Good morning, everyone, from Road America. I hope everyone is ready for the second day of SRO America racing at this wonderful circuit, originally conceived and built by Cliff Tufte back in 1955. Tufte owned a gravel quarry and decided to build a racetrack on that land. The character of this circuit has not changed too much in almost 70 years. The new repave was done last year and the asphalt is bedding in very consistently with the more races that it has on it. We are set for race two of GT America to kick off the Sunday action. A second 40-minute race for the catch all GT3 class of SRO3 cars, combined with GT4 cars, is about ready to roll.
If you were with us yesterday, you know that it was a total deluge in race one yesterday and that Justin Rothberg in the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 performed a masterclass in the wet and parlayed that drive into a race victory. Curt Swearingin did likewise in the GT4 class at the wheel of the #7 ACI Motorsports Porsche Cayman. Will these two double up? Will we have new winners in race two? Stay tuned to find out. Overcast skies, but a dry track has greeted us this morning as we join Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth, and D.J. Clark in the pit lane. You cannot take the forecast at face value. James Sofronas was the fast bloke yesterday. He was flying and has pole for today setting fast lap in race one yesterday.
This mixed grid is going to make things interesting. Curt Swearingin is the GT4 polesitter. 14 corners, 4 miles, a thriller, a true classic. High grip, low tire degradation. The weather is cool this morning, with a couple of sprinkles. Johnny O'Connell and the Audi from SKI Autosport has not had much dry running on the road. O'Connell was third yesterday behind Jason Daskalos. Daskalos is fifth on the grid in the Mercedes-AMG GT3. He will get his elbows out. That's for sure. Sofronas has nothing to lose and will be gunning for a victory. Justin "The Kid" Rothberg, he will also be one to watch because he is gaining ground in the championship chase.
It is his first GT3 season coming out of Ferrari Challenge single make racing. In GT4 it has been the season of Isaac Sherman, but that changed yesterday, and he had a major hiccup due to a cut down tire. He finished sixth. He has a massive points lead but Curt Swearingin has won three of the last five races and he won race one in Pirelli GT4 America yesterday, too, with co-driver Kay van Berlo. GT America will make a trip down to Birmingham, Alabama, and Barber Motorsports Park, and they will have the season finale races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as they engines fire and we will do a single formation lap and turn the cars loose.
SRO3 is a catch all GT3 class with older GT3 cars past their homologation date, and GT4, SRO GT4 cars, just what it says on the tin. A throwback to the original World Challenge from the '80s, '90s, '00s, and 2010s. GT4 went down to the wire with one of the battles yesterday. Bryson Morris and Elias Sabo are listed on the grid. We won't see them here in GT America, but we will in GT World Challenge America later today. Stay tuned. Drama on the formation lap. What's going on? Whoops! One of the Porsche's almost crashes on the formation lap but saves it! Whoa, baby!
It is fixing to rain here. There is moisture in the air. Will we see raindrops? Oy yoy yoy. We'll find out. James Sofronas leads the filed and the green flag waves! Away we go! James Sofronas sprinting to turn one. Mirco Schultis is right behind. Here come the GT4 cars. Swearingin gets the jump as Gray Newell passes Nick Shanny and here comes Todd Parriott, too. Rothberg is making moves from fourth to second. Rothberg won in class in Fanatec GT racing yesterday. He wants to go three for three. Jason Daskalos has lost a place in sixth heading to The Carousel for the first time of asking.
Oh! Gray Newell spins out of second in GT4 facing the wrong way. Deary me! In GT4 it is a battle of the Porsche Cayman's. Curt Swearingin vs. Isaac Sherman. Sherman taking the fight to Swearingin. Meantime, in SRO3, Daskalos is chasing after Kyle Washington. Jason Daskalos has to hurry, and he is pushing, hard. He looks to the inside of Washington who gives him a wide berth. Good respect. Don't force the issue. Daskalos pulls alongside the Porsche and now, Kyle Washington is falling into the clutches of the Aston Martin, Tim Savage at the wheel of it. Jason Daskalos was playing mind games with his competitors telling them, "I have nothing to lose, and I will push you guys for the win. Believe me."
So, some bench racing going on last night. Rotek Racing team boss Robb Holland has a star on his hands with Isaac Sherman and Curt Swearingin is giving it everything but Sherman wants it to the inside through Billy Mitchell corner! Oh man! Now it is a drag race. Equally matched Porsche Cayman's. They give each other racing room. These two chaps know each other well and they've been side by side before as Sherman makes the pass stick. Well, well, well. A frantic opening stanza here at Road America in the first five minutes. Do not go to the fridge for a snack or to the coffeemaker yet. Stay tuned. This race is hot!
