Blackdog Speed Shop left Utah Motorsports Campus with its points lead in the Driver, Manufacturer and Team categories of the Pirelli World Challenge’s GTS class after Sunday’s second race of the weekend.
Lawson Aschenbach remained on course for his fifth World Challenge title with a fourth-place class finish Sunday in the No. 10 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. Meanwhile, contact on the opening lap for teammate Tony Gaples meant a retirement for the No. 11 Blackdog Speed Shop Camaro GT4.R.
Aschenbach started eighth – based on fastest lap time from Saturday’s first race – but he gained three spots following an early-race restart Sunday to move up into the top-five. Despite his best efforts, Aschenbach couldn’t keep the Camaro with the lead pack and fell back to seventh before a late-race spin for two other GTS cars moved him back into fourth in class and fifth overall. He also withstood heavy contact from a GTSA competitor in the final five minutes.
“We were lucky to score fourth-place points today,” the 2013 and 2014 World Challenge GTS Champion said. “A lot of that is down to the work of the Blackdog Speed Shop crew. Like yesterday, the Camaro GT4.R was really good under braking and cornering. We are just so far off on take-off and top speed. It’s frustrating for our team to work so hard for a fifth-place finish. We all hope we can go to Austin (site of the next GTS doubleheader) with a chance to be more competitive.”
After passing more cars than any other driver in Saturday’s race, Gaples was looking to add another Hard Charger award Sunday. However, the early incident with another GTSA car left Gaples’ Camaro with damage to the right-front suspension and a DNF.
“Just when you think our weekend can’t get much worse…,” Gaples said. “That was an unfortunate incident on the first lap. There just wasn’t as much grip on the inside of Turn Four as I thought and I couldn’t slow the car down enough. Unfortunately it didn’t work out this time. On to Austin and hopefully a better showing for our Camaro GT4.Rs. Our Blackdog Speed Shop team deserves it.”
Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas plays host to the next round of the Pirelli World Challenge on Sept. 1-3. CBS Sports Network will air GTS action from Utah at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Aug. 23.
