It is crunch time. Four races remain, including today's event at the fabled, 4-mile ribbon of asphalt, Road America, here in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Today's race, the Road America 120, a two-hour event. Drivers in both classes, in the GS class for GT4 and in the TCR touring car category, are set to put it all on the line to gain valuable points. Here are your class polesitters. Jesse Lazare is on overall and GT4 pole in the #69 Motorsports in Action McLaren Artura GT4 with co-driver Michael de Quesada. In the TCR class, it is another pole for Dai Yoshihara, the drift king, aboard the #93 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR hatchback that he shares with Karl Wittmer. A 36-car field is assembled for the race today. However, it is not an even split between the classes with 18 cars each. Instead, there are 23 GS cars and 13 TCR's in the field.
Road America is a high-speed circuit. Let's take a look at the track description. The long frontstretch is uphill taking you to turn one. Through the first turn, sets you up for turns two and three. Turn three is downhill and there is runoff space but there is also a gravel trap on the outside. You really don't want to get crossed up through there or you will be going for a tail wagging ride. Turn five is the next crucial corner. This right-hand bend sends you uphill and over a blind crest which leads to the backstretch, particularly, the fastest part of the circuit, the kink. At the kink, you are running the car Harry Flatters through there, flat out, in top gear. Then, continuing down the straightaway you set up for the most famous turn at Road America, Canada Corner.
Then Canada Corner takes you to the final turns on the course including Billy Mitchell corner. There used to be a bridge there, with Billy Mitchell's name on it. The bridge no longer exists, but the corner still has his name on it. Thousands of years ago, glaciers helped form the Kettle Moraine here in Wisconsin and 70 years ago, "America's National Park of Speed" was built, right here in the moraine, in the forest. Now, we go racing in the forest. It is time to push, hard, for victory and for championship chances. Turn on the heat, America's National Park of speed, the longest road course in IMSA.
This is the annual pilgrimage. We join NBC Sports with Brian Till and Calvin Fish on play by play this afternoon. Calvin raced here for the first time in 1985. Super demanding, love the corners, the straightaways, and the elevation change. We have seen six winners in six races. The hcampionship is wide open. Last time we saw RS1 and their #28 Porsche of Stevan McAleer and Trent Hindman, winning last time out, in Canada. Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller for JDC-Miller Motorsports won last year here. Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker won last time at Robert's home race at CTMP. We have Georgia Henneberry and Chris Wilner reporting from the pit lane.
Ross Chastain will run the second half of the race and if they win, Chastain will do his signature move, the watermelon smash. 171 feet of elevation change here at Road America. Look at turn one, down a gear, watch track limits on exit. Turn five, a big braking zone where the crowd can watch. Look at turn eight down the hill, setting up for The Carousel and The Kink. Then, Canada Corner is another fabulous turn. It used to be bumpy but with a year on this new pavement, it is much smoother. OK. We see in replay, a crunch in qualifying between the #17 Audi and the #6 Honda. Miller and company lead the points by 150 points. But they are down at the back of the grid.
Alright. We are coming to the green flag. The third car in line is the points leading #46 TGM Aston Martin, leading the championship. OK. Green flag! Away we go! Jesse Lazare leads from the pole. Six brands in the top six on the grid. Lazare got a monster jump. Jaden Conwright in the #50 Hattori Motorsports Toyota Supra, he is pushing hard. Bryce Ward goes wide there, in the #57 Winward Mercedes-AMG GT4. Four poles in four races with different drivers in TCR. Audi got Balance of Performance adjustments and got slowed down.
Francis Selldorff in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 is making moves and Moisey Uretsky in the #44 Baby Bull Racing Porsche Cayman also goes wide. Trouble for the #72 Audi for Pegram Racing as Sean McAlister goes off the road and back on in the #39 Carbahn Racing BMW M4 GT4. Yikes! McAlister saved that thing! The GT4 cars are not as aerodynamically sensitive as their big brothers in GT3 in the WeatherTech Championship. CatBahn had a huge accident at Mid-Ohio in May of course. They are fighting back. I wonder if he has a mechanical problem.
