Danville, VA – Mason Filippi and Michael Lewis yesterday earned their first victory of the 2020 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, driving the #98 Hyundai Veloster N TCR at Virginia International Raceway. This is their first race win as teammates. Lewis preserved his tires and saved fuel through the first half of the race, which helped the #98 team jump to first in a lightening quick pit stop, including the driver change. Typically, the race starter, Filippi took over for the finish. His mirrors were full of fellow BHA Velosters challenging for the win. Filippi's finesse allowed him to charge to the checkers for the victory.
Harry Gottsacker and Mark Wilkins finished second in the #21 Hyundai Veloster N TCR and extended their points lead by 11 over Filippi and Lewis. Wilkins and Gottsacker have finished on the podium the last three races. It started with their victory at Sebring, followed by third place at Road America and then second yesterday at VIR.
In just their third race together driving the #29 Vertical Bridge Hyundai N TCR, Spencer Brockman and Parker Chase scored their second podium finish with a phenomenal drive from 10th to third. Brockman recovered from an early race tangle to fourth before turning the driving duties over to Parker Chase. Chase had an exciting multi-lap battle with Stephen Simpson in the Audi for third and prevailed, finishing third.
Gabby Chaves and Ryan Norman have led every race this season. This time it was Gabby Chaves who qualified and started the race. He passed to the front and led throughout his stint. The #33 car lost positions in the pits and Norman struggled with handling in the second half of the two-hour race. The #33 Veloster N TCR fell back as far as ninth, but Norman raced back to a top-five finish.
Round five, the halfway point of the 2020 season, takes place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta over Labor Day weekend, September 4-6, 2020.
3rd: #29 Vertical Bridge Hyundai Veloster N TCR
Drivers: Spencer Brockman and Parker Chase
Qualified: 10th (Brockman) Finished: 3rd
- Third start and second podium finish for the #29 Hyundai Veloster N TCR.
- Parker Chase raced a double header this weekend. He flew to Hickory Speedway Saturday after IMSA practice to race the NASCAR Whelen All American Series. Parker is a development driver for Chad Bryant Racing, driving the #77 Vertical Bridge Late Model. He scored his second top-ten on Saturday.
Parker Chase: “It felt good to grab another podium finish for Spencer and I. After a rough opening lap for Spencer, he handed the #29 Vertical Bridge Hyundai off in a good position, but we had to do a longer stop to assess the damage from lap 1. Luckily, with how the cautions played out it really helped us make our way to the front. I am super happy finish on the podium and deliver Hyundai their third consecutive 1-2-3 finish."
Spencer Brockman: "After missing the set-up in qualifying, the Bryan Herta Autosport crew game me a great race car and I was able to move up to fourth from 10th place starting position before handing it off to Parker for his final stint. He did a great job managing traffic and had a successful battle for third. The Veloster N TCR cars were really strong all race and I can't wait to go after it again at Road Atlanta.
Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian:
Founded in 2009, Bryan Herta Autosport has grown from a single car Indy-Lights team into a championship winning auto racing franchise. Led by IndyCar and Sports Car star Bryan Herta, Bryan Herta Autosport has won races in every discipline they have entered, including Indy Lights, Indy Car, Global Rally Cross, and championship titles in Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA. BHA rose to prominence after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500 in what was the final race of the Centennial Era, a celebration of 100 years of racing at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with driver Dan Wheldon. Five years later, BHA partnered with Andretti Autosport, and defied the odds again, winning their second Indianapolis 500 with rookie driver Alexander Rossi. In 2018, BHA entered the Pirelli World Challenge in partnership with Hyundai and dominated the TCR class, winning seven races with drivers #98 Michael Lewis and #99 Mark Wilkins in the Hyundai i30N TCR, securing the team and manufacturers championships in the process. In 2019, BHA and Hyundai moved to the IMSA Michelin Sports Car Challenge, and the transition was flawless. BHA swept the series driver and team championships with driver Mark Wilkins and Michael Lewis finishing first in the #98 Hyundai Veloster N TCR and young guns Harry Gottsacker and Mason Filippi finishing second in the #21 Hyundai Veloster N TCR. For 2020, BHA continues its successful partnership with Andretti Autosport fielding the #98 U.S. Concrete Honda w/ Curb Agajanian in the IndyCar series for driver Marco Andretti and a four-car Hyundai Veloster N TCR campaign in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Michael Lewis and Mason Fillipi (#98), Mark Wilkins and Harry Gottsacker (#21), Gabby Chaves and Ryan Norman (#33) and Parker Chase and Spencer Brockman (#29). Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent and parts support representative of Hyundai TCR race cars for customer teams. For more information, visit www.BryanHertaAutosport.com.
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