Thursday, October 17, 2024

Thursday WeatherTech Championship News from Road Atlanta

The opening day of track action from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta gives us a lot to talk about going into Saturday's Petit Le Mans, the season finale for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.  Here's the news you can use.

Van der Zande Aiming to "Go Out With a Bang" with Cadillac

Bourdais Leads Cadillac 1-2 in Opening Practice

2025 entry lists for the WeatherTech Championship, for the full season and for the Endurance Cup, are here!  Check them out, below.

2025 Full Season, Endurance Cup Entry Lists Released

Doonan: IMSA Has Nearly 90 Entry Requests for Rolex 24

IMSA is definitely in a purple patch right now!  The hits keep on coming!

Pratt Miller 'Growing Footprint' With LMP2 Entry

Jordan Taylor Fastest in Second Petit Practice

Road Atlanta Thursday Notebook

Van der Zande Tops Night Practice; Forte, Corvette Crash


Michelin Pilot Challenge Headlines Headed for the Season Finale at Road Atlanta

Headlines from Michelin Pilot Challenge competition heading for the season finale at Road Atlanta.  We start, sadly, with an obituary.  Former Michelin Pilot Challenge racer, Ramin Avdolvahabi has passed away, at age 58 after battling cancer.

Abdolvahabi Passes Away at 58 After Cancer Battle

Rest In Peace, Ramin Abdolvahabi.  You will be missed.

Mustang Challenge one make championship racer, Sam Paley, is ready for his Michelin Pilot Challenge debut in this weekend's season finale.  

Paley to Make Mustang GT4 Debut With MMR at Road Atlanta

Dickinson Quickest in First Road Atlanta Practice

There will be more to talk about for Michelin Pilot Challenge, tomorrow, as we look forward to the race coming up on Friday.  

Aghakhani, Mars Clinch Titles in Race 1 at Road Atlanta

Championships sealed up in both LMP3, GSX ahead of Friday's season finale...

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/vp-racing-sportscar-challenge/aghakhani-mars-clinch-titles-in-race-1-at-road-atlanta/

VP Sports Car Challenge: Road Atlanta, Race 1

Hello, everybody, and welcome, to the penultimate race of the 2024 season in the IMSA VP Racing Fuels Sports Car Challenge.  Today is the next to last event and tomorrow is the season finale, here at the twisting, climbing, diving layout that is the fabled Road Atlanta in the red clay hills of northern Georgia, just outside of the bustling metropolis of Atlanta, or Hot 'Lanta, as it is known, sometimes. Championships are on the line in both the LMP3 and GSX classes this afternoon, and tomorrow morning.   VP Racing Sports Car Challenge from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, with fabulous weather.  We are praying for those in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, who are riding out the storm through the recent hurricanes.  

Road Atlanta is a rollercoaster of a circuit.  12 turns, 2.54 miles.  Turn one is the fastest turn on the track, uphill to turn three and up again through the esses into turns six and seven.  Turn seven I think is the most critical corner on the track because it leads you onto the backstretch before heavy braking into turn ten.  Passing will be a great opportunity, or rather I should say, the backstretch provides great passing opportunities.  We have the LMP3 cars and the GSX (GT4) cars here, ready to race.  Brian Till and Jeremy Shaw are here to call the action, on this perfect afternoon.  Again, our thoughts are with the people affected by the hurricanes.  Performance Tech Motorsports are not here, nor is KMW TMR based in Sarasota, Florida.

We have a couple new LMP3 cars here this weekend, coming over from LMP3 racing in Europe and I think, the Michelin Le Mans Cup.  Two cars are here from Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports.  Both of them are Duqueine chassis.  Car #30 for Valentino Catalano and car #31 for Markus Pommer.  Two young German drivers.  Catalano starts shotgun on the field.  Miguel Villagomez is sitting on the grid, and the Ecuadorian driver is having trouble finding the fire in the hole to get his #23 Escuderia ABRO Ligier JS P320 Nissan started.

The team ran a historic race with their LMP3 car here at Road Atlanta weeks ago.  He will have to start shotgun on the field as the pit crew tries assisting him with the jump battery and it is started.  We'll have a full field.  Also, at the back in the GSX field is the new #9 Kingpin Racing Toyota Supra GT4 EVO in the hands of local driver out of Atlanta, Tyler Hoffman.  He had a strong run in Free Practice and in qualifying.  The team touched the car after qualifying and in doing so he was disqualified from qualifying and put at the tail end of the field.

More troubles on the grid for the #72 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 in the hands of Frank DePew, the driver out of Richmond, Virginia.  His Aston Martin came to a halt, and he pulled off the racing surface.  I wonder what the trouble is for the zebra car.  DePew is also entered in tomorrow's feature race here at Road Atlanta, the finale for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.  OK.  Patrick Wilmot is on the outside of the front row while Luca Mars who scored his fourth VP Challenge pole of 2024 and in LMP3 the front row sees championship leader Steven Aghakhani starting next to his rival, Jagger Jones.  Jones is the pole man.

They come down the hill towards the start/finish line and are ready to bring the action!  That start was ugly!  What happened there?  Jones and Aghakhani nearly coming together as the field spreads out.  The championship will belong to Steven Aghakhani.  Aghakhani refuses to think he has won the title, though.  He is focused on racing these two races this weekend and getting through them before he acknowledges and celebrates a championship.  Frank DePew joins the race and so everyting looks OK although he will be half a lap down at the tail end of the field.

700 points remain on offer.  Aghakhani swept the doubleheader at the start of the year at Daytona International Speedway back in January.  Race Control tells us the start is under review as Jagger Jones is in the lead ahead of Steven Aghakhani.  Duqueine vs. Ligier.  The Ligier comes to life earlier in the races and now with the evo packages, the advantage has gone away.  These cars have been evenly matched all year.  In only one race, Jones did not score maximum points.  These cars are evenly matched as we see Miguel Villagomez flying down through turn 12, chasing Markus Pommer, the rookie to VP Sports Car Challenge.  

Pommer and teammate Valentino Catalano in the sister car for the Gebhardt team are teammates in Prototype Cup Germany which runs LMP3 cars and is sanctioned by the Dutch Creventic organization.  They are champions in 2024 in Germany and are now racing in IMSA.  But they are racing against each other, as Luca Mars leads GSX.  The Mustang has been the class of the GSX field, all year.  The Motorsports In Action McLaren is not in the races here at Road Atlanta this weekend.  Jesse Lazare and the team are not here.  They planned to have Jesse Lazare and Michael de Quesada driving in Michelin Pilot Challenge too.  But being based in Florida, Michael de Quesada had to be home to try and make sure of the safety of his family and property due to the hurricanes.

Luca Mars leading GSX with Patrick Wilmot in second place aboard the #88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 (G82), sponsored by The Genie Company, who make garage doors and garage door openers.  There is also a great scrap afoot for fourth place with Scott Blind in the highlighter yellow colored Aston Martin, car #45, the Ruckus Racing car for the driver out of Fenton, Missouri, and he is being hotly pursued by Mark Brummond from Charlotte, North Carolina, in the #25 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82).

Miguel Villagomez has had to take a drive through penalty for improper start procedure and does so as we speak.  I think the team got flustered when the car wouldn't fire up and now, he will really have to motor and is praying for a Full Course Yellow to get right back in the fight.  Scott Blind still has Mark Brummond right on his six in the GSX battle for fourth spot and for the Bronze driver championship.  Brummond to the inside in turn ten under braking and he does the job flying down the hill.  Bronze drivers have more experience in life, it is age related.  Meanwhile, Tyler Hoffman in the Toyota Supra is chasing Patrick Wilmot, still.  Hoffman going for second place.

The Kingpin Racing Toyota Supra is moving up, and fast.  Blind leads the Bronze drivers' championship in GSX.  Brummond not a contender.  Angus Rogers not here, again, because of trying to survive the hurricane and make sure he and his family and friends will be OK.  Patrick Wilmot and Split Decision Motorsports have done very well this season, for this small, family run team out of Tennessee.  Tyler Hoffman is a regular in Lamborghini Super Trofeo in IMSA.  Both Mark Brummond and Scott Blind are now falling into the clutches of Sean Quinlan aboard the #19 Stephen Cameron Racing Ford Mustang GT4.

This is a similar car to the one driven by current GSX leader Luca Mars.  Quinlan fourth in the Bronze class championship.  Under the bridge, diving through turn ten, Tyler Hoffman is determined to make his move on Patrick Wilmot for second spot in GSX!  Wilmot wants to have a car to put back on the trailer at the end of the weekend while Hoffman is showing he can run for a podium.  The Toyota has good traction off turn ten through the chicane over the top of the hill and now down through the esses, both cars are very evenly matched.  

The LMP3 cars, particularly Jones and Aghakhani are working their way through this GSX traffic with Quinlan in the Mustang and Blind in the Aston Martin right ahead.  Prototypes working through the GSX field.  Jagger Jones believes the first car through traffic has the advantage to take the lead and leaves his rival to carve his way through traffic.  Sometimes people think the second car has the advantage and now, Tyler Hoffman is right on Patrick Wilmot's six and what we see now is the LMP3 cars moving in on the GSX cars.  

Jagger Jones plays through the traffic perfectly and makes the pass cleanly through turns five and six and this stymies Aghakhani into turn seven.  Easy to lose seconds at a time to traffic.  Right now, we are focusing on the third-place battle in LMP3.  Brian Thienes in the #77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan, has his hands full fending off the challenge from Markus Pommer.  Pommer an experienced LMP3 driver, learning Road Atlanta and learning how VP Sports Car Challenge works.  He is embroiled in a battle with a driver he knows nothing about.  Ten years ago, Pommer won the German Formula 3 championship, although he has also done a lot of his more recent racing in Asia it sounds like.  

Before being in Formula 3, he was a go karting champion and racing in Formula BMW and Auto GP Formula 2000 cars.  Since 2016, he has also driven GT cars.  Pommer has lots of experience ad is picking up Road Atlanta very quickly.  Pommer hesitated to try to pass the GSX cars.  He is not as familair with the drivers in VP Challenge and with Road Atlanta.  His focus is on tomorrow for race two, for the finale, to really push, and is still giving Brian Thienes everything he can handle.  Meanwhile, in GSX, Mark Brummond has made his move on Scott Blind.  Sean Quinlan sticking to both of them like glue.  

Scott Blind down towards turn ten, is drawing a bead on Brummond heading for the braking zone.  Not comfortable enough to make the pass yet.  These are the same GT4 spec cars we see in Michelin Pilot Challenge.  They are preparing for the Michelin Pilot race, the finale.  Meanwhile, Miguel Villagomez in the #23 LMP3 car is doing all he knows to try passing Mark Brummond's BMW M4 GT4.  Try making the pass in turn four and if you don't, well, you just need to be patient.  No race car driver is particularly good at being patient.  

"Making a pass down through the esses here at Road Atlanta is inviting danger and trouble."  I quote the words of Jeremy Shaw, and he is absolutely right.  The esses is one of the more treacherous parts of the circuit here at Road Atlanta because if you go off the road, you will go off, big style.  Brian Thienes continues fighting with Markus Pommer.  Pommer is fast, experienced, and has the pedigree.  He is learning the whole time, learning the racetrack, learning the format of the championship, and learning about his competitors and what they are apt to do.  Brian Thienes is a legend because he is a great character and is a driver in his early 60s who has the enthusiasm of a teenager.  He remains fast after racing in the Formula Atlantic, nee Toyota Atlantic open wheel series, 20 plus years ago.  

