MAY 9, 2018

(IMSA)
Helio Castroneves and co-driver Ricky Taylor (No. 7 Team Penske Acura ARX-05) delivered the first WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory for Acura Team Penske at the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio on Sunday. Taylor finished 8.464 seconds ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 6 Team Penske Acura ARX-05, co-driven by Dane Cameron) to score a 1-2 sweep for the team. Team Penske dominated, with Castroneves and Taylor leading a race-high 87 laps. The other 38 laps were led by Cameron and Montoya. It was the first IMSA win for an Acura-branded prototype since the end of the 2009 season. “That was great,” Castroneves said. “It started from the beginning, actually the front row, the No. 7 and the No. 6 were right there. Dane was really strong and put a lot of pressure on me, but in the end, it was a long race. I was taking it easy and making sure we made the numbers that we needed to make, and then I left it to my teammate here, Ricky, and what an incredible job he did... I was biting my nails back there, but in the end of the day, he brought it home in phenomenal style. I’m so glad to be part of this organization, it’s great for myself and Ricky to give the No. 1 victory for Acura and hopefully this is just the beginning.” Oliver Jarvis and Tristan Nunez (No. 77 Team Joest Mazda DPi) finished third. The entire race was run without a full-course caution.
(Michelin)
Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor (No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR) captured the GTLM class victory at Mid-Ohio. Alexander Sims and young American Connor De Phillippi (No. 25 Team RLL BMW M8 GTE) finished second. A crafty pit strategy and relentless late drive by De Phillippi saw him cut the Porsche lead from 8.817 seconds on Lap 95 to just 1.1426 seconds on Lap 110 before running out of time. “It was horrible! I knew he was coming and he was on fresher tires. I was trying the best I could, but it was getting harder and harder. But the last six or seven laps, I knew it was OK. I saw when we were alone that we could maintain the gap. It was stressful,” said Vanthoor. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen (No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R) finished third.
(IMSA)
Kyle Marcelli and Daniel Baumann (No. 14 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3) delivered the historic first North American victory in the GTD class for the Lexus RC F GT3 Sunday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. “This is a huge win,” said Marcelli, who also won overall in yesterday’s IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Mid-Ohio 120. “It’s always difficult to get the first one. There is always a lot of pressure. I think I put a lot of pressure on myself. This is the first sprint race of the season and I knew we had a strong car and a strong driver line-up and we needed to execute. I knew if we didn’t make a mistake then we should get a good result... It’s a team effort, the 3GT guys have worked so hard for two years. It’s the second year of the program, so it’s an honor to bring them the first win for 3GT and Lexus." Between the two Lexus team cars, 3GT Racing led every lap of Sunday afternoon’s race, with Jack Hawksworth and co-driver David Heinemeier Hansson (No. 15 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3) leading the first 43 laps and ultimately finishing fourth. Alvaro Parente (No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3) at one point pulled within inches of Baumann on the final lap of the race. Baumann was able to hold off the charge, leaving Parente and co-driver Katherine Legge with a runner-up GTD finish for Acura. Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow (No. 48 Lamborghini Huracán GT3) finished third.

(Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
Eight laps after Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway restarted from a rain delay of more than 40 minutes, Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Jimmy John's Ford) passed Clint Bowyer (No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Haas Automation Demo Day Ford) for the lead and pulled away to win his fourth race of the season by 7.450 seconds. Harvick led 201 of the 400 laps, swept all three stages and reestablished his No. 4 Ford as the dominant car in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. “It’s fun racing your teammate,” said Harvick, who won for the second time at the Monster Mile and the 41st time in his career, breaking a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin and taking sole possession of 18th all-time. Daniel Suarez (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Stanley Toyota) finished third, a personal best on an oval track and matching his career-best third-place run last year at Watkins Glen.