Copeland Motorsports driver Tyler Gonzalez earned his second Continental Tire Pole Award of the season at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) with a time of 02:05.932. As the field roared to life at the drop of the green flag, Gonzalez pulled away as Alex Garcia (Zotz Racing) and Justin Piscitell (McCumbee McAleer Racing) battled for the second position.
Drivers seemed to be settling into a rhythm 10 minutes into the scheduled 45-minute event as Aidan Yoder of Precision Racing LA got loose and spun out coming into Turn 13, collecting Piscitell and forcing the safety car to come out with 35 minutes remaining.
The Safety Car pulled in and the race went back green with 27 minutes left in the race as drivers fought for position throughout the field. Shortly after going back green, Spike Kohlbecker of TechSport Racing contended Gonzalez for the lead for nearly five minutes before completing the pass for the top spot coming out of Turn 3. Just over half a second separated the top-three of Kohlbecker, Gonzalez, and Gresham Wagner (TechSport Racing) as they pulled away from the field with 13-minutes to go.
Gonzalez muscled his way past Kohlbecker to regain the top spot coming out of Turn 5 with 11 minutes remaining as the TechSport Racing teammates continued to chase behind. With just under nine minutes remaining, Wagner was able to get past his teammate and set his sights on Gonzalez before completing a pass for the lead coming through Turn 14. The top-three continued to race nose-to-tail and side-by-side before Gonzalez took control of the race again with just two minutes remaining. Coming into Turns 13 and 14, Kohlbecker went off track for just a second, opening the door for Will Robusto of Smooge Racing to take over the third position. Gonzalez was able to pull away and take the checkered flag in first, claiming his third win of the season.
Podium
Points leader Tyler Gonzalez picked up his third win of the inaugural GR Cup Series and is now six-for-six in podium finishes. Wagner (second place) tallied his third podium finish of the year while Will Robusto, making his GR Cup Series debut, took home third and his first podium finish.
Race Awards
Along with his second-place finish, Wagner took home the Fastest Lap Award with a time of 02.06.939. After starting 29th on pit road due to a penalty, Will Rodgers of Godwin Motorsports gained 20 spots before taking the checkered flag in ninth, earning the Hard Charger Award. Mia Lovell earned her second straight Highest Finishing Female honors with another 12th-place finish.
The new GR Cup Overtime Drawing went to BSI Racing’s #76 Steven Clemons, who was randomly drawn and earned an additional $5,000 courtesy of Toyota.
What’s Next
The GR Cup Series will have a break in action before returning on August 4-6 for the Music City GP in Nashville, Tenn. The Music City GP is host to the NTT Indy Car with several different support series throughout the weekend including the GR Cup Series, Trans Am, GT America, and Indy NXT.
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