SPEEDWAY, Ind. — CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing’s Jeff Westphal took the lead with 28 minutes to go when other teams pitted.
From there, Westphal was able to conserve enough fuel to win the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120 with teammate Sean McAlister. It is the duo’s first win of the year.
McAlister and Westphal’s margin of victory was 3.654 seconds over Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis and Bryce Ward. Turner Motorsport’s Dillon Machavern and Robert Megennis were third, followed by TeamTGM’s Paul Holton and Matt Plumb. Lone Star Racing’s Scott Andrews and Dan Knox were fifth.
Rennsport One’s Trent Hindman started from pole after another weekend in which the No. 28 Porsche topped every on-track session. Hindman was able to lead early while Nate Cicero, making his series debut for McCumbee-McAleer Racing, took second at turn 1 from Holton.
Unfortunately, Racers Edge Motorsports’ Daniel Wu stalled his Honda Civic Type-R TCR in turn 2 on the opening lap. That triggered a full course caution.
Behind Hindman, there was hard battling for fourth between Motorsports In Action’s Michael de Quesada and Kellymoss with Riley’s Michael McCarthy. That ended in tears when the two drivers collided in turn 13. De Quesada was blamed for the contact and given a drive-through penalty.
Hindman was able to keep Holton at bay until the third caution came out 41 minutes into the race. That brought everyone in as the minimum drive-time had been satisfied.
For Rennsport One, their pit stop to put Stevan McAleer in the car was a disaster. The jack was dropped before the right rear tire was tight. Then, the air jack decided not to work. In the process, the right side mirror was adjusted inward. That resulted in McAleer going from the lead to outside of the top 10.
TeamTGM’s No. 46 with points leader Matt Plumb at the wheel won the race off pit road and ran a steady race at the front. From this point on, pit strategy reigned supreme.
Plumb pitted with 40 minutes to go for tires and fuel. Most of the other leaders followed suit. CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing’s Jeff Westphal chose to stay out and try to stretch his fuel.
Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis gave chase over the final 30 minutes as the fuel continued to burn. However, Westphal’s BMW never burbled in the final laps, allowing him to hold for the win.
Hindman and McAleer ended up finishing 10th overall. With…
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