Indianapolis Thursday Notebook

Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO

***Conrad Grunewald has been drafted into the No. 67 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo to replace Jon Morley, who broke his leg in a testing accident at the Ferrari Challenge North America event at Road America last month. Timing and scoring inaccurately listed Morley in the Am class entry on Wednesday.

***The No. 31 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo lost all of Wednesday’s test session due to a driveshaft-related issue according to Ryan Yardley, who said the car was back to normal in this morning’s session, where it set the tenth quickest time overall in the hands of Laurin Heinrich.

***Risi Competizione’s Maserati MC20 GT2 has been “reconfirmed” to race in the SRO3 class for GT3 machinery according to a SRO America spokesperson, amid slight discontent from several GT3 entrants in GT America powered by AWS that had initially suggested for it to race in the GT2 category, as had Lawrence Tomlinson’s Ginetta G56 GT2 done for several rounds this year.

***Sportscar365 understands the Peter Dempsey-driven Maserati, which is making its North America professional race debut, is running upwards of 700 horsepower (50 hp over the homologated configuration) and with special aero allowances, in what one GT3 team owner dubbed as “GT2 Plus.” It’s currently unclear why the performance allowances have been given.

***Dempsey set the quickest time overall in Practice 2 and slotted in fourth quickest on the day, trailing times that were set by three driver coaches in first ten minutes of Practice 1, thanks to laps from Riley Dickinson (No. 13 Kellymoss Porsche), Trent Hindman (No. 216 Wright Motorsports Porsche) and Ryan Yardley (No. 72 Wright Porsche).

***Article 28.35 of the GT America sporting regulations state that driver coaches are permitted to drive for the first ten minutes of Practice 1 but that teams must notify race control when utilizing a driver coach. Lap times are not supposed to be recorded for driver coaches, but it didn’t appear to be the case this time.

***Archangel Motorsports team owner Mike Johnson has come out of retirement for the second consecutive year at Indianapolis, having been a late entry in GT America with an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in the Invitational class. Johnson claimed a GT4 class win and kissed the bricks here last year after realizing nobody had entered the class for the season finale.

***Johnson told Sportscar365: “I’m racing both races this year. I had to leave last year (and missed Race 2), but as long as I can race in a class with no cars and get some wins, I’m going to keep going for it.”

***Archangel is coming off victories in the last two weekends, first in GT World Challenge America Pro-Am competition at Barber Motorsports Park with Todd Coleman and Aaron Telitz and last weekend at the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season finale with Circle H Racing, which Johnson’s St. Louis-based team operated this year.

***While Luca Stolz or Maxime Martin are the favorites to claim the Intercontinental GT Challenge drivers’ title this weekend, fellow Mercedes-AMG factory driver Maro Engel still remains atop the standings, despite missing last month’s Suzuka 1000km and is also not physically present this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway due, again due to his DTM commitments.

***However, SRO Motorsports Group has kept Engel in the championship “discussion” by having created a cardboard cutout of the 41-year-old German and has been using him in various promotional and media activities. Sportscar365 was even granted exclusive interview access to Engel on Thursday morning, although Engel didn’t have much to say.

***Kenny Habul is missing only his second Indianapolis 8 Hour, as four-time IGTC Independent Cup champion is set to be part of the 20th anniversary memorial of Peter Brock’s passing during this weekend’s Bathurst 1000. Habul, who owns property on Conrod Straight and is an official ambassador of Bathurst, recently purchased the HDT Speciality Vehicles brand, which Brock took over in 1980 that created racing-inspired high performance Holden road cars.

***HDT is sponsoring a special post-Bathurst 1000 event in the town center on Monday, known as the ‘Lap 162: The Great Race Cool Down’ that will be headlined by Australian rock band The Angels. Habul, who got his start in racing sweeping floors in Brock’s workshop, owns a number of the late Australian legend’s iconic race cars.

***Pirelli GT4 America Am class title contenders Alex and Michael Garcia have made a late switch back to a BMW M4 GT4 EVO this weekend, despite the final entry list still showing them in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, which they took to class victory in Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park.

***The brothers were initially forced into the Porsche due to a delay in obtaining a replacement BMW chassis following damage sustained at Road America. Team owner Curt Swearingin admitted at the time it would be unlikely. “It’s been a busy run across all of our championship efforts, but the results continue and I’m proud of where we’ve been and excited for the upcoming events,” said Swearingin. “That includes a chance to kiss the bricks on Sunday after wins.”

***The Garcia’s trail TechSport Racing’s Frankie Muniz and Tyler Stone by 14 points, with BimmerWorld’s James Clay and James Walker Jr. currently second in the standings, just one point behind the co-drivers of the No. 30 Ford Mustang GT4.

***Memo Gidley enters the GT America season finale looking to surpass George Kurtz’s series record for the most wins in a single season. The SKI Autosports driver, who has been confirmed for a title defense in 2027, is currently tied with Kurtz on ten wins. A victory in either of the final two races would give Gidley sole ownership of the record.

***Scott Dollahite got back behind the wheel for the first time this year on Wednesday, turning his first laps in the updated Ford Mustang GT3 EVO. The FIA Bronze-rated driver completed a day in the Ford Racing simulator at its technical center in Concord, N.C. before arriving at Indianapolis.

***Dollahite said: “Stepping into the team manager role this season has given me a completely new perspective on our operation, but nothing beats the feeling of getting back behind the wheel of the Ford Mustang GT3. I’m excited to apply everything I’ve learned on the pit wall back into the cockpit. Indianapolis is one of the biggest stages of the year and I’m absolutely fired up to put the helmet back on and deliver a strong result for Ford Racing.”

***Saturday’s race, on Oct. 10, will mark the exact 125th anniversary of Ford Racing, when company founder Henry Ford drove his custom-built race car “Sweepstakes” to victory in a race in Grosse Pointe, Mich. in 1901, which helped fund the formation of the Ford Motor Company.

***Renowned race official Tim Mayer is again back in the SRO America paddock, serving as the chairman of the stewards for the second time in the last three events. Mayer, who made a widely publicized bid for the FIA presidency last year, filled in for Scot Elkins at Road America due to Elkins’ IndyCar officiating commitments that weekend but has been brought on board this weekend to reinforce Elkins and the stewarding team due to the “size and sophistication” of the event according to SRO America President and CEO Greg Gill.

***SRO America confirmed to teams that its weekend format will revert to a more traditional Friday-Sunday schedule for all series in 2027, after utilizing a Thursday-Saturday schedule for GT4 America and TC America this year. This change is understood to have been made possible due to McLaren Trophy America switching to IMSA sanctioning and alleviating what have been packed weekends.

***It’s understood that plans are in place for a two-day pre-season test at Sonoma Raceway on the Wednesday and Thursday before the April 2-4 event, along with a single test day each at Circuit of The Americas and Watkins Glen International.

***The new-for-2026 three-hour headline race format for GTWC America will also be retained, along with an unchanged class structure, with its existing broadcast and streaming options also maintained for next year.

***Friday’s action includes Pre-Qualifying (9:50 a.m. EST), qualifying (3:35 p.m. EST) and Superpole (5:35 p.m. EST) for the Indy 8 Hour, which will all be streamed live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel. Additionally, qualifying will be on tap for GT America, GT4 America and GR Cup, with the season-ending McLaren Trophy America race set for 1:40 p.m. EST, with live coverage on the McLaren Automotive and SRO GT World Youtube channels.

***Amanda Busick will be replaced in the pit lane tomorrow by DJ Clark, as Busick covers the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which will be immediately followed by a celebration of life service for Kyle Busch that will be aired live on network FOX.

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