Sherman's points lead is now 53 over Swearingin with four events to go after we finish here at Road America this afternoon. Isaac Sherman's background was in Legends Cars. He did do road racing in Legends cars but also oval racing. So, he has had a good time learning how to road race. James Sofronas has the experience. Justin Rothberg continues learning, but his confidence is going up. The Audi can stretch it's legs over the BMW as Jason Daskalos has cleared Mirco Schultis and is 6/10ths of a second faster than James Sofronas. Daskalos and Johnny O'Connell are fighting for the title this year.
Daskalos' Mercedes has come alive this morning. Daskalos has erased the deficit to O'Connell. This is a classic championship battle. O'Connell vs. Daskalos vs. Rothberg. At this stage in the season, Justin Rothberg can take the exam and ace it. Rothberg outbrakes himself into turn five and is on the back foot against Sofronas who is defensive with his line. Jeepers creepers! Rothberg goes off the road, again. Is something going on with the handling with that BMW M4 GT3? Rothberg's interest is in keeping O'Connell and Daskalos behind him. The deficit before this morning's race was only 22 points.
Rothberg closing back in on the Audi. O'Connell deep into the braking zone. There has been clutch issues on the Audi, and that was in Free Practice on Friday. This is the first year for O'Connell in a new spec, updated Audi GT3 car and they also ran an older Ferrari. They have the latest and greatest equipment from Audi. Farhan Siddiqi, Nick Shanny, and Gray Newell, all scrapping. BMW, Audi, Aston Martin, through the Moraine Sweep. Newell clears the Audi and now draws a bead on the BMW with Nick Shanny at the controls. Shanny has the preferred line and slams the door in Gray Newell's face.
Farhan Siddiqi wants a bite of the cherry but has to back out of it. Discretion, the better part of valor. Nick Shanny co-drives with Chris Walsh in Pirelli GT4 America and of course we will see Walsh in the touring car race later. Shanny responds to Newell who gets into the ABS and has to give it up through Billy Mitchell corner and up the frontstretch. They are door to door, and this might be three deep. Newell clears Shanny in the BMW and Siddiqi is haranguing him! Gray Newell, keeping it together. They've been side by side since Canada Corner. Meanwhile, the battle for the lead is hotting up, too.
James Sofronas vs. Justin Rothberg. We are nearing the halfway mark of this race. Rothberg tries swinging to the outside and won't drop a wheel on the painted curbs. Sofronas hanging tough. Rothberg wants the points to cut into O'Connell's lead with just four races left at Barber Motorsports Park and then at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Eight points now between O'Connell and Daskalos and 19 points to Rothberg. 199, 191, 180. Those are the totals for O'Connell, Daskalos, and Rothberg in the standings. James Sofronas is keeping Justin Rothberg honest. Sofronas, running a partial schedule in SRO America.
Gray Newell has pulled away after passing Nick Shanny and Farhan Siddiqi. Siddiqi in the FastMD GT4 Audi drops a wheel and then Rothberg has to check up against those GT4 cars to keep it together! Sofronas driving aggressively because he knows he has to. His son, Jenson has been driving him crazy. "Dad! Why aren't you winning?" Rothberg has put daylight between himself and Johnny O'Connell. Just past the halfway mark in the race. Jason Daskalos coming back to life after a slow start. At the same time they feel go about where they are. The gap at the front, Sofronas is eking it out. He is stretching out the rubber band over Rothberg.
In GT4 the battle is between the Aston Martin's of Gray Newell and Todd Parriott, whistling through the turn. Top speeds average all in the 111 mile per hour range! Incredible! Even in a first gear, 60 mile an hour corner, like turn five. Traffic has disrupted some of these battles as Mirco Schultis in the Callaway C7 GT3 Corvette is really going for it, reeling in Jason Daskalos. Great to see Mirco Schultis back. He is choosing which races he loves to drive and not doing a full season. He loves GM cars, from Freiburg, Germany. He has run prototypes and in NASCAR Euro Series. He won Formula Le Mans in 2011 in the precursor to the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Schultis lives in Florida these days. Here too is the new McLaren Artura GT4. McLaren will run a new single make McLaren championship for Artura and 570S models. There will be five races on their schedule for next year as part of SRO America. Alan Grossberg is driving this McLaren. He started the season racing a Lamborghini Super Trofeo car in GT2 and a Mini in the touring car class. Farhan Siddiqi in the pit lane with trouble in the Audi R8 LMS GT4, crawling down the lane slowly. He is having trouble, and it could be game over for Farhan Siddiqi and the FastMD with Remstar Racing team.
