GRIDLIFE Touring Cup Entry List Tops 50 for Spring Kickoff
South Haven, MI -
As GRIDLIFE closes in on its traditional June event at GingerMan Raceway, the GRIDLIFE Touring Cup (GLTC) points show signs of volatility. Since the second points-paying round back in February at Circuit of the Americas, Luke McGrew has enjoyed a substantial lead on the rest of the field. But, with the absence of 2020 runner-up Aaron Leichty at NOLA in November, that lead may be misleading - as Leichty has outscored McGrew in every round since. With McGrew’s lead down to a slim 19 points heading into the season’s fourth round, he might be forced to recapture the magic of his first GLTC win at Spring Kickoff last year to hang on to his lead.
Hybrid Racing driver, Eric Kutil, rings in one year with his K-swapped 1992 Honda Civic Si - a combination that netted him the 2020 driver’s championship. His season so far has been plagued by reliability issues, which the team managed to overcome and maintain third in the points. Winning Formula driver, Emile Tabb, is fourth heading into GingerMan, with Todd Kaley following closely behind in fifth. Another Winning Formula driver, Rob Manouchehri, finished top 5 in every race at Spring Kickoff last year. After battling differential issues in Kentucky, Manouchehri sits 20th in points - but will likely move up in Michigan.
At GRIDLIFE Grand Circuit last month, Andy Smedegard made waves in the GLTC paddock with a brand new S2000 build - winning 2 of 4 races and the weekend title. The team of three consisted of Smedegard, Ronnie Soliman, and Tom O’Gorman, who took his ASM HeelToe S2000 to victory in Kentucky. With momentum for the team building, ASM might be the team to beat - although they’ll have a way to go to make up ground in the points, where Smedegard, Solimon, and O’Gorman sit 13th, 19th, and 21st respectively (due to missing the first two rounds). D.J. Alessandrini will make his first start in GLTC since Road America last fall. Alessandrini has one win (Mid-Ohio in the middle of last year) and could be considered a favorite with his car freshly prepped and on the new and untested GoodYear slick tires.
Amidst the K-swapped cars and Duratec Miatas near the front, V8-powered cars are also finding success. Jeremy Swenson and his not-so-subtle shiny purple C5 Corvette found victory lane last month - and newcomer Eric Jenson’s thundering LS-swapped Scion FR-S ran top-15 all weekend. Bryan Heitkotter’s V6-powered Chris Forsberg Racing Nissan 370Z will also make a comeback after its debut at Circuit of the Americas.
The 50+ car grid will be the one of the largest in GRIDLIFE Touring Cup history - matching the car count from GRIDLIFE’s annual Midwest Festival from last year. The explosive growth of the series has also led to a considerable increase in the level of competition. With 12 races completed so far this year, there have been 7 different winners (including 3 first-time winners), and no clear favorite has emerged for the season championship. GLTC races are streamed live on GRIDLIFE’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
2021 Championship Standings (Click)
GRIDLIFE Spring Kickoff Entry List
| Number | Last Name | First Name | Year | Make | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Lee | Justin | 2006 | Mazda | MX5 Miata |
| 61 | Alessandrini | Dj | 2006 | Honda | Civic Si |
| 13 | Bartee | Dustin | 2006 | Honda | Civic |
| 722 | Bowling | Scott | 2010 | porsche | CAYMAN |
| 99 | Boysen | Jeremy | 2002 | Acura | RSX |
| 71 | Fitzpatrick | Clayton | 1999 | chevy | Corvette |
| 54 | Gale | Seth | 1998 | Acura | Integra |
| 61 | Gartzke | Andrew | 1991 | Acura | Integra |
| 12 | Gonzalez | Felipe | 2000 | Honda | S2000 |
| Hawrysko | Ben | BMW | M3 | ||
| 44 | James | Kerry | 1995 | BMW | M3 |
| 184 | Jensen | Eric | 2016 | Scion | FRS |
| 32 | Joraanstad | Jake | 2001 | Honda | S2000 |
| Kaley | Todd | Honda | S2000 | ||
| 86 | Kelly | Justin | 2013 | Scion | FR-S |
| Kelly | Tiffany | Honda | S2000 | ||
| 74 | King | Derek | 1979 | mazda | rx7 |
| Kosiba | Brad | 2000 | Mazda | Miata | |
| 6 | Kritikos | Michael | 2006 | BMW | 330i |
| Kutil | Eric | 1992 | Honda | Civic Si | |
| 93 | Lahee | William | 1991 | Honda | Civic Si |
| 91 | Lamb | Tom | 1988 | Honda | CRX Si |
| 190 | Leichty | Aaron | 1993 | Mazda | Miata |
| 42 | Lovoy | Zachary | 2012 | Honda | S2000 |
| Lupfer | Max | Mazda | Miata | ||
| Marchand | Juan R | Mazda | Miata | ||
| Marouski | Ben | Mini | Cooper | ||
| 7 | McGrew | Luke | 2007 | Mazda | Mx5 |
| 3 | Meadows | Erik | 2009 | Mazda | MX5 |
| 54 | Michael | Dusty | 1990 | Honda | Civic |
| 71 | Morrison | Joel | 2005 | Honda | S2000 |
| 29 | Murray | Christopher | 1997 | Honda | Civic |
| 222 | Myers | Jeremy | 1994 | honda | civic |
| 113 | Penn | Wesley | 1999 | Mazda | Miata |
| Cox | Stephen | Chevrolette | Corvette | ||
| 202 | price | jacob | 2000 | Mazda | Miata |
| Ravi | Promo | Honda | S2000 | ||
| 68 | Reyes | Patrick | 2006 | Honda | S2000 |
| Robertson | Scott | Mazda | Miata | ||
| Rosenberg | Matan | Mazda | Miata | ||
| 26 | Roy | Alexander | 2004 | BMW | M3 |
| 18 | Rudzinski | David | 1994 | Acura | Integra |
| 212 | Smedegard | Andy | 2017 | Honda | K2000 |
| 3 | Swenson | Jeremy | 2001 | Chevrolet | Viking Performance Corvette |
| 14 | Tabb | Emile | 1992 | Mazda | Miata |
| 944 | Theurer | Max | 1994 | BMW | 325is 2Dr |
| 13 | Upham | Ryan | 1995 | BMW | M3 |
| 95 | Vierhout | Robert | 2004 | Nissan | 350z |
| 8 | Wade | Colton | 2005 | BMW | M3 |
| 101 | Wimble | Gary | 2006 | MAZDA | Miata MX5 |
| 101 | Wimble | Gary | 2006 | MAZDA | Miata MX5 |
| 102 | Work | Andrew | 1998 | Honda | Civic |
| 200 | Yu | Jonathan | 1994 | BMW | 318i |