THE LINE - JULY 2, 2014

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Richard Westbrook (No. 90 VISITFLORIDA.COM/GoPro Corvette DP) passed Alex Brundle (No. 42 OAK Racing Morgan/Nissan) in Turn 4 at Watkins Glen International after a late-race caution wiped out Brundle’s sizable lead. He then led the final five laps for a 0.877-second victory in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday, a TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race. The race was the third round in the four-race Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup. “Richard and my approach for the last couple of races was to keep the car safe and be in a position that would allow us to take a podium or possibly the win,” said Spirit of Daytona co-driver Michael Valiante. “It’s worked for us the last two races.” The win was the fourth for Daytona Beach-based Spirit of Daytona. "It’s a massive relief for us to get a victory,” Westbrook said. “It’s been a bit of a dry spell for us, especially on the back of a successful 2012. We’ll take that win for sure.” See John Thawley's outstanding shots from The Glen here.

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Their runner-up finish after leading late was hard to take, but Alex Brundle (No. 42 OAK Racing Morgan/Nissan, here tucked behind the No. 3 Corvette) and co-drivers Gustavo Yacaman and Ho-Pin Tung were able to take positives away from their first visit to the historic 3.4-mile track. in Watkins Glen, New York. “It’s been a tremendous effort from my team and both teammates,” Brundle said. “We made a step forward in pace, understanding the car and understanding the tire. I think we can go away happy but we did kind of snatch defeat from the jaws of victory a little bit.” Brundle, who started the race from the pole position, grabbed the lead on Lap 170 after Valiante brought the No. 90 VISITFLORIDA.COM/GoPro Corvette DP to pit road for tires, fuel and a driver change with 48 minutes remaining in the race. An accident between Alex Tagliani and Ian James brought out a full-course caution, giving Westbrook the opportunity to catch Brundle. Westbrook and Valiante earned eight points in the Patrón Endurance Cup, matching leaders Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi of Action Express Racing, who led at the race’s halfway point. Wayne Taylor Racing teammates Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor finished fifth, but were able to maintain their TUDOR Championship Prototype lead in the standings.

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Corvette Racing delivered its third straight TUDOR United SportsCar Championship victory in the GT Le Mans class (GTLM) in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C7.R) held off the No. 91 Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R of Marc Goossens on a last-lap restart for the win, joining co-driver Jan Magnussen in victory lane for the third straight race. The two also led at the halfway mark to score maximum points en route to a Round 3 victory in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup. “I have to say, I am so pleased with how things have gone for the team this year, with the No. 3 car especially,” said Magnussen, who picked up his 40th win in North American professional sports car racing. “We’re developing a new car and we keep finding new things to do with it. I just saw that all the fastest race laps for all the GTLMs were all within three tenths (of a second). It is a very competitive category. You have to be on your best game for everything you do. There is no room for any mistakes.” Goossens and co-driver Dominik Farnbacher finished second in the red-and-white liveried Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R. The team’s No. 93 Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R driven by Jonathan Bomarito and Kuno Wittmer finished third to round out the podium. 

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Colin Braun, Jon Bennett and James Gue (No. 54 CORE autosport ORECA FLM09) overcame an early mistake - a drive through penalty ensued for Bennett - to capture their fourth victory in five races. Braun and Gue were able to make up the difference, with Braun grabbing the lead for good midway through the fourth hour. The victory extends the PC points lead for the team. "The result we wanted here was getting the win,” Braun said. “It’s really cool to be able to win these and it helps us for our quest for the championship as well. We’re just trying to get better and improve and keep going on for the next one.” The team has won all three Patrón Endurance Cup events and lead those standings as well.

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Dane Cameron and Markus Palttala (No. 94 Turner Motorsports) drove to a dominant victory Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International. The duo led all but nine laps for their second GT Daytona (GTD) class victory of the season. The team also led at the halfway mark to score the maximum 10 points in their Round 3 win in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup. A late caution and final lap restart allowed Townsend Bell to close the deficit in the runner-up No. 555 REVO/Robert Graham/Royal Purple/Motegi Ferrari 458 Italia, but there wasn’t enough time to catch Cameron who went on to win by 2.087 seconds. Finishing third at Watkins Glen in the GTD class were full-season co-drivers Andy Lally and John Potter and third driver Sebastian Asch (No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America). The TUDOR Championship next heads to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on July 13 for the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance (FOX Sports 1, live at 2 p.m. ET). The two-hour, 45-minute race will feature the Prototype, GTLM and GTD classes.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Well, you don't see this every day. Twenty-three-year-old Columbian Carlos Huertas (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda) - a Verizon IndyCar Series rookie - won a rain-challenged Race 1 of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston presented by the Greater Houston Honda Dealers for his first victory in the series. Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 2 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) finished second and rookie Carlos Munoz (No. 34 Andretti Autosport Cinsay AndrettiTV.com HVM Honda) placed third for a historic Colombian sweep of the podium, the same day that Colombia won its FIFA World Cup knockout match. Huertas is the seventh different winner in nine races. Huertas, who led the final seven laps (his first of the season) after his teammate Justin Wilson had to pit for fuel, started 19th in the race that was scheduled for 90 laps but was ruled a timed race (1 hour, 50 minutes) because of rain that delayed the standing start. A one-lap shootout on a restart was set up following a caution on Lap 78, but the car of Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing National Guard Honda) clipped the rear of Tony Kanaan's No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet heading to the restart zone and a "no start" call came from Race Control.