Dillon Machavern in the sister Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 is having somemechanical trouble or low tire pressures that will build in a wee while. More aggression on the starting pressures sharpens the car up at first before it fades. Now, Jaden Cowright challenges Jesse Lazare through The Carousel. There is a ton of loss of elevation through there. Through The Kink, he is trying everything to stay with the McLaren. 3.8-liter V6 in the McLaren and a 3.0-liter V6 turbo in the Toyota Supra I believe. Jaden Conwright has driven twice with Jack Hawksworth in the Toyota this year.
Jesse Lazare looking for his second win of the 2024 championship season and we are just underway as we see a car that might be going slowly. That is the highlighter yellow Aston Martin, the #45 Ruckus Racing car, Scott Blind at the wheel of it, sharing with J.P. Southern. Down the stretch towards Canada Corner, the #72 Audi RS3 LMS TCR of Riley Pegram catching up. Her father, Larry Pegram is racing with her, and he is a motorcycle racing legend here in the states. In the GS class, we should see a two-stop race and the fuel mileage will be thirsty, about 48-50 minutes on a full tank will be a big ask for making it on just one stop. Dai Yoshihara off his first pole in Michelin Pilot Challenge, MMG, Montreal Motorsports Group were at their home race at CTMP in Canada last time.
Dai Yoshihara has accomplished a goal of being on pole, being coached by co-driver Karl Wittmer and of course Yoshihara is a drifting driver, with cars always turning sideways. Now, we are seeing the JDC-Miller Audi team going into reliability mode. They are dealing with a ride height issue with requirements from IMSA. The Audi has been dominant in 2024. They can change the power stick, the weight, and a higher minimum ride height. Sean McAllister off the road and then, Bryce Ward has spun the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. We have seen cars off the road a lot this weekend. Moving the walls back has been trouble for some this weekend.
Every year, Road America gets improved. This replay tells the tale, and McAllister got tipped into a spin in Canada Corner by Moisey Uretsky in the #44 Baby Bull Racing Porsche Cayman while Bryce Ward's shemozzle was totally separate, at The Kink, all by his lonesome. Now, the front end of the Audi has been raised higher and cannot maintain the rake of the height between the front end and the rear end so the steering is going to be too numb. More action into turn five and there's argy bargy there, look, between the #91 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche Cayman of Michael McCarthy and Rory van der Steur in the #19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin.
van der Steur might be racing a spare car. He has had many co-drivers this year. This weekend he is racing alongside the Parisian, Valentin Haase Clot, or VHC, as we call him. Hasse Clot is a rapid French driver, an Aston Martin factory driver. So, we are going back to the lead battle and here comes the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman and he is monstering Jaden Conwright. They found victory lane last time out north of the border in Canada. Jesse Lazare is opening a slight gap in the lead. Hindman wants by Conwright. At RS1, the scoop is that they had a huge boost after winning at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Stevan McAleer, the Scotsman, and Trent Hindman, are massively experienced in both the WeatherTech Championship and in Michelin Pilot Challenge. Team TGM and the #46 Aston Martin have been very consistent. Four races left after today in 2024. Ken Fukuda at the controls of the #16 Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin and Ross Chastain is excited to drive this car later on the race. Ross Chastain was very nervous watching Ken Fukuda and the Skip Barber people, and he has gotten much help to improve his NASCAR driving on road courses.
So glad to see Ross Chastain racing here. Chastain is famed for his "Hail Melon" wall running move at Martinsville Speedway, the Virginia short track. That action was in 2022. He is ready to go, all charged up for his stint in 20-30 minutes. That "Hail Melon" deal at Martinsville was bonkers! OK. Trent Hindman taking the fight to Jesse Lazare. Road America is very hard on tires during a 40-50-minute-long run. The mid-engine cars would be kinder to the tires compared to the front engine cars, comparing the McLaren tand the Porsche to the Toyota Supra to the Ford Mustang and the Aston Martin too.
Talking of the elevation change, Road America is only eight- or nine-feet difference, but it isn't immediate like The Corkscrew at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Fuel saving is extremely hard here at Road America. Let's have a glance at different tracks IMSA races on and their elevations.
Laguna Seca: 180 feet
Road America: 171 feet
CTMP: 171 feet
Mid-Ohio: 136 feet
VIR: 130 feet
MIA are in fuel save mode currently. This is Jesse Lazare's fourth pole. He is doing everything to stay in front for fuel save. They want clean air on the nose of the car, but he is being monstered by Trent Hindman as we speak. Jesse Lazare is inching ahead of Trent Hindman, just slightly. Jaden Conwright continues chasing the Porsche and the McLaren. Jaden Conwright fighting the wheel, sawing the wheel of the car trying to make hay while the sun shines and he went off the road in Canada Corner. The car clattering over the curbs. Fuel save is going to be very difficult under green. Some of these chaps are praying for a yellow compared to those who want to run Harry Flatters.
