Thirty-Five Entries for Together Fest Headliner at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
INDIANAPOLIS – For the second year, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands headlines Porsche Sports Car Together Fest at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rounds 13 and 14 of the 16-race second season of the one-make race series will enjoy 35 entries across its three classes: Pro, Pro-Am and Am.
Included on the impressive list of Porsche racers this weekend is NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon, who grew up in nearby Pittsboro, Indiana. With only four races remaining in its sophomore season, championship battles are raging across all three classes.
Utilizing portions of the legendary oval that has hosted 106 runnings of the Indianapolis 500, the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course winds its way through the infield before crossing the “yard of bricks” start-finish line. Race 1 will take the green flag at 3:15 p.m. ET Saturday. Race two starts at 1:30 p.m.
Sunday as the final competition of Sports Car Together Fest.
All classes utilize the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car. The 500-horsepower, rear-engine, naturally aspirated competition machine is almost mechanically identical to the road-going Porsche 911 GT3 that will pace the field for both 40-minute races.
Thirty-five cars are entered in the three classes: 16 in Pro, 13 in Pro-Am and six in Am.
Pro Class: The most recent weekend at Road America tightened the battle at the sharp end of the series significantly when Pro points leader Kay van Berlo finished off the podium in Race 1 and failed to finish Race 2 in the No. 3 Kelly-Moss Porsche. Instead, his most heated rivals Trenton Estep (No. 6 MDK Motorsports) and Parker Thompson (No. 9 JDX Racing) won the two rounds, respectively. Heading into the weekend, van Berlo leads Thompson by 16 points and Estep by 32.
Included in the Pro class is four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Gordon, who will briefly step out of retirement to race the No. 24 Hendrick Performance Group Porsche. The three-time Daytona 500 winner will be a reunited with longtime and storied crew chief Ray Evernham. It marks the first time the championship-winning combination has teamed together since 1999. Gordon will race in the Pro class but will be technically considered an Invitational class driver and not eligible for points toward the Pro championship.
Pro-Am Class: At 13 cars, the Pro-Am class has one if its largest grids of the season for Indianapolis. Like the Pro class, Road America threw more speculation into the mix of who would come out as champion at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta finale in just over a month.
Like 2021, Alan Metni (No. 99 Kelly-Moss) remains at the top of the standings coming into Indy but with growing pressure from behind. The three-time winner in 2022 had a second-place finish in the first race at Road America but only scored five points in the second race after damage. Behind him, after three straight wins, 2021 class champ Efrin Castro (No. 65 Kelly-Moss) earned only a total of 14 points at Road America. This set the stage for Marco Cirone (No. 84 Mark Motors Racing) to add both Road America wins and close within 59 points of Metni. Castro still sits second in points, 27 behind Metni.
Am Class: This class has been the most active in swapping points positions in recent rounds. While Mark Kvamme (No. 43 MDK Motorsports) controlled the early season, missing rounds 9 and 10 pushed the Carrera Cup rookie out of the top spot. Bill Smith’s two wins in the No. 42 Topp Racing Porsche moved him to the lead.
However, an at-home injury forced Smith to miss Road America. By returning to form with two wins there, Kvamme took over the top spot again and a second-place finish by John Goetz (No. 57 Wright Motorsports) moved him into second place entering Indy. Kvamme’s lead is just three points over Goetz and 34 on Smith.
Two practices for all classes take place Friday, with qualifying Saturday ahead of the first race. Both races stream live on IMSA.com/TVLive and Peacock.