GRIDLIFE Drivers Head West to California as Season Championships Shape Up

Vytis Aranauskas plunges down the Corkscrew at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Eibach GLTC in 2024.

Salinas, CA - GRIDLIFE competitors saddle up for a cross-country trip to California to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the eighth of nine rounds of the season for GRIDLIFE TrackBattle Time Attack, Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup, GRIDLIFE GT, and the GRIDLIFE RUSH Series. For the RUSH Series, the GRIDLIFE Laguna event will be the last points round of the season. While the majority of the championship competitors won’t make the trek out to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, some have teamed up to transport their cars to earn points in their bid for a class title. 

GRIDLIFE RUSH Series Championship to Conclude in California

The thrilling GRIDLIFE RUSH Series will contest its final points races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Ryan Leach maintains a 96-point lead over Andy Voelkel, a nearly insurmountable gap with just 100 points available at Laguna Seca. Leach has won 14 of 20 races contested so far, but only two of the last eight, opening the door for other drivers like James French, and Blair Hosie to win races at Road America and Lime Rock Park. Voelkel, who sits second in the championship standings, has yet to win a race this season, but has finished in the top five 17 times in his 20 starts, including 2nd place an excruciating seven times.

RUSH Series frontrunner Alex Chang rejoins the field at Laguna Seca, his first race in the series since this event last year.

The field is bolstered by entries from TJ Hunt and Nate Hamilton, Team Rapscallion drivers who sit 9th and 10th in the standings, as well as Bryce Mersberger and Jaylan Battley, who recently battled at Autobahn Country Club at GRIDLIFE Chicagoland for non-points paying race wins. Cole Gamma and Alex Chang will also rejoin the field for the first time this year, having competed at the front of the field at several rounds last year. 

GRIDLIFE GT and Eibach GLTC to Run in Exciting Multi-Class Format at Laguna Seca

While most competitors in the season standings won’t be present at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, an exciting list of drivers join or return to Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup competition next week. They’ll be joined by GRIDLIFE GT drivers in a multi-class race format, the first time that the series have been combined on course. Each series will have a separate pace car and a separate race start, and on-screen graphics will support the excitement of the racing with a color-coded position display on the live broadcast. Ian Balestra will join the field in his Honda Civic Si, a driver who began the season at GRIDLIFE South Carolina but suffered damaged in an incident. He is joined by Justin Ross, a race winner from this event last year, Anthony Domenici, and Jonathan Lugod in his widebody Honda Del Sol. Making the cross-country trek from Cincinnati is Turn In Concepts, fielding entries for Peter Zhang and Azmath Mohammed in Eibach GLTC. Championship runner up Matan Rosenberg will also be present, hoping to snag some victories to fend off a hard charging Eric Kutil, who will not make the trip, but currently leads the points.

Justin Ross leads the Eibach GLTC field into turn 1 last year. Matan Rosenberg (yellow C5 Corvette), Peter Zhang (red Turn In Concepts FR-S) return this season as well.

The GRIDLIFE GT field will include some familiar names as well, David Bamforth in his #404 Porsche Cayman, Jordan Wiseley in the #7 Hyundai Veloster N from KDM Tuners, Chris DeLucia in his BMW M3, and Hans Horpedahl in his #77 Chevrolet Corvette. GRIDLIFE GT is GRIDLIFE’s newest wheel-to-wheel competition, and though this event is far from home, GLGT drivers are expected to put on an exciting battle at the front of the field next weekend. 

Jordan Wiseley and KDM Tuners look forward to a home event in California after contesting their Hyundai Veloster N in GRIDLIFE GT all year.

The multi-class format is atypical in GRIDLIFE wheel-to-wheel competition, but with a slightly shorter operating day, and the ability to combine the series based on their pace differential, GRIDLIFE Motorsports staff elected to try something different for this event. Though the GRIDLIFE RUSH Series had a multi-class event at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, GRIDLIFE Laguna will be the first time a multi-class GRIDLIFE race is streamed on air.

TrackBattle Time Attack Field is Set to Tackle Records

GRIDLIFE’s TrackBattle Time Attack series always boasts a diverse field of cars across its eight classes at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and with the championship coming to a close in a month at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, a handful of drivers are making the journey to snag track records and points to defend their title hopes. Chris Boersma is one such driver, travelling from Ontario, Canada with his Honda Civic in Track Mod, defending his record of 1:36.58 from last season. Kal Fortner, who split time last year in a Porsche Cayman, is once again returning to Laguna Seca to defend his own RWD Street Mod record of 1:33.279. He also will have to face off against Jaime Santos in his BMW 1 Series, as the two drivers enter round eight of nine with just two points between them, with the advantage to Santos. Neither can win the championship, as Dewey DeWitt mathematically locked out other drivers from winning with his fourth track record and win combination at GRIDLIFE Chicagoland last weekend - a perfect 104-point sum. Luca Barberis, Joshua Briggs, Josh Halka, Mark Kilgore, Mike Dusold, Jack Coughlin, and Josh and Jessica Powers are also making the journey to Laguna Seca. 

Jackie Ding is back in his BMW M2, ferociously chasing Allen Patten for the Track Mod title. Patten has 103 points, just one away from perfect - which allows Jackie the opportunity to swoop in and steal the title while Patten’s Corvette is taken apart for upgrades. Ding recently won at GRIDLIFE Chicagoland - repeating his success at Laguna Seca at Pitt Race would mean picking the pocket of one of the fastest cars ever seen in GRIDLIFE Track Mod. Ding will chase Brad Perkin’s record of 1:29.280 - a time he must beat to keep his hopes alive.

Jackie Ding is on a mission to defeat Allen Patten in the Track Mod championship - he’ll need a track record and a win to keep his hopes alive.

The Falken ClubTR championship is the closest it’s ever been since the class began in 202. Just seven points - the difference between 1st and 3rd at one event - separate the top five. After an upset record and win for Mario Mirone at Autobahn Country Club, he takes the lead of the standings by just one point over Peter Granberg, and loaded his car on a trailer to head out to California. No one else in the class will follow him across the country, leaving the door wide open for him to beat the locals and score another win. Only one driver, Peter Granberg, has more than one weekend win, so regardless of what Mirone does at Laguna Seca, the championship will come down to the results at Pitt Race in October. Last year, Evan McLaren won there by 0.003 seconds, the closest margin for a championship in GRIDLIFE history. 

From the west coast, a number of drivers plan to take on the GRIDLIFE regulars, including Bailey Woods, Stephen Scheifer, Jake Montinola, and Gabe Zamora.

The entire weekend will be broadcast live on GRIDLIFE’s YouTube channel, featuring interviews, live commentary, advanced on-screen graphics, and more, starting on Friday with GRIDLIFE TrackBattle Heat 1. Tickets are still available to spectate in person at www.gridlifelaguna.com.