Good grief! Those curbs are brutal! Meanwhile, Dai Yoshihara is controlling the TCR race, but he has Harry Gottsacker in the Hyundai Elantra right on his six. I think the Honda has more straightaway speed than the Hyundai's do. TCR cars can go 50+ minutes on fuel into a stint. Maybe they can do one stop strategies, but it is going to be very difficult. Again, consider how long the circuit is here at Road America. Focus forward and recover. This year, there is more room to recover than we saw with the fresh pavement here last year.
Robert Wickens, after winning at CTMP thinks the team has good morale. This is a morale boost for them. They did not win last year, won the title, but have a win in the box in 2024. Another spin for the Ruckus Racing Aston Martin. That's Scott Blind going off the road I believe. Harry Gottsacker is keeping the gap close to Dai Yoshihara. Blind went off in turn 14 entering the final turn and now, trouble for Ken Fukuda! He spins in turn five and gets back underway. Let's hope there is no damage but there might be. This is the car he shares with Ross Chastain.
Now we see the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin but let's focus on the lead battle. Lazare, Hindman, Conwright. Trent Hindman looking feisty and he wants a bite of the cherry. Who has the faster car? Hard to say. Lazare in control but Hindman wants to race. Jaden Conwright still lurking. Paul Holton, the points leader, is sixth in the #46 Team TGM Aston Martin. Trent Hindman is driving methodically while Jesse Lazare might be wrestling that McLaren around.
There is debris on the road. It came off the #92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 up to Billy Mitchell corner. That isn't ideal. Hard to see if it is plastic or metal and it is dimensional. It is a formed plastic trim piece. It is right on the racing line. Be careful. Frank DePew pinged by the stewards with a penalty. Take your medicine and get it done now. DePew clobbered the Skip Barber Aston Martin of Fukuda. A change for the lead in TCR as Gottsacker makes the pass on Yoshihara. So, DePew is in the lane and back on the rebound, Yoshihara wants an outside pass on Gottsacker, side by side into the turn and now, Yoshihara slams the door in Gottsacker's face.
Full Course Yellow, we are under Full Course Yellow. More debris on the road I think. Maybe that is the same piece we saw before. Well, well, well. We need to figure out the solution to the puzzle to see who has the TCR class lead. Is it Harry Gottsacker and Hyundai? Is it Dai Yoshihara and Honda? We remain under the first Full Course Yellow of the day. The marshals cleaning up the debris while the safety car gathers up the field. The 40-minute minimum drive time has been exceeded. Wholesale driver changes coming up on the pit stops, working through the wave around procedure which should take a long time on this 4-mile circuit.
If we see a rash of activity on pit lane, if you fuel save, you can leapfrog the competition. Watch for that as a possibility. The cars motor through The Carousel. Harry Gottsacker has been recycled back to the lead over Dai Yoshihara. Again, this is where the minimum drive time has expired. So, second drivers can now get into the car and take it to the finish. Jesse Lazare is staying out. I don't get it. He will be burning more fuel off and lose oodles of track position. Now, a good chunk of the GS field is in the lane. Francis Selldorff in the lmnae in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4. Robby Foley is suited and booted to drive the next stint.
The #28 RS1 Porsche, Trent Hindman cool, calm, and collected, and he hands over to the Scotsman, Stevan McAleer. Tires changed and fuel added to the car. An hour and 16 minutes remaining in this motor race. So, we are approaching the halfway mark and will do so in a wee while. OK. Jesse Lazare is the first car behind the safety car and I have no idea why. Every TCR car in the field comes to the pit lane now. Again, we'll see tires, fuel, and driver changes here. The #5 KMW Alfa Romeo of William Tally has had a clean race and he hands over to Tim Lewis Jr. They are trying to go for the three-peat here at Road America.
