CB Expands into Two-Car Entry for Road Atlanta

CB Motorsports will run both of its Mercedes-AMG GT4 and Hyundai Veloster N TCR cars together for the first time in next weekend’s Fox Factory 120 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season finale.

Coby Shield will join Caleb Bacon in the No. 81 Hyundai for the two-hour race, with Mark Kvamme and Trenton Estep continuing at the wheel of the Mercedes which made its debut at Road America in August.

Shield will be making his IMSA debut after capturing an SCCA National Time Trial Championship and the NASA American Iron national title at Daytona in September racing a Mustang for Carroll Shelby Racing.

Brady Behrman, co-founder and CSO of PunchOut2Go, the Business-to-Business commerce integration platform, had been in talks to join CB Motorsport, but moved the conversation to helping Shield get the opportunity for his first run at the IMSA level.

“Coby has amazing talent, is a great person all around and incredibly deserving of this opportunity to carry the PunchOut2Go CB Motorsports powered Hyundai to the podium at Road Atlanta and continue to elevate his career,” said Behrman.

“I invited PunchOut2Go to the IMSA race at Virginia International Raceway, and they loved it,” said CB Motorsports team owner Chad Bacon.

“We got Coby and Brady together with Ricky (Reynolds, CB Motorsports team manager), and we did a test together last week at VIR, which was the first time we really spent time together. Everybody meshed really well, so we decided to go for it.”

Shield said he’s looking forward to racing in IMSA for the first time.

“I’m insanely excited about this opportunity, because I’ve been going to the Rolex 24 At Daytona with my dad since I was nine or 10 years old,” he said.

“We’ve been huge sports car fans forever, and this is definitely a dream come true. To me, IMSA is the pinnacle of sports car racing in North America, and it’s pretty darn cool to be racing against many of the people I’ve looked up to for a long time.”

Shield’s background includes some motorcycle and road racing, although he’s concentrated on time trials in recent years, setting a track record at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in a Camaro SS.

“I love Road Atlanta – it’s probably my second-favorite track after VIR, my home track,” said Shield, a 27-year-old from Lynchburg, Va. “I’ve been there quite a few times, racing and coaching.”

Bacon, the son of team principal Chad Bacon, recently wrapped the SRO TC America TCA championship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with four victories among eight podium finishes in 2021.

He is the grandson of four-time Rolex 24 At Daytona winner Dr. Al Bacon.

“Everybody worked together really well, and both drivers were up to pace very quickly,” said Chad Bacon about the VIR test. “We can’t wait for Caleb and Coby to team up for Road Atlanta and to continue to grow our program here in IMSA.”

Kvamme and Estep stepped up to the GS class in the new Mercedes at Road America for the final four races of the season after starting the year in TCR. Their best finish was fifth in the most recent race at Virginia International Raceway.

Caleb Bacon joined the duo in a 14th place class finish in TCR in the season opener at Daytona.