ACI Motorsports’ Curt Swearingin was able to beat OnlyFans Racing/P1 Groupe’s Alex Vogel out of the pits during the mid-race stops Saturday (Sept. 6). From there, he was able to hold on to win Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Race No. 2 at Barber Motorsports Park with teammate Riley Dickinson. It is the duo’s first win of the year.
“It’s nice to get one,” Swearingin told SRO America’s Amanda Busick after the race. “We’ve been wanting one for [a while] and it’s extra, extra special to get one.”
Dickinson and Swearingin won under yellow over Random Vandals Racing’s Kevin Boehm and Kenton Koch. JMF Motorsports’ Braden Arthur and Mike David Ortmann were third, then Marco Polo Motorsports’ Nicolai Elghanayan and Mads Siljehaug. Van der Steur Racing’s Max Hewitt and Luca Mars were fifth.
In Pro-Am, Dickinson and Swearingin won over Random Vandals Racing’s Sam Craven and Josh Green. BimmerWorld Racing’s Tyler McQuarrie and James Walker Jr. were third, then AutoTechnic Racing’s Matt Million and Tyler Stone. NOLAsport’s Michael Auriemma and Matheus Leist were fifth.
OnlyFans Racing/P1 Groupe’s Matt Bell started from the overall and Pro-Am pole in his McLaren, but JMF Motorsports’ Mike David Ortmann was able to sweep around the outside of turn 1 to take the advantage. Further back, Ortmann’s teammate Jesse Webb spun exiting turn 3 in front of the field. Luckily, everyone was able to avoid him.
In Silver, Ortmann started on the class pole in second overall and assumed the overall lead. Once there, he was able to open up a couple of seconds over Mars since he had a couple of Pro-Am cars as blockers.
Bell had to do battle with ACI Motorsports’ Riley Dickinson early on while continuing to keep the pressure on Ortmann for the overall lead. The three drivers pulled out a five-second lead on the rest of the pack.
When the leaders pitted, Swearingin was able to take over the overall lead from the OnlyFans McLaren. Once out front, Swearingin pulled away quickly.
In Silver, a quick pit stop allowed Hewitt to take the class lead. It was far from an easy run as Arthur was right on his tail. Koch and Gonzalez were there as well.
Once the group cleared Vogel, it was a five-way battle for the class lead as VPX Motorsport’s Danny Dyszelski joined in. However, it was Koch that brought himself to the fore again.
He was able to get past Gonzalez and Arthur for third, the latter of which resulting in contact that loosened his rear bumper. With 18 minutes to go, Koch got to the inside of Hewitt in turn 14a to take the class lead.
Once out front, Koch was able to pull away from the rest of the class in an attempt to catch Swearingin for the overall lead. At the time, it was a nine-second deficit.
Further back, Gonzalez was trying to get second off of Hewitt in turn 14a. He got too aggressive and nerfed Hewitt off the road. While Hewitt didn’t spin, the officials deemed this as avoidable contact and gave Gonzalez a drive-through penalty.
The race ultimately ended under caution due to contact between Dyszelski and Thunder Bunny Racing’s Allen Patten in turn 3 with under five minutes to go. That resulted in Dyszelski spinning and backing into the barrier before getting stuck in the gravel.
Koch was right on Swearingin’s tail for the overall lead, but the caution prevented him from getting the overall win. Despite that, Koch and Kevin Boehm still claimed their seventh Silver class win in eight races. They can clinch the Silver championship Sunday.
Arthur and Ortmann were second, then Elghanayan and Siljehaug. Hewitt and Mars were fourth, while Webb and Jonathan Neudorf were fifth.
In Am, Thunder Bunny Racing’s Laura Hayes started on pole in 11th overall. In the opening laps of the race, Hayes was able to maintain her position, but the transponder in her BMW was not working. As a result, it looked like she hadn’t started the race.
Hayes led the class until actual problems cropped up 22 minutes into the race that forced her to pit for a new left front tire. That allowed BimmerWorld Racing’s James Clay to take the lead.
After the mid-race pit stops, things looked much different. There weren’t anywhere near as many shenanigans as you had on Friday, but Random Vandals Racing’s Darius Trinka ended up in the class lead thanks to a quick stop and good form.
Trinka then pulled away from the rest of the class to take his second win of the weekend with Paul Sparta. RAFA Racing Team’s Anthony Geraci and Kenny Schmied were second, then Clay and Charlie Postins. Hayes and Patten were fourth, while Skip Barber Racing’s Alex and Michael Garcia were fifth.
Pirelli GT4 America SprintX: Barber Park Race No. 2 Results
Race No. 3 for Pirelli GT4 America SprintX is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET Sunday. The race will stream live on the GT World YouTube channel.
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.