Tyler Hoffman, in turn ten, puts a move for second on Patrick Wilmot in GSX and he makes it stick!  Hoffman up to second place in GSX through a battle in the braking zone!  Can Wilmot fight back on Hoffman?  This is a fantastic battle!  They are side by side again!  Wilmot passes Hoffman back into turn seven!  Hoffman left the door open a crack and Wilmot filled the slot.  Wilmot moves back in front and Hoffman has to give it up.  This is still a fight as we approach the halfway mark in this race.  Sean Quinlan has also passed Scott Blind as the LMP3 traffic works through.

Quinlan chasing Mark Brummond.  Brummond just wants to be a better racer, and he is beginning to make a mark, no pun intended.  Brummond has also raced in Lamborghini Super Trofeo.  This is probably the smallest GSX field we have seen in VP Challenge all year in 2024, but it has been some of the best racing!  Wilmot continuing to hold on over Hoffman.  Down the straightaway, some argy bargy, some bump and run between Markus Pommer and Brian Thienes!  Wow!  That was a close shave!  Thienses undaunted, and nobody flinching in the GSX battle for second either.

Wilmot telling Hoffman in no uncertain terms, that he has to work to pass.  We are exactly halfway through the race.  Steven Aghakhani, second overall and in LMP3, goes through and was briefly in between the two GSX (GT4) cars.  Aghakhani's race craft, maturity level etc. has really stepped up.  He has managed the championship and is managing traffic.  Brian Thienes has gapped Markus Pommer and Pommer is now falling into the clutches of his teammate, Valentino Catalano as well, look.  Catalano did not make a qualifying attempt but he is beginning to move.

Maybe Pommer wants Catalano to play follow the leader, but honestly, Catalano is not giving an inch and is flashing the lights to his teammate!  Again, they shared a car in LMP3 in Prototype Cup Germany.  Both of them have closed up on Brian Thienes.  Catalano has made up ground.  His best lap in the race is a 1:18.4 while Pommer ran a 1:19.3.  This is a three-car battle for third.  Meanwhile, Jagger Jones leads the motor race over Steven Aghakhani to the tune of almost eight seconds.  Valentino Catalano received a scholarship from the ADAC GT Masters series in Europe.  They run a German championship for GT3 production cars, sanctioned by the ADAC, the German auto club, the equivalent of what AAA is here in the U.S.  

Wow!  Thienes and Pommer, three abreast splitting the difference on Tyler Hoffmann in the GSX Toyota Supra!  Oh my!  Pommer takes advantage and Catalano passes by Patrick Wilmot's BMW.  This is superb!  Markus Pommer has made good his escape.  Choose your line.  Catalano hesitated just a moment.  Catalano almost makes contact with Thienes through turn six!  Brian Thienes is going backwards, protecting the left side of the road.  Thienes moves across to protect the line but can't quite do it.  The pace seems to be fading away from Brian Thienes.  Maybe the handling is going away on the car.  The LMP3 cars are very nearly bulletproof at least withtheir powerplants, the 5.6 liter Nissan V8 engines.

Oh dear.  Frank DePew has spun again in the #72 Rebel Rock Racing Aston Martin.  I think that is his second or third spin in this race with just 16 and a half minutes to go.  DePew has damage to the front suspension or the steering rack.  This will bring out a Full Course Yellow which is going to set us up for a shootout in the last ten to 12 minutes.  In this replay, accelerating hard out of turn seven, he spun off the slowest corner on the course and spun onto the painted curbs.  Traction Control is great, but it doesn't always help a driver from spinning, and he clattered the wall and something broke.  Again, a steering arm, probably.

DePew has had a difficult season, but his pace is improving.  One more race to go in VP Challenge and he will be sharing and Aston Martin with Robin Liddell, the Scotsman, in the Michelin Pilot Challenge finale, tomorrow.  Contact with the tire wall was on the drivers' side of the car.  The safety workers went ot the right side of the car which leads me to guess that the drivers' door is broken and not operational due to the contact, and so, Frank DePew clambered out of the car under his own steam but on the passenger side.  

Patrick Wilmot has his own cheering section with large cardboard cutouts of his face.  No, it is not The Fatheads, from a children's cartoon entitled "Rocko's Modern Life".  It is "The Pat Heads"!  Hardy har har!  I don't know if I want a picture of me, my face, blown up, around the racetrack.  That would be just too weird.  I think Patrick Wilmot led the effort to have "the Pat Heads" around the track.  That's a hoot!  Wilmot has had a fabulous battle all race with Tyler Hoffman.  The fans are enjoying this race on a Thursday afternoon.  For Jagger Jones, Stephen Aghakhani, for Patrick Wilmot and Tyler Hoffman, is the yellow a good thing?

This is going to give drivers a chance to cool off their Michelin tires, but your competition will close up.  You want the competition as far away as it can be!  For Stephen Aghakhani, he will be hoping that Jagger Jones has worn the goody out of his Michelin tires so that he can have a decisive advantage on the restart.  The FastMD with Remstar Duqueine has been fast all race.  Aghakhani will have a good opportunity.  He has won the title and now wants a race win to finish off the year in the best possible way.  Jagger Jones did not want to see this yellow.

Jagger Jones also set the fastest lap of the motor race at 1:17.9.  He is 3/4 of a second away from his lap record set last year at Road Atlanta, in 2023.  Steven Aghakhani is going to have his hands full with the two Gebhardt team drivers right behind him.  I think this is indeed the same Gebhardt team that ran a Group C2 car in Europe in the old, World Sports Car Championship, the predecessor of today's FIA World Endurance Championship, back in the 1980s.  The Gebhardt boys, both Pommer and Catalano are coming alive.  Aghakhani is probably more worried about Markus Pommer and Valentino Catalano, than he is about Jagger Jones, at this stage.

Aghakhani has the GSX leading Ford Mustang for KohR Motorsports ahead of him, Luca Mars at the controls.  Brian Thienes is not out of the fight either because he runs right behind the two Gebhardt cars.  He is going to be glued to Catalano and Pommer when we go back to green.  Aghakhani, the championship is his.  He has that locked up in his pocket.  But he wants at least one race win here at Road Atlanta.  As we go back to green, he will do what he must, to get it.  Pommer passes Mars.  Did Catalano make it through?  Down through the esses, Catalano has cleared Mars and the Gebhardt teammates will be in hot pursuit.

Are they going to fight amongst themselves, or are they going to really push?  Just over five minutes of this race remaining.  We are used to seeing many Ligier LMP3's at the top in VP Challenge but now, the Duqueine is coming to the fore.  Jagger Jones rocketing away on restarts and leads Aghakhani by 1.1 seconds.  Can Pommer and Catalano close the gap?  Catalano wants a podium and wants to pass his teammate to be able to do it.  Pommer is not put off by his teammate flashing the lights.  Valentino Catalano is using the headlight flasher button.  

Gebhardt ran the Momo sponsored Group C and GTP cars for years both in IMSA and again, in the World Sports Car Championship sanctioned by the FIA.  A lot of experience on that team.  Gebhardt ran their own cars in the '80s.  Jagger Jones is now 1.4 seconds clear of Stephen Aghakhani with just a couple of laps remaining.  What will dinner be like for the Gebhardt team tonight with the teammates racing hard?  Gebhardt likes to race.  Will they be in IMSA and VP Challenge next year in 2025 after winning titles in Germany?  We'll see.  Two more Duqueine chassis' competing and of course, Jagger Jones has the other Duqueine for FastMD Racing with Remstar.  

Jones uncorks the fastest lap of the race!  Last year he had a mechanical issue later in one of the two races.  He ran out of fuel, in truth.  White flag next time by.  There will be one lap remaining.  Aghakhani had a 700-point lead when Jagger Jones showed up at St. Petersburg.  Since that time, he has been undefeated save for a technical infraction at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park back in July.  The vast majority of the crew members at FastMD Racing is between 20 and 22 years old.  They too, are young, getting the job done for Jagger Jones.  Jones won in Canada that weekend.  Meanwhile, Pommer and Catalano are still scrapping and this is the final lap of the race.

Catalano right on Pommer's six!  Catalano looks inside, nothing doing.  Jagger Jones wins another race!  Eight wins in nine races in 2024!  Another win for FastMD Racing with Remstar.  Aghakhani not throwing it away.  He wants good finishes and smart races.  One straightaway to go for Luca Mars from outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He leads by seven and a half seconds over second place Patrick Wilmot.  Luca Mars wins GSX in race one at Road Atlanta.  Three poles, six victories, and a GSX championship!  This is another Florida based team.  

Oh my.  A ten second post-race time penalty has been assessed to Jagger Jones, but I think he will keep the victory.  In this replay, the startt was scruffy as many cars were out of line.  So this changes things!  Jones gets a penalty!  Aghakhani wins!

Overall/LMP3: #6 Stephen Aghakhani        MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320 Nissan

             GSX: #59 Luca Mars                      KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4

...And then, there was one.  One more race to be run for IMSA VP Sports Car Challenge at Road Atlanta, tomorrow, to determine the champions.  We'll see you tomorrow for that one.  For now, from Road Atlanta, bye bye.


 

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

IMSA WeatherTech Championship News Heading for the Petit Le Mans (Your Wednesday Road Atlanta update)

All the news you can use from the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship heading for the season finale, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, in Braselton, Georgia.  This is likely the first update of several, throughout the weekend.

Era Motorsport LMP2 Entry Confirmed for 2025

Triarsi Expands to Two-Car Ferrari GTD Effort

The latest Michelin IMSA Insider.

Michelin Insider: Admiring IMSA, Driving Progress and a Farewell

With Heart of Racing moving up to the GTP class with one Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar for next year in 2025, this marks the end of their successful GTD Pro campaign.

Heart of Racing Confirms Single Valkyrie; End of GTD Pro Effort

As was discussed in the Formula Jonah video posted earlier, DXDT are moving across from SRO GT World Challenge America, and into IMSA with a full-season effort with their Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the GT Daytona class.

DXDT Announces Full-Season Corvette GTD Effort

Vesti to Make IMSA Debut in Tower LMP2 Entry at Petit

No. 7 Porsche Has Enjoyed "Unparalleled Consistency"

Salters: NSX Farewell "Bittersweet" for HRC US

Road Atlanta Wednesday Notebook


DXDT Racing Joins IMSA with Corvette Z06 in 2025!

 


From Formula Jonah.  DXDT Racing confirms that they will join the IMSA grid next year competing in the GT field with a Corvette Z06 GT3.R! This will be the 4th Chevy Corvette on the grid, and it will be using the number 36. Find out all the details on this news as DXDT Racing joins the WeatherTech Championship grid in 2025!


It All Comes Down to This! | Petit Le Mans IMSA Race Preview

 


From Off in the Esses.  This is everything you need to know ahead of IMSA's season finale at Road Atlanta!


IMSA Official Website News Heading for the Petit Le Mans

We are gearing up for the finale of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.  Here are some pre-race stories to look at from the official IMSA website.  Plenty more still to come.

