BRASELTON, Geo. — In NASCAR’s National-level series, rule changes have been made in recent years to enhance the importance of winning. That, combined with stage points make staying up front all day critically important to maximize your point haul. It is effectively impossible to win a championship without winning a race nowadays.
In IMSA, this is not really the case. If you’re in a class that is substantially subscribed, you can win a championship without sniffing a race victory.
That is what happened Friday (Oct. 2) at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge’s Grand Sport class. While the TCR championship was clinched by Bryan Herta Autosport’s Mason Filippi and Bryson Morris the moment they pulled onto the racetrack, the GS title was won by AutoTechnic Racing’s Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer, despite the team failing to win all season.
Krainz and McAleer led the points by only 30 over Turner Motorsport’s Dillon Machavern and Luca Mars entering the FOX Factory 120. That is the difference between winning a race and finishing second. McCumbee-McAleer Racing’s Robert Noaker was another 10 points back. Ibiza Farm Motorsports’ Michael Cooper and Moisey Uretsky were 120 points out, while Winward Racing’s Bryce Ward was 130 points behind.
Even though Cooper and Uretsky were fourth, they were viewed as the biggest threat by Krainz and McAleer. The duo had a series-high three victories leading into the finale and topped the final practice session prior to qualifying Thursday.
“I’m not really that worried about [Machavern and Mars] or [Noaker]. I think we can race them,” Krainz told Frontstretch prior to the race. “The only car that I’m a little bit worried about is the [Ibiza Farm] No. 44. If [they] win, which is highly likely, then we have to finish seventh to secure the championship. It’s not an impossible task, but I think it’s the real reality.”
Ibiza Farm Motorsports gave themselves a head start as Uretsky qualified third. However, he fell back early. Krainz was able to more or less hold station during his time in the car. He started 11th, dropped to 12th, then moved up to 10th prior to the first round of stops.
McAleer got in during the first pit stop and managed to keep pace with the leaders. Meanwhile, the Ibiza Farm team came alive once Cooper got in the McLaren.
Koch-Copeland Motorsports’ Jaxon Bell dominated the first segment of the race from pole. When Ford Koch took over, he was able to keep the green and tan Toyota at the front. Meanwhile, Cooper was able to drive up to second and was all over Koch like a cheap suit for the lead.
The final stops could have been catastrophic for AutoTechnic Racing. A slow stop put them outside of the top 10. Meanwhile, Cooper was right on KohR Motorsports’ Mike Skeen for what would eventually become the lead. Eventually, Cooper was able to get past and drive away.
Skeen eventually fell back to The Heart of Racing’s Hannah Grisham. The two engaged in a fierce battle which brought a bunch of teams into the mix. This greatly benefitted McAleer as he was able to knock off drivers one-by-one.
In the process of this, Thomas Merrill managed to drive through the entire pack by himself. That set up him for his eventual victory.
McAleer had a good enough car that he was able to make up for the pit miscue and take advantage of left side tires to move up the order. While Cooper was 20+ seconds up the road, McAleer progressed enough that it rendered Cooper irrelevant even before he dropped out due to steering issues.
“I had to look at the cars that I was racing against, versus the ones that [were] not in the championship hunt,” McAleer told Frontstretch after the race. “I certainly was aggressive; I didn’t want to waste any time [stuck behind anyone].”
Krainz and McAleer did not visit victory lane all season en route to their championship. In fact, their third-place finish Friday was only their second podium finish of the season. What they did have was six top-five finishes. Fifths at Daytona and Sebring to start the season. A fourth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio. A season-best second at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, fifth at Indianapolis and third today.
They also only had one bad race. That was Road America, where they finished 17th.
In the case of Cooper and Uretsky, they won three races (Sebring, Mid-Ohio and Indianapolis). However, they struggled to 18th in Daytona, 19th at Road America and were credited with 29th at VIR after dropping out early due to contact with Kingpin Racing’s Tyler Hoffman.
Ultimately, three of the five teams that ended up in the top-five in GS points did not win a race all season. In addition to Krainz and McAleer, Noaker didn’t win a race all year. The Heart of Racing’s Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier, who ended up fourth in points, also didn’t win.
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.
A name and email address are required to post a comment. The email address is not publicly visible or shared. Please keep in mind that comments are moderated according to our comment policy.
Comments are listed in order from oldest to newest. Leave a comment