Janne Stiak won the battle and the race, while Tyler Maxson won the war and the season-long Mobil Pro Class championship with a third-place finish at COTA on Saturday.
Porsche Motorsport North America Junior Driver Janne Stiak (ACI Motorsports) won the battle and the race on Saturday at Circuit of the Americas, while fellow PMNA Junior Tyler Maxson (TOPP Racing) won the war and the season-long Mobil Pro Class championship with a third-place finish.
James Sofronas (GMG Racing) made his return to the paddock after an early-season injury and earned a victory in the Solairus Aviation Pro-Am class. Scott Blind (Ruckus Racing) earned his first Solairus Aviation Masters class win since Round 3 at Miami in May.
With the two bonus points for Sunday’s Race Brew Pole, Maxson holds a 28-point (300 to 272) point advantage over Kellymoss driver Aaron Jeansonne. With 25 points for a win and one for the K1 Speed fastest race lap left to score, Maxson’s total is enough to claim the title.
Stiak’s opening move seals win.
Though only 19 years old, Stiak’s race start was worthy of a veteran.
Stiak’s No. 40 Porsche 911 Cup started second alongside Maxson. When Maxson ran a defensive line to the inside into the first corner, Stiak pinched the champion-elect to the inside of the corner without contact. The clean move allowed the Porsche Motorsport North America Junior driver to carry momentum through the corner, taking the lead.
That also allowed Aaron Jeansonne to move his No. 24 Porsche 911 Cup around Maxson just two corners later, relegating Maxson to third.
As the race unfolded, Stiak pushed ahead while Maxson was close behind Jeansonne. Stiak opened up a gap of more than two seconds before a full course yellow bunched the field on lap seven for contact between the Pro-Am car of Josh Conley and Masters class driver Dan Drohan. Though neither car was able to continue, Drohan was assessed a 30-second penalty for the incident.
Stiak led the field back to the green flag with 10 minutes to go in the 35-minute race and championship contenders Jeansonne and Maxson on his bumper. While Stiak and the front of the field climbed the hill to Turn One, contact between Masters drivers Matt Smith (ACI Motorsports) and Kyle Washington (GMG Racing) turned each to the inside wall on the front straight and collected Marco Cirone (ACI Motorsports).
The incident brought out another safety car, ended the race for all three drivers. Time expired during the extensive cleanup, ending the race under yellow flag conditions.
The win was the second of the season for Stiak. His win at Watkins Glen in June made him the youngest driver to ever win a Porsche Carrera Cup North America race and he remains the only teenager to stand atop the podium. It is his sixth total podium finish in 15 races this season.
“It feels great,” Stiak said. “All of the F1 tracks are really nice, I really like them – including Miami and Austin this year. I’m very happy to win race one here. We’re starting tomorrow from P2 and will try to do the same and finish on a high.”
Jeansonne’s runner-up finish was his eighth of the season and 13th total podium. His finish secures second place in the driver’s championship as well.
Maxson secured his ninth podium finish of the season – though his previous eight were wins. The total, along with the bonus points for earning Sunday’s Race Brew pole position, is enough to secure the title.
“Third place is never necessarily what we want, we want to be two spots better,” Maxson said.
“But all things considered today, we’re pretty happy. We have the championship locked up. It’s been a great year. It’s kind of crazy to think this is our first non-win podium all year. It’s been an awesome, awesome season for everyone at TOPP Racing. I’ve always been super confident in this team. They’re top-notch in everything that they do. This was always the goal, I’m just not sure we expected it to happen this way with all the wins.”
Callum Hedge (JDX Racing) and Jared Thomas (JTR Motorsports Engineering) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Sofronas returns with win in Solairus Pro-Am class.
James Sofronas returned to Porsche Carrera Cup North America for the first time since the season opener and didn’t miss a beat, earning his ninth career series win.
Sofronas suffered an off-track injury early in the year and stepped away from the car to recover, though his GMG Racing team captured a pair of overall victories in the Pro Class with Porsche Motorsport North America selected driver Tom Sargent driving at Long Beach. He started Saturday’s race on the class pole and pulled held the lead early until the full course caution ended the race early.
“Winning cures a lot of ailments, pain and frustration,” Sofronas said. “I feel great. My last race was in March at Sebring and I just had shoulder surgery. I am a different driver now. I’ve been training good and testing with my son. He’s been pushing me and the car is fantastic.”
The win by Sofronas broke a season-long streak for Patrick Mulcahy, who clinched the championship early by winning each of the first 14 races of the season. The ACI Motorsports driver pushed Sofronas during the green flag run, ultimately finishing second.
Kellymoss driver Steve Wetterau finished third in his first race since a pair of class runner-up finishes at Long Beach in April.
Blind back on top.
Scott Blind earned his third Solairus Aviation Masters class win of the season on Saturday.
Blind was the top qualifier in the Masters class with his No. 45 Ruckus Racing Porsche 911 Cup, and his position out front early helped his fortunes late in the race.
The top five Masters class cars, led by Blind and followed by Rob Walker (JTR Motorsports Engineering), Washington, Smith and Cirone, were in order when the initial full course caution came out.
Blind and Walker were each in front of the incident behind them that ended the day for Washington, Smith and Cirone on the restart, keeping them in the clear and able to grab the checkered flag.
“These F1 events, it’s something super special when you can stand on that podium,” Blind said. “It was a really good race. We got a good start and stayed out of the trouble. We know our way around this place and we had a good car. I’m super happy to be up here and appreciate all the support from my crew.”
Joel Johnson of JDX Racing joined Blind and Walker on the podium following the contact between his rivals.
Aiming for wins on Sunday.
With all three class championships decided, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America field are gunning only for wins on Sunday. The 35-minute race at Circuit of the Americas begins at 10:35am CDT, prior to Sunday’s Formula One US Grand Prix.
All Porsche Carrera Cup North America races stream live – and are available to watch anytime – on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel.