It was a great weekend for Giltrap-backed drivers, with all of our drivers securing podiums, and all but one taking the a win.
NASCAR
Shane van Gisbergen claimed his maiden win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this weekend at the Portland International Raceway road course.
SVG qualified in P2 for the first road course race since Circuit of the Americas in March, just 0.044s off pole position.
The race would be eventful for the Kiwi from the get-go, with contact between him and pole-sitter Sam Mayer in Turn 1 resulting in Mayer spinning and SVG claiming the lead.
From this point on, strategy calls, contact with other cars, and track excursions would see the Supercars champion climb up and down the top-10 for the entire race.
With just four-laps remaining however, SVG was able to get past leader Justin Allgaier and finally claim a Xfinity Series win, qualifying him for the Xfinity playoffs.
IndyCar
Scott Dixon has proved he is in real contention to take his seventh IndyCar Championship title after he took yet another win at the weekends outing in Detroit, achieved through the combination of Dixon’s shrewd racecraft and Chip Ganassi Racing’s strategy calls.
The six-time champion and his team took advantage of a chaotic caution-filled race, involving rain and crashes, by making masterful strategy calls which ultimately put Dixon in a position to win, less than a second ahead of Marcus Ericsson.
This latest victory has put Dixon in the lead of the championship, 18 points ahead of his teammate and 2023 Champion Alex Palou.
Fellow Kiwi Marcus Armstrong took his maiden IndyCar podium with a P3 finish.
Indy NXT
Callum Hedge has stepped up on to the podium for the first time in Indy NXT after he secured P3 in Detroit.
Hedge started the race in P6 and was able to work his way forward in to P3. He briefly lost the position before a caution was shown due to an incident behind, however upon review it was shown that he was overtaken just after the flag had been flown, resulting in Hedge being given the position back under the safety car.
This result jumps Hedge up to P6 in the championship.
Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge
It was a strong weekend for Giltrap-supported drivers at The Bend this weekend in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge, with both Clay Osborne and Brock Gilchrist securing wins.
Osborne’s win came in the first race of three. After starting on the front row next to polesitter Gilchrist, Osborne’s superior launch carried him into the lead by the first corner, a position he would hold until the checkered flag. Gilchrist fought to hold on to P2, but would ultimately concede it to championship rival Oscar Targett, finishing in P3.
Gilchrist took the honours in the second race however. Starting fourth, Gilchrist was leading the race by the end of the second lap. Over the course of the race, Gilchrist would hold the lead through multiple safety car restarts and strong challenges from Targett, awarding the Team Porsche New Zealand driver with his first victory.
The third race of the weekend would prove tricky for both drivers. Gilchrist was competing for his third podium of the weekend when he was taken out by another driver, relegating the 20-year-old to P8 at the line. Osborne would finish just behind in P9.
Gilchrist sits second in the championship, just 8 points behind Oscar Targett, with Osborne in sixth.