GR Cup at INDY. Top 10 finishes, Hard Charger Award and Fastest Lap Award great way to end the year for Drury & Yoder
It was an excellent weekend for the Precision Racing LA Toyota GR Cup North America pair, as Henry Drury and Aidan Yoder had strong performances at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With a four-day weekend that featured the final two races of the season, the Drury and Yoder duo were consistently at the front of the field. After multiple strong performances throughout the season, Henry Drury earned the 2024 Rookie of the Year award.
Aidan Yoder, in the #44 entry, posted the team’s best time and result of the first qualifying session slotting himself in the ninth position on the inside of row five. With a lap time of 1:40.206, Yoder was .578 off the pole position winning time but gave himself a fighting chance in race one on Saturday. Drury managed to steer his #88 machine to a row ten starting spot despite showing speed in practice on Thursday. Not a stranger to come from deep in the field to earn great results, Drury will put his talent to the test on Saturday.
“Overall, a solid qualifying effort for us, a top ten in Q1,” explained Yoder. After some time away, it is a nice confidence boost for the rest of the weekend. I'm feeling right at home with my Precision Racing LA crew and excited for a tight race tomorrow!”
Henry Drury continued, “Rough qualifying this morning. Made a mistake early on and damaged my aero a little bit, and then I was pleased with my lap, but the pace just wasn’t there. It is always tough when you have no idea where the pace you’re missing is, and it just makes you feel a little lost. I will do my homework before race one and find what I am missing. I am looking forward to working my way through the field.”
A solid performance in race one followed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After a split qualifying session on Friday, Henry Drury and Aidan Yoder secured top ten results in the first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend. In a tight race, Drury pushed the #88 machine from starting 19th on the grid to a sixth-place result while Yoder followed in pursuit to finish in P7 with the #44 Toyota.
“What a race! The Precision Racing LA with PT Autosport boys were on fire today. It feels like we were finally able to put together everything we’ve learned this season, and they gave me an absolute rocket ship of a car as a result,” explained Drury post-race. “The race was hectic. Laps one and two were just pure survival, and then we had great pace to be able to hunt down and pass people and work our way up to P6 at the flag. With a little more luck, we probably could have been fourth. Massive thanks to my teammate Aidan for working with me during the race. It’s awesome to recover a strong result for both of us and grab the fastest lap and hard charger awards!
Aidan Yoder added, “Excellent race one! I was happy to avoid the early chaos, and I'm glad my smart driving on lap one paid off. Once we settled into a groove after the restart, I focused on playing it cool and letting the race come to me. Little by little, we gained more and more time, picking off one car at a time, and we ended in a great P7, which was our best finish of the season! Credit to the Precision Racing LA crew for giving me a car that stayed consistent over the long run. Looking forward to more tomorrow!
After a strong performance on Saturday, the Precision Racing LA Toyota GR Cup North America duo of Henry Drury and Aidan Yoder were back at it Sunday to finish the season. Taking on the final qualifying and wheel-to-wheel session of the season, both drivers were looking to finish their 2024 campaigns strong. Drury got off to a great start, pushing his #88 machine in qualifying to the ninth-fastest time, and inside row five starting position for the race that afternoon. Just behind him, Aidan Yoder clocked the eleventh quickest lap of the as the two Precision Racing LA drivers would start nose to tail in race two.
Both drivers gained positions during the season's final race as Drury nabbed another top-five result for Precision Racing LA, finishing fourth. Yoder finished just a few positions behind in P8, adding a pair of top-ten results to close the season.
"Indy 2024 was a weekend of nothing but positives,” explained Aidan Yoder. “Two straight top-ten finishes and our best result of the season, I felt like I was right back at home. It was great to be back with Precision Racing LA this weekend. and put an excellent stamp on this season and proved that we have race-winning potential. I'm sad to be leaving this season behind, but I made some great memories with some great people I'll carry with me into the off-season."
“One hell of a way to end the season,” added Henry Drury, who earned the race's fastest lap. “The #88 Precision Racing LA with PT Autosport machine was flying again today, and I had so much fun fighting my way up. It sucks to get taken out at the last corner from a podium position, the team deserved a trophy for today, but that’s racing. I’ve learned so much this year in my first full season of racing, and I’ve had the absolute time of my life doing it, but it would be nice to have the trophy we earned today instead of a P4 result.”
With the 2024 Toyota GR Cup North America season now complete, Precision Racing LA will now shift their focus to the 2025 season and begin to announce drivers and a race program soon.
For more information on Precision Racing LA, please contact Julia Golding via email at Julia@PrecisionRacingLA.com