GR Cup Series Drivers Battle Bumpy Track, Showing Resilience Throughout Weekend at Sebring
It was a trip to central Florida for the second event weekend in the Toyota GR Cup North America series this past weekend for California-based Precision Racing LA. Bringing a quartet of drivers to the event, the potent race program showed their speed and resilience throughout a hot challenging weekend in the Sunshine State.
With a test day on Friday done and dusted, it was back to the track Saturday for the first qualifying and wheel-to-wheel race of the weekend. With an early morning session that would set the grid for race one later that afternoon, it was Henry Drury who led the way for Precision Racing LA, clocking a lap time of 2:25.230 to secure the second-fastest lap of the session and an outside row one starting position. Precision Racing LA put a pair of drivers inside the top ten, with Aidan Yoder slotting into the eighth position with a time of 2:25.694. Alexandra Hainer and Spencer Bucknum would be forced to start race one from 21st and 26th on the grid as a red flag in the middle of the session saw most drivers only get three flying laps. An amendment to the results post-session saw Hainer and Bucknum advance one position on the starting grid.
Henry Drury earned his best result of the 2024 season, crossing the finish line seventh as Precision Racing LA put a pair of drivers in the top ten. Aidan Yoder crossed the line in the ninth position in a hard-fought battle under the Florida sun, with Alexandra Hainer completing the total race distance with a P21 finish. Unfortunately, problems for Spencer Bucknum, as contact by another competitor who was later penalized for the driving infraction, forced him to the sidelines after only a handful of laps.
“The biggest takeaway from today’s race was to bring the car home in one piece,” explained ninth-place finisher Aidan Yoder. “I had a front-row seat for a lot of nasty accidents and am thankful that everyone is ok, but also that my car is in one piece. I have something to work on, but we took a big step forward in qualifying compared to where we were yesterday, and we want to build on that for tomorrow. Pending we can qualify in the same place, I think we will have a good shot at some points tomorrow. Happy we have a good car and ready to go again tomorrow.”
“The crew worked hard, and I had a great car,” added Alexandra Hainer. “I just had some challenges getting through traffic. I'm hoping to get a good qualifying time tomorrow, and I look forward to a clean race.”
“Happy with today. I managed to put together the lap of my life in qualifying to start on the front row was a pleasant surprise, and then we struggled a bit in the race with such drastically high track temperatures. Still, it’s all experience in the books for me,” explained Henry Drury. “My goal was to be in the top ten this weekend, so I’m ecstatic with P7, and we know we have the pace to be a bit higher up and challenge the front runners.”
Back to the track Sunday with a carbon copy of the schedule, Precision Racing LA drivers would once again have a pair of on-track sessions, including qualifying in the morning that would set the grid for race two in the afternoon. After a great day yesterday, the California based program was looking to improve on their results in race two.
After a second-place qualifying effort yesterday, Henry Drury returned Sunday and was just outside the top ten in eleventh position to lead Precision Racing LA. With a time of 2:25.649, Drury would look to move forward from his inside row six starting spot. Behind him, Aidan Yoder turned a lap of 2:26.285 to secure P15 on the grid, with Spencer Bucknum’s 2:26.283 just behind him in 18th. Finishing just .064 behind Bucknum was Alexandra Hainer in 19th, as she and Bucknum would use the race in the afternoon to try and work their way toward the front.
After an autograph session, it was time for the final green flag of the weekend, but Precision Racing LA would only bring three drivers to the grid. Finding a problem with Bucknum’s Toyota, the team withdrew the entry and will shift their focus to the next event. Aidan Yoder gained four positions in the wheel-to-wheel action driving from 15th to 11th in the final classification and was the only team driver to complete the full race distance. Both Alexandra Hainer and Henry Drury were forced to retire on lap eleven and were classified 23rd and 24th, respectively.
“I’ve mixed emotions about the weekend,” said Driver Coach Ryan Eversley. “On one hand, all four of our drivers did a great job and showed some fantastic poise in challenging situations on and off the track. On the other hand, I think the series needs to settle down and put on cleaner races so we can focus on developing drivers and not on fixing crashed race cars. Hopefully, our next event will be better.”
"Considering all of the circumstances in Sunday's race, I'm very satisfied I moved up in the field,” added Aidan Yoder. “A fever hit me Saturday night, so I was under the weather for Sunday's activities. Being spun, driven through, and run off the road on multiple occasions was not what I had in mind, but I never gave up and still gained several positions from my starting position. I'm proud of myself and PRLA for pushing for success every time we were on track in Sebring. COTA is up next, and it's one of my best tracks on the schedule. My first pole position and laps lead in the GR Cup happened there last season, so I look forward to building on last year's momentum!"
“What a weekend! It’s frustrating to end a second weekend in a row being taken out by the same car, but we have so much to be proud of, especially a top-ten finish and a P2 in qualifying!” exclaimed Henry Drury. “I can’t wait to carry this momentum forward and have an even stronger weekend at COTA.”
Next up for Precision Racing LA will be a trip to the famed Circuit of the Americas (COTA) over the May 17 – 19 weekend for races five and six in the Toyota GR Cup North America program.
For more information on Precision Racing LA, please contact Julia Golding or Summer Wright via email at Julia@PrecisionRacingLA.com Summer@PrecisionRacingLA.com