This is it. The finale for SRO Pirelli GT4 America at the fabled "Brickyard", the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish in the booth with Amanda Busick in the pit lane. We are watching the Pro-Am ranks with a single point between BimmerWorld and Nolasport. James Walker Jr. and Tyler McQuarrie vs. Jason Hart and Matt Travis. Michael Cooper and Jason Bell on pole. 32 cars make up the field for this last race of the year. We are seto race one last time. Stand by for blastoff. Tje titles are on the line. One hour to decide everything. James Walker Jr. says it is time for putting heads down and going by one car at a time.
Here comes the field. Green flag! Away we go! Last race of the year. Michael Cooper leads the motor race and here comes the rest of the field. Roman De Angelis backing up the turn one entrance and the start is waved off. Understandably. Let's try this again. The race clock has begun. OK boys and girls. Waved off starts always make me nervous. Let's try this again. Be very, very careful out there. Terry Borcheller has had a great run with Nick Shanny in their Toyota Supra this year. He is following in the footsteps of a Jason Bell or a Ross Chouest. Not everyone had packed up into pairs. The field was not totally formed up waiting for stragglers.
Green flag. We're racing now. Who will get the lead? Michael Cooper is being monstered by Roman De Angelis who is vulnerable, and we have cars off the road in the middle of the pack! Three cars on the escape road. Roman De Angelis sticks the move on Michael Cooper. Eric Powell runs wide in one of the Nissan's. Kenton Koch side by side with Michai Stephens who might have a cut tire! A few cars still off the road, either Harry Gottsacker or Chris Allen for STR38 and a Skip Barber Toyota Supra. Aaron Povoledo loose and off the road. Safety car deployed. OK. Let's see what will happen.
Chris Allen and Carter Fartuch got together, and it is game over for them both. Focus on next year. Pirelli rain tires ready to go, with grooves, and a softer compound. We see some drizzle and it could be heavier. We'll see. A mandatory pit stop, mid-race for a driver change, only. Check tire pressures. No tire changes, no fuel. The caveat could be rain. Roman De Angelis made an incredible move! De Angelis and Cooper are both incredible drivers.
#47 started seventh and remains there. McQuarrie started 17th and is now 13th. 49 minutes left on the board. The rain is picking up on pit lane. Matt Travis spotting for Jason Hart, they are one point away from a title. They have to survive turn one again. Green flag. Roman De Angelis leading the restart and here comes Parker Thompson in the Toyota Supra GT4. He is the Silver leader and Cooper is tagged by Thompson! Thompson's Supra is wounded as well, the #999 car. My goodness! Aaron Povoledo is making a move as Thompson is in limp home mode.
Meanwhile, in the Silver class it is another scrap between Kenton Koch and Michai Stephens. Windscreen wipers on at the front. Kay van Berlo up to second. Andy Lee working on passing Kenton Koch. Side by side farther down. Povoledo fighting Zac Anderson for tenth. Jason Hart is up to fifth place. The ponts as they run, five points. 192-187. Anderson has to take evasive action in the switchback. McQuarrie backs out of it but loses time. Do not take the shortcut. A couple cars off the road. Spinning off the road is Jose DaSilva with damage and more drama as well for Michael Cooper!
Wow Cooper out of the race and Jose DaSilva pulls off. Was that Jaden Lander off the road? That was another Aston Martin off the road. Did not catch the number. Aaron Telitz aggressive and now, Andy Lee passes by Kenton Koch. Andy Lee made a similar move on Friday and the argy bargy got attention of the stewards. Tyler McQuarrie moving up. He may lose the lead in the title fight as they run. Jason Hart keeping things clean. He has Aaron Telitz right on his tail. McQuarrie nearly runs into the back of Zac Anderson!
