Gordon’s Return Highlights Busy Weekend of Porsche Action, Fun at IMS
September 02, 2022 | By Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Porsche Carrera Cup North America Presented by the Cayman Islands once again will headline Porsche Sports Car Together Fest on Sept. 2-4 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, featuring two rounds of the world’s premier one-make race series and one very special guest driver.
Rounds 13 and 14 of the 16-race season will feature 35 entries across its three classes – Pro, Pro-Am and Am. Included on the impressive list of Porsche racers is four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and five-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon, who grew up in nearby Pittsboro, Indiana.
Race one will take the green flag at 3:15 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 3 on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course, with race two starting at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 4.
All classes use the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car. The 500-horsepower, rear-engine, naturally aspirated machine is almost mechanically identical to the road going Porsche 911 GT3 that will pace the field for both 40-minute races.
A grid of 16 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars comprise the Pro class, the top category of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America, at Indianapolis.
The most recent race weekend, at Road America, tightened the points race when Pro class championship leader Kay van Berlo finished off the podium in race one and failed to finish race two in the No. 3 Kelly-Moss Porsche. Instead, his most heated rivals,Trenton Estep in the No. 6 MDK Motorsports machine and Parker Thompson in the No. 9 JDX Racing 911 GT3 Cup car, won the two rounds, respectively.
Van Berlo leads with 248 points, followed by Thompson with 232 and Estep with 216. They are the only drivers with Pro class victories this season.
Also racing in the Pro class is Gordon, who will briefly step out of retirement to race the No. 24 Hendrick Performance Group-entered Porsche. Three-time Daytona 500 winner Gordon will be reunited with longtime and storied crew chief Ray Evernham. It marks the first time the championship-winning combination has teamed together since 1999.
Four races of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama also will take place this weekend.
Racing is just part of the Together Fest’s appeal. The Labor Day weekend event will celebrate the German sports car manufacturer’s long history of performance road and race cars, along with trackside activities for families and fans of all ages, including:
•World’s largest gathering of Porsche GT cars. A special exhibition area dedicated to what is expected to be the largest gathering of highest performance models developed by Porsche.
•Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge. For the second consecutive year, Porsche dealerships are invited to return a beloved Porsche sports car from the 1950s to 2000s back to its original glory.
•The Porsche Esports Challenge USA. In-person and online qualifiers will race for part of a $30,000 purse and real-world driving experiences at a North American Porsche Experience Center. The top 12 drivers will compete for the title on Saturday in the Sports Car Together Fest Fan Zone.
•Lifestyle. The Porsche Sports Car Together Fest doesn’t only revolve around the car culture, it is a family-focused weekend. Porsche-centric events, programs, activities and displays around the facility include artists creating themed works, health-and-wellness activities for the entire family to participate in and more.
Tickets are available at IMS.com.