Dai Yoshihara finishes his stint and hands the #93 MMG Honda to Karl Wittmer. Robert Wickens takes over the #33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra from Harry Gottsacker. Tim Lewis might just be in the pound seats, in the catbird seat here on their pit stop. Tim Lewis Jr. will have an hour and ten minutes to get the job done. Again, KMW with TMR are really going for it and want another chance to win. The competition is hot. The Alfa Romeo used to test more when Roy Block was co-driving but they don't have to do as much in 2024.
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William Tally was in a Honda Civic last year and each car is different, how it drives, how the team sets the car up. In TCR, they are front wheel drive cars with 2-liter turbo 4-cylinder motors. At MIA they are waiting for the driver change for Michael de Quesada. They are shaking up their strategy going for track position. Jesse Lazare has saved fuel and this whole situation was planned out. We have now been racing for 51 minutes. He will only be able to run a couple laps under green before pitting. We have nine minutes until the hour mark, halfway home. I would rather have a car packed full of fuel and with fresh tires rather than half a tank or a third of a tank with ratty tires on the darn thing.
Here are the GS points as they run.
1. Matt Plumb 1960 points
2/ Hindman/McAleer 1770 points -190
3. Rory van der Steur 1720 points -240
When you have the fastest car after sitting on pole, taking mega, king-sized risks, is a silly idea. At Team TGM, the driver's door came off it's hinges and had to be reattached and had one of the tire changers fixing it while the other three did the tire change. Still an hour and seven minutes left on the board. As we set up to go back to green, look out for Jenson Altzman in the #13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4 sharing the car with Canadian Gavin Sanders. Green flag. We are back after it and Altzman has a massive head of steam trying to get by McAleer.
Hindman carves inside of Lzare and makes the move for the lead.
Altzman tries the run and it's a hornet's nest behind these blokes with Jack Hawksworth in the #50 Toyota Supra and now, Altzamna tries making a move but he can't get it to work. Lazare flying Plummet Airways and the #33 Hyundai has a drive through penalty in TCR for leaving equipment attached to the car on the pit exit. Poor old Jesse Lazare on the hot worn tires, and he has clag, marbles, sticking all over the tires. Lazare has lost seven places in eight corners! Oh, my heaveans! Now, Jenson Altzman is being monstered by Robert Megennis in the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 and the Aston Martin, the van der Steur car of Valentin Hasse-Clot.
For Jack Hawksworth and company at Hattori Motorsport, they are not in the fight for the title. Everyone else is. We are looking at a 180 point swing between RS1 and TGM. Matt Plumb leads the title chase. Oh dear! This is brutal for the #33 Hyundai doing the drive through penalty through the pit lane. Maybe a Full Course Yellow can help them catch up. Their fueler, Wade McLeod is taken to the medical center after having the gasoline stinging his eyes! Ouch! That's bad. Morgan Burkhard in the #99 VGRT Hyundai Elantra.
He really wants to go for it. Burkhard is ahead of Mark Wilkins and Bryson Morris teamed with Taylor Hagler. She is also a strong driver. We see three of the BHA Hyundai's ahead here. Tim Lewis is next in the Alfa Romeo followed by Jon Morley in the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR sharing with Gavin Ernstone and Lewis nearly clatters into the tail of Morris and now, Morley will have a head of steam! Mikey Taylor is making hay whole the sun shines, too. Halfway home. Mikey Taylor needs a win for the title.
Denis Dupont slides the #76 BHA Hyundai into the corner sharing with Preston Brown. There are three of these top TCR cars, maybe four, who want a win. Morley runs wide through Canada Corner and regains his footing. Denis Dupont is right on Mikey Taylor's decklid. Get to the front on the track and in the standings. If you have the lead that Plumb has in points, take risks, but be very cautious. Mikey Taylor though, will be laying it on the line with only 150 points in the bag over his rival. Matt Plumb in 13th spot, the GS class points leader. He cannot be conservative and complacent. He needs to go for it, and do so, now.
Here's the GS points as they are now.
1. Matt Plumb 1980 points
2. Hindman/McAleer 1800 points -180
3. Rory van der Steur 1750 points -230
Into the second half of the race. 57 minutes to go. Lazare continues staying out, looking at the window they can get to without an extra stop. Maybe the McLaren is getting better fuel mileage. Although, I could still be eating my words, eating humble pie, depending on what happens in the waning moments. Porsche, Toyota, BMW, Aston Martin, four manufacturers in the top four in GS. Rory van der Steur is beginning to move back up the field. They smashed the wall in Free Practice 2 and Brady Behrman is lending a car to the team and will get it back. It has battle scars on it. Brady Behrman is their VP Sports Car Challenge driver I think.
