It was a long time coming, but CarBahn Motorsports finally found its way back to victory lane in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Sean McAlister and Jeff Westphal put in an impressive drive in Saturday’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway 120 to capture the overall and Grand Sport (GS) class win in the No. 39 BMW M4 GT4. It’s the first time CarBahn has won a Michelin Pilot Challenge race in nearly four years, when Westphal and then-co-driver Tyler McQuarrie took the checkered flag at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Halloween 2020.
“The team deserves it, they worked so hard with such precise detail in the car,” Westphal said. “We’ve always had potential; it’s just been putting it together. It’s great for everybody.”
McAlister started sixth in the 20-car GS field and was still there when he turned the No. 39 over to Westphal on a pit stop under a full-course caution some 45m into the two-hour race. Westphal then battled his way past GS points leader Matt Plumb in the No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4 and both Turner Motorsport BMWs to seize control.
From there, it was a matter of holding off the charging Philip Ellis in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4, which with co-driver Bryce Ward was seeking back-to-back wins at Indy.
The gap in the closing half hour varied depending on who was mashing the accelerator harder – Westphal or Ellis – with Westphal prevailing by 3.658s.
“I’ve raced against Ellis in GTD (IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) and I knew he was quick,” Westphal said. “Every time I would push, I’d pull out a couple tenths. He’d push and he’d pull out a couple tenths. … I think we were both playing the cat-and-mouse game trying to catch each other without making big mistakes, and the gap stayed pretty stagnant.”
For Westphal, it’s Michelin Pilot Challenge career win No. 4 and his first since that Halloween triumph four years ago. For McAlister, it’s win No. 1 at a very memorable venue.
“I’ve been in this series almost three full years now and I haven’t even been on the podium,” McAlister said. “It’s great to finally come out and get top of the podium – especially at Indy. It’s amazing!”
Plumb, with co-driver Paul Holton, brought the No. 46 Team TGM Aston Martin home in fourth place. With the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport finishing ninth, it stretched the GS lead for Plumb and the No. 46 to 110 points unofficially over Stevan McAleer, Trent Hindman and the No. 28. Only the season finale, the Fox Factory 120 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Oct. 11, remains.
“As we learned in the last two races, things can go real south, real quick,” Plumb said, referring to finishes of 11th and 15th in the past two races. “We played this whole season the same thing, which is take what you can get and don’t get upset. So, fourth was great. … I think we probably could’ve done a little bit better but we’ll take it.”
Chaos early, strategy late brings Hyundai TCR win
Chaos and strategy, early and late, Hyundai had the Touring Car (TCR) class covered. After a chaotic start and an early full course yellow, the No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR bolt rocketed from deep in the field to the lead and looked a potential winner. Until, that is, lap 22 when a hapless Morgan Burkhard found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and was punted into the Turn 1 grass by a Grand Sport (GS) competitor.