Fletcher Keeps Title Hopes Alive With Sunday Barber Win

Photo: Trevor Travis/Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jeremy Fletcher kept his GR Cup North America championship hopes alive with victory in Sunday’s race at Barber Motorsports Park.

Fletcher, in the No. 22 Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR 86 Cup car, got around pole-sitter and points leader Spike Kohlbecker for the lead with six minutes to go, following a full-course caution and late-race restart.

He took the win over the No. 78 BSI Racing machine of Ethan Ayars, who passed Kohlbecker moments before a race-ending caution for Lucas Rowel, who spun his No. 71 Copeland Toyota hard into the barriers.

It crucially erased a potential 33-point lead for Kohlbecker, who controlled the majority of the 45-minute race, and tuned it into only a 13-point margin — the same they had entering this weekend — between the TechSport Racing driver and Fletcher, with two races to go.

Ethan Ayars completed the overall podium in Sunday’s race aboard his No. 78 BSI Racing entry, ahead of teammate Ethan Goulart in fourth.

RVA Graphics Motorsport by Speed Syndicate’s Will Robusto completed the top-five.

Robusto’s teammates, Max Schwied and Beltre Curtis, finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

The race appeared to go caution-free until the No. 42 TechSport entry of Parker DeLong beached his car into the gravel with 17 minutes to go, which set up an initial eight-lap shootout to the finish.

That, however, was dashed when Rowel found the barriers moments after the restart.

RESULTS: Race 2

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