James Sofronas has dipped into the 2:07 range. Maybe he is weathering the storm. Rothberg is still there but maybe has taken the goody out of those Pirelli P Zero tires. Into The Carousel, a difficult turn because it falls away and it is a game of chicken winding up to full throttle on corner exit. The left front tire wants to give up on you. Speaking of tires giving up, Farhan Siddiqi had a punctured right front tire. Schultis is closing on Daskalos and he is there. He is doing damage control and cannot catch Johnny O'Connell. They have cleared the GT4 cars and so this isa straight fight with 11 minutes left on the board.
The Corvette has the straight-line speed and Schultis spins! He lost it and Daskalos almost clobbered him! Holy cow! Curt Swearingin also avoided the spinning Corvette, second place in BT4. In this replay, Mirco Schultis rolled speed and lost the rear tires, spinning like a top and Daskalos' life flashed before his eyes there! That was extremely close! Ten minutes to go. Rothberg taking a peek to the inside of Sofronas and he is trying to make a move from too far back. Don't lunge and hassle an experienced driver like James Sofronas. Can Rothberg figure out an answer to Sofronas' riddle?
We come back to the battle for third in GT4 as Todd Parriott is feeling the heat from Gray Newell. Newell has the pace over Parriott I think. It's true. Parriott has a broken diffuser on the back of his car. Searching for grip, Parriott crosses him back over through Billy Mitchell corner and again, Parriott is forced to give it up. Gray Newell still looking for a win in 2024 but has only been off the podium three times. Rothberg flashing the headlamps to get Sofronas' attention. But Sofronas is grinning like a cheshire cat and laughing like a madman inside his helmet.
Rothberg tries it again! He tries selling Sorfronas the dummy but it's not working. Let them race. It is a reward to win even if you are going for the title. Four minutes left on the board equals three laps. This is the best battle on the road as O'Connell is solidly in third and Daskalos cannot challenge him. Isaac Sherman showing the way in GT4 and has the best lap by half a second over Curt Swearingin in the battle of the Porsche Cayman's. Sherman had seven wins in a row to begin the year. Through Hurry Downs they go and back to The Carousel. A lap and a half remaining.
GMG Racing looking on, cheering on their team boss. Rothberg is right on Sorfronas' six but time is not on his side. White flag this time by. Sofronas is a four-time champion including GTS and GTS SprintX in 2017 and 2018. White flag. One to go. Rothberg looking for the lead and the win. Rothberg is eating up Sofronas. James Sofronas wriggling around and got a warning for blocking. Rothberg flashing the lights, can't get by into turn five. Sofronas runs wide. Final warning for blocking for Sofronas. Stay clean. One more time through Hurry Downs. There is GT4 traffic ahead. The clock is at zero. Final lap. Rithberg deep on the brakes past Shanny. The lunge won't work.
Sofronas will win the race, through turn 14, the GMG team boss, he is going to win GT America race two at Road America! Holding off Rothberg by 3/10ths of a second! Johnny O'Connell finishes third. Jason Daskalos in fourth place. Isaac Sherman will win another race in GT4 in his fabulous 2024 rookie campaign. Sherman has more bite; more grip in his car than the identical Cayman of Curt Swearingin. The Supercuts, Pagid Porsche Cayman, driven by the Legends car racer who also raced a handful of NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races and Isaac Sherman wins his ninth race in 12 starts!
Overall/SRO3: #14 James Sofronas GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3
GT4: #098 Isaac Sherman Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
Cue the dance music for the results. Jason Bell was the only car to not make it to the finish. Actually, along with Bryson Morris and Elias Sabo, I don't think he started the race. I think Justin Rothberg will be frustrated because he knows James Sofronas pulled some fast ones on him. So, James Sofronas is your race winner. Sofronas is so happy to finally win! His son, Jenson is his inspiration. Next time out for GT America, will be the penultimate doubleheaders of the season, at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. We'll see you then. Those races happen in three weeks. Bye for now. But, stay tuned. Plenty more racing to come today.
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