Gradient Racing announced Tuesday morning (March 25) that Jenson Altzman and Robert Megennis will drive the team’s No. 66 Ford Mustang GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sprint races this season. Their first race will be in Long Beach on April 11.
“This opportunity is everything that I’ve been working toward and what I’ve looked up to since racing go-karts,” Altzman stated. “Long Beach will be a very special event for me, and I’m ready to bring this Mustang to the front.”
For Altzman, Long Beach will mark his WeatherTech debut. He is currently full-time in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for McCumbee-McAleer Racing in a Ford Mustang GT4 alongside Sam Paley. After two races, the duo are currently fourth in Grand Sport points with a best finish of fourth at Daytona.
Altzman is a Ford Performance Junior Team driver. The move marks the first time that a Ford Performance Junior driver gets to race in WeatherTech.
“Being back in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is super exciting,” Megennis stated. “I think this series has the best sports car racing in the world. I’m thrilled to be driving the Gradient Racing Mustang GT3 and working to continue developing it. The support I’ve seen from Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsports has been amazing. I have heard nothing but great things about this program, and I’m very happy to be a part of it and to have the opportunity to work with Jenson because we’ve known each other for a long time.”
Megennis has 15 career WeatherTech starts, all of which coming in the GTD class. In 2022, he was full-time for CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing. Teamed with Jeff Westphal, Megennis finished seventh in GTD points with a best finish of second at Road America.
Currently, Megennis is full-time in Pilot Challenge for Czabok-Simpson Racing. In Daytona, he drove the No. 67 Porsche that ran very well before fading to 14th. He moved to the No. 2 Porsche for Sebring and finished 18th.
Neither Altzman or Megennis raced for Gradient Racing in the first two races of the season. Till Bechtolsheimer, Tatiana Calderon and Joey Hand drove the car at both Daytona and Sebring, while Harry Tincknell was the team’s fourth driver for Daytona. The team finished 17th in Daytona and 13th in Sebring. They will be back in the car for the third round of the Michelin Endurance Cup at Watkins Glen in June.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.