What to Watch For: Motul Petit Le Mans

Tale of the Tape: Title Primer Heading to Motul Petit Le Mans

Full Fields Return in 2025 to WeatherTech Championship, Michelin Endurance Cup


The WeatherTech Championship has a bright future.  But first, the focus will obviously be on the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta to close out the 2024 season.  Stay tuned to hear more as we get closer to race time and have some other support races to also tell the stories of.


Monday, October 14, 2024

Indianapolis 8 Hours Race Recap & Post-Race News

The race recap and post-race news after the finale of both the SRO GT World Challenge America and SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge campaigns in 2024, the Indianapolis 8 Hours at "The Brickyard", Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Race Recap:

Niederhauser Fights Off Van der Linde in Indy 8H Opening Hour


WRT Lead 1-2 at Indy 8H Halfway Point

WRT Wins Indy 8H After Wright Penalty; Champions Crowned


Post-Race News:

Weerts: IGTC Title Crown on "Complete Season"

Hartog Hails Indy 8H Drive as "Biggest Gift" After Birthday Win


Foley: Class Win "Would've Been a Bonus" to Pro-Am Title


Indianapolis Post-Race Notebook


Sunday, October 13, 2024

Sunday Indianapolis Motor Speedway Race Broadcasts

Race broadcasts of the Sunday season finales for GT America, TC America, and Pirelli GT4 America at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on SRO GTWorld on YouTube.  Ryan Myrehn, and Calvin Fish call the action from the broadcast booth, with Amanda Busick, as always, reporting from the pit lane.

GT America





TC America





Pirelli GT4 America





RENNtech Wins Race 2; JCD, Filgueiras Take Silver Title

Leist, Auriemma win at The Brickyard, as GT4 America class champions crowned...

https://sportscar365.com/sro/gt4-america/renntech-wins-race-2-filgueiras-jcd-claim-silver-title/

Pirelli GT4 America: Indianapolis, Race 2

OK, everyone.  This is it.  The final big race of the weekend, the final big race of the 2024 SRO America season.  This is the last chance to put it all on the line for a victory before the offseason beckons.  One more hour of flat out racing for the GT4 cars in Pirelli GT4 America, here at "The Brickyard", Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is about to begin.  It is time to wrap up a dramatic 2024 Pirelli GT4 America season.  The Pro-Am title has been settled.  But in Silver and Am, it is going to be a winner takes all situation in the next hour.  Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish calling the action.  On Friday, the Pro-Am title was clinched.  The Pro class points leaders are separated by four markers while the Am class battle is only a seven-point spread. 

GT4 America going from strength to strength.  If you have a favorite manufacturer, they are here.  These cars can go side by side and the straightaways require the horsepower.  Hello to Amanda Busick reporting from the pit lane for this morning's finale who is standing by with one of the Am class contenders, Robb Holland.  Gorgeous weather again this morning.  Holland thinks he will win the title because his car has been great all weekend.  Robb Holland sharing with Jaden Lander and the sister car from Rotek Racing, the sister Porsche Cayman in the hands of Myles Roe and Isaac Sherman.  They are on pole in class.  They want to cruise to the finish.  He is as cool as a cucumber with everything at stake.  A veteran racer who has driven at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, and in the World Touring Car Championship and British Touring Car Championship.

Yesterday, in race one, it was a good day to be a Toyota Supra driver.  Smooge Racing took the honors yesterday with Tyler Gonzalez and Corey Lewis and thus, they are at the top of the shop for this race, for the finale.  The Supra's look incredible competitive.  They could easily sweep the weekend.  Corey Lewis came on with Smooge Racing midway through the season deputizing for John Geesbreght.  Jesse Webb is now back at JMF Motorsports in their Mercedes-AMG GT4 alongside his co-driver from 2023, Michai Stephens.  Many of these drivers in Pirelli GT4 America, also compete in Fanatec GT World Challenge in the GT3 cars.  

Watch for Eric Filgueiras going for his third title in three years, and what would be his second one in the GT4 category.  He won a GT3 title in 2023 in Fanatec GT World Challenge America.  Filgueiras, and co-driver John Capestro-Dubets, are battling against the #97 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 of Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm.  Paul Sparta, due to injury, has missed the end of the season and will test over the offseason.  Michael Kanisczak has been a great relief driver and has stepped up his game for the Random Vandals team, filling in for Paul Sparta.

30 cars will start this race.  It should be a fun race.  Race one yesterday was clean and maybe today's will be, too.  OK.  The safety car pulls to the pit lane.  Toyota Supra vs. Mercedes on the front row.  On row two, a McLaren Artura and a Porsche Cayman.  BMW M4 GT4 and a Porsche in row three.  Row four is all BMW.  To the acceleration zone they come.  Flagman Tom Hansing has the green flag at the ready.  We go green for the final time in Pirelli GT4 America!  A great jump there, look, for Corey Lewis while a good chunk of this field is lagging behind.

It is four and five wide as the field fans out big style in the back half of the pack!  Corey Lewis leading and now the #102 McLaren of the Italian, Dario Capitanio slots into second place.  It is three abreast for the scrap for seventh, eighth, and ninth spot, as Kenton Koch is poking his nose in as well.  Eric Filgueiras, the championship leader in the Silver division is also right in this hornet's nest.  That is the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman.  The field of 30 cars made it through turn one.  At the end of Hulman Boulevard, will they make it to turn seven?  Yes.  Eric Filgueiras now makes his move on Josh Green.  Green at the wheel of the #94 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 sharing that car with Sam Craven.

Kenton Koch moves from fifth to third on lap one.  This is incredibly close between the top two in the Silver class.  Eric Filgueiras must keep his nose clean and fight hard.  Filgueiras and John Capestro-Dubets lead by a mere four points over Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm in the main Random Vandals BMW.  So, it is mano e mano between RS1 and Random Vandals for the title.  Green trying to grab a place back from Filgueiras and does so.  Not for class position but for the overall.  Paul Sparta probably sent a note to Josh Green saying, "mate, whenever you are around the #28, give them fits.  Give them a hard time.  Don't let them off easy.  Just don't play dirty."  

Tight quarters, cut and thrust in the midfield.  The cars make downforce but not so much that they can't run close together as Corey Lewis and Smooge Racing lead.  Charlie Postins has made it to the lead of the Am class passing Jaden Lander.  Lander though, he might still be in a spot where he can win the title in the Am division.  Kenton Koch chasing Dario Capitanio.  The race start is under review by the stewards as we speak.  Jesse Webb has now flown Plummet Airways from second on the grid down to tenth.  He is in recovery mode.  I wonder if he had an acceleration issue as Eric Filgueiras is being chased by the pure sports car racing rookie, Myles Rowe.

Myles Rowe is right behind Eric Filgueiras.  Rowe can showcase his talent and how quickly he can adapt in a GT4 car just the same as Alex Palou did in the 8 Hours yesterday switching from an IndyCar to GT3.  Rowe ran in Indy Next, the development series on the IndyCar ladder.  Kenton Koch pressuring Dario Capitanio for second spot.  Koch closing in on being a class leader but is fighting an out of class car.  Don't puncture a tire or damage the bodywork.  The BMW has the legs on the McLaren down the front straightaway.  

Koch now in hot pursuit of Corey Lewis.  Paul Sparta, the Random Vandals team boss is looking on.  Sparta says that there's positive but nervous energy within the team.  Heads down and getting right to work.  Move forward.  Stay on the road.  Be smart.  Race to win.  Eric Filgueiras and Josh Green are running liner stern and carving their way through the field.  Myles Rowe, the rookie, he wants a bite of the cherry in his scrap with Eric Filgueiras.  Excuse me.  Green is ahead of Filgueiras and then comes Myles Rowe next in the serial.  Rowe wants to show his talent but must be aware of the scenarios around him that Eric Filgueiras in a different class is in the midst of a championship fight.  

Rodrigo Baptista, the Brazilian, has the #5 Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4 off in the grass, sharing that car with Canadian Damir Hot.  He is hemorrhaging places hand over fist, fighting with Ryan Eversley sharing with Terry Borcheller.  That is the #07 Precision Racing L.A. Toyota Supra.  Eversley backed by team boss Mario Biundo.  Josh Green, former Road to Indy open wheel racer who simply ran out of budget, and then, tested with Random Vandals earlier in the summer, finding his talent.  Second in class with 11 minutes of racing elapsed.

Eric Filgueiras must make hay while the sun shines.  Kris Wilson is now right behind Jaden Lander insofar as class position.  No decision yet made on the race start.  There was a warning issued to Myles Rowe for blocking.  John Capestro-Dubets sitting with Tom Kopchinski, racer, and proprietor of Community Beer Works, the sponsor of RS1.  Zac Anderson and Colin Garrett are very competitive so far with Anderson running fifth overall and fourth in the Silver class.  Points in the Silver division right now are very close with just two separating Random Vandals Racing BMW and RS1 Porsche.  Nothing is done and dusted yet.

A tiebreaker would be for most wins in the 2024 season between the two teams.  This is going to be a nailbiter for both teams.  Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm cannot fully control their own destiny.  It depends on where JCD and Eric Filgueiras finish.  25, 18, 15, and two point drops from that point on.  We have been racing for almost 1/4 of the way.  A calm race, no argy bargy thus far.  Josh Green is really giving the pressure to Zac Anderson currently.  Green from upstate New York.  He has a heap of experience. He was runner up in the 2019 Formula 1600 championship graduating to Formula 2000 in 2020.

He ran a couple seasons in Formula 2000 before going to Indy Pro 2000 and made a handful, of starts, six, in Indy Next in 2023 before the funding fell through.  In the Am class, Charlie Postins leads with Jaden Lander dropping to second and Kris Wilson in third place.  Wilson must run ahead of the #099 Porsche and make up ground.  Matt Million passes Charlie Postins, not in the same class.  Postins and James Clay have won the last two Am class titles, but it has been a rough season in 2024 for them, winning just a handful of races this year.  If they won in class today it would be a massive morale boost going into 2025.  

We are eight minutes away from the opening of the pit window for pit stops to occur including only driver changes of course.  No tire changes in Pirelli GT4 America except for what we saw in the three-hour enduro at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, last spring.  108 seconds is the maximum pit stop delta time as we have a car spun off to the inside!  That looks to be the #7 Porsche Cayman!  That is the Curt Swearingin and Kay van Berlo entry for ACI Motorsports!  Steam billowing from under the bonnet of the Porsche.

They had no worries about the results because the title is wrapped up but it is bad news nonetheless.  Corey Lewis is going to be in a pickle with the compression and more damage.  Lee Carpentier has right front damage with more smoke pouring off the right front corner for the #52 Nolasport Porsche Cayman he is sharing with David Peterman.  A radiator puncture for car #7.  Game over.  We have the safety car on the circuit with a shade over 40 minutes left on the board.  This eliminates any gaps.  No action taken by the stewards RE: the race start.

The cleanup of the accident will eat into the pit window opening.  Massive commitment there, in this replay, from Swearingin, plowing into David Peterman.  He came into the corner with unabated speed, so I wonder if there was a mechanical problem, heaven forbid, a stuck throttle.  We are now under safety car conditions.  This reminds us of the race at Barber Motorsports Park where half the field passed the safety car and half the field got trapped.  John Capestro-Dubets is suited and booted and ready to go.  He is a little nervous but is going to give it everything.  

