Dramatic Opening for GRIDLIFE Touring Cup Season at Circuit of the Americas
Austin, TX - GRIDLIFE Touring Cup (GLTC) at Circuit of the Americas, in conjunction with Super Lap Battle, opened the 2023 racing season with a bang. The 32-car field returned to the home of the United States Grand Prix for the fourth time, with a revised ruleset and a handful of new competitors joining the field. Hayley Myers, Lawson Crain, Cory Mitchell, and Andy Funston were amongst the newcomers at the season opening event. All three of the previous season champions, Eric Kutil, Jeremy Swenson, and Tom O’Gorman returned to GLTC at the 3.5 mile, 20 turn circuit, with over two dozen other drivers returning for the series’ fifth season of competition.
The qualifying session on Saturday set the grid for the first of four races, but with a new rule change that hides timing and scoring during the session, the actual order was unknown to both drivers and spectators. Anticipation grew until results were posted, showing Luke McGrew fastest with a 2:29.383, just two tenths of a second ahead of Paul Curley and Jeremy Swenson. New-to-GLTC driver Lawson Crain impressed with a sixth-place qualifying run in his #137 BMW M3.
The start of the first race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon was a frantic four-wide scramble up the steep incline to turn one. Luke McGrew, carrying rewards weight from qualifying, slipped rearward and came out of the corner fourth, with Paul Curley and Jeremy Swenson leading into the esses. As the field funneled down into the high speed sweeping corners, Jackson Jensen locked the brakes of his #527 Corvette avoiding a check-up; Jensen subsequently spun into the gravel trap. While he worked to dislodge his car from the gravel, the safety car was dispatched with a full course yellow. However, Jensen was able to get back rolling and the race restarted at the beginning of lap 3.
When the green flag waved again, James Houghton pounced on Jeremy Swenson in second, but was unable to complete the pass. Behind, Luke McGrew and Eric Kutil, in his #82 HybridRacing EG Civic, battled door to door through the esses lap after lap. The scrap between the two drivers continued on throughout the race through the tight stadium section at turns 12 through 15. Lena Chin, in her first return to GLTC since Atlanta Motorsports Park last year (this time in an ASM-built Honda S2000), traded spots with Mike McGinnis in his #777 Subaru Impreza and Michael Hillo in his #224 Nissan 350Z on the final lap.
Jeremy Swenson trailed Paul Curley into the hairpin at turn 11, but performed the classic “over-under” on corner exit and beat him to turn 12. Swenson was able to hang on and claim his first victory of the season in his renumbered #3 Corvette. Paul Curley, James Houghton, Luke McGrew, and Eric Kutil rounded out the top five.
Luke McGrew lines up in the starting boxes for the once-a-year tradition of a Formula One style standing start for GLTC race 2 at the home of the United States Grand Prix.
Saturday morning brought sunrise and race two, with GLTC’s once-annual standing start. Swenson, Curley, and Kutil led the way through the first half-lap off the start. James Houghton and the Unit2 Acura TSX drove up alongside Kutil’s #82 on the front straight on lap 2, then tried to get by Paul Curley in the stadium section but was unable to complete the pass. Luke McGrew and Lawson Crain fought for position in the top five while Hans Horpedahl, Julio Crispin, and Michael Hillo found themselves three wide at turn 1. Tyler Starr jumped on the opportunity to sneak to the inside of Hillo at turn 2 and gained a position in his Subaru BRZ.
James Houghton (red TSX) leads Paul Curley (blue Corvette), Luke McGrew (black Corvette), and Eric Kutil (white Civic) down from the peak of turn 1 into the esses at Circuit of the Americas.
Houghton passed Curley for second, and then launched an attack on leader Jeremy Swenson on the back straight. The two traded the advantage several times over the next lap or so, putting on one of the best displays of GLTC’s “race for the racing” mantra as the two left plenty of racing room throughout their battle. On the final lap, Luke McGrew, following a slowing James Houghton, went straight off at turn 7 with a mechanical issue. Smoke trailed from the left rear of James Houghton’s TSX, and after leaving the turn 11 hairpin, the wheel and hub assembly broke apart, bouncing down the back straight and impacting the inside wall.
