Smedegard Wins GRIDLIFE Chicago GLTC Weekend - Impresses On Track and Off
Andy Smedegard won 2 of 3 races in a rain-shortened weekend at GRIDLIFE Chicago.
Joliet, IL -
On a normal GRIDLIFE weekend, broken records usually happen on the racetrack. This past weekend, the race everyone was watching happened in the paddock. At GRIDLIFE Chicago, the Touring Cup series (GLTC) competed for the second time at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois. GLTC qualifying was one of the few sessions that managed to run on Saturday, despite washout weather conditions that would eventually cancel the remaining sessions - including the first of four races. The front qualifiers were no surprise - Tom O’Gorman on pole, sporting a striking new electric blue livery, and ASM teammate Andy Smedegard in second.
The first race of the weekend on Sunday morning proved to be an immense challenge throughout the field, with deep puddles and damp asphalt sending Jeremy Swenson off course and Eric Kutil and Emile Tabb into a tandem slide. The most heart-stopping moment was Chris Adams sliding wildly out of turn 5, narrowly avoiding Ryan Upham’s red BMW M3, and gathering up what could have been a race-ending incident. Up front, Tom O’Gorman and Andy Smedegard led the race comfortably, until O’Gorman’s engine let go on the backstretch. Smedegard keyed up the team radio and instructed the team behind Andy Smedegard Motorsports to prepare Tom’s car for repairs. Smedegard would go on to win GLTC Race 1, before heading back to the paddock to turn his attention to the powerless #94.
Bystanders stood back and watched in awe, trading shocked expressions as ASM pulled out a spare Honda K24 engine, grabbed wrenches, and delicately removed the broken motor. Nearly a dozen team members worked under, over, and inside the Honda S2000 - including Smedegard - who made quick work of what would normally be days or weeks of effort. When the new engine was bolted in and cranked to build oil pressure, the old motor sat on a pallet, still warm from the race just 90 minutes prior. With time to spare, the winner of GLTC’s previous round pulled onto the grid for the second race of the day, prepared to start 5th, based on O’Gorman’s best lap from race 1. The GRIDLIFE scrutineering team compared data between engines and ensured the fresh engine transplant was compliant with the rules.
On the first of two pace laps, O’Gorman rolled back down pit lane with overheating problems, stopping against the pit wall. From the spectator’s viewing area above, water bottles rained down and were dumped directly into the radiator - just enough to cool the engine down as the field roared by for the race start. In 15 minutes, the blue S2000, with a new heartbeat, passed 23 cars to finish 11th; he’d go on to finish 8th in the final race of the weekend and gain a spot in the season points.
Andy Smedegard won the second race of the day, followed by the Hybrid Racing EG Civic of Eric Kutil, the Winning Formula Miata of Aaron Leichty, Chris Forsberg Racing’s Bryan Heitkotter, and Emile Tabb. Justin Kelly, Joel Morrison, Jeremy Swenson, Louis Chatroop, and Jake Joraanstad completed the top 10.
The third and final race of the weekend was led to the green by Jeremy Swenson, who gained his advantage from the eight-driver invert from the previous race. In a similar style to his previous wins at NCM Motorsports Park in Kentucky and GingerMan Raceway in Michigan, Swenson pulled out to an enormous lead, before he started slipping back into the clutches of Smedegard and Emile Tabb. With just minutes left in the race, Seth Gale’s Acura Integra triggered a full course caution that would end the race early, allowing Swenson to claim his third win of the year. Andy Smedegard won the weekend overall, with Aaron Leichty and Eric Kutil finishing second and third. Leichty passed McGrew and now leads the season points as GLTC forges ahead to the GRIDLIFE Alpine Horizon Festival, July 23-25, at Pikes Peak International Raceway.
GRIDLIFE Touring Cup Results - Autobahn Country Club
| Pos | Name | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Smedegard | 25 | 25 | 21 | 71 |
| 2 | Aaron Leichty | 21 | 18 | 16 | 55 |
| 3 | Eric Kutil | 16 | 21 | 15 | 52 |
| 4 | Emile Tabb | 15 | 15 | 18 | 48 |
| 5 | Bryan Heitkotter | 18 | 16 | 13 | 47 |
| 6 | Jeremy Swenson | 9 | 12 | 25 | 46 |
| 7 | Justin Kelly | 14 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
| 8 | Joel Morrison | 13 | 13 | 11 | 37 |
| 9 | Louis Chatroop | 8 | 11 | 10 | 29 |
| 10 | Jake Joraanstad | 6 | 10 | 9 | 25 |
| 11 | Austin Hertel | 10 | 8 | 3 | 21 |
| 12 | Tom O'Gorman | 0 | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| 13 | Ryan Upham | 12 | 0 | 6 | 18 |
| 14 | Jake Price | 2 | 7 | 8 | 17 |
| 15 | Dustin Bartee | 4 | 5 | 7 | 16 |
| 16 | Tiffany Kelly | 11 | 0 | 4 | 15 |
| 17 | Scott Robertson | 7 | 6 | 2 | 15 |
| 18 | Luke McGrew | 5 | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| 19 | Matan Rosenberg | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 20 | Gary Wimble | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | Chris Adams | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 22 | Kerry James | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Justin Lee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Zachary Lovoy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | Aurimas Karosas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Scott Magee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Ben Hawrysko | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Patrick Reyes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Felipe Gonzalez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Bill Griffin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Jorge Ortiz III | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Seth Gale | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Thomas Moss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Jonathan Yu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Jeremy Myers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |