Familiar Names Top Class Podiums at GRIDLIFE South Carolina
Kershaw, SC - GRIDLIFE’s first Festival Tour event of the season featured over 300 cars on track throughout the three-day weekend April 12 - 14, but it was a familiar few that topped the NOS Energy TrackBattle and GRIDLIFE Touring Cup podiums. The paddock was packed with attendees and the energy was high on track and off at Kershaw, South Carolina’s Carolina Motorsports Park.
The first Festival Tour of five marked the opening round of action for the GRIDLIFE NOS Energy TrackBattle Championship, with over 100 cars in seven classes entered in the exciting Podium Sprint competition format. In Falken Sundae Cup, James Smith snagged a win in his Honda Fit over Mike Janssen and Chris Rice. Though Smith won in the Podium Sprint on Saturday, Janssen picked up a bonus point in his Mini Cooper for a class track record from Qualifying 2.
In Falken ClubTR, Evan McLaren’s time of 1:43.637 was good enough to place his Acura Integra ahead of Mario Mirone and Jerami Bailey, who sported a striking new blue livery on his Scion FR-S. Bailey also ran a ClubTR rear-drive record in Qualifying 2, with a 1:43.970. James Houghton’s time of 1:42.099 in Qualifying 3 was good enough for a front-drive class record, but an issue in the Podium Sprint kept Houghton from podium at GRIDLIFE South Carolina.
Luca Barberis laid down the gauntlet in Podium Sprint in Street class, with a time over four seconds quicker than second place Tim White and third place Mike Coons. The win at CMP propels Barberis to the top of the point standings as he chases a championship, where he came up short by just two points in 2023.
Luca Barberis starts his season off with a win in Street class in his #63 Mitsubishi Evolution.
Last year at Carolina Motorsports Park, Andy Voelkel came up one spot short in Street GT - but this year emerged victorious in Podium Sprint with his C8 Corvette and claimed a new track record with a 1:39.345 over Christian Aranha’s Chevrolet Camaro and Drew Vosk’s Toyota GR Supra. Street Modified was nearly an all-Supra affair on the podium with Allen Patten and Kyle McKiou’s GR Supras placing first and second in Podium Sprint. Third place was snagged by the #14 Mercedes AMG GT S of Kal Fortner.
Allen Patten’s wild Toyota GR Supra spent a lot of time sideways - and a lot of time going fast.
Track Mod’s track record fell in Qualifying 2 with the Justin Peachey’s Corvette running a 1:33.654. Though track conditions in Podium Sprint meant Peachey only ran a 1:34.271 in the most important session of the weekend, he still cleared Jackie Ding’s BMW M2 and Andy Hsiao’s Corvette by nearly two seconds. In Unlimited class, Mike Dusold and Jeremy Lowder placed first and second in their Chevrolet Camaros, while Andrius Bertulis took the last step on the podium in his stealthy black and purple Lexus RC-F.
Justin Peachy awaits the start of Qualifying 2, where he would set a new class track record.
GRIDLIFE Touring Cup drivers began their season last month at Circuit of the Americas, where Luke McGrew dominated the weekend in his Chevrolet Corvette. At Carolina Motorsports Park, a field of 47 cars took the green flag in Friday’s Race 1, where a quartet of drivers featuring McGrew, Matan Rosenberg, James Houghton, and Eric Kutil battled at the front of the field. Eric Kutil’s freshly re-wrapped JTCC-inspired Honda Civic stormed to the front in the dark and windy weather, sailing by James Houghton, and then Matan Rosenberg, to steal a victory late in the race. It was Kutil’s first win since his emotional race 4 victory at GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival last season.
Matan Rosenberg, James Houghton, Luke McGrew, and Eric Kutil battle for the lead in GLTC Race 1 at GRIDLIFE South Carolina.
Race 2 was more of the same - Kutil, Houghton, Rosenberg, and McGrew battled ferociously inside the top 5 for much of the race. Houghton established a one-second lead before Kutil tracked him down as the white flag waved. At the tight turn 11, Houghton left racing room for a charging Kutil, who hugged the inside curb and set up for the right-hander at turn 12. A late apex and a slight nudge to the rear of the #41 TSX driven by Houghton set up a side-by-side drag race to the final corner, where Kutil would accelerate away to victory. Houghton’s compromised final turn allowed Luke McGrew’s Corvette to get alongside, prompting another side-by-side run to the checkers. The three drivers, Kutil, McGrew, and Houghton, finished nearly three-wide at the stripe. Ronnie Vajdak finished fifth behind Matan Rosenberg to round out the top 5.
James Houghton (#41) checks his mirror to find Eric Kutil (#82) lurking behind.
The weekend’s only full-course yellow in GLTC flew early in Race 3, as Ronnie Vajdak, Matan Rosenberg, and Matt Waldbaum squeezed together at turn 4, causing Waldbaum to spin and be collected by Ben Thorn. Both drivers would fail to finish Race 3 after having strong starts to the weekend. The race was unable to be resumed and Kutil picked up his third win of the weekend ahead of McGrew, Houghton, Rosenberg, and James Cathers.
The final race of the weekend featured an eleven-car invert, placing Andrew Rains in the Towlos #98 BMW on pole. Despite another heroic charge from the #82 of Kutil, Rains, and newcomer Eric Magnussen held on to finish first and second. Magunssen’s second place became a new career best after a trio of top fives in his first 7 races, while Andrew Rains won his first ever GLTC race.
Andrew Rains held on to win his first GLTC race in Race 4 at Carolina Motorsports Park in his #98 Towlos BMW.
GRIDLIFE has two Club Circuit rounds, Willow Springs (Apr 27-28) and Rev-Up (May 18-19) at GingerMan Raceway, before the annual GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival (Jun 7-9) the second stop on the 2024 Festival Tour.
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