His injury last year put him on the sidelines but now he is really going for it.  Kevin Boehm will be in the #97 Random Vandals BMW.  Filgueiras and JCD have the tiebreaker for wins in 2024.  JCD was hurt and he ended up missing races at Road America last year.  Teammate Zac Anderson raced solo on a couple occasions.  John Capestro-Dubets had a late call up to join RS1 in this year's championship.  Lee Carpentier, very frustrated with being out of this race.  The pit window will open very soon.  It should open in the next lap or two.  Everyone needs a bite of the apple, so, the safety car ought to slow down a wee bit.

We could see a copy and paste from what we saw at Barber Motorsports Park a couple weekends ago.  The pace behind the safety car, and the timing, will be the determining factor on these pit stops.  Or are we going back to green?  We are going green, but you can still dive for the pit lane.  Corey Lewis, the leader, is in control of the field.  Pits are open and it looks like half the field chooses to come in and half the field chooses to stay out.  Dario Capitanio moves to the lead of the race in the #102 TPC Racing McLaren Artura GT4 he's sharing with American Alan Grossberg.

Green flag.  How will this come out in the wash?  Green looking to the inside of Capitanio and to the inside of second place man Danny Dyszelski in the #77 VPX Motorsports Porsche Cayman.  Dyszelski, the American driver, sharing that car with Canadian Cayden Goodridge.  No dice on that move.  Myles Rowe in fourth and looking feisty.  RS1 in the lane for the driver change to John Capestro-Dubets.  The Random Vandals BMW is in and so is the Smooge Racing Toyota Supra.  Corey Lewis turning it over to Tyler Gonzalez.  

Now, Eric Filgueiras' job is done.  John Capestro-Dubets will bring it home.  Kris Wilson now aboard the #98 Random Vandals BMW M4 GT4.  This is going to be a squeaker in the second half of the race.  Gonzalez splits both Boehm and Filgueiras.  Colin Garrett jumps in front and separates the leaders.  Here comes the field!  Holy Schnikes!  This is going to be unreal!  Battles raging on the road while half of the field is blending in from the pit lane!  A real mixed candy dish but don't spill the candy on the floor!  You spill it, you clean it up.  

Kevin Boehm has a great getaway, but he enters the hornet's nest right in the middle of it and this could turn into a game of dodge 'em cars.  He is also a lap down.  Kevin Boehm gets with the program and is underway.  The Supra gets stymied in the pack and he can gap John Capestro-Dubets now at the wheel of the #28 RS1 Porsche.  Kevin Boehm is the meat in the sandwich and there's contact as he has a clatter with one of the other Porsche Cayman's in the field!  Deary me!  Boehm, one of the title fighters, is dropping like a stone and that contact will be under scrutiny from Race Control as he tags the #18 Pro-Am class RS1 Porsche Cayman of Austin and Roland Krainz!  

Boehm was in no man's land between cars, between Austin Krainz on one side and Myles Rowe on the other.  JCD goes through passing Boehm in the #97 and if they continue to run this way, RS1 will be the champions.  In this replay, I think we can see what happened, with the overlap of the cars out of pit lane and back onto the track.  Boehm had no place else to go when the two Porsche's pinched him.  He was the cream filling in the middle of the chocolate wafer cookies there.  Boehm and Random Vandals Racing are now on the back foot having to play catch up.  

We have seen drama in other final SRO America races this morning and GT4 America could be the same way.  The pit lane minimum stop time is longer than a lap time here at Indianapolis.  Both Silver contenders pitted and in the Am class there's split strategy.  Uh oh.  Kevin Boehm has damage to the #92 Random Vandals Racing BMW!  There's a right front puncture, or possible suspension damage to that automobile.  Oh man!  The championship has gone up in smoke for Kevin Boehm and Kenton Koch!  Four years in a row, Boehm has come up short in the GT4 championship fight after winning multiple touring car titles in SRO competition here in the states.

2024 will not be his year.  In replay, he tried to turn and the suspension broke in the chicane.  Problems, too for Tyler Gonzalez with smoke emanating from the #68 Smooge Racing Toyota Supra!  Yesterday's winner is also in trouble, and we could see Tyler Gonzalez and Corey Lewis headed for the house early!  Blimey!  Can you believe it?!  Gonzalez scampers into the pits.  Gonzalez has a flat left rear tire, and the left rear suspension looks to be broken.  That Toyota Supra is crabbing as he enters the pit lane.  The Am class battle was split.  Random Vandals pitted.  Rotek Racing stayed out.

Now, Rotek Racing are in the lane as we speak.  No.  This is the sister #098 car.  Myles Rowe has finished his stint and hand the car to Isaac Sherman to take it to the finish this morning.  Gonzalez, all by his lonesome, in the sweeper in turn 12.  He was jolly lucky to not hit anything or be hit by anyone.  Now, this means there will be no weekend sweep for Smooge Racing here at Indianapolis and we will have a new race winner half an hour as this second and final race of the weekend and the championship finale for 2024 in Pirelli GT4 America is half over.  

Boehm has limped to the pit lane.  He and Kenton Koch are out of the race.  Game over.  The pit crew cannot believe this is happenng to them!  One of the cooling hoses for the brakes has been split and there's right front suspension damage as well.  Broken suspension on the Random Vandals BMW.  Kenton Koch understandably speechless.  Their championship effort is over.  They got divebombed and sandwiched between two out of class cars.  He feels terrible for the team at Random Vandals and the whole team has been firing on all cylinders.

Kevin Boehm says that he has to look at the incident and says he saw two cars going for position, one driving well, and the other, driving like he forgot other cars were on track.  Boehm is understandably gutted for the team.  Kevin Boehm's second season in Pirelli GT4 America.  The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  The Am class title is still in the balance.  Robb Holland racing with Michael Kanisczak.  Here are the Am class standings as we have passed the halfway mark and have just over 27 minutes to go.

1. #36 Clay/Postins                    BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 G82
2. #099 Holland/Lander             Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
3. #98 Kanisczak/Wilson           Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82
4. #72 Geraci/Bergstein             Krugspeed Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO
5. #20 Shanny/Walsh                 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 (G82)
6. #16 Garcia/Garcia                 Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4
7. #52 Peterman/Carpentier      NOLASport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport

It is nose to tail between Holland and Kanisczak as the overall leaders now pit with 26 minutes to go.  They had to pit with 25 minutes to go.  Josh Green now handing over to Sam Craven as the sister Random Vandals BMW is right in the thick of this battle with Robb Holland!  Kanisczak drafted in for Paul Sparta and Kanisczak passes Holland, the two touching!  Holland did not want to give it up and some contact!  Hopefully neither car is damaged.  They need to chase down James Clay and/or have Robb Holland fall down the order.  Anthony Geraci is the next car but way down.

Kanisczak needs to put his head down and catch James Clay with 25 minutes of racing remaining.  Time is on his side.  Krainz spun after being hit by Kevin Boehm which caused the suspension damage.  The incident is under investigation and will be fully reviewed after the race is over this morning.  Josh Green out of the #94 car and Sam Craven has taken over as Cayden Goodridge is now at the wheel of the #77 VPX Porsche Cayman taking over from Dylan Dyszelski.  Colin Garrett in the Silver class takes overall position away and needs to clear Goodridge, the Canadian, for the overall lead of the motor race.  Goodridge took the spot.  

Dyszelski started that car.  That is the car Alex Ellis drove at Barber Motorsports Park.  Oh dear!  Goodridge is off the road in turn seven and Colin Garrett passes for class position and for the overall race lead!  Holy smokes!  22 minutes left in the season and the race as Michai Stephens passes Crvaen chasing after Garrett.  Sam Craven not rolling ovefr to have his tummy scratched.  Stephens must make quick work of this car to chase down overall and Silver leader, Colin Garrett.  Kanisczak chasing James Clay in the Am class and they have a single car between them, Hannah Greenmeier at the wheel of the #26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 she is sharing with Hannah Grisham.

If he can overtake Clay, he can win the title for teammate Kris Wilson.  The gap is 2.4 seconds.  Craven and Green.  Will two BMW teams cooperate?  Paul Sparta might be chatting with Charlie Postins trying to negotiate.  This is Indianapolis, a special place and a special race.  James Clay and Charlie Postins have struggled this year unlike in the past few.  The range of emotions at Random Vandals must be absolutely a rollerocaster.  A wide swath of emotions for the whole team.  They had a strong run going in the Indianapolis 8 Hours too but a very impressive performance.

Colin Garrett leads the race overall for AutoTechnic.  Michai Stephens is chasing him down.  Colin Garrett was quicker last time by.  The #98 of Kanisczak is the car we'll be looking at as James Clay is digging deep for the Am class lead and the win in class.  Sam Craven dropping a wheel onto the frontstretch.  He has the Brazilian former IndyCar driver Mattheus Leist right on his six, the #89 RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 Leist is sharing with Michael Auriemma.  Mattheus Leist, a former Freedom 100 winner and a former Indianapolis 500 starter.  He also has experience in an IndyCar on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Cayden Goodridge has now recovered but has fellow Canadian Roman De Angelis right on his decklid.  Porsche vs. Aston Martin.  Craven and Leist together but are on alternate strategies and Leist is reeling in the rookie hand over fist.  Stephens and Garrett are leading the motor race.  RS1 find themselves in position to take home the championship despite finishing off the podium.  Clay and Kanisczak are now just 1.2 seconds apart.  It is head-to-head.  James Walker Jr. in the BimmerWorld sister car ahead.  Walker Jr. is running down the #5 Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4 of Damir Hot, the Canadian.

Kanisczak is coming in a big hurry on veteran James Clay, the two-time and defending Am class champion in the SRO Pirelli GT4 America championship in 2022 and 2023.  Can Robb Holland also catch James Clay?  Mattheus Leist trying to take the second spot away from Sam Craven.  Kris Wilson is pleading with BimmerWorld and their Am entry.  They were just speaking about how the cars are handling.  It is the worst.  Wilson's fate in the hands of Michael Kanisczak who now has a loose LumiRank light panel inside the car.  That is distracting and dangerous.  Poor old Kanisczak will not be able to see.

We did have a GT3 car called to the pit lane in the Indianapolis 8 Hours yesterday for a broken LumiRank system that needed to be repaired.  15 minutes left in the 2024 season.  Michael Kanisczak called up off the bench to help with a run to the title.  Clay and Postins going for a win.  2024 has been a tough deal for them as Kanisczak has a head of steam!  He is inching closer.  No grip to the inside in turn one.  Clay in the middle of the road.  This is a feisty scrap for championship honors.  Sam Craven in the sister #94 Random Vandals BMW goes off the road with a suspected issue but is back underway.

Craven keeps going.  Robb Holland and Jaden Lander could still take the Am class title.  Michael Kanisczak, if he can pass James Clay, Kris Wilson would be the 2024 Am class champion in Pirelli GT4 America.  No yellow.  13 minutes to go with the Am class title in the balance.  Kanisczak with a loose race car, trying to find the performance.  James Clay will not go down without a fight.  Clay passes James Walker Jr. who gives the leaders room.  This is the fight for the Am class win and the championship as well.  