Rory van der Steur has had five different co-drivers in the #19 Aston Martin in 2024 in Michelin Pilot Challenge including Valentin Hasse-Clot, Dominic Starkweather, Alex Premat, Danny Formal, and Scott Andrews. I remember van der Steur Racing had a family operated team with a prototype, many years ago in the old LMP2 class in the American Le Mans Series. MIA are doing their one-stop strategy for fuel, tires, and a driver change to Michael de Quesada. Great battle at the top of the shop in TCR. Mark Wilkins is leading Bryson Morris.
BHA needs a win with these other two cars. Morris and Taylor Hagler want a win and Taylor Hagler, she has two championships. Wilkins is the backbone of the team. He raced with Michael Lewis who has not raced this year in 2024 after a wreck last year. Mikey Taylor catches air through Billy Mitchell corner. Morley off and on down into turn one! Yikes! Now he has Andy Lally right beside him. Lally in the Starcom Hyundai Elantra, the #12 car. He shares the car with Nick Tucker out of Mooresville, North Carolina.
The #69 MIA McLaren is back on track, but they have flown Plummet Airways. They are on a different strategy. 49 minutes of racing left. The #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman pits for fuel only and no tires. Robin Liddell has taken over the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo. That is a new car, with a new nose design. It looks like a large mouth bass looking for a lure in the water. Jack Hawksworth now back in the lead. He is 3.6 seconds ahead of the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 of Robert Megennis. Going one more lap, you will be in the danger zone.
MIA are doing the definitive one-stop strategy as the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW is in the lane changing left side tires only. Megennis will do a double stint. He has been dealing with boatloads of understeer all day. Road America punishes the left front Michelin Pilot tire. The #28 RS1 Porsche is moving up and all of this is backfiring on the #69 MIA McLaren. Jack Hawksworth is in Canada Corner, and they need to pit. if they stay out and it goes Full Course Yellow, their race will be shot. 46 minutes to go. Wisely, Hawksworth heads for the pit lane.
It is an eternity trundling down the pit lane at 60 kilometers an hour, 37 miles an hour. There are no pit stalls in the first third of the pit lane until you get up the hill. The team fills the car with every last drop of fuel that they can. Jack Hawksworth will be looking at VHC up ahead. So, now, the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman has done the undercut, Stevan McAleer in clean air. The #17 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi of Mikey Taylor is in. Pack the fuel, and change the tires. So, the South African driver is down and away. Mark Wilkins, in the TCR lead, everything is peachy.
Daniel Morad has cycled to the front in Grand Sport with Ross Chastain, Sebastian Carazo, Stevan McAleer, and Jack Hawksworth, the top five. The #98 and #77 BHA Hyundai's are in the lane now. They are taking right side tires and fuel. Pack the tank full of gas. Ah. They are doing front tires only because of the front wheel drive, steering and driving the car straight. Was there a hiccup on the pit stop for the #98? The #77 moves ahead, Bryson Morris at the controls. Some contact between the two Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4's.
Robert Megennis had the lead on Robby Foley, side by side through that right hander. That battle is done and dusted with 40 mnutes left to play before the checkers this afternoon. Taylor Hagler says her stint went well and kept the car clean. She thinks this is one of the teams' best weekends despite short practice sessions littered with red flags. So, they did their second and final stop going to the finish. They had their best finish of the year at CTMP in Canada last time out. Superstitions won't work. Oh dear. The Ruckus Racing Aston Martin is stalled n the pit lane. I think that is J.P. Southern at the controls.
Bryson Morris sawing the wheel as this is a front wheel drive car, the Hyundai of course. Steer and drive the front wheels at the same time. Some fuel overflow or something coming out of the vent on the #77 Hyundai which will lead the motor race in the TCR division. No driver change. Daniel Morad leads the motor race by 17 and a half seconds over Ross Chastain. Morad and the Winward Racing Mercedes have had a strong race and they retired from the previous race at CTMP right at the start. Winward Racing just opened their new racing facility, a 41,000 square foot facility in Houston, Texas. They won this race last year before being disqualified by IMSA for a fuel tank infringement.
