Rosenberg, Smedegard, Trade Victories in GLTC Race 1 & 2 in Chicagoland
Joliet, IL - GRIDLIFE Touring Cup Race 1 on Saturday evening featured familiar names battling in the top three positions for the duration of the 15-minute race. Andy Smedegard, who won pole in qualifying by over half a second, led the field to the green with the #484 Chevrolet Corvette of Matan Rosenberg and the #82 Honda Civic of Eric Kutil in tow.
The 35-car field was compressed in the early stages, with a slip from the #130 of James Smith causing a stack up leaving turn 3. Despite the tight-quarters racing, the race continued without incident for several laps. About halfway through, Rosenberg tried to slip up the inside of Smedegard into turn 1, in turn causing Smedegard to chase his car in a sideways slide for most of the corner. Eric Kutil, close behind, took a swing at Rosenberg into turn 4 but was unable to get sufficient overlap for a pass.
The #90 Honda S2000 of Matt Waldbaum looped at turn 12, dropping several positions but remained in the running. Moments later, the #886 Scion FR-S of Jason Nguyen suffered a mechanical failure at the exit of turn 14, coming to rest on the grass just inside the curbing. The stoppage forced a full-course yellow, which ended the race behind the safety car. Andy Smedegard earned his first win of 2024 ahead of Matan Rosenberg, Eric Kutil, Aaron Leichty, and Dana Basinski. The #41 Acura TSX of James Houghton was disqualified for a dyno infraction post race and was issued a grid penalty for Race 2.
Full Race 1 Results
Race 2 of the weekend took place early Sunday morning, with a green flag just after 8:30 AM. With the field set by fastest lap from the Race 1 results, Matan Rosenberg led Smedegard, Kutil, Leichty, Basinski, and others to the green. The front three accelerated away from the field and clicked off laps while battles raged on behind.
The #40 Porsche Cayman of Jeremy Boysen rolled down pit lane while diagnosing issues with his car; a quick reset of the power and electronics returned life to the dazzle-camo Porsche and Boysen rejoined the race. The #90 Honda S2000 of Matt Waldbaum stopped at the exit of turn 15 on driver’s right with a clutch issue, a problem that cannot be resolved at the racetrack with his sequential transmission. He will switch cars to a Scion FR-S in the AS Motorsports stable for the remainder of the weekend.
Eric Kutil’s #82 Honda Civic began slowing on lap 5 of the race, and eventually slowed sufficiently to require another full-course yellow that would end Race 2. Kutil has been dealing with various electrical issues on his Civic since the outing at Lime Rock Park last month, and the whack-a-mole of problems continues to strand him trackside despite the strength of car and driver.
James Houghton, who started in 20th after the grid penalty from Race 1, advanced 10 spots to claim a top 10 position. Other big movers included Bryan Tyson (22nd to 15th), Jackie Ding (25th to 18th), and James Forbis (27th to 21st).
Under double yellows and a checkered flag, Matan Rosenberg earned his fifth win of 2024 over Andy Smedegard, Tony Marchev, Aaron Leichty, and Dana Basinski.
Full Race 2 Results
Race 3 kicks off at 1:40 PM with Race 4 following at 4:15 PM CT, with live timing and scoring available at Racehero.io.