Two BMW M4 GT4's going at it. Anderson is a feisty racer. He is the champion in GT4. More mist in the air as the race goes on and already has 17 minutes on the board. Raindrops on the camera lens. Cold, misty, wet. The track could get wet and add spice to this final race. The pit window will open soon. The Pro drivers will take over for the second half. Maximize speed of your Pro driver. Jose DaSilva out of the race. Game over. The battle is on for eighth. Andy Lee vs. Kenton Koch. Lee chasing Aaron Telitz in the Toyota Supra.
Michai Stephens in the Mercedes is second in Silver being led by Andrew David and Jesse Webb is ready to go at Conquest/JMF trying the undercut. This could be Michai Stephens' last race and Telitz roughs up Jason Hart! Slide job! Oh my! Roman De Angelis leads Kay van Berlo by 3.1 seconds resetting the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the motor race. Tleitz sends it and Hart gets wriggly again! Michai Stephens pushing ahead, and Hart is fighting too hard. Here comes the #82 car, the BimmerWorld car, the #82 M4 GT4.
Aaron Telitz is here to race and get the best result he can. He will not roll over and play dead. Drive through penalties for Zac Anderson, incident responsibility. Parker Thompson also incurs a drive through penalty. Will that roll over to the next season? I don't think so. Thompson out of the race. Game over. Hart and McQuarrie only four positions apart on the track. It has been a great recovery. McQuarrie is coming in a big hurry with a head of steam. #82 vs. #47, whoever finishes ahead of the other is the champion.
Jason Hart in good shape even with a couple of prangs already. Five points the difference as we said. 192-187. Hart and Travis won the championship in 2021 and won it last year alongside Scott Noble. This would be a hat-trick for Nolasport. Roman De Angelis blitzing the field with Kay van Berlo second followed by Andrew Davis and Terry Borcheller. Davis sharing with Francis Selldorff at ACI Motorsports. Terry Borcheller leading Am over Jaden Lander and Lander is down the order. Borcheller still has the pace despite being a Bronze driver.
He has a wealth of experience. Nick Shanny is a neophyte to racing and to sports altogether. He was and is a tech wizard. Pit window will open in one minute as Aaron Povoledo fights Kenton Koch. Povoledo wants by so he can run down Andy Lee. Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm chasing down Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb after the #34 car had trouble in race one on Friday. The pit window is open now. Heart of Racing had a double win on Friday.
They will be running a prototype on behalf of Aston Martin in 2025. Pit window open. It will come down to the amateur gentlemen drivers to settle the title. Matt Travis vs. James Walker Jr. Conquest to the lane for the undercut to hand off to Jesse Webb. James Walker Jr. has raced for a long time and has never won a championship. The #36 Bimmerworld BMW have another Am class title with Charlie Postins and James Clay. Postins taking over for Clay, now. Back-to-back Am class titles. Michael Cooper tells us that he never should have been in that spot after Roman De Angelis blocked him. The marshals did not reset anything and Cooper claims Parker Thompson cleaned him out.
He was tagged by another Supra as well. It is disappointing but Jason Bell did win the GTA championship, the GT America championship. Just over half an hour to go. Jesse Webb is in traffic. This will make the undercut tough. Roman De Angelis leading along with Gray Newell and of course Ian James did drive this car until Heart of Racing inherited the FIA World Endurance Championship Aston Martin team and of course Heart of Racing will run the Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar. That will be fun to see.
Second, third, and fourth overall, in three classes, is Pro-Am, Silver, and Am. Kay van Berlo, Andrew Davis, and Terry Borcheller. Andrew Davis still has great pace racing with up-and-coming driver, Kay van Berlo. Jason Hart deep into the stint. Random Vandals calling Kenton Koch in to hand off to Kevin Boehm. They have been on a roll this year. Here comes the sister Random Vandals BMW #98, Al Carter set to hand over for the final time to Paul Sparta. Jason Hart, fastest top speed at 157 miles an hour. A two mile an hour range between 155-157 at the end of the frontstretch. That's nine, ten miles an hour slower than a GT3 car, so not much.
