ALTON, Va. – After scoring his first Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama victory Saturday, Max Root completed his first weekend sweep Sunday morning at Virginia Int’l Raceway.

The 20-year-old from San Diego led every lap of the 45-minute race in the No. 7 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup machine after taking the lead from polesitter Roman De Angelis going into turn one following the drop of the green flag. He was never seriously challenged throughout the remainder of the race and beat Victor Gomez IV to the line by 4.140 seconds to get the victory.

“It was just tire management and consistency,” Root said. “We came out with a strong platform both days. There were mixed conditions yesterday and a perfect track today. I was smiling ear-to-ear the whole time. It was a great time.”

Gomez – the 2018 GT3 Cup Challenge USA Gold Cup class champion for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars built between 2014 and 2016 – picked up his best result since returning to the Platinum Cup class for cars built since 2017 with the runner-up finish in the No. 25 NGT Motorsport entry. Gomez claimed the runner-up spot from De Angelis, who had a last-lap off-track excursion and lost several positions.

Third place went to 17-year-old Riley Dickinson in the No. 53 Moorespeed Porsche. It was Dickinson’s fourth podium result of the season and his first since a third-place run at Montreal in June.

De Angelis wound up fourth in the No. 79 Kelly-Moss Road and Race Porsche. It was the first time the 18-year-old Canadian missed the podium all season, but he still holds a comfortable, 58-point lead, 407-349, over Root with four races now remaining on the schedule.

If the Platinum Cup race was fairly straightforward, the race in the Platinum Masters class for drivers 45 years of age and over was not. Jeff Mosing built a relatively comfortable early lead in the No. 68 Topp Racing Porsche before sliding off course and into the tire barrier in the Oak Tree Turn with 28 minutes to go.

That gave the lead to Platinum Masters points leader Alan Metni in the No. 99 AM Motorsports/Kelly-Moss Porsche and he too had a nice lead before being bitten by the Oak Tree as well. He spun with 10 minutes remaining, handing the Masters lead to Saturday’s winner, Fred Poordad in the No. 20 Wright Motorsports Porsche.

After Juan Manuel Fayen got into the turn three tire barrier in the No. 19 FMS Motorsport Porsche and brought out a full-course caution with under eight minutes to go, the race went back to green with just over three minutes left. That’s when the Platinum Masters lead changed for the final time, as Metni and Poordad tangled in turn one, forcing Poordad to spin and drawing Metni a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility.

That gave the lead and the win back to Mosing. It was his third win this year after sweeping both races in June at Watkins Glen Int’l.

Luck picked up his best Platinum Masters result of the season with a second-place run in the No. 45 Wright Motorsports Porsche. It was his fourth class podium this year. Vernon McClure scored his first Platinum Masters podium with a third-place finish in the No. 36 TPC Racing Porsche.

Metni, who wound up seventh in Masters following the penalty, still leads the class point standings by 19, 372-353, over Poordad, who was fifth on Sunday.

In Gold Cup, points leader Sebastian Carazo earned his eighth class victory of the season in the No. 27 NGT Motorsport Porsche. Not unlike Root in the Platinum Cup class, Carazo also got a nice lead at the start and stayed upfront throughout to take the victory. He now leads Rob Ferriol by 41 points, 406-365, in the Gold Cup standings.

After winning on Saturday, Ferriol came home second on Sunday in the No. 5 Moorespeed Porsche for his ninth podium of the season. Curt Swearingen was third in Gold Cup aboard the No. 17 ACI Motorsports Porsche, matching his best result of the season. Swearingen previously finished third at Watkins Glen.

Randal Bryant claimed the Yokohama Hard Charger Award in the No. 15 TPC Racing Porsche as the Gold Cup driver who improved the most overall positions from start to finish in Race 2 at VIR. Bryant finished 19th overall after starting 22nd.

Joe Custer, president of Stewart-Haas Racing and the father of NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Cole Custer, remembers the day he realized his son had what it took to be a race car driver.

It was at Indiana’s Gas City I-69 Speedway. The younger Custer, then 12, was competing in a Ford Focus Midget event. It was his first time racing against the more experienced competitors as he’d previously raced in a Ford Focus Midget division designed for younger drivers.

Officials allowed Custer to start the race from the tail of the field in order to gain experience, but he didn’t stay there for long.

“They dropped the green and Cole was at the back and there were, I don’t know, 18 cars in the race,” Joe Custer recalled. “Cole goes to the top and he made it all the way to third in like six laps. Just winging it right around it.

“I think he finished eighth or 10th or something like that. The announcer was going bananas,” Joe Custer explained. “For me, from my perspective, that’s when I took a deep breath and said holy moly, he wants to drive a race car.”

That was in 2010. Fast-forward nine years and Cole Custer is one of the top rising stars in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he drives the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Custer is having the best season of his Xfinity Series career, with five victories so far to his name.