Go fast and save fuel. It sounds counterintuitive. The #5 Alfa Romeo is now in the lane with Tim Lewis Jr. He is one of the last to come down the pit lane and the team is changing the front tires, trying to go for four in a row for "the little engine that could". KMW TMR have more wins than anyone at Road America in TCR. They won their first MPC race here at Road America. 34 minutes to go. Here comes the #77 Hyundai of Bryson Morris! Oh man! Lewis Jr. has new tires on the front and old rear tires. Morrris has the momentum in turn three. Watch for the turn five braking zone.
Lewis pulls out and Morris makes inroads. Lewis Jr. has the experience. Lewis can hold up Morris but then Mark Wilkins can come into it. Morris needs to send it now. This is fourth, fifth and sixth in the order. Overflow trouble fully loaded to the right for the Hyundai. Who can bring more power? The Hyundai is slower than the Honda's and the Audi's. Lewis tries clearing Morris. He istill has the lead. Wilkins is pushing hard. 32 minutes to go. Wilkins wants to go forward and has his teammate in the way.
The Alfa Romeo is motoring with midrange torque. Bryson Morris glued to the #5 through Canada Corner. Now, Mark Wilkins gets bite of the cherry. This is not for the lead. Denis Dupont, Andy Lally, and Eddie Gou, the top three. Lewis has been in the pit lane for five seconds less than Morris, and this is all down to fuel burn. Bryson Morris is shortlisted for Lamborghini's junior factory driver shootout. Will we see him in a Lamborghini GT3 car in the future? Dr. William Tally made sure his stint was solid and he is optimistic, the man from Athens, Georgia, co-driving with Tim Lewis Jr.
Trouble for the #44 of Michael Cooper, the Baby Bull Racing Porsche Cayman ran wide, came across and spun around in turn five. Cooper was out of position and swept back across trying to coexist with the #46 Team TGM Aston Martin. Road America has so many high-speed, right-hand corners, and the sidewall of the left side Michelin is going to be troubled. No action from the stewards for that incident. Sebastian Carazo can stretch his fuel in the #67 Czabok Simpson Motorsports Porsche Cayman sharing with Gordon Scully.
Carazo passes Ross Chastain for second and Ross Chastain should be in fuel save mode, finishing fourth and seventh in two NASCAR Cup starts here at Road America. NASCAR elected not to return to race at Road America. But, Ross Chastain wants to do it. At Winward Racing, it is going to be extremely close on fuel. Daniel Morad remaining on track and the decision is being made if they need a splash and a dash. Their Michelin Pilot Challenge team needs momenum while the GT Daytona class team in the WeatherTech Championship has had three wins.
Stevan McAleeer is ahead of Jack Hawksworth in the GS order. It will be an uphill run to the checkers. When is the two hours up? How far do you go to the checkered flag? It is all uphill. If you are going to do a splash and a dash, do it now. In this replay, ooh!, Jeff Westphal gets squeezed by the #59 KOHR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 of Luca Mars! I think the #46 was also in that dust up. Luca Mars gets tagged, the car he shares with Bob Michaelian. Three races to go after this event is over in 22 minutes. Mason Filippi is happy to drive for BHA with equal equipment and can push each other, albeit cleanly. Mason Filippi says he had a great stint racing with the sister #33 car.
All the strategies for all three cars are going for it. Trouble in paradise for Sebastian Carazo with a flat left rear tire. Carazo will drop like a stone. He is out of the picture as Luca Mars ran wide through turn 13 ahead of the fellow Mustang of Jenson Altzman. Mercedes #57 in the lane looking at a timed fuel fill. 18 seconds of fuel. Chastain is coming in a big hurry. Ross Chastain goes to the lead and Stevan McAleer goes to second. That was an eight second fuel stop. I apologize. That was a gamble for Winward Racing. 18 minutes to go. Morad will really have to go for it. He could come back for a top five. Ross Chastain leads at Road America.
These NASCAR Cup drivers are really good road racers. 15-20 years ago there were a couple good ones. But now, all these NASCAR Cup drivers are really good. We saw in Chicago, drivers like Shane van Gisbergen and Joey Hand. Ross Chastain in the pit lane for fuel. This will be a splash and a dash. We have trouble for someone on the track. Maybe the #16 almost ran the tank dry. Huge wreck for Jack Hawksworth! A massive impact with king sized damage on both ends! The impact driver's left. Thank God he is out of the car. He is sitting down and might be winded. He is pulling double duty in the WeatherTech Championship tomorrow.
