Avondale, Louisiana – The TC America powered by Skip Barber series continued its 2022 championship season with rounds three and four taking place at the NOLA Motorsports Park. This was the first professional international sports car/touring car race weekend at the recently upgraded Louisiana venue. A professional touring car race series, drivers in the TC America series compete within three different categories (TCX, TC, and TCA) that are determined by horsepower, weight, and other performance characteristics. Competing cars include BMW, Honda, Mini, Subaru, and Hyundai.
Colin Garrett recorded his first TC America win in Race 1 for the weekend in his #44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M2 CS, holding off Jacob Ruud in the #1 BMW M2 CS, Fast Track Racing with less than five seconds separating first and second place. Ruud also recorded the Crowdstrike Fastest Lap of the race with a time of 1:50.529. Garrett’s win breaks Ruud’s four-race win streak in the series. Rounding out the top three in class was the #26 Rigid Speed BMW M2 CS driven by Lucas Catania.
A former NASCAR driver, Garrett gets the win after only his third series start. The win was also special because it marked the fifth anniversary of his first racing win ever. “I just kept pressure on the #57 early and just hit my marks throughout the race,” remarked Garrett. Garrett took the lead from Stephen Cugliari. Cugliari led the first ten laps in the #57 Accelerating Performance BMW M2 CS, before slipping back to a fourth-place finish.
In TC action, Kevin Boehm kept his winning streak going from the Sonoma weekend with a solid victory in the #22 Skip Barber Racing Honda Civic Type-R. Chasing him all the way was Mat Pombo coming in second place in the #37 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Type-R. The final podium spot was claimed by Matthew Ibrahim in the #06 DRS & Gargistic BMW M240iR (*2019 EVO). This was a career-best finish for Ibrahim and his lively California team who joined the series midway through 2021.
“I go into the race with a plan and try to execute on it,” said Boehm after starting from the pole and leading flag to flag for the win. Runner-up in the TC point standings last year, he acknowledged his goal is to make the next step to class champion. “We’re going to keep our heads down and work as hard as we can every race,” he added.
TCA action on the track was fast and furious throughout the entire race between Carter Fartuch (#16 Skip Barber Racing Honda Civic Si), Devin Anderson (#22 TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ), Spencer Bucknum (#5 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si), Cristian Perocarpi (#61 Mini JWC), and Clay Williams (#60 MINI John Cooper Works Team JCW Pro). Williams looked like a certain podium finisher until mechanical gremlins stopped him 12 laps into the 22 lap race. This was excellent wheel-to-wheel action between skilled racers and multiple makes, a hallmark of TC racing.
After 40 minutes of green flag action, it was Fartuch, followed by Anderson 4.817 second behind followed by Bucknum for the final podium spot. Winner Fartuch credited the win to consistency. “We dialed it in just right and had consistent laps,” he said.
Tune in Sunday, May 22 for Race 2 at 8:45 AM CST, or follow the action via live stream on the GT World YouTube channel. The grid for race 2 will be determined by the best lap from either qualifying or the first race. Stephen Cugliari will be starting from pole position for the Sunday race.
Live timing and scoring, and session reports are available at tcamerica.us.