Maxson ‘Didn’t Expect’ Such a Dominant Run to Title

Tyler Maxson admitted he “didn’t expect to win” the Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship in the manner he and Topp Racing did this season, after clinching the title with one race remaining in Saturday’s opening round at Circuit of The Americas.

Maxson entered his second season with Topp looking to build on a promising 2025 campaign that included victories at Road America and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, establishing himself as a Pro class contender.

He took a significant step forward this season and collected eight wins across the first 15 rounds, including five in the last seven races.

Maxson credited the defending Pro championship-winning team, which took Ryan Yardley to the 2025, title, as being pivotal to his championship run.

“The Topp Racing team has done a lot of hard work behind the scenes to get us into this position,” Maxson told Sportscar365. “I wouldn’t say that we expected to have the level of success that we had this year.

“Obviously, the goal we came in with was to win the championship, but we definitely didn’t expect to do it in the way that we have.

“It’s really just all credit to the team on that. These guys have worked so hard all year to get this car in a really fast position, and we’ve been fast super consistently because of them. It’s been just all hats off to them.”

Maxson entered Race 1 with a 29-point advantage over championship rival Aaron Jeansonne after extending his lead by two points in Friday’s qualifying session.

Starting from pole, Maxson slipped to third on the opening lap of the 35-minute race and held that position through the finish. Combined with securing pole for Sunday’s season finale, the result was enough to clinch the title with one race to spare.

Despite settling for third, Maxson felt his Porsche had the pace to challenge for a better result before a full-course caution interrupted his progress.

With the championship within reach, however, he was content to avoid unnecessary risks.

“We’ve always thought that we have the best long-run car all year, and so for us, we were really hoping that the race would have stayed green. We felt like we were really coming on there right as the full-course yellow came out,” Maxson said.

“It was definitely a good race for us. We would have hoped it would have stayed green, but at the end of the day, we did what we needed to do to win the championship at the same time.

“We knew we didn’t need to take any unnecessary risks, and we were just kind of okay with finishing third if we had to.”

With the drivers’ title secured, Maxson said he could take a more aggressive approach in Sunday’s season finale, where he will have an opportunity to win at Topp’s home event and help secure the teams’ championship.

“The team’s ultimate goal is to win all three: the drivers’, the rookie, and the team championships,” he said.

“It gives us a little bit more freedom [today]. We can kind of go forward a little bit more, end it with a win at the team’s home race, which is obviously really important, but also just be able to wrap up that team championship tomorrow.

“So that’s really what we’re focused on, and trying to get a win for the team.”