Yelloly: ‘Calculated risks’ could help MSR go out with GTP title
Michael Shank has said that he wants his IMSA team to go out with a win at Motul Petit Le Mans, but Acura Meyer Shank Racing is still clinging to life in the battle for the GTP championship.
Nick Yelloly and Renger van der Zande come into the weekend trailing by 185 points, and could gain as many as 165 points between qualifying and Sunday’s race on championship leader Jack Aitken.
Will that invite the drivers of the #93 Acura to take risks this weekend? “Calculated risks,” stated Yelloly earlier this week.
“I think we’ve been very good with being consistent and getting those results, top four or top five all year long, and that’s what’s kept us in the title fight.
“Maybe we can get our elbows out a little bit more now. With the last couple of races of the programme coming up, I’m keen to finish at least once on the top step of the podium again with everyone at HRC and MSR.
“So yeah, why not? It’s always good to have a bit of fun out there and really get your elbows out, and try and go for that win. We’ll be fighting.”
MSR’s #60 Acura driven by Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun has a new look this weekend with financial/trading app OnlyBulls taking a more prominent role on the car. Its founder is financier Todd Ault, who has already been the primary sponsor of the #60 car through his other ventures.
RLL rookie Johnson returns as Indy NXT champion
Two weeks ago at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Nikita Johnson took the Indy NXT (formerly Indy Lights) championship and will receive a scholarship towards a promotion to the IndyCar Series.
Johnson is hopeful to announce news of his 2027 IndyCar plans – wherever it may be – but as he returns to action for the first time since winning the title, he has said that his time racing for RLL Team McLaren this season has been a benefit for his eventual run to the championship.
“It helped me just driving a different car and understanding how a heavier, bigger car works,” said Johnson, “and it also helps for IndyCar, where you’re pushing the pit entry, you’re doing pit stops and all that stuff. It gives me a little bit of a taste before next year.
“And I think you’ll see a lot more open-wheel drivers come over to IMSA and dip their toes for a few races, or maybe a whole year.
“For sure, the GT racing has helped me, and it helped me be able to adapt quickly to new tracks, because I’ve always been jumping in and out of each car. I think it’s just a good skill set to learn.”
RLL Team McLaren has already confirmed it will return for the 2027 IMSA season and Johnson has said that even if it’s only as an extra driver for the Rolex 24, he would be happy to stay with the team in some capacity. “It’s an amazing group of people,” Johnson said of his current IMSA team.
“Even though I missed the November test (in Daytona), I’ve been very fortunate enough to be there developing the car with them. I think that I have pretty good input just because I’ve seen where we started, and how we’ve progressed each week. Obviously, we’ll see what happens, but I’d love to be back!”
“Usually, IndyCar teams let the drivers do Daytona, so I’m hoping that I’m allowed to go do it, which I think I should!”
Winward running Austin Hatcher livery for final two races
Once again, Winward Racing will head down the stretch towards another potential GTD championship with a special livery.
This time, the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO will be black and green to support the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer, one of the charity partners participating in the IMSA Resilient Racers programme.
“We are debuting an Austin Hatcher livery this weekend that will run at Indianapolis and carry into Road Atlanta as well,” said Winward Racing driver Russell Ward. “It’s a nice teal and dark green and looks pretty sweet. We also are happy to have our IMSA Resilient Racer, Abby C., on the car.
“Austin Hatcher reached out to us and wanted to do something at the end of the year, and we ended up going that route. I am also wearing an Austin Hatcher set of gloves in the race that will be auctioned later on. So, two nice and worthwhile things. And this is the third time in four years we have run a special charitable livery for the year-end races: We supported the Heaven’s 27 Foundation last year and Susan G. Komen in 2023. We like doing it and look forward to it each year.”
Ibiza Farm McLaren leads Pilot Challenge practice
Heading into Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying and race day on Saturday, the #44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 set the fastest time throughout two Friday practice sessions.
Ibiza Farm’s ace driver Michael Cooper set a 1:29.533 in the McLaren to lead not only the first practice session but also the entire day’s worth of running. Cooper recently became the all-time wins leader in SRO America/World Challenge history a few weeks ago in Road America driving a similar McLaren Artura GT4.
The second-best time of the day belonged to the #14 Circle H Racing Aston Martin, a 1:29.623 set by Thomas Merrill – who led the second session in the evening.
Jaxon Bell – son of IndyCar Series veteran and television analyst Townsend – was third-fastest on the day in the #23 Koch-Copeland Motorsports Toyota, and Morgan Burkhard was fourth in the #2 CSM Aston Martin.
Louis-Philippe Montour set the fastest time in TCR aboard the #93 MMG Honda Civic FL5, a 1:30.946 turned in during the afternoon session.
IMSA newcomer Jenson Brickley led the morning session in the #77 Stallion Motorsports with Gou Cupra, while co-driver Celso Neto was second-fastest in the afternoon.
JDC-Miller, Turner racing with heavy hearts
Since the last IMSA race at VIR, the paddock received some sad news in the intervening weeks on multiple fronts.
Former IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and Ferrari Challenge North America Matt Dalton passed away in late August at the age of 62.
Dalton competed in Pilot Challenge for his own team, Notlad Racing, and most recently for Turner Motorsport in 2025 as a co-driver to Patrick Gallagher.
He also won the 2024 Ferrari Challenge North America Coppa Shell championship. Through his company, Belle Haven Investments, Dalton sponsored Turner Motorsport as well as Gallagher individually during some recent forays into stock car racing.
Race engineer Walter Preston, who recently served as the team manager for Korthoff Preston Motorsports, passed away on 8 September.
Since his departure from the Korthoff team, Preston had been working as a race engineer for JDC-Miller Motorsports for the team’s #17 Porsche in Michelin Pilot Challenge.
JDC-Miller Motorsports will pay tribute to him with stickers on its cars in both Pilot Challenge and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Both will be dearly missed.
Images © Jack Webster / dailysportscar.com, IMSA