Houghton, with only three wheels, continued down the straightaway on the red painted verge beside the track. As Swenson finished the race, the cameras cut back to Houghton’s car, sparking and dragging through the carousel. In one of the wildest moments in GLTC history, Michael Hillo drove up the outside of the three-wheeled car in the final corner and raced the stricken car to the finish line - but lost in a photo finish for 13th place. Swenson’s second win of the weekend was overshadowed by the chaos; he was followed by Paul Curley, Eric Kutil, Austin Hertel, and 18-year old Matan Rosenberg in the top 5.
Race 3 later Sunday morning saw Ronnie Vajdak jump up into fourth on the start, driving up into the mix in his showroom-quality DC Sports Acura Integra. Over the crest at turn 9, Wes Case spun, forcing Luke McGrew to take to the grass, dropping him from inside the top 10 to 23rd place. Mike McGinnis clipped the bumper cover of the spun 767 car, sending debris flying - but suffered no damage to his own car. A frantic three-wide fight into turn 12 featured Matan Rosenberg, Lawson Crain, Joel Morrison, Matt Waldbaum, and Gary Wimble, where all drivers again displayed exceptional racecraft while they sorted out the running order. Eric Jensen in his LS-swap FR-S clawed into the mix by the end of the first lap, but looped it on lap 2 at turn 11 and lost his progress forward. Matan Rosenberg’s #484 Corvette started spitting smoke, forcing Rosenberg to pull off safely to the inside of turn 11 to a retirement for a frayed power steering line.
Jackson Jensen and Eric Jensen, the father and son duo, had a scrap for position with Julio Crispin as the field approached the final lap. At turn 10, Paul Curley’s differential exploded with Eric Kutil directly behind him. Kutil had nowhere to go as the #45 lost drive, and rear ended Curley, causing damage to the front of the HybridRacing EG. As the checkered flag waved, Jeremy Swenson claimed victory over James Houghton, Eric Kutil, Austin Hertel, and Lawson Crain.
After significant effort from Kutil’s team, the car was repaired, sans a right front headlight, for the final race of the weekend on Sunday afternoon. With an 11-car invert, Gary Wimble and Michael Hillo started on the front row. On the first lap, Lawson Crain and Joel Morrison went door-to-door down the back straight, and continued racing into the second lap, while Matt Waldbaum and Eric Kutil traded spots into the esses, with Kutil winning out seventh place. Luke McGrew passed Hillo in turn 7, and began to close on Gary Wimble in the #1 Corvette, who established a 15-car length lead on the opening lap. Tom O’Gorman, who was sharing the ASM championship winning car known as “Trainer 3” with team lead Andy Smedegard, split Austin Hertel and Matt Waldbaum three-across into turn 12 in a two-for-one pass.
Moments later, a full course yellow was thrown for the #484 of Matan Rosenberg, who was stuck without power at the exit of turn 15. Gary Wimble’s lead was erased as the race restarted, with teammate Luke McGrew right behind. The two Corvettes nearly swapped positions but McGrew remained behind as the white flag waved. While Tom O’Gorman, Lawson Crain, and Eric Kutil battled for third, McGrew snuck up the outside of Gary Wimble into turn 15. Wimble slid to the edge of the track, forcing McGrew onto the curbing; he was able to stay alongside Wimble and complete the pass as the pair of Corvettes completed the triple-apex right hander in the carousel. McGrew hung on to claim his fifth GLTC victory, and his first since November of 2020. Wimble settled for second, followed by Lawson Crain, Tom O’Gorman, and Eric Kutil.
Gary Wimble leads Luke McGrew, Lawson Crain, Michael Hillo, and others behind the safety car during race four.
After compiling the points from qualifying and each race, Jeremy Swenson was declared the winner of the weekend, followed by Eric Kutil and Luke McGrew. Lawson Crain in his first weekend in GRIDLIFE Touring Cup finished in fourth, with Austin Hertel finishing fifth.
Jeremy Swenson, now renumbered to his father’s #3, picked up a trio of wins and the weekend title in the first of eight rounds of the 2023 GRIDLIFE Touring Cup season.
GRIDLIFE Touring Cup races again in just two weeks at Carolina Motorsports Park in GRIDLIFE’s first Festival Tour event of the season March 31st - April 2nd. The races, alongside TrackBattle Time Attack and drifting, will be broadcast on the GRIDLIFE Live Twitch channel. Spectator tickets can be purchased on the GRIDLIFE website.
