The GT America Powered by AWS championship closed out the Grand Prix of Long Beach presented by 5.11 weekend with an exciting Race 2 on Sunday afternoon. Notably, both 40-minute races ran under green flag conditions from start to finish

It was a perfect weekend for the winners across the board in the SRO3, GT2, and GT4 classes, with Jason Daskalos, Dan Knox, and Isaac Sherman claiming back-to-back victories in their respective classes.

SRO3

Jason Daskalos kicked off the race from pole position with a stellar start on board his No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, but it was Kyle Washington in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R who stole the spotlight on the opening lap with a daring maneuver, gaining two positions in a single corner. However, a start violation earned him a drive-through penalty, relegating him down the order.

Daskalos attempted to extend his lead, but James Sofronas was putting in the work in his No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 to try to close the gap and apply pressure, with Johnny O’Connell following in hot pursuit in the No. 3 SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3.

Traffic soon became a factor as the leaders encountered lapped GT4 competitors, and the top three drivers found themselves separated by less than a second. Lap after lap, Daskalos continued to defend as his fellow competitors loomed in his mirrors, but his focus went unbroken as he clinched the Race 2 victory, with Sofronas and O’Connell finishing in second and third position.

“What a weekend!” said Daskalos. “Obviously, that couldn’t have finished any better for the points, and that’s what we’re striving for. We want to win the championship. It took a while for the car to come to me, but towards the halfway mark I just had great pace again and I was hitting my marks. I didn’t make any mistakes, and I built a little bit of a gap, which helped me because I was able to be a little more conservative in traffic.”

The CrowdStrike Fastest Lap Award belonged to Kyle Washington, with a flying lap time of 1m19.725s.

GT2

In the GT2 class, Dan Knox continued to show his dominance around the streets of Long Beach in the No. 10 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2, as he led from start to finish in his respective class, in addition to running in the top 5 overall for the majority of the race.

Knox’s strengths were on full display as he swept the weekend, equalling Aaron Farhadi’s prior two victories at Sonoma Raceway in the opening round. This time around, Fahardi went on to secure another second place finish this weekend in the No. 127 TPC Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2, with Brent Holden claiming the final spot on the podium once more in the No. 44 GMG Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2.

“It couldn’t have been a better weekend for Lone Star Racing,” expressed Dan Knox. “This was awesome, to get two wins in a row at Long Beach of all places. Thank you to my crew, everyone just did a fantastic job on this car today.”

GT4

It was a strong start for Rotek Racing in the GT4 class, with Isaac Sherman having a clean getaway from pole position in his No. 098 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, with teammate and team owner Robb Holland following closely behind in the No. 099 machine.

Holland relentlessly pursued Sherman, narrowing the gap with each passing lap. However, he made a trip down pit lane, which further shook up the running order as Samantha Tan was promoted to second place in the No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT4, with Gray Newell trailing close behind in third in the No. 25 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.

Sherman went on to collect his fourth consecutive win of the season, further cementing himself as the frontrunner in the championship standings. The battle for the final podium positions raged on until the checkered flag, with Tan retaining her hold on second place, with Newell completing the podium in third.

“I couldn’t have imagined sweeping the weekend,” said Sherman. “I always say it’s a team effort. I have a lot of support from Super Cuts, and from my family, friends, the team and Porsche, they’re all amazing. They made this possible for me. Today I was focused, I put my head down and it worked out really well.”

The SUPERFUEL Hard Changer Award went to Todd Coleman in the No. 69 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 as he gained 4 positions in the race.

The GT America Powered by AWS field will be back on track in just a couple of weeks at Sebring International Raceway from May 3-5.

RESULTS