles, falls. Parker Thompson and Daniel Hanley always seem to be part of the story. Telitz was later to power than Thompson anticipated. This removes a threat to Jason Hart in Pro-Am. Roman De Angelis is closest, in fifth, and he is quicker than Hart, by 7/10ths of a second.
Rianna O'Meara-Hunt is running well and she has a gap to Chris Allen who is followed by Al Carter for Random Vandals and fourth, Satakal Khalsa, in the Am class. Penaties here at Indy, crucify you in time loss to the field. Smooge Racing not happy whatsoever. Telitz flies Plummet Airways to 15th overall and eighth in class. Kenton Koch and Random Vandals are pushing it and now, Roman De Angelis is right on Zac Anderson's six. The BMW is struggling with left hand turns, for some odd reason. The tire wear is not showing the right way. Cross weight? Suspension binding up?
As the points stand currently, Anderson leads on 247 points followed by Stephens and Webb with 230 points and Capestro-Dubets on 207 points. Roman De Angelis wants to win at Indianapolis as much as anyone else. Everyone wants to kiss the bricks. Anderson is losing ground with 22 minutes to go. De Angelis is flying. Nolasport's rival went out and will not score. Travis and Hart will take the points lead away from Tyler McQuarrie and James Walker Jr. But, if Hart were to lose the lead to the Heart of Racing Aston Martin, the pendulum will swing again, back the other direction.
Whoever beats the other will win the title on Sunday. Travis and Walker Jr. are buddies. Will their friendship stand the test of a points championship? Hart will have a long 20 minutes to defend. De Angelis sends it to the inside and Hart had no reply. Don't risk damage. Hart is in damage limitation mode. Here he comes again down the frontstretch, with a head of steam and he can't do it, and he bumps the Aston Martin there. Don't risk damaging the race car. Kay van Berlo is next in the #7 ACI Motorsports Porsche Cayman. But van Berlo is well behind.
Points as they run in Pro-Am it is a one-point deficit, 181-180 now between Walker Jr. and McQuarrie as well as Hart and Travis. Whoops! De Angelis drops a wheel. Jason Hart will start seventh in Sunday's second race and the Bimmerworld car will start 17th. Maybe that is Tyler McQuarrie's reservation and frustration we heard. Kay van Berlo is the next Pro-Am car, the Dutchman, based in Miami, attending college at the University of Miami, he and his brother Glenn both drivers to keep an eye on. We have seen Glenn actually racing in SRO Europe in GT World Challenge Europe for GT3 cars.
Andy Lee in the #8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4, under review for contact earlier in the race, right behind van Berlo. Jason Hart is eking out space and sees van Berlo and Lee squabbling with each other. Bright green vs. bright orange cars. The Democletian review is still hanging over the #8 Andy Lee automobile as we said. We won't know for sure what the situation is until we come to you with the pre-race coverage on Sunday morning. The bright orange Aston almost looks red. Camouflage? Pole shootout for the Indianapolis 8 Hours still to come this evening and we shall bring you video coverage of that.
A late dive into the ABS washing out, and that's Kay van Berlo and Lee bumps him. Kay van Berlo trying to regroup, and Andy Lee wants a bite of the cherry. Elias Sabo has developed into an excellent Bronze rated driver but Andy Lee should be given much credit for helping him get to where he is now. Andy Lee has been on the scene for over a decade and did so in the old World Challenge GTS class. He was a runner-up GTS driver in Pirelli World Challenge way back in 2012. Flying Lizard Motorsports has their fingers in many pies, supporting the TKO Motorsports Mercedes in GT America piloting Memo Gidley to the SRO3 title. They also have links to K-PAX in their GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup program with a Lamborghini.
Lee putting the pressure on Kay van Berlo, a Porsche selected driver. Kay van Berlo will reach the higher echelons of motor racing with Porsche in the future. Rianna O'Meara-Hunt being reeled in by Colin Garrett in the Pro class #44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M4 GT4 the American former NASCAR driver shares with Dane Johan Schwartz. Everywhere you look there is a duo or trio scrapping. Cedric Sbirrazuoli, the Monegasque driver fighting Al Carter and Carter biffs Sbirrazuoli in the Mercedes out of the way! Ugh! They're side by side and then, Carter dives inside and spins Sbirzzazuoli off the road.