The 21-year-old California native credits a number of factors — including experience and a new crew chief — for the strong start to his junior season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

“I think it’s a combination of everything honestly,” Custer said. “It’s my third year, so I have more experience knowing what to do when I get to the race track and what I want the feel of the car to be and everything like that. I have a new crew chief, Mike Shiplett, and he has been really good at bringing experience to our team also. He’s been in the Xfinity Series for a long time. We’ve gotten everything just a little bit better. We didn’t struggle before, but it was just a matter of making it a little better so we were competing for wins on a weekly basis.”

Custer has slowly made a name for himself at NASCAR’s top levels. After starting in quarter midgets and working his way through the previously mentioned Ford Focus Midgets, late models and NASCAR K&N Pro Series, he made his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut at age 16.

When most 16-year-olds were focused on getting a driver’s license and having fun with friends, Custer was focused on competing at one of the highest levels in racing.

“Looking back on it, with how much I know now and how much I knew then, I was probably clueless,” Custer admitted. “I could drive and I could stand on the gas, but it wasn’t like I knew exactly in every single situation what was happening. It all worked out and everything, but I wish I had more experience at that time. I think it would have helped me.”

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ALTON, Va. – Sunny skies and a dry racetrack were a welcome sight for the 16-car Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America field Sunday.

After Saturday’s race in wet conditions, the Huracan Evos roared to the green flag at iconic Virginia Int’l Raceway for round eight of the season.

Polesitter Corey Lewis in the No. 29 Change Racing/Lamborghini Charlotte entry led the field to green. He was able to extend his lead as Sandy Mitchell in the No. 1 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing/Lamborghini Paramus went off the track in turn two of the first lap and Paolo Ruberti was hit with a drive-through penalty for jumping the start.

That left Lewis to race ahead of Brandon Gdovic in the No. 46 Precision Performance Motorsport/Lamborghini Palm Beach entry for the first part of the race. Mitchell got back into the race before going wide at the Oak Tree Turn before the pit window opened and was right behind Gdovic.

The opening of the pit window was delayed for three minutes after the No. 63 of McKay Snow suffered a flat left rear tire, and a full course yellow came out for debris on the track. Lewis was the first Pro Class entry to pit and turned the car over to teammate Richy Antinucci.

As the pit cycle closed with 17 minutes remaining in the race, the No. 46 seized the lead with Shinya Michimi taking over for Gdovic. Round 7’s winner – the No. 27 quickly moved up to second with Cedric Sbirrazzouli behind the wheel as the No. 29 fell off the pace and had to stop in the pits a second time.

Michimi then enjoyed a five- to seven-second lead over the final minutes of the race as the No. 46 won for the second time in 2019 and for the first time since round one over the No. 27.

Lewis and Antinucci remain in the class lead in points with 102 marks, followed by Adrea Amici and Sandy Mitchell with 90.

Jacob Eidson and Damon Ockey in the No. 9 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Vancouver continued to close in on the ProAm class championship with their seventh win in eight races. Eidson started the race and quickly moved to the front of the class before handing the car over to Ockey during the mandatory pit window.

Ockey brought the car to the finish line with a little drama on the last lap, as he spun in the Oak Tree but was still able to finish third overall and enjoyed a 40-second win over Patrick Liddy in the No. 24 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini La Jolla entry.

The duo has now accumulated 122 points on the season with William Hubbell in the No. 69 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing/Lamborghini Paramus entry in second with 78.

McKay Snow and Steven Aghakhani once again battled it out in the Am Class as they were separated by less than half a second for a majority of the first 20 minutes of the race. With 33 minutes remaining Snow’s car suffered a flat left rear tire which brought out the aforementioned caution.

That allowed Aghakhani to take the lead. He was able to go to victory over Sheena Monk in the No. 7 Dream Racing, Lamborghini Palmyra entry to earn his third victory of the year.

Snow remains in first place in class with 105 points while Cameron Cassels is second with 85 and Aghakhani is third with 82.

LB Cup Class leader Mel Johnson had the first stint in the No. 08 GMG Racing, Lamborghini Newport Beach entry, but was overtaken by the No. 43 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing after contact in turn one of the first lap.

The No. 43 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing/Lamborghini Paramus entry driven by Stephanie Cemo took the lead at that point until it changed 10 minutes into the race as Justin Price in the No. 22 Dream Racing, Lamborghini Atlanta entry moved to the front looking to make it a sweep on the weekend.

A slower pit stop by the No. 22 allowed the No. 08 with Thomas Lovelady behind the wheel to reclaim the lead following the pit window being closed. He was able to make it the fifth win of the season for the No. 08 as they held off a strong challenge from the No. 43 and Ashton Harrison.

Johnson, on his own, still leads the class with 90 points while Harrison and Cemo are second with 82.

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario — Kevin Lacroix left Riverside Int’l Speedway last week feeling like he had let one get away.

After leading the most laps, including the white flag lap, Lacroix lost to Jason Hathaway in a thrilling overtime finish.

This week, Lacroix came into a track he knows well –  Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – looking to jumpstart his title hopes.  Lacroix put together a perfect weekend, taking the pole award before winning the TOTAL Quartz 200 in heart pounding fashion.