Michai Stephens has caught Colin Garrett for the overall lead.  Stephens teamed up with Jesse Webb.  Mattheus Leist in third and leading the Pro-Am class.  Leist and Auriemma do have wins to their credit in 2024.  They are the Pro-Am class leaders.  Clay has raced in GT4 America for years.  Kanisczak races in the NASA (National Autosports Assocation) ranks and is just breaking into Pirelli GT4 America for the first time.  Kanisczak gives Clay a love tap!  This is getting spicy!  At the end of the straightaway, the battle for the overall lead is on with Michai Stephens all over Colin Garrett!  Stephens was let go by the TechSport Nissan team earlier in the season and got called up by his old team to come back and race for them.

Meanwhile, Michael Kanisczak has passed both BimmerWorld BMW's!  He goes by both Clay and Walker Jr.  Clay runs wide into the chicanes and now, Kris Wilson will motor away.  Robb Holland in the Porsche not in the picture.  In this replay, Clay, deep on the brakes into turn one, opens the door, getting into the ABS and letting Kanisczak by.  Meanwhile, Mattheus Leist is putting the heat on the lead Silver duo of Garrett and Stephens.  Ten minutes to go in the season.  Roman De Angelis is coming in a hurry.  They have a miniscule penalty and Leist has a larger one.  

Stephens will try using Leist to open a gap to get past Garrett.  Off the road goes another AutoTechnic BMW, the #53 BMW M4 GT3 with Tyler Stone at the wheel of it.  Stone sharing that car with Matt Million.  Leist splits the top two in Silver, and he needs to hustle because of the one second penalty time at the end of the motor race.  Kanisczak and Clay continuing hounding each other!  Clay turning it on, keeping the pressure on the NASA National Spec E46 champion, Michael Kanisczak.  The E46 is the model of the BMW M3 that was an extremely successful race car in endurance sports car racing, gosh, over 20 years ago.

Kanisczak tapping the bumper of Clay as Leist is looking for the lead on Garrett.  Garrett in the lead of the motor race with Stephens crawling all over Leist's six.  Leist wants to clear these cars because of the post-race time penalties where he will give up time to Roman De Angelis and of course De Angelis has the miniscule time penalty we talked about.  Leist right on Garrett's back door and Garrett slams it in his face!  Stephens' car is handling better through sector three.  Kanisczak absorbing the pressure from Clay in the Am division, building a wee margin.

In the position he runs, his co-driver Kris Wilson would be the 2024 Am class champion in Pirelli GT4 America.  Leist has the preferred line, the rubbered in, grippier line, to try making his bid on the outside.  Garrett pulls ahead and leaves Leist hung out to dry.  Oh dear!  Contact between Clay and Kanisczak in turn one!  Oh, goodness!  This is the top two in the Am class with positions swapping over again as we speak!  Blimey O'Reilly!  Clay's car is wounded.  He might be a shot duck here.  Kanisczak passes.  Could Holland catch and pass Clay.  That is the tiebreaker and, in a tiebreaker, Holland would win.

Holland is closing in and, in this replay, Clay runs over Kanisczak and spins him out.  If he is penalized for that it will hurt Random Vandals!  They have to ask the SRO officials to not levy a penalty because it would hurt them, opening wounds and rubbing salt into them.  What a fine kettle of fish this has become!  Jeepers creepers!  Five minutes to go in the season.  Jaden Lander looking on and seeing if Robb Holland will win this title.  Lander says his co-driver knows what he is doing, and he has all the trust in his co-driver.  Garrett is playing remarkable defense against Mattheus Leist with time running out.  

The Am class situation has stabilized.  The contact has been noted which does not mean a review.  A penalty might be a moot point.  They didn't change position.  Leist to the outside of Garrett and Leist gets aggressive to pass.  Here comes Michai Stephens!  Side by side and Leist nudges Colin Garrett out of the way opening the door for Michai Stephens to give poor old Garrett a double shot!  Leist through to the lead of the motor race and he has to push because of the penalty.  Poor old Stephens is getting swamped as Roman De Angelis is on full send in the #24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin and makes the move!

De Angelis now has to clear Stephens and if he does, he will have a class win!  We saw this exact situation in the Indianapolis 8 Hours last night.  But, wait.  There's more!  De Angelis drops a wheel, but he's side by side with Garrett and not giving up, flinging the Aston Martin into turn 13!  He runs Garrett wide and that brings Stephens into the picture, an uninvited guest has shown up to the party.  Stephens and Garrett side by side, nose to nose.  De Angelis trying to escape the draft and get away from these shenanigans.  De Angelis thinking, "criminy!  I've gotta get outta here!"  

Stephens has the head of steam!  What is going to happen when they get to the braking zone?  Stephens deep on the brakes for turn one, deeper than Garrett.  Lapped traffic ahead, with GT4 debutant Michael Garcia moving aside, aboard the #16 Skip Barber Racing School Aston Martin.  Michai Stephens has made the pass.  We look at the most positions gained overall during the race with less than two minutes left in the 2024 Pirelli GT4 America championship season.  

Roman De Angelis has moved up 24 places from his original starting place!  From 26th, to second spot.  Mattheus Leist has moved up 16 spots.  Michael Kanisczak up 13 markers.  Colin Harrison up ten places from his initial grid spot and Johann Schwartz up seven.  In all, the two Techsport Nissan Z cars have moved up 17 places.  Leist to the front in Silver.  He must have a one second gap working with a 0.98 second gap.  Side by side again as Garrett moves to the side of Stephens who answers the bell.  One lap to go in the 2024 Pirelli GT4 America season.  White flag next time by.

This motor race has been a barn burner!  In the Am class it remains Michael Kanisczak out in front.  He is nursing the margin to James Clay.  Robb Holland does not have the steam to get to the BMW's.  No action on the incident between #98 and #36.  One lap to go.  Gray Newell trying to get within a second as Garrett and Stephens make contact going into turn one!  They touch, once, no, twice!  Stephens fends off the challenge!  Michai Stephens knows where his rivals are.  He feeds a handful of opposite lock into the Mercedes as Garrett attacks again.  Down Hulman Boulevard and Garrett takes the lead.  Stephens tries the crossover, but no.

These two drivers at the top of their game, going at it hammer and tongs, and there will be just one more opportunity for Stephens to make his move.  Turn 12 will be it before we see the checkers and cross the yard of bricks for the final time.  Kanisczak is the Am class leader which would allow his co-driver Kris Wilson to hold on for the Am class championship.  Leist has a big enough lead gap to cruise to the Silver and overall victory.  There is some lapped traffic up ahead.  Mattheus Leist and Michael Auriemma will cap off their 2024 campaign in Pirelli GT4 America with a victory at "The Brickyard!"  They win the finale!  Race two of Pirelli GT4 America here at Indianapolis!

RENNtech Mercedes wins race two!  Roman De Angelis finishes second.  Colin Garrett and Zac Anderson win the Silver division!  John Capestro-Dubets and Eric Filgueiras for RS1 are Silver class champions!  Where on earth is Michael Kanisczak?  Have we lost him?  Has he spun off the road?  Oh dear!  Michael Kanisczak slowed on the final lap of the race putting James Clay and Charlie Postins in position to win the Am division at Indianapolis!  Robb Holland in second, and Robb Holland and Jaden Lander win the title!  Can you believe it?!  Random Vandals must be distraught!  Absolutely beeside themselves!

Kanisczak lost power out of the final turn!  The engine chugged to a stop!  Have you ever?  No, I've never!  Holland must be floored as well!  Blimey O'Reilly!  Wow!  The championship changed hands with just two corners to go!  Could that be a fuel issue for Random Vandals?  They lost a GT3 victory in that situation in Fanatec GT World Challenge America at Barber Motorsports Park.  Random Vandals denied two titles in both Fanatec GT World Challenge America, and Pirelli GT4 America.  Cue the dance music for the results.

Overall/Pro-Am: #89 Leist/Auriemma        RENNtech Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4
             Silver: #51 Garrett/Anderson          AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82)
             Am: #36 Clay/Postins                     BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 (G82)

Champions:

            Silver: #28 Capestro Dubets/Filgueiras        RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
            
            Pro-Am: #7 Swearingin/van Berlo               ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 
                                                                                  RS Clubsport 
            
            Am: #099 Holland/Lander                            Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS
                                                                                  Clubsport 

Congratulations to our winners, and champions in Pirelli GT4 America, here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and in the 2024 season.  Pirelli GT4 America season 2024 is in the bag.  We'll see you next year, for more racing action, in 2025.  For now, from the fabled yard of bricks in Speedway, Indiana, so long, everybody, and take care.




TC America: Indianapolis, Race 2

It is time now for the season finale of the 2024 SRO TC America touring car championship, here at "The Brickyard", Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  It has come to this.  40 minutes more of racing, before we put a bow on the season.  We are at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, opening in 1909, with the road course opening 91 years later, in 2000.  This is the end of an era as after today's race, the TCA class will be relegated to the history books and there will be a single, merged class for next year in 2025 with TCX and TC spec cars racing together in one format.  Everyone looking to send off this current class structure in style with all three championships decided.  We have Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth, and in pit lane, deputizing for Amanda Busick, is D.J. Clark.

We had a lot of mechanical trouble for the Mini JCW cars in race one on Friday.  Both classes of the Mini's had a myriad of punctures in race one and have made adjustments to compensate.  We have a 14 turn, 2.439-mile layout here at Indianapolis, dominated by the two long straightaways.  Survive the first couple of corners here this morning.  Race one was a thriller in TCX between Celso Neto and Chris Walsh!  That was bananas!  That was probably the best race of the year!  Hopefully they can cut and paste that performance into race two here this morning.  The new Acura Integra really hit it's stride but the BMW M2 CS (Cup) is out of homologation after this race is done today.

Watch the black #23 BMW in this race in the hands of Cameron Steller, who, (pardon the pun) had a "stellar" race debut on Friday.  Stellar is only 16 years old but he showed some great race craft over race one on Friday.  Maybe he can catch the leaders.  In the TC class, Jeff Ricca finally earned his first championship at Barber Motorsports Park and Hyundai, on Friday, swept the podium at Indianapolis with eight wins in 2024 hoping to make it nine.  This is the last race of the year.  The championships were decided in race two at Barber Motorsports Park.  Winning at this spectacular, historic race track, is the goal.

Our mate Ryan Myrehn's dad, Bruce, is looking to have a great performance in the Mini in the TCA class.  He was joking about it being his first professional pit stop.  It is his last guaranteed start of the year, and he could be back in 2025, but we shall see.  Again, Celso Neto is on a hot streak.  P.J. Groenke, the champion in TCA on pole for the signoff of the TCA class.  We are getting set for a start, for one last time in 2024 with the safety car lights off.  The field in the hands of Brazilian Celso Neto, now a Florida native.  

As always, the TCX cars start first followed by the TC and TCA fields.  Celso Neto approaches the VP Acceleration Zone.  Green flag!  Away we go!  Celso Neto assumes the lead and we see a three-wide battle for second, third, and fourth place.  Cooper Broll on the outside, with Cameron Steller on the inside.  TCX champion for 2024, Chris Walsh, the meat in the sandwich.  The TC class gets a start now and we see a TCA battle between Bruce Myrehn, Alain Lauziere, and Alex Garcia.  Meanwhile, Cristian Perocarpi had a very short race one on Friday with mechanical woes.