Pit stop time now for Bimmerworld #82. James Walker Jr. taking over from Tyler McQuarrie, and he will chase down Matt Travis. Tire pressures being checked and bled. Clean the grill. no fuel, no tire changes. James Walker must drive the stint of his life. Pit stops under review for Conquest and for one of the Bimmerworld cars. #34 and #36. Conquest Racing is one of them. Here comes the #47. Nolasport will do what they've done so many times looking for three straight Pro-Am titles, the hat trick. Kay van Berlo handing off the ACI Motorsports Cayman to Curt Swearingin. Matt "The World's Fastest Accountant" Travis.
This would be a second in a row for Travis, as far as titles. He had a gap year to race in another series last year. James Walker Jr. pushing on his out lap on warm tires. 24 minutes to go. Can he run down Matt Travis and steal the title? Travis is a solid competitor, in championship mode. Travis slots in ahead of Nick Shanny. He will not be hindered by a slower car out of pit lane. Hit your marks. No pressure. Keep it safe. Keep it clean. They had a technical issue at Sebring last time out. The pit window is closed. Gray Newell leads by seven seconds in the overall.
Walker Jr. in 12th. He has to motor if he wants the title. Newell, Swearingin, Selldorff, Conway, Webb, Travis, Shanny, Sabo, the top eight. Swearingin, Selldorff, Conway, Webb, all fast, Webb fastest of all. He has caught the traffic. He has to clear Kevin Conway and Francis Selldorff. 20+ minutes left on the board. Plenty of time. Matt Travis doing what he needs to do, leading James Walker Jr. by a straightaway. Jesse Webb has a penalty for a short pit stop. He has to pass Selldorff and pull away. 4.3 seconds the time penalty. He has to clear a huge margin.
He passes Kevin Conway. Shanny and Walker Jr. ninth and tenth. Chouest passes Elias Sabo. He brings Kevin Boehm with him. Into the final third of the final race of the year in GT4. Boehm is an engineer and test driver for Honda and has raced all Front Wheel Drive cars until now with the Rear Wheel Drive GT4 cars and is a test driver of different kinds of cars, but for Honda of course. Honda does not have a GT4 car. Webb passes Selldorff in Silver for the class lead but has to overcome the time penalty that is the Sword of Damocles.
Curt Swearingin fighting for overall positions. Gray Newell leads the motor race by six seconds. Swearingin making inroads on Newell. Webb makes a late move past Swearingin who knows he has a faster car coming through. Gray Newell in the slipstream with Webb second overall and a spin there for one of the Nolasport entries, a lap down to the field. That I believe is David Peterman. Jesse Webb on the march leading the Silver division. He has his eye on overall leader Gray Newell. Jesse Webb doing what he must do to secure a win to sunset this Conquest GT4 program. Newell, the overall leader, tags Peterman. The stewards will be looking at that shemozzle.
Anthony Geraci gets a lap back from Newell as Webb goes to the inside on Newell and Webb is the new leader. 14 minutes left in the season. You cannot serve these penalties under yellow and that is a bad thing. He has enough pace to open the gap. He hopes to have a green race the rest of the way. No word as yet of the Newell and Peterman shemozzle being under review by the stewards. Swearingin is pressuring Newell. That is the green Porsche Cayman, the ACI car. This is getting tight. No major update on the Pro-Am battle for the title. Travis eighth, Walker Jr. in 11th.
Walker Jr. is a dozen seconds back. This is a fascinating battle. The top three in Pro-Am not quite nose to tail. Kevin Conway wants to win in class and wants by Swearingin, Conway, the former NASCAR driver, not afraid to use the chrome horn. Swearingin comes from single make Porsche racing. Matt Travis a wee bit off the pace in traffic. Next car behind is Elias Sabo followed by Nick Shanny and James Walker Jr. Conway goes the long way past Swearingin after being the meat in the sandwich! Wow!