“We were pretty much shaken after the race [Riverside] for points” Lacroix said.  And now we’re here (CTMP) and we had the chance to make a perfect weekend, that was the plan, thats what happened so we’re really happy.”

Lacroix’s led the first 20 laps in his No.74 Bumper to Bumper Dodge before calamity struck. Lacroix made an unscheduled pit stop, pushing him down the order and over 10 seconds back from the leaders.

The Saint-Eustache, Quebec driver took advantage of restarts to fight his way up to front. A late race accident set a up a NASCAR Overtime finish, which Lacroix took perfect advantage of. Lacroix’s win, coupled with trouble for points leader Andrew Ranger has the pair tied atop the standings with three races to go.

“Andrew Ranger had some bad luck and it ties us heading into the next three races. That’s going to be an exciting end of the season” Lacroix added “We’re really looking forward to the last few races, I’m really confident but I know Andrew is going be good there too so we have to keep up.”

Alex Tagliani had dominated the middle portion of the event leading 24 laps. In NASCAR overtime it was a two-man fight. Like countless Trucks and Pinty’s races past, Lacroix made his move in the infamous turn 10. Diving to the inside, Lacroix muscled his way by the Rona/EpiPen Chevrolet to claim his fifth CTMP victory, sweeping both events for the second time in his career.

In a post-race act of displeasure, Tagliani hit the door of the No.74 forcing him into the grass. No further altercations occurred post race.

In the ensuing dust cloud, Marc-Antoine Camirand was able to sneak through and claim his first podium of 2019. Camirand’s No. 22 GM Paille Chevrolet equals his best CTMP finish that he scored last May.

“I’m just happy to be back on the podium,” Camirand said. “It was a crazy race, we battled for the lead all race long and on the last restart when Kevin was in third place, I knew he was going to push hard to pass Alex and I let them go.”

For his second road course race in a row, J.F. Dumoulin found himself on the podium. Leading a lap and running clean all race long, Dumoulin snuck by Tagliani in the final corner to claim his fourth career podium.

Despite having the lead taken away in the final curve, Tagliani was able to hold on for a fourth-place finish.  Anthony Simone would score his best finish of the season in fifth.

The finish:

Kevin Lacroix, Marc-Antoine Camirand, J.F. Dumoulin, Alex Tagliani, Anthony Simone, Jason Hathaway, D.J. Kennington, Simon Dion-Viens, Andrew Ranger, Julia Landauer, Gary Klutt, Donald Theetge, L.P. Dumoulin, Raymond Guay, Jocelyn Fecteau, Larry Jackson, J.F. Laberge, Kevin Poitras, David Thorndyke, Malcolm Strachan, T.J. Rinomato, Alex Labbe, Chandler Smith, Mark Dilley, Ryan Klutt.

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario – No one was even in the same zip code as Brett Moffitt on Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The reigning NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion put together a dominant performance, leading a race-high 45 laps from the pole during the Chevrolet Silverado 250 to earn his second-straight victory to kickoff the Truck Series playoffs in the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado.

“I just feel like everyone at GMS, all the wayback to the fab shop on up, has been doing a better job,” Moffitt said. “I’d say we’re hitting our stride at the right time. It took awhile to get here. Before it was like we were missing a little bit everywhere. Now we’re hitting on all cylinders.”

Moffitt easily won the first stage and only gave up the lead during the second stage to pit during a caution period. He returned to the front of the field for the start of the final stage, rocketing off into the lead during the restart and never looking back despite questions about his Chevrolet Silverado having enough fuel to make it to the finish.

The victory is Moffitt’s fourth the season and the 11th of his career in the Truck Series as he looks to defend his Truck Series championship from one year ago.

“Obviously we were tight on fuel there, but we had a really good Chevy Silverado,” Moffitt said. “No better place to go victory lane than at a race sponsored by Silverado. That was really cool for our partners.”

NASCAR Pinty’s Series regular and 2011 Indianapolis 500 polesitter Alex Tagliani, making a one-off start for Kyle Busch Motorsports, finished a distant second. Tagliani was more than five seconds behind Moffitt at the checkered flag.

“It was amazing to run for KBM,” Tagliani said. “We were just missing loading the front tire in the race in the fast corner. So I had to over slow the Truck down too much in the corner. That’s what made the difference between (me and) the 24 (Moffitt). Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to race for them (KBM).”

Ben Rhodes finished right behind Tagliani in third, followed by Sheldon Creed and playoff driver Austin Hill.

With one race left in the first round of the Truck Series playoffs, Moffitt is the only driver who has clinched his place in round two. Ross Chastain has a 28 point cushion over the cutoff line in second.

Things get tighter from there, with Stewart Friesen in third, six points above the cutoff line. Matt Crafton is fourth, five points ahead of the cutoff line and Hill sits fifth with four points between him and the cutoff line.

The two drivers who are currently on the outside looking in are Johnny Sauter, who sits four points behind Hill, and Tyler Ankrum, who is 14 points behind the cutoff line entering the next Truck Series race on Sept. 13 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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