50 minutes down and ten to go as Zac Anderson is being harried for the final step of the podium in Silver by Andrew Davis. Michai Stephens will be cheering for Andrew Davis right about now. Davis has a run and clears the BMW before the braking zone for turn one. ACI Motorsports are having a wonderful race. Meanwhile, Michai Stephens is keeping Kenton Koch at bay and the gap is three seconds even. Stephens was in a similar position last year driving with Canadian Gavin Sanders. Andy Lee still glued to Kay van Berlo's tail.
Jesse Webb has proven himself after saying the GT4 car has been the most complex car he has ever driven. John Farrow, the owner of this team, has chosen some tremendous drivers, like Jesse Webb, Michai Stephens, and also names such as Gavin Sanders and Colin Mullan. Well, their go to source for drivers have been the Willis brothers, from England, and particularly Ian Willis. Keep doing what you're doing. The points deficit remains 17 between Anderson, and the duo of Webb and Stephens. Harry Gottsacker is the next Silver class driver in the order but he is well back. The team needs to get on the horn and say let van Berlo go. van Berlo takes a shortcut.
He is trying to back himself up into other cars. Anderson is fine but no, Lee tags van Berlo and van Berlo's Porsche has big damage. I'll give Andy Lee his due on that one but that was argy bargy ahoy through the turn and poor old van Berlo trundles to the lane. Sheesh! That was bananas! All this gives a reprieve to Jason Hart. Who'd have believed the two Pro-Am contenders would have the days they are having? Uh oh! Uh oh! We've got trouble in paradise! Ladies and gentlemen, Michai Stephens is slowing! Trouble for Conquest Racing as Michai Stephens is slowing from the race lead on the backstretch. Jesse Webb cannot bear to watch.
You hate to think about it, but could this be a fuel related issue? Is the tank dry? No refueling on pit stops in GT4 America. He pulls to the side of the road trying to find a safe haven. This will seal the championship for Zac Anderson if he finishes in front of the #34 and Kenton Koch will not have enough points, nor will Kevin Boehm, in the Silver championship. Heartbreak for Conquest Racing, Michai Stephens, and Jesse Webb. They can still go for a race win at Indianapolis again tomorrow for race two. Again, maybe it will be on Sunday.
Zac Anderson will be a two-time Pirelli GT4 America champion, now in the Silver division. We promised you a crazy race, and it has delivered but has also been very clean. Kenton Koch leads overall by five seconds as Roman De Angelis has had a great race. Jason Hart second in class and third overall within a point of the Pro-Am lead with one race left. White flag at dusk at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm have done so well for the Random Vandals team. He has an extra lap and so does everyone else. We could still see position changes.
The Pro-Am leader is Roman De Angelis, second overall on the road. Heart of Racing could be in for two class wins today in Pro-Am and Am. A special place to do it, at Indianapolis. NASCAR's Dale Jarrett started the tradition of kissing the bricks here at Indy in 1996. Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm, not in it for the title beut they will win at Indianapolis! In Pro-Am it is Roman De Angelis and Gray Newell! In Am, it will be Hannah Grisham and Rianna O'Meara-Hunt. Zac Anderson is champion elect in Silver. In the Am class, it will be Rianna O'Meara-Hunt and Hannah Grisham winning for the first time!
Overall/Silver: #92 Koch/Boehm Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4
Pro-Am: #24 De Angelis/Newell Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
Am: #25 Grishma/O'Meara-Hunt Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
Zac Anderson is the Silver class champion in Pirelli GT4 America! CrowdStrike Fastest Lap goes to Parker Thompson at a 1:30.976 but that is little consolation for a fraught race for Thompson and co-driver Daniel Hanley in the #999 Hanley Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO. Cue the dance music for the provisional results. The winners should very well be official. So, race one for GT4 America at The Brickyard is in the bag. But, before we go, we believe we have the Silver class champion elect. Zac Anderson! Congratulations!
He is speechless. No wonder. He says he did not want it to go down and Jesse and Michai deserved a victory, but is thankful for his co-driver as well with John Capestro-Dubets. Zac Anders, 2023 Pirelli GT4 America champion. We'll see you on Sunday for the finale. For now, from The Brickyard, good night, everyone.
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