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.
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.
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