Lucas Weisenberg earned his second Continental Tire Pole Award of the season by setting a new GR Cup track record at Circuit of the Americas with a time of 2:26.900. Weisenberg lined up on the front row alongside Jaxon Bell as the two drivers prepared to lead the field to green before the initial start was waved off. As the field came back around, Weisenberg and Bell led the charge up the hill into Turn 1, with the No. 46 of Weisenberg pulling ahead to take the lead.
As the leaders pulled away, Legends driver John Dean and Westin Workman were nose-to-tail for third. Battles ensued throughout the field, with Ford Koch and Ethan Ayars racing side-by-side for ninth and Beltre Curtis, Alex Garcia, and Zach Hollingshead going three-wide for 14th.
Bell overtook Weisenberg for the top spot just 10 minutes into the race and maintained control of the lead until a full-course yellow brought the field together with just 16 minutes remaining. As they went back to green, drivers stayed in line until time pressured the leaders, forcing Weisenberg to make a move to the outside of Bell with just two minutes remaining. A side-by-side chase for the lead came to the white flag as Dean found himself in the mix, with the trio going three-wide on the exit of Turn 1 on the final lap.
Weisenberg pulled ahead of the Copeland Motorsports drivers as they approached the esses and was able to hold off a late move by Bell to take the checkered flag, capturing his third career GR Cup victory and second win of the season.
Podium
Lucas Weisenberg captured his third career win and sixth podium finish while Jaxon Bell tallied his 11th career podium finish in second. Along with his WWEX Group Legend Cup victory, John Dean recorded his first career podium result in the GR Cup in third.
WWEX Group Legends Cup
In the inaugural WWEX Group Legends Cup race, John Dean led the charge and captured the win with his third-place overall finish. Jason Kos finished 15th overall, earning second in the Legends Cup, while his Eagles Canyon teammate Livio Galanti took home the final podium spot with a 19th-place finish.
Race Awards
Along with the win, Weisenberg also clocked the fastest lap of the race on Lap 8 with a time of 2:28.630. Andrew Gilleland took home the Hard Charger Award, gaining nine positions to finish inside the top 20. Paityn Feyen earned her second Endava Highest Finishing Female honor of the season with a 21st-place finish, while John Dean continued to rack up awards by claiming the WWEX Group Highest Finishing Legend Award.
What’s Next
The GR Cup Series will wrap up the weekend at Circuit of the Americas with Race 2 qualifying kicking off the day at 9:30 AM CT, followed by racing action at 12:15 PM CT.
The race can be streamed on grcup.com and the GT World YouTube channel.
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