He is already making up places hand over fist making a bold move on the Hyundai of Ron Zaras.  The Mini's have pace and Perocarpi wants a win at his home track living just west of Indianapolis.  Side by side, Scott Thomson under pressure from Vin Anatra.  Mini vs. Hyundai.  Thomson doing double duty having raced in Mustang Challenge in the one make championship sanctioned by IMSA.  Chris Walsh recovering after Celso Neto got around him at the beginning of the race as Cameron Steller begins moving forward.

Steller is driving the #23 BMW M2 CS (Cup) for Fast Track Racing and Eagle's Canyon.  Other drivers to keep an eye on will be contenders such as Cooper Broll and Aaron Kaplan.  Broll aboard the #19 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra, teammate to Celso Neto, and Aaron Kaplan aboard the #18 Kaplan Racing Systems BMW M2.  The tires are taking a wee while to come up to temperature.  Neto needs to manage his tires although he is comfortable at the top of the shop currently.  Cristian Perocarpi wants third and snags it away from Connor Attrell in turn 12 which has subtlety with the camber of the road as he is now racing after Sally McNulty.  McNulty in the #780 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC for Ricca Autosport.  

Here comes Cristian Perocarpi with a tuned up Mini.  Hyundai vs. Mini, down the straightaway at Hulman Boulevard, but Perocarpi and McNulty come together and McNulty spins off the road and onto the grass!  McNulty slides into the tire barriers!  Oh dear!  What a setback for McNulty.  She really had a good run going this morning.  Perocarpi couldn't avoid clattering into her.  Connor Attrell has made the pass after that fracas.  That is very tough for the stewards insofar as incident responsibility as we see damage to the Mini of Perocarpi on the right front corner.

He has a tire rub, with telltale smoke.  Perocarpi not afraid to be aggressive.  The incident is under review by the stewards.  Jeff Ricca leads in class by five seconds over the battle we are watching between Attrell, Perocarpi, and Ron Zaras.  Vin Anatra and Ron Zaras are also business partners in a motorsports related venture.  At the front, Neto is comfortable with Walsh giving chase.  At LAP Motorsports and Mini JCW, the bodywork is rubbing but no suspension concerns.  The trouble will be in the radiator.  Perocarpi is losing pace.  He might be in more trouble than we thought.  No fluid leaking but his performance level is dropping.

Hyundai 1-2-3 in class.  Hyundai of course have announced an LMDh program under the Genesis brand in a couple of years.  Hyundai has been in TCR, TCA, and TC.  They have done it quietly and understanding the marketing value of motor racing.  Jeff Ricca has been building touring cars on behalf of Hyundai in the U.S. and has raced all over the world going to Korea to race in domestic series.  Perocarpi has had a penalty issued for his coming together with Sally McNulty.  He is losing pace.  The penalty is easier to digest, and he will serve it, dropping him well down the order.

Celso Neto is building his lead in TCX and has Cameron Steller in third and within striking distance of the champion, Chris Walsh.  Walsh has driven very well all season.  Celso Neto has upped the game in the second half of the year.  Walsh on the defensive against Steller who is feeling it right now.  Well, well, well.  Neto might be able to push the bye bye button if these two chaps are embroiled in their fight, Steller and Walsh, working their way past the TCA Mini of Andy Sellers.  Sellers aboard the #65 car, 19th and last in the order.

Hit your marks and don't do shallow entries in the corner because that will ruin your lap time.  Walsh and Steller separated by just a hundredth of a second.  Everyone is sensibly dropping their pace having set it well.  Cooper Broll is two seconds down on this battle but is hanging tough and could reel in the two BMW's ahead, Walsh and Steller.  Aaron Kaplan has been outshone by Cooper Broll throughout this weekend.  P.J. Groenke, the TCA champion elect is leading the class after winning the 2017 TCB championship.

We don't know what P.J.'s future will be.  He wants to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  He leads Alex Garcia in the Skip Barber Racing Honda #14, by 5.6 seconds.  Groenke has not yet won at Indianapolis and wants to win at "The Brickyard".  Alex Garcia will run three races in succession.  We will see him in Pirelli GT4 America with his brother Michael Garcia in a Skip Barber Racing Aston Martin GT4 and then he will race in the final event, the Toyota GR Cup series second race.  Alain Lauziere, the veteran of Canadian Touring Cars, is behind.  

Garcia points Celso Neto by with the turn signal which shows how production-based these cars are.  Well known drivers now in GT competition in several areas have come through the touring car ranks in SRO such as Michael Cooper, Samantha Tan, and many others.  Squeeze the performance out of these cars, roll speed through the corners.  Get the lap time out of the car efficiently.  Soon we will be halfway home in the final race of 2024.  A puff of smoke from the right front of Chris Walsh's car.  Cameron Steller keeping the pace well.  

Ricca is firmly in control of the TC class.  We have an update on Chris Walsh and Carrus Callas Raceteam are a tad worried, but they believe the Acura will fade and they are saving their stuff before they go for it to get to the front in the second half of the race this morning.  Meanwhile, ye olde plot doth thicken between the Mini's!  Bruce Myrehn passes Alain Lauziere.  Ryan's dad moves to third spot.  OK.  Myrehn has the final podium place.  Lauziere tries the inside again.  Side by side for the teammates and late, but perfect.  Myrehn's Mini, dancing, as he leaves the braking to the last moment.  Lauziere closing in.  

Jeff Ricca clears these two.  Over the curbs nicely through turn ten.  Get the power down, free the car up, don't run wide.  Alain Lauziere, a savvy veteran, racing Mini's in Canada, and the United States, both.  Just over 16 minutes to go in the season.  Bruce Myrehn is being consistent not making any mistakes.  Another braking duel into turn seven with Lauziere passing again scrapping with Bruce Myrehn.  A great battle for the final step on the podium.  Myrehn's alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, has their engineering school and their Formula SAE car here at Indianapolis this weekend.  Bruce Myrehn using the draft making a later inside move than Lauziere.

There isn't anything to choose between the two Mini's.  He has done multiple ten-hour club level endurance races at the speedway and it is his third year racing at Indianapolis.  There is an art to letting faster cars come through without losing lap time.  Cristian Perocarpi lets the team cars play through and now, Lauziere is making his move but now, Bruce Myrehn is pressing Alain Lauziere, and the battle remains door to door into turn one again.  Deepp on the brakes.  This is fabulous racing!  Don't get out in the gray.  he has the inside in turn five.  

Lauziere through the shortcut and now Ron Zaras tries stealing a spot.  This is for third and fourth in the TCA class.  Drivers puhsing with all they have in the final 12 minutes of the race with the tires going away.  Bruce Myrehn is being helped by longtime friend and mentor Dan Fargo when Bruce and Ryan went Spec Miata racing a decade ago.  Lauziere moves past Bruce Myrehn.  He has more speed compared to Bruce at this moment but there is not uch to choose between them.  Celso Neto leads Chris Walsh and a big slide!  Who woll take the shortcut?  I think Lauziere tries it.  

The battle continues.  Ten and a half minutes remaining in the 2024 season.  Traffic ahead.  Neto remains in the overall lead.  Slide job for Lauziere, drifting!  The key to get out of it in a front wheel drive car is mashing the gas pedal.  This is so much fun!  For the drivers, and for us watching.  These cars have traditional 5 speed, H pattern gearboxes and the Mini team is working with the drivers on short shifting.  This is the best battle on the road.  Alain Lauziere goes wide.  Nepotism has nothing to do with why we are watching this scrap.

Cristian Perocarpi in the pit lane with the team removing the right front wheel.  Oh dear.  Celso Neto drops a wheel.  We saw Laurin Heinrich almost lose it in the 8 Hour yesterday in the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche.  Jeff Ricca, meanwhile, is dominating the TC class.  Ricca looking for win number nine in 2024.  The curb goes away when you aren't done with the braking zone.  You turn in right at the end and load up the right rear in the dust.  That's the trouble.  Ricca has caught Chris DeFreitas in one of the Acura Integra's.  He is a doctor in Miami, Florida, and a racing driver.  He stumbled into this later in life but loves it.

He is driving with the Racer's Edge Acura team, the same team that races the NSX GT3 in Fanatec GT World Challenge America.  Four holes of the Brickyard Crossing golf course are within the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  When Roger Penske bought the speedway, he took the grounds crew from the golf course and asked them to also look at the grass around the speedway.  Now. Walsh is still scrapping with Steller!  They pass both Bruce Myrehn and Alex Garcia as Jeff Ricca is in the pit lane after leading in the TC class!  Oh my!  Only five minutes remaining in the race!  Connor Attrell, the Canadian, who like Lauziere, has experience in the Canadian Touring Car Championship, leads at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The bonnet goes up on Ricca's car!  This has to be frustrating.  This is the chassis that caught fire at Barber and the underside of the bonnet is still singed.  The car had something pop off of it underneath.  It is Jeff Ricca's birthday, and this is not what he wanted as a "gift".  We could still see a Hyundai 1-2-3 sweep of the podium.  Ron Zaras and Vin Anatra have released a lifestyle brand based on driving.  Drivers' Era.  Check it out.  P.J. Groenke is now a champion with all his sponsors and he is a great personality, too.  He is full of joy and loves racing.  He makes a little go a long way.

White flag next time by for Celso Neto who has had a quiet race this Sunday compared to the door-to-door scrapping with Chris Walsh on Friday.  White flag for the Brazilian.  One lap to go.  He will sweep at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!  What will Celso Neto do in the future?  He graduated to TCX this year.  The Acura now is within the window of the BMW and that was hairy!  Neto almost clattered into P.J. Groenke!  Both have dodged a major bullet!  Through the final turns, Celso Neto wins race two and sweeps the weekend at Indianapolis!  Two for two at "The Brickyard"!  P.J. Groenke wins Indianapolis!  Connor Attrell is going to win in the TC class!

Overall/TCX: #22 Celso Neto            Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S

              TC: #75 Connor Attrell         Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC

              TCA: #62 P.J. Groenke         Mini JCW Team Mini JCW

P.J. Groenke wins a second title!  He wins the final TCA class race ever and has won at every track on the schedule!  Congratulations!  Connor Attrell wins his first race in TC competition.  Cue the dance music for the results.  Celso Neto wins in TCX and overall, by four seconds.  Let the celebration begin for Celso Neto!  P.J. Groenke is so happy!  He is absolutely elated!  Be careful!  He says "I love Indy!  Thank you!  We're number one!  I can't wait to kiss the bricks!"  Celso Neto too, is very happy with his win on a super dirty track after the eight-hour enduro for the GT3 cars yesterday.  He is thankful to his team, his sponsors and more.

He is excited for the future.  For Connor Attrell, representing his team and Hyundai, and a podium lockout, winning at Indianapolis with Ricca Autosport!  Another great victory for Connor Attrell!  P.J. Groenke is so happy!  It doesn't et any better than this, winning at Indy for the season.  He is incredibly thankful for his sponsors, SRO TC America, and he is the final TCA champion!  Congratulations, P.J. Groenke!  Well done!  What a season it was for SRO TC America.  Excited for 2025!  We'll see you then.  Enjoy the offseason everyone.  Bye bye.