Swearingin from Tennessee, Conway, from Texas, now living in North Carolina. Conway eating up the curbs. Selldorff waiting to pounce. Ten minutes left in the race, and the season in GT4 America. Selldorff wants by Conway. Jesse Webb does not need a Full Course Yellow. Gray Newell now getting into a rhythm. He has his head down. He leads the Pro-Am battle. Francis Selldorff has eight seconds in hand over Kevin Boehm. Matt Travis eighth overall as Conway goes deep, side by side with Swearingin. He passes for second in class, and now is chasing Gray Newell.
He must escape the two Porsche's. Selldorff slides inside team boss Curt Swearingin for fourth on the road. Can Selldorff fend off the challenge from Kevin Boehm? We'll see. Three points, the margin 190-187 between Hart and Travis and McQuarrie and Walker Jr. Matt Travis doing what he needs to do, keeping it clean. Newell wrapped up in traffic. Conway right on his tail. Aston Martin vs. Toyota Supra. Less than seven minutes to go. Conway right on Newell's back door. He's feeling the heat! Lapped traffic as Conway goes high, wide, and handsome. Newell fends him off. Conway deep on the brakes passes Newell!
Wow! Conway leads Pro-Am. Can Newell get him back? That was Anthony Geraci, the Sebring winner from a few weeks back. Smooge Racing has had a tough weekend. He had a huge wreck at Sebring, Aaron Telitz drafted in. We wish you a speedy recovery, John. Smooge Racing have had a breakout year in Pro-Am. They have also run Am and Silver classes in GT4 these last few years. Kevin Conway sensed an opportunity and grabbed it. Gray Newell doing all he can to regroup. Jesse Webb leads overall by 15 seconds. Hard to believe the Conquest Silver class car has not won a championship yet.
They are identifying young talent through a revolving door of drivers. Jesse Webb has been amazing all year adapting to a GT4 car. Nolasport eighth overall. Walker Jr. has passed Elias Sabo. One point apart between Travis and Walker in the championship. Walker chaisng but running out ofmtime with just over two minutes to go. Selldorff passes Gray Newell for the overall not a class place. Webb has much more pace than Selldorff does. Swearingin right on Gray Newell's six. Marbles offline. Newell standing the Aston Martin on it's nose. Podium places up for grabs in the waning moments of the 2023 season. Newell second, Swearingin third.
The car started by Kay van Berlo and now, Swearingin, late on the brakes passes Newell for second! Holy cow! Kay van Berlo of course is Swearingin's co-driver. Gray Newell must respond with two laps left. If Webb backs it up he can end the race but is managing the penalty. Swearingin extends his advantage over Newell. It's all clean. Gray Newell still hanging on. Jesse Webb and Michai Stephens, Conquest Racing, it's the checkered flag. Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb win! Kevin Conway wins for Smooge Racing in Pro.
Jason Hart and Matt Travis are champions again in Pirelli GT4 America! In the Am class for the second day in a row, Hannah Grisham and Rianna O'Meara-Hunt sweep the weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway! Wow! One point and one place separated Walker Jr. and Clay from Travis and Hart. Three in a row for Jason Hart and on his return, another title for Matt Travis.
Overall/Silver: #34 Stephens/Webb Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4
Pro-Am: #68 Conway/Telitz Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
Am: #26 Grisham/O'Meara-Hunt Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
Cue the dance music again, for the results sheet. Shanny and Borcheller were so close to a win. They had a great season and will be back next year in 2024. Charlie Postins and James Clay, the Am class champions. Matt Travis and Jason Hart are Pro-Am champions.
Champions:
Silver: #51 Zac Anderson Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4
Pro-Am: #47 Matt Travis & Jason Hart Nolasport Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
Am: #36 James Clay & Charlie Postins Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4
A fabulous season for Pirelli GT4 America in 2023. We'll see you next year, in 2024. Bye for now.
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