PF Racing’s Joey Hand was able to overtake Riley Motorsports’ Scott Andrews with less than half a lap to go when Andrews ran out of fuel. Hand then held off Billy Johnson to take victory in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix for himself and teammate James Pesek Saturday (Aug. 27).
“We had a fantastic run; James [Pesek] did a great job keeping this car in the hunt,” Hand told NBC Sports’ Kevin Lee after the race. “Super proud to be part of the Ford family. We struggled with brake issues throughout the race and ended up conserving fuel because of it.”
Murillo Racing’s Kenny Murillo started from pole in his Mercedes and led early. The man (or teenager) on the move early was KohR Motorsport’s Luca Mars. Mars started fifth and quickly moved himself past Matt Travis and Michael McCann Jr. into third on the first lap. A couple of laps later, he passed Turner Motorsport’s Dillon Machavern for second and put the pressure on Murillo for the lead. He was never able to get past, but he did haunt Murillo substantially.
The championship was such that Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman entered the race with a 220-point lead over Murillo Racing’s Eric Foss. A decent run, combined with issues for the No. 56 Mercedes could clinch the title for them.
Early on, VOLT Racing looked good. Brynjolfsson drove the No. 7 Aston Martin up to fourth overall. Meanwhile, Jeff Mosing had crashed his Mercedes during qualifying and lost his qualifying laps, forcing him to start from the rear of the class. In the opening laps of the race, Mosing got into the BMW of Turner Motorsport’s Vin Barletta in turn 1, resulting in a spin. Mosing was judged responsible for the incident and given a drive-through penalty.
The contact further damaged Mosing’s car, which was already second-hand from Friday’s crash. After some debris blew off the car, Mosing had to make a second unscheduled trip to the pits for repairs. By the time it was all said and done, Mosing was nearly a lap down and running at the back of the field.
Brynjolfsson was looking good until his Aston Martin died 45 minutes into the race. Brynjolfsson thought that he had ran out of fuel while passing the pit entry, but it was an electrical issue that ruined his day. The 90-degree weather may have also played a role here. It was impossible for Brynjolfsson to coast for the full 3.27 miles. As a result, he ultimately ground to a…
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