Rothberg Wins Season Finale; O'Connell Claims Championship

Johnny O'Connell claims GT America title with second place finish in Race 2...

https://sportscar365.com/sro/gt-america/rothberg-wins-season-finale-oconnell-claims-championship/

GT America: Indianapolis, Race 2

Well, well.  A good Sunday morning to everyone as we once again prepare to worship upon the altar of speed, at "the cathedral", Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in Speedway, Indiana.  Here we are for day two of the action, after a thriller of an Indianapolis 8 Hour, last night!  We saw a wild and fantastic GT America race one from Indianapolis on Friday.  Now, it is time for the finale.  For one final time in 2024, it is time to go racing in GT America powered by AWS.  We say hello and good morning, once again, to our pals Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth, and Amanda Busick in the pit lane, ready to tell the story of the finale of the SRO GT America season.  

We have a fabulous grid of GT3, GT2, and GT4 cars.  Now, remember something before we get started.  The GT4 title was signed, sealed, and delivered, by Isaac Sherman a while ago, when he wrapped up the whole deal and locked it up in his pocket at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, in September.  Any one of three drivers can claim the SRO3 title.  Justin Rothberg is the pole man for today's race.  He has the longest shot of the three title contenders who are going for that championship trophy today.  Jason Daskalos in third and Johnny O'Connell in sixth are his rivals who want to snatch the title opportunity away from Rothberg.  It is going to be another exciting episode of the Jason, Justin, and Johnny Show today, ladies and gentlemen.  

Bear with us.  We are going to be setting the calculator and the computer keyboard on fire here in the next 40 minutes.  OK.  Johnny O'Connell failed to score fastest lap in race one on Friday, but he did score a big points swing to Jason Daskalos, and he sits merely six points behind the Mercedes driver.  Now, typically, in one of these races, the Audi R8 LMS GT3.  These are short, sharp races.  O'Connell knows he must finish ahead of Jason Daskalos.  For Daskalos, trying to earn a title in this series has been a Sisyphean task, rolling the boulder up the hill only for that darn boulder to roll right back down.  He has been so close before but this could be the breakthrough year.  

Of course we have this fabled venue, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it is such a special place, opening in 1909 with the road course debuting for Formula 1 in 2000.  It is a calm, warm morning, as the GT3 and GT4 cars' engines come to life.  Justin Rothberg just has to run his own race, according to his father.  Rothberg said, "I know what I am doing", echoing the famed quote during a race said by the Formula 1 legend, Kimi Raikkonen.  Rothberg was elated to be a champion in Fanatec GT World Challenge America in his class.  Now he has to refocus and get back into another race.

The first order of business for everyone, on this chilly morning at Indianapolis, is to get temperature into the Pirelli tires because GT America does not use tire warmers.  Before we get started, let's have a brief Captain Cook at the points table scenario among the contenders.

1. #27 Jason Daskalos    CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo       247 points
2. #3 Johnny O'Connell SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3             241 points    -6
3. #29 Justin Rothberg   Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3            233 points    -14

All three of these drivers have a mathematical shot at the title.  We are going to be looking at the running positions of these three drivers.  O'Connell starting deep in the field might be good news for Daskalos, but O'Connell is going to fight.  Typically, he is a very clean driver.  This is the final race of the current guise of GT America as we will see the championship undergo changes for the future starting next year in 2025.  C.J. Moses in his Audi is the lone GT2 car in the field today.  Dan Knox in his Mercedes-AMG GT2 is sitting out the finale after racing in race number one of the weekend on Friday.  

Isaac Sherman has the pole in the GT4 class aboard the #098 Porsche Cayman.  He is the champion elect and won on Friday, looking to break out the broom and sweep.  We do hope to see Tim Savage start this motor race switching over from SRO3 (GT3) to GT4 with a GT4 spec Aston Martin Vantage.  He may or may not be in this race.  We'll keep you updated here before the start.  There was a fire with their primary GT3 car.  Now, we have word, and a note from one of the other teams.  Alan Teo may not be starting this final race of the year either.  We are told that the #085 Orlando Motorsports Services McLaren Artura GT4 may be going through gearbox issues.

I don't think he started the Friday race either.  Safety Car lights off.  The field is going to come into alignment shortly and we'll get the finale underway.  Justin Rothberg trying to go two for two, He has the Pro-Am title in GT World Challenge America courtesy of his result with Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher in the Indianapolis 8 Hours last night.  If he is going to win in GT America, he is going to need luck to be on his side for the next 40 minutes.  It is not out of the realm of possibility.

Here comes the field into the VP acceleration zone, BMW and Porsche on the front row.  Justin Rothberg and Kyle Washington.  Green flag!  For the last time in 2024 in GT America, let's go!  Rothberg makes a great getaway and down the frontstretch headed for turn one there's a little contact between Washington and Daskalos already!  Man, oh man!  Washington in front but here comes Johnny O'Connell, on the charge!  He is poking his nose into this fight as we speak!  Blimey!  It's all action right from the start!  Again, fellas, the championship is at stake.  Elbows out early doors!  Wow!  O'Connell zooms into second place!

Oh no!  Jason Daskalos has spun and collected the Audi #14 of James Sofronas!  Ahhhh!  No way!  Boom!  Daskalos, buried in the tires!  Oh!  That was cold tires, a classic case of cold tires!  Here comes the GT4 field ready for a start.  We'll have to collect ourselves after all this shemozzle.  Hang on a second.  Green flag for the GT4 field.  Oy yoy yoy yoy!  There will be waved local yellows in turn one with Daskalos all crossed up down there.  Sherman gets the jump and Damir Hot and Gray Newell are already fighting for second.  Newell aggressive under braking into the first corner.  You know he wants it.  

Thank heavens, Gray Newell saw the yellow and so did everyone else.  No further shemozzle, look.  Daskalos is moving again, but how much damage was done to that Mercedes?  Let's have a Captain Cook.  Eagle eyed viewers out there at the track or on the stream, what do you see?  Daskalos is on the back foot, and this might put Johnny O'Connell in the pound seats to score a championship.  O'Connell second on the road, might be home and hosed in terms of the title, because Rothberg, even with his early lead, won't have enough points to leapfrog or battle him.  Second place will be enough.

O'Connell leads Rothberg by eight points.  Now, we seem to have another slow GT4 car someplace on track.  Never mind.  That was a distraction.  Daskalos is carving his way through the field and the Mercedes is up to speed again.  If you are Nick Short and CRP Racing, you are telling Daskalos just two words.  Focus forward.  Again, here's the points.

1. #3 Johnny O'Connell        SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3        259 points
2. #29 Justin Rothberg          Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3       258 points    -1
3. #27 Jason Daskalos          CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3         251 points    -8

That is how close it is at the top.  A single point separating Johnny O'Connell from Justin Rothberg.  Daskalos is way down the order, and he will have to fight through the GT4 field.  O'Connell does not have to fight Rothberg for the win.  But what he cannot do is begin falling into the clutches of and fighting with either Kyle Washington in the Porsche or Mirco Schultis in the Callaway Corvette.  Washington goes deep into turn one, Sofronas rolls speed, Washington in the gray., and Sofronas clatters into Daskalos.  Very uncharacteristic for Sofronas to get into that kind of argy bargy.  He has been a champion himself, many times, and has been racing in what is now SRO racing, since the days of it being called World Challenge, for 30 years.

Drive through penalty for Sofronas, incident responsibility.  No surprise there.  Nick Short, checking the damage, he believes the car is OK, but Jason is extremely upset.  He will be channeling his anger into a massive drive, going forward.  I think he's seeing red because he's seeing the championship slip away from him.  This is one way to make a racing driver mad.  Nick Short, CRP Racing team owner looking on with a bewildered expression on his face, probably thinking, "what on earth has just happened to us?!"  

Daskalos on the charge, clearing his way through the GT4 field as we speak.  Mirco Schultis is definitely a possible fly in the ointment for Johnny O'Connell as we speak.  The German Corvette ace who is a big General Motors and Chevrolet fan, is reeling in O'Connell in the Audi hand over fist.  O'Connell has rocketed from the third row on the grid up to second, affirmatively answering the bell right from the beginning.  Hard to believe a veteran racer like James Sofronas would make a big mistake like that.  Daskalos is back in the fight having cleared away from the GT4 field.  He is working past C.J. Moses' GT2 class Audi.  Daskalos must finish ahead of O'Connell and is still 47 seconds behind.

Schultis is booking it and has a head of steam on Johnny O'Connell as Daskalos' lap times are not as fast as those of the leaders.  He continues to push.  One safety car intervention could turn this motor race on it's head.  If O'Connell loses second place to Mirco Schultis, that would automatically put Rothberg in the catbird seat to become the champion and it would be a three-point swing.  He has to hang tough, O'Connell does.  He has to beat Rothberg to be the winner.  Daskalos needs a break with a Full Course Yellow should there be one in the next 33 minutes.  O'Connell spent years as a GM factory driver racing a Corvette.  How ironic.

That is because of Schultis driving a Corvette.  SKI Autosport crunching the numbers.  Sofronas is in the lane serving his drive through penalty promoting Dsskalos up another place but not enough to change the points scenario.  Sofronas will be kicking himself.  Big consequences for the title as Daskalos gains merely a single spot.  The leaders have caught the tail of the GT4 field passing by Alan Grossberg in the #102 McLaren Artura GT4 from TPC Racing.  1:26 flat for Daskalos compared to lower 1:26 times for the rest of the lead pack.  

The plot thickens in the championship fight with six points now separating the top three.

1. #3 Johnny O'Connell        SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS                259 points
2. #29 Justin Rothberg          Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3       258 points    -1
3. #27 Jason Daskalos          CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3         253 points    -6

This would still be O'Connell's title as they run if he hangs in behind Rothberg.  Rothberg started from pole and is controlling this race.  If Rothberg stays the leader and wins the race this morning, that means, in order to secure the crown, Jason Daskalos must finish fourth at the very least.  The gap between Kyle Washington in the Porsche and Jason Daskalos in the Mercedes, is what we need to study with ten minutes of racing gone.  The points calculations take into account that Daskalos must finish at least fourth, and that the #46 car of Scott Dollahite is invisible for points.  Dollahite at the wheel of the #46 Dollahite Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3.  

Daskalos must pass Dollahite, but the Audi driver is inconsequential because he is making his debut.  Isaac Sherman is the champion elect in GT4.  This is a joyride for him in GT America and we will see him racing later this morning in the Pirelli GT4 America finale as well.  Sherman is 7/10ths of a second clear of Gray Newell in the #25 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 where he has been a solid fixture on the podium week in and week out.  He has been racing two different cars with the older car in this GT America spec older GT4 Aston, and the newer Evo version of the GT4 Aston Martin in Pirelli GT4 America.

Heart of Racing has spoken a lot about the plan to move Gray Newell up from GT4 into the GT3 ranks on a more regular basis in the very near future.  2025 will be the year that Newell might just do that and maybe get his potential unlocked.  The GT2 cars have far less downforce than a GT3 car but they are rocket ships in a straight line and C.J. Moses is using that to his advantage being the sole GT2 car in today's final race of the year.  Great to see him back after running a partial schedule due to his work commitments but is passionate about his racing.  Meanwhile, pushing hard, Daskalos uncorks a new fastest lap at 1:25.763.

