New Race Winners Emerge in GLTC at GRIDLIFE Grand Circuit
Jeremy Swenson battles Andy Smedegard into turn 1 at NCM Motorsports Park. Photo by Rob Wilkinson.
Bowling Green, KY -
GRIDLIFE Touring Cup (GLTC) visited NCM Motorsports for the first time last weekend for “GRIDLIFE Grand Circuit” - the first full event weekend in 2021. The entry list spilled over 40 entries, including new cars for Andy Smedegard, Eric Jensen in an LS-powered Scion FR-S, a handful of new Mazda Miatas, and Jeremy Swenson’s purple-wrapped Corvette. Several drivers returned to GLTC after making repairs to their vehicles during the offseason, including Scott Bowling in his Porsche Cayman and Tom O’Gorman, whose 2004 Honda S2000 sported a K24 motor installed by Andy Smedegard Motorsports (ASM).
The GLTC field of nearly 40 cars lined up on Saturday night for a full field photograph. Photo by Chris Sullivan.
The first race of the weekend kicked off on Saturday afternoon, with Andy Smedegard on pole in his newly built S2000. By the time the field reached turn 1, it was Jeremy Swenson who pulled ahead and began to drive away. It wouldn’t last long, however, as Swenson’s transmission would give out, sidelining him for the rest of the day. Smedegard would go on to claim his first victory of the season, followed by 2020 runner up Aaron Leichty, points leader Luke McGrew, Emile Tabb, and Todd Kaley. Eric Kutil, last year’s champion, fought issues in race one and finished in 6th.
Race two on Sunday morning saw a similar fight up front between Swenson and Smedegard - but this time, Swenson’s repaired Corvette lasted much longer out front. With only a few laps to go, Smedegard slid by on the inside in turn 18 to take the lead and claim his second win of the weekend. Behind the front two, fierce battles emerged for third and fourth with Aaron Leichty, newcomer John D. Allen in the Thing Three Racing MX-5, Emile Tabb, Luke McGrew, and Todd Kaley. Allen would come home fourth, impressing in his first ever competition weekend in GLTC. Tom O’Gorman spent his race charging from the back after having a drive belt slip off in the first race - he finished 17th - and completed a race for the first time since Road America last fall.
Andy Smedegard won the first two races of the weekend at NCM Motorsports Park - in a brand new car for the 2021 season. Photo by Chris Sullivan.
The third race of the weekend was split at the halfway point by a lengthy full course yellow. A multi-car incident in turn 5 halted the race with Jeremy Swenson leading over Andy Smedegard. Before the caution, Tom O’Gorman charged forward and made up several places, putting him inside the top 10. At the restart, Jeremy Swenson pulled away, and with only a six-minute sprint to the finish, he was able to hang on for his first ever GRIDLIFE Touring Cup race win. Smedegard finished second with Aaron Leichty sneaking onto the podium for third. Eric Kutil managed a 4th place finish with most of his issues resolved after transplanting a new motor in after an engine failure testing two weeks before the event.
In the fourth and final race of the weekend, the 13-driver invert put Austin Hertel on pole, where he quickly established a lead in the early moments of the race. The middle of the pack was a chaotic mess of racecars, with battles involving Swenson, Rains, Leichty, Boysen, Jensen, and Chris Adams. Andy Smedegard had a mechanical issue and pulled off course, triggering a caution at the halfway point in the race. Tom O’Gorman had driven from eighth to second prior to the yellow. At the restart, O’Gorman passed Hertel in turns five and six, and drove to his first ever GLTC victory, followed by Eric Kutil and Emile Tabb.
Even with Andy Smedegard’s DNF in race 4, his 1st, 1st, and 2nd place finishes in the first three races netted him the overall weekend victory, with Aaron Leichty and Eric Kutil finishing second and third. Emile Tabb missed the podium by just one point. The next points round for GLTC will be at GRIDLIFE Spring Kickoff, June 4th-6th, 2021.
GRIDLIFE Grand Circuit - GLTC Weekend Results
| Pos | Driver | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Smedegard | 25 | 25 | 21 | 0 | 71 |
| 2 | Aaron Leichty | 21 | 18 | 18 | 9 | 66 |
| 3 | Eric Kutil | 14 | 11 | 16 | 21 | 62 |
| 4 | Emile Tabb | 16 | 15 | 12 | 18 | 61 |
| 5 | Luke McGrew | 18 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 59 |
| 6 | Jeremy Swenson | 0 | 21 | 25 | 11 | 57 |
| 7 | Todd Kaley | 15 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 54 |
| 8 | John Allen | 10 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 53 |
| 9 | Robert Manouchehri | 12 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 48 |
| 10 | Austin Hertel | 13 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 45 |
| 11 | Tom O'Gorman | 0 | 3 | 14 | 25 | 42 |
| 12 | Andrew Rains | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 39 |
| 13 | Eric Jensen | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 28 |
| 14 | Jeremy Boysen | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 28 |
| 15 | Chris Adams | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 27 |
| 16 | Joel Morrison | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| 17 | Marcus Luttrell | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| 18 | Scott Bowling | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 19 | Joshua Rubenstein | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| 20 | Ron Soliman | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 21 | George Koustoumbardis | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 22 | Craig Moulton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 23 | Erik Meadows | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 24 | Beau Adams | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | Yo Keutla | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 26 | Brad Kosiba | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | Dustin Bartee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Wesley Penn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Bill Griffin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Freddy Assuncao | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Ryan Zupancic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Sean Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Max Lupfer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Nick Sartor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Scott Robertson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Colton Wade | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | William Lahee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Dusty Michael | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Jeff Preston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |