Kleck Feels He Could Be a “Sleeper” in Carrera Cup Debut

Cole Kleck feels he and Topp Racing are “a little bit of a sleeper” heading into his Porsche Carrera Cup North America debut at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta this weekend after championship success in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America.

Kleck won the Sprint Challenge North America GT3 Cup Pro-Am title with Topp when the series wrapped up last month at Road Atlanta.

This weekend, he joins the Carrera Cup grid for the first time in the single make series’ penultimate weekend in the No. 211 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

“We had a great car all year due to Topp Racing,” Kleck told Sportscar365. “We’ve just chipped away and chipped away at getting better every race weekend.

“It was a brand new car to me this season, but now we’re facing the struggles of more competition, so it’s definitely pushing me more and more to get better.

“Sprint Challenge was a great series, but now we’re looking forward to doing Carrera Cup. I’m excited.

“I feel like we’re a little bit of a sleeper. We’ve been real quiet all year, so hopefully we can surprise them.

“I know we have the car to do it and we just need to sharpen me up a little bit. I need to do some more training. I think we’ll be there eventually. We just have to spend a little bit more time trying to find little stuff.

“Being in this car all year is definitely a help. If I was coming in here with nothing, I would be so far back.”

Aside from physical crossover in terms of technique, Kleck noted that mental preparation and consistency behind the wheel would also carry over into Carrera Cup.

“It’s a lot of things that are mental,” he said. “As far as making sure I do every little change each lap, adapt to each corner each lap. The Porsche is a very consistent car within laps.

“So it’s just being consistent, really. You just have to be consistent every lap and that’s where the success comes from.”

Kleck revealed that participation in Carrera Cup has been on his radar for some time now, and that he’s aiming to put together a full-season campaign for 2026.

“We’re going to run this weekend, we’re going to do next week at COTA and then hopefully, if everything comes out to plan, do Carrera Cup next year,” he said.

“That’s the dream. God’s plan. I hope that’s in his plan and I hope that’s where we go. I would love to do it.”

Notably, Porsche introduced an updated Type 992.2 version of its current generation of Cup race car earlier this year, the 911 Cup, which is set to begin competition in Porsche’s regional and global single-make championships in 2026.

Looking beyond next year, however, Kleck noted his desire to compete at the GT3 level, but has his sights set on being competitive in the Porsche single-make series first.

“Most people say Carrera Cup is a two-year championship,” Kleck said. “I would love to do it in one, but that’s what everyone wants to do.

“To move up would be great. What’s next after Carrera Cup? I don’t know yet. But if we got to move up the Porsche ladder, that would be awesome.

“I would love to do some GT3 stuff, like endurance racing. If I could get there, I would be so happy.”

When asked about his goals this weekend, Kleck said that his primary objective is to “finish the races.”

He added: “I know how hard it is and how hard these guys drive. I want to finish the races. My goal is a top five. Is it out of reach? I don’t know yet. We’ll see come qualifying, but a top five would be awesome.”