This weekend, IMSA will have their penultimate race weekend of the season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Unlike the past couple of years, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will have a sprint race as opposed to a six-hour enduro.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks
Sunday’s TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks has 44 teams entered in the four classes. This is down nine entries from last year when this was part of the Michelin Endurance Cup.
The GTP class has 11 teams entered. The big move here is that Laurin Heinrich has moved back to Porsche Penske Motorsport to drive the No. 6 in place of Laurens Vanthoor. In practice, this is preparation for next year, when Heinrich will be full-time with the team.
Heinrich returns to the factory team after running since Long Beach for JDC-Miller MotorSports. They have tapped Nico Mueller to replace Heinrich.
In the points, Action Express Racing’s Jack Aitken has a 118-point lead over Heinrich. Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian’s Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly are third.
In LMP2, there are 11 teams entered, down from 12 at Road America. The one team that is not entered is JDC-Miller MotorSports’ No. 79.
Era Motorsport has an all-new lineup for this weekend. On Tuesday, the team announced the return of NTT IndyCar Series regular Christian Rasmussen to the No. 18. He’ll partner up with Nick Boulle.
Rasmussen has made six starts with Era Motorsport, most recently in the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona, which he won. In addition to that victory, he had two additional podium finishes in 2023.
CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s George Kurtz and Alex Quinn have the points lead by 36 points over Inter Europol Competition’s Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke. AO Racing’s Dane Cameron and PJ Hyett are still in contention in third.
In GTD Pro, there are 10 teams entered. There are no changes from the last race at VIR.
The points are close. Paul Miller Racing’s Connor de Phillippi and Neil Verhagen have a 23-point lead over Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner. Pfaff Motorsports’ Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell are 56 points back in third, while AO Racing’s Harry King and Nick Tandy are 67 back in fourth.
There are 13 teams entered in GTD. Similar to GTD Pro, there are no team or driver changes as compared to VIR.
Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis and Russell Ward, on the strength of their win at VIR, have a 36-point lead over Turner Motorsport’s Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher. The Heart of Racing’s Eduardo Barrichello is third.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks Entry List
Coverage of the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks will begin at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC. The green flag will fly at 3:10 p.m. ET.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120
Saturday’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120 has 44 teams entered. This is up three cars from last year’s race and up two from VIR.
The Grand Sport class has 31 entries, up two cars from VIR. Teams that are not entered include Kingpin Racing and
CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing’s No. 39 for Sean McAlister and Paul Westphal are back after missing VIR. This was due to crash damage suffered to their car at Road America.
Andretti Performance is also back this weekend with a Porsche for Jarett Andretti and Gabby Chaves. This will only be their second start of the year.
Turner Motorsport’s Dillon Machavern and Luca Mars are leading the GS points by 80 over AutoTechnic Racing’s Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer. McCumbee-McAleer Racing’s Robert Noaker is third.
In TCR, there are 13 teams entered. The RVA Graphics Motorsports/Speed Syndicate Audi is not entered. In its place, the Gou Racing No. 55 Audi is back with Eddie and Eduardo Gou driving. Eddie moves back to the family car after driving the No. 77 at VIR.
Speaking of the Stallion Motorsports Cupra, Celso Neto has a new teammate this weekend in Jenson Brickley, who will be making his IMSA debut.
In the points, Bryan Herta Autosport’s Mason Filippi and Bryson Morris have a 270-point lead over teammates Preston Brown and Denis Dupont. It is possible for Filippi and Morris to wrap up the championship this weekend.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120 Entry List
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120 is scheduled to go green at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon. Coverage will begin at 2:25 p.m. ET on the IMSA Official YouTube channel and on Peacock.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the Frontstretch email 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 Frontstretch 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.
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