Rebel Rock Camaro Takes The Win At CTMP
Entering this weekend, the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro had no podium finishes, their drivers, Robin Liddell and Frank DePew were 27th in the standings. At Daytona they finished last, at Sebring they finished 24th, at Mid-Ohio they finished 21st. Since then, their season has done a complete turn-around.
They left Watkins Glen with a fifth-place — a turning point they hoped for their season — and believing small errors cost them a podium. This time around the team who clawed into the top five a week ago, climbed the steps of the podium for their first win in the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
“It was a lot of hard work I just did my part to keep the car clean and bring it in a decent spot,” said driver and team owner LePew.
Liddell inherited the lead of the race in the pit cycle after the team took just two tyres. Liddell’s lead was as large as six seconds but it was evaporated once the race’s second and final full-course yellow flew. It left the entire GS field, including Kyle Marcelli in the #60 KohR Motorsport Ford Mustang, right behind Liddell.
Liddell fended off the pressure to score his tenth win in the championship and the first for Rebel Rock Racing.
Despite applying a tremendous amount of pressure on the back of Liddell in the final fifteen minutes of the race the #60 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang of Nate Stacy and Kyle Marcelli had to settle for second. They finished just half a second behind the #71 Chevrolet.
After leading for much of the middle portion of the race the #69 Motorsports in Action McLaren 570s had to settle for a third-place finish in their home race — and the race that marks the 50th birthday of team owner Eric Kerub. Corey Fergus started the car in seventh and with help from the pit crew had the car up to the lead.
The Canadian team would lose the lead on the second and final pitstop, though. After dropping down to fifth, Jesse Lazare, with help from a full-course yellow and four fresh tyres, worked his way back onto the podium.
Their third-place finish leaves Lazare and Fergus third in the standings, just two points out of the lead of the championship. James Clay and Devin Jones in the #82 Bimmerworld Racing BMW M4 still hold the championship lead in GS.
TCR
The #17 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 of Mikey Taylor and Britt Casey Jr. took home the win in TCR following a pass for the lead — which involved side-by-side contact with their teammates — in the race’s final ten minutes.
“That was crazy Britt [Casey Jr.] did a phenomenal job everything just turned our way and he just charged through it was amazing!” Said Taylor.
Casey Jr. on the exit of turn got alongside Stephen Simpson in the #54 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 and nudged his way past Simpson on the entrance to turn three. A line of four TCR cars had formed behind Simpson has he attempted a fuel-saving run to finish the race on one pitstop.
Once passing Simpson, Casey Jr. checked out from the rest of the field and finished nearly four sections clear of the second-placed #52 LA Honda World Civic of Colin Mullan and Max Faulkner
Sneaking onto the final step of the TCR podium was the #61 Roadshagger Racing Audi RS3 of Gavin Ernstone and Jon Morley. They were one of a number of cars queued up behind Simpson after the final full-course yellow.
After falling victim to the trail of cars behind Simpson and the #54 Audi crew’s day went from bad to worse after the team was given a drive-thru penalty for contact. They salvaged a fifth-place finish.
The TCR championship leaders entering this race had a day to forget. The #37 LA Honda World Civic TCR completed just three laps and spent nearly the entirety of the race behind the wall with engine gremlins. It finished last in TCR but still holds onto the lead as a result of misfortune from other championship runners.