This is comparing to the leaders who are running in the low 1:26 range insofar as lap time.  O'Connell just ran a 1:26.9.  As fast as Daskalos is, he remains 40 seconds in-arrears of Kyle Washington, and I don't think he will be able to make up the deficit.  27 minutes of racing in the season for 2024 left on the board.  Approaching the halfway mark in the race, soon.  Daskalos might be told to save his tires, so he has something to fight with if there is a yellow.  Lapped traffic in the way, and that was an extremely close shave for Johnny O'Connell who nearly clatters into the side of the #05 Nissan Z NISMO GT4 for Flying Lizard Motorsports in the hands of Canadian Damir Hot!

Hot had no idea the leaders were even there!  Johnny O'Connell's championship flashed before his eyes in that truly scary moment!  That could have been ugly!  Daskalos will keep charging.  Forget saving the tires.  Washington, too, has to keep the pace up because the Porsche man is losing time.  Jason Bell is in fifth place aboard the #2 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo.  Daskalos must finish fifth to stop Rothberg, but O'Connell is still ahead.  We might have some math to work out here, but we'll see about that.  

P4 is what Daskalos needs and Washington will be his target.  O'Connell beginning to push as he has dropped Mirco Schultis and has run down Rothberg.  The Audi is coming into its own with 25 minutes to go in the 2024 season.  GMG apologizes to Turner Motorsports.  Good move.  Good sportsmanship. A veteran like Sofronas does not make those mistakes often.  Daskalos needs to be gaining at minimum, two seconds a lap, on Washington.  Right now, he is not gaining enough time.  He is gaining a second and a bit.  He needs more.  CRP Racing looking for a safety car.  Does Daskalos have enough raw pace?  He has to pass C.J. Moses in the GT2 Audi and then to get to Kyle Washington in fourth spot.  

The hits that Daskalos took earlier to the tail and into the wall with the nose, have not affected the race car.  But the frustration is there, because he was dealing with understeer in Free Practice and the car was not looking happy in race one on Friday as Daskalos passes C.J. Moses.  This season began back in April in Sonoma, California.  It has been incredibly fun to watch GT America just as much as anything within the SRO America umbrella.  At the halfway mark, O'Connell can still steal a title away but the race isn't over yet.  We've got half of it remaining.  Stay tuned.

Justin Rothberg ran a handful of years in Ferrari Challenge and then jumped right into the deep end of the pool in GT3 racing and won the Fanatec GT Pro-Am title last night alongside Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher stealing the title from ST Racing.  Lots of rubber down on the road after the Indianapolis 8 Hours yesterday.  Lots of downforce, cool morning conditions and so on.  Daskalos has his head down uncorking personal best laps.  Lots of traffic for Daskalos to contend with passing by Nick Shanny in the #21 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M4 GT4 (G82) in 13th overall, five seconds down on Damir Hot in the #05 Flying Lizard Motorsports Nissan Z NISMO GT4.

Who will avoid the pitfalls?  Kyle Washington remains in fourth place.  It is a race against time for Jason Daskalos.  How much do other drivers like Jason Bell and Scott Dollahite fight?  How much will that hold up Jason Daskalos?  We have now reached halfway and gone past it.  18 minutes remaining in the race, 18 minutes remaining in the season for SRO GT America 2024.  Daskalos' target remains Kyle Washington in the Porsche.  He could take the title back on countback after tying Johnny O'Connell but will have the tiebreaker for most wins in the season compared to O'Connell.

Daskalos has caught Dollahite and breezes past Damir Hot.  He has been held up by traffic, not helping his cause.  Hot had a solid weekend in race one on Friday in GT4.  Daskalos is chasing Scott Dollahite who has his eyes on a full season effort for next year.  The Audi R8 that Dollahite is driving was found in New Braunfels, Texas.  It did some racing in Europe and then was purchased by a movie company for the "Gran Turismo" movies.  Now it was found and reworked back into a race car.  It will be a great platform for Scott Dollahite to get back into racing.  He is a good driver.  He lets Daskalos go, wisely.  Unfortunately, Daskalos is not moving up the way he wants to yet.

Johnny O'Connell has now dropped behind Rothberg by 2.2 seconds.  15 minutes to go.  Both Jason Daskalos and Johnny O'Connell are pitted right next to each other.  O'Connell is happy with the car and the lap times.  They do not want a Full Course Yellow, but it would be life giving succor for Jason Daskalos and CRP Racing.  If Daskalos gets to fourth, he will win the title on a tiebreaker.  There isn't enough time on the board if Washington maintains his pace, that Daskalos can win.  The math isn't checking out for Jason Daskalos with ten laps to go.  Washington has had great pace and he started on the outside of the front row of today's race.  

SKI Autosport has run older spec GT3 cars with drivers such as Johnny O'Connell and Andy Pilgrim, but they have updated to the Evo spec Audi, and everything has gone very well with O'Connell's experience.  They've turned that car around for getting the energy into the tires.   He could not turn on the tires last time out at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.  But this weekend at Indianapolis, kudos to SKI Autosport and their engineering team led by Rosella Manfrenado and company to get the handling into it's sweet spot.  Especially impressive in the cool temperatures this morning in the low 60s.

O'Connell, a multiple Pirelli World Challenge champion looking for yet another title.  Justin Rothberg has driven extremely well, and he knew he had to go out and sweep the weekend.  He is ultimately going to come up short but he has a bright future ahead.   James Sofronas' retirement from the race, he is completely beside himself about making a mistake.  The emotion must be absolutely overwhelming.  Ten minutes to go.  You never want to ruin someone else's championship hopes.  I cannot afford to get into someone else's way.  Races are rarely lost at turn one lap one, and championships even more rarely so.  

It is more than the contact for Daskalos, O'Connell started sixth and had to get up to at least second to have a shot at it.  Daskalos is 40 seconds down on Kyle Washington.  He is only a few tenths ahead of Washington and with just eight minutes on the board, a safety car will chew away too much time and Jason Bell is really going for it as well readying for 2025.  Daskalos will be two positions shy to sneak it in the tiebreaker situation.  Jason Bell is a multiple GT4 championship winner in SRO America and elected to step up to SRO3 in 2024.  It has been a learning year but he will be armed with experience for next year and he has great people in his camp to assist him.  What will 2025 bring to him?  He mastered his craft in GT4 and is now a GT3 driver.

He and his wife Danielle had a new baby girl on September 16th, named Louisa.  Jason Daskalos had the best lap of the race before the troubles began.  Here's the list of overall best laps.

1. #27 Jason Daskalos    CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3                            1:25.583
2. #14 James Sofronas    GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3                             1:25.843
3. #29 Justin Rothberg    Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3                         1:25.896
4. #70 Mirco Schultis      MISHUMOTORS Callaway Corvette Z06 GT3.R  1:26.203
5. #3 Johnny O'Connell   SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3                         1:26.324

Daskalos could have won the race and the title but through no fault of his own he is mired in sixth and will be no higher than third in the points.  Rothberg can win the race but will not have a shot at the title, one point shy of O'Connell who provisionally would be the champion with six minutes of racing left in this race and the 2024 season.  Isaac Sherman has run away and hid in the GT4 class with a massive lead over Gray Newell.  Isaac Sherman is ten seconds ahead.  

It is a great mix of young talent like Justin Rothberg, and veterans like Memo Gidley and Johnny O'Connell closer to the end of their careers.  Kyle Washington has the hammer down closing in on Daskalos going for the podium, gaining on Mirco Schultis.  Washington goes in deep and into the ABS, the antilock brakes.  Oh boy.  He can sense the podium right in front of him with three minutes and change to go.  Washington has shaved off the rough edges and has done very well.  James Sofronas in conversation with Nick Short, Jason Daskalos' car owner.

It is the proper thing to do.  Sofronas, a sportsman, explaining and apologizing for what went on.  Rothberg leads over O'Connell by 6.3 seconds as C.J. Moses will win GT2 unopposed with the only GT2 spec car in the field today, his #58 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2.  The GT2 cars are speedy down the straight but they have nowhere near the downforce of a GT3 entry.  James Sofronas tells us, "I am absolutely mortified.  I have been racing for 30+ years and I've only turned one car around like that in 400 races.  So, I came over to the pits for Daskalos and apologized profusely.  That's not how I drive.  He knows that."

"I don't know what happened, because the contact was so hard, that either something happened with my car, or maybe he was checking up where I didn't expect him to.  But I'm mortified.  I'm beside myself upset.  Jason is a friend and a fellow racer.  I would hate to cost the championship.  Jason deserves the championship.  For it to end like this, this will hurt me but not as much as it will hurt him.  I don't drive like that.  I don't teach my son to drive like that.  I don't preach it at all with my clients.  I'm really upset because it shouldn't happen that way, and Jason deserves better."  Those are his words of frustration and disappointment.

One lap to go.  White flag.  SKI Autosport and Johnny O'Connell have earned this, with only two finishes outside the top three, and by a single point, O'Connell and SKI Autosport will win the SRO3 championship.  Justin Rothberg will be a Pro-Am champion in GT World Challenge America.  Two poles, and two race wins for Justin Rothberg, but he comes up short, and now, Johnny O'Connell, a four-time World Challenge champion, and by one point is now the 2024 GT America champion!"  Ken and Melissa Hussey, owners of SKI Autosport, will be ecstatic!  CRP, Jason Daskalos, rallied around their crew chief, Sheldon Miller, dealing with cancer, he will settle for sixth today and third in the final standings.  GT4 champion, Isaac Sherman!  He wraps it up with another win, here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

What an emotional race this has been.  Justin Rothberg and Isaac Sherman, stars of the future.  O'Connell and Sherman, two champions, as we cue the dance music for the results for a final time for GT America in 2024.

Overall/SRO3: #29 Justin Rothberg        Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3
             GT2: #58 C.J. Moses                  GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2
             GT4: #098 Isaac Sherman          Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport

Mirco Schultis is third.  Johnny O'Connell and Isaac Sherman are champions in SRO3 and GT4 in 2024!  It would be wonderful to see Isaac Sherman get a chance to race a GT3 car.  He is testing the waters in GT4 America with Myles Rowe, and we'll see the two of them race in the finale in a wee while.  Justin Rothberg did everything he could.  A championship, a pair of wins, and a second place points finish.  Only four points separating the top three.  O'Connell, Rothberg, Daskalos, 259-258-255.
Rothberg says he has learned a ton from a veteran like Johnny O'Connell, who calls him "the kid".

Isaac Sherman tells us that this season means everything and a better team with Rotek Racing and Porsche.  A dream season.  C.J. Moses gets congratulated and has won in GT2!  No better place than Indianapolis to enjoy the car.  A great season for him.  Congratulations!  O'Connell says SKI Autosports is a show up and race team and the driver is just the quarterback like on a football team.  Great work by everyone.  At age 62, O'Connell still has the fire in the belly to keep racing.  He has won countless races and championships in his career.

We thank you so much, for being with us, all year, to witness and to read about these SRO GT America races and we'll see you for more action in 2025.  For now, goodbye from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, also known as "The Brickyard," as Justin Rothberg sweeps the weekend but Johnny O'Connell and Isaac Sherman are the champions.  So long, for 2024.  See you in 2025.  Goodbye for now.