It happened incredibly fast, he spns out and clobbers the barrier, breaking suspension over the access road. I think something broke on the car. That sounded awful! I think when he hit the curb he broke a control arm or a trailing arm on the suspension. Jack Hawksworth out of the car. The car will be removed from the circuit with 14 minutes to go. Pit lane stays closed. People might be kicking themselves on fuel strategy. Jaden Conwright is not a happy bunny and understandably so. Did any movement happen to the concrete wall? With the length of this lap at four miles, well, you need four plus minutes before going back to green.
It is a long, long lap behind the safety car. Looking ahead to tomorrow, Jack Hawksworth is contracted to Toyota and Lexus but when does Vasser Sullivan say, "OK, Jack, no more racing for other teams." Inside 12 minutes to go and we will have a shootout at the OK Corral. We could have three or four laps to go if we get back to green in the final ten and a half minutes. We will have to wait and see if this race goes back to green. We will do so and are green now! OK. Kenton Koch monstering Aaron Tleitz for second place. VHC looking for opportunities. Koch on the curb passing Telitz and here comes Hasse-Clot.
Deep in the GS pack is the TCR leader, and Denis Dupot has a massive gap. VHC tries Kenton Koch. Here comes Luca Mars. Oh my! If you are Matt Plumb, you are in a hornet's nest. Foley all over him like a cheap suit. The pressure is on. Trent Hindman and Stevan McAleer could bag loads of points again today just like after their win last time at CTMP. Lots going on. This is manic. Daniel Morad sweeping by Megennnis. Where did Ross Chastain go? Trouble for Riley Dickinson in the #91 Kellymoss Porsche Cayman and they are out of contention. Argy bargy through turn one between Altzman and Megennis.
Foley and Westphal right begund Matt Plumb and Jenson Altzman. Megennis to the inside of Morad! Side by side and her comes Westphal. Plumb dropping like a stone. Here comes Michael de Quesada too. McAleer trying to make hay while the sun shines over Aaron Telitz. In TCR, it is intense. BHA Hyundai are very worried about fuel for the #76 car. The same is true for the #12 Starcom Hyundai. For Denis Dupont, he had the advantage and now he is doing massive fuel save. Andy Lally is in second with less than five minutes to go.
Will Nick Tucker and Andy Lally score a podium? That is the big question. Aaron Telitz and Daniel Morad are both pushing hard. Robin Liddell and Michai Stephens are both pushing, and Matt Plumb is dropping like a stone. Aaron Telitz all over Stevan McAleer like a honeybee on a flower. This is mano e mano. Stevan McAleer and Trent Hindman want two wins in a row. Telitz also wants another win to back up his win at Mid-Ohio in June. Here are the points.
1. Matt Plumb 2,000 points
2. McAleer/Hindman 1,800 points -200
3. Rory van der Steur 1,770 points -230
We could see the first repeat winner of 2024. A lap and a half remaining. McAleer digging deep. He is a smart, savvy driver. He feels right at home. Denis Dupont leading TCR coming to the white flag. Dupont and Preston Brown looking to close in on Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller in TCR points. Mano e mano. VHC is on the podium. VHC sets up for a massive run to catch up. Luca Mars in fourth. White flag. One to go at Road America. Telitz poking his nose out to find drafting space. Oh no. Lally is stopped and out of gas!
Dupont can save fuel in TCR with 4.3 seconds on Tim Lewis Jr. Two heavy braking zones to go. McAleer wide into turn seven and now into The Carousel. McAleer sawing the wheel to hit the apex. One more shot for Telitz into Canada Corner. #76 out of gas! The gamble fails! Throuygh Canada Corner one last time. Fuel is no worry. Telitz looking inside. No dice. It will be a drag race. McAleer and Hindman are the first two-time 2024 MPC winners! Back-to-back! Four in a row for Alfa Romeo for Tim Lewis Jr. and Dr. William Tally!
Overall/Grand Sport: #28 McAleer/Hindman RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS
TCR: #5 Lewis Jr./Tally KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR
Next up for Michelin Pilot Challenge, with now three races left to run, it will be the Virginia Is for Racing Lovers Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, coming up in three weeks. We'll see you at VIR. Bye for now.
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