(Photo by Richard Dowdy/IndyCar)
The action was wild - and wet - in Race 1. Here, Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 2 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) leads Mike Conway (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing/Fuzzy's Premium Vodka Chevrolet) and  Josef Newgarden (No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing/Strike Honda).

(Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar)
It was a big first win in the Verizon IndyCar Series for the 23-year-old Huertas.

(Photo By Chris Owens/IndyCar)
Teammates Simon Pagenaud (No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Racing Honda, above) and Mikhail Aleshin (No. 7 SPM Racing Honda) finished 1-2 in race 2 of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston presented by the Greater Houston Honda Dealers. The Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammates battled the Houston heat and the brutal 1.634-mile, 10-turn temporary street circuit to deliver their superb finish. It was the first 1-2 finish for the Indianapolis-based team co-owned by Ric Peterson and former Indy car drivers Sam Schmidt and Davey Hamilton. "Awesome race. The car was just beautiful," said Pagenaud, who earned his second victory of the season. "That's why I was so disappointed yesterday. We had such a fast car this weekend. We regrouped after Detroit (22nd and 6th-place finishes) and then came up with this package." "We thought we had the class of the field (in Race 1), but it didn't work out that way," team manager Rob Edwards said. "This is much better."

(Photo By Richard Dowdy/IndyCar)
Mikhail Aleshin (No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Racing Honda) has really impressed observers this season. "I can't really explain my feeling. I just have so much emotion," said Aleshin, the first Verizon IndyCar Series driver from Russia. "We had a great qualifying today and had a great race. I had contact with Graham (Rahal) after his pit stop and at this moment I felt like, 'That's it.' But I had a great strategy and had the same pace as the leaders. I was able to catch up and overtake some of them. Because of the strategy we were up there. And then can you imagine? In the end, I (was losing tire pressure). I was really lucky to finish, actually. The team did an amazing job. I don't have enough English words to thank the team."

(Photo By RIchard Dowdy/IndyCar)
Twenty-three-year-old Jack Hawksworth (No. 98 Bryan Herta Autosport/BBM Integrity Energee Drink Honda), another impressive Verizon IndyCar Series rookie like Aleshin, leaped from qualifying last to finishing a season-high third. "Just a fantastic day really," the young Brit said aftrward. "We've been starting up front so many times this year and it's not happened on Race Day. Today, we had a terrible qualifying and we end up on the podium. The guys did a great job on pit wall. We were quick at the right time. We were able to pass cars at the right time and I'm so delighted and so proud of Bryan Herta Autosport. They really deserve this. It's been rough this year. We've been so fast on occasions and it's just not quite happened. We haven't been able to put it together and today we were able to do it."

(Photo by Nigel Kinrade NKP, ©2014, courtesy of Ford racing)
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Miller Lite Ford Fusion) flat dominated the Quaker State 400 presented by Advanced Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night. Keselowski started from the pole and led 199 of the 267 laps for his twelfth Sprint Cup win. "Our car was awesome," said Keselowski."The team did a great job and I'm just really thankful to have a car this good. I don't know how else to put it. The Miller Lite Ford Fusion was hauling and I just can't wait to get deeper in the season and the post-season. I think this is where we need to be to have a shot at another championship, so I’m just real proud of everyone right now." Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&Ms Toyota Camry) finished second and Ryan Newman (No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Caterpillar Chevrolet SS) came in third. Watch a NASCAR video here.

(Photo courtesy of GM Racing/Chevrolet)
Robin Liddell (No. 6 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.R) held off a charging BJ Zacharias (No. 14 Doran Racing Nissan 370Z) to win Saturday’s Continental Tire 150 at Watkins Glen International, his second Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge victory of the season. Andrew Davis started the No. 6 machine and led throughout the opening 45 minutes before turning the car over to Liddell. The Scot passed the pole-winner Lawson Aschenbach (No. 01 CKS Autosport Camaro Z/28.R) with 45 minutes remaining in the two-hour, 30-minute race, and from there it was fuel conserving run to the checkered flag. Liddell had his lead cut from five to 2.387 seconds over the closing three laps. Misunderstanding instructions from his crew, he was concerned about keeping a yellow car behind him. Three corners from the finish, he saw Zacharias quickly gaining ground and the race was suddenly on. Liddell took the checkered flag .169 seconds ahead of Zacharias, with the second-place finish a career best for both the Cincinnati driver and co-driver Brad Jaeger. Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi (No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche 911) finished third. This race will air on FOX Sports 1 at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 6. The next race for the Continental Tire Challenge will be at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on Saturday, July 12.

(Photo courtesy of FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy)
American Tanner Foust took a lights-to-flag victory at the rain and mud-soaked World RX of Finland, round four of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy. Driving a Polo RX Supercar as a wildcard entry with the Volkswagen Marklund team, Foust overcame messy and difficult driving conditions to take his second win in Kouvola. Ford Olsbergs MSE teammates Andreas Bakkerud and Reinis Nitiss finished second and third, respectively.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Subaru of America, Inc. has released “Flat Out: The Full Lap,” the in-car, full lap video of its record setting lap of the Isle of Man TT Course. Mark Higgins broke the lap record two weeks ago driving a new 2015 Subaru WRX STI on the treacherous and incredible 37-mile course with an average lap speed of 117.510 MPH and a time of 19 minutes and 15 seconds. The new video is the full lap from the driver’s point of view. The lap also includes both car and driver telemetry as well as commentary by Mark Higgins. The new lap record breaks the previous record of 115.36 MPH that was set in 2011 in a 2011 WRX STI. Watch it here. - PMD