COTA Carrera Cup Notebook

Photo: Bob Chapman/Autosport Image

***A total of 38 cars are set for this weekend’s pair of season-ending races for Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America at Circuit of The Americas, down from the initial 40-car capacity entry. The No. 37 Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car of Sabre Cook has been withdrawn due to Cook not yet being cleared to drive per medical protocols.

***Cook, who missed the Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7 weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca due to also not being cleared to fly, is, however, on-site this weekend in support of her team, which clinched its third consecutive entrants’ championship last time out in California.

***The No. 88 Charlie Hayes Racing Porsche, which did not have a driver listed in the pre-event entry list, has also been withdrawn.

***The Andy Kilcoyne and Victoria Thomas-owned Kellymoss team has earned 322 points coming into COTA, with an insurmountable 87-point lead over JDX Racing and a 97-point margin on McElrea Racing, which is in second and third place, respectively.

***GMG Racing team owner/driver James Sofronas will return to the wheel for the first time in professional competition since sustaining a back injury at the SRO America event at Road America in August. Sofronas was confirmed earlier this week in GMG’s No. 14 Porsche, which will compete in the Pro-Am class.

***Sofronas said: “I actually made my first start in the Flacht Cup race for fairly modern Porsche GT cars during Rennsport Reunion but that race was cut short by an early incident. Carrera Cup at COTA will be the last chance for a professional race this year, so we jumped at it, and adding another car is never an issue. We have run up to seven competitive entries on some race weekends in 2023, and COTA will be a springboard into 2024 for what will be another full year of Porsche-spec racing in multiple series with multiple cars.”

***Blake McDonald, who raced in the Pro-Am class at Laguna Seca, has been promoted to the Pro class this weekend in his No. 11 GMG Porsche.

***Newly crowned IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX class champion Francis Selldorff is making his Carrera Cup debut in the No. 99 Kellymoss Porsche in the 22-car Pro class. Selldorff, who started racing in Ferrari Challenge North America last year, has been on a rapid career progression through multiple IMSA-sanctioned series.

***This weekend marks the second event of the season that Carrera Cup North America has supported Formula 1, the first having come during the Miami Grand Prix in May. Sportscar365 understands that the series will add a third F1 event to next year’s schedule, which is expected to be released this weekend.

***Texas is home to five of the top drivers in the single-make series. This year’s Pro class champion, Riley Dickinson, is from nearby New Braunfels and is backed by local brand dealer, Porsche of Austin. Nick Boulle, who pilots the No. 3 for MDK Motorsports, is from Dallas while teammate Jason Hart hails from Flower Mound.

***Austin is home to Travis Wiley, who will drive the No. 77 Topp Racing. Austin is also home to defending Pro-Am champion Alan Metni who had to pull his No. 99 Kellymoss machine from the entry list after a non-racing accident sidelined him. A Texan could also walk away with the Am class title as current class points leader Scott Noble is from Dallas.

***A total of 186 names are on Mark Kvamme’s No. 43 MDK Motorsports Porsche this weekend as part of its support for Racing to End Alzheimer’s, the team’s presenting charity partner. A $250 donation, which is matched and shared between the team’s two beneficiaries including the Nantz National Alzheimer Center, based in Houston. Since 2017, Racing to End Alzheimer’s has donated more than $425,000 to the NNAC to assist vital research.

***Qualifying is scheduled to get underway Saturday at 8:35 a.m. CDT with Race 1 set for a 2:10 p.m. start local time and Race 2 on Sunday at 10:50 a.m. Both races will be streamed live on PorscheCarreraCup.us, IMSA.tv and Peacock, with commentary from IMSA Radio’s John Hindhaugh and Shea Adam.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John