Precision Racing LA Ends Season on a High with Podium for Bell
In qualifying 2 Sunday morning, Jaxon Bell qualified 11th, just six-tenths off the pole position time. Spencer Schmidt qualified 27th. Bell and Schmidt started ninth and 25th in race 2 after two cars were given penalties and started from the pit lane. In the final race of 2023, Bell, after a hard-fought battle, crossed the finish line in sixth place. Schmidt also moved forward, but suffered a right front suspension failure that ended his race early.
In Saturday’s qualifying, Bell qualified 13th, just ahead of teammate Aidan Yoder, but was promoted to a 12th position start after a car ahead was given a grid penalty. Schmidt qualified 27th. In race 1, both Bell and Schmidt were able to move forward, with Bell racing his way to a podium for a 3rd place finish. Schmidt drove a clean race and took advantage of opportunities to move forward, coming home in 24th.
On Friday, Bell scored a podium in the makeup race for the Music City Grand Prix’s race 2, which was canceled in August due to a storm in Nashville.
Ending the weekend with a podium finish at my favorite place in the world means a lot, said Jaxon. Growing up watching the 500, I never thought I would get the opportunity to race on track at the speedway. PRLA gave me a great car all weekend and put me in a position to succeed from the start. We had good pace in practice and that carried over into race 1 where we finished with our first podium of the year!
Jaxon Bell started fifth in the makeup race and moved up one position to fourth early on. He was involved in a fight for position throughout the entire race and ultimately crossed the line in the fourth position. Schmidt started 23rd, and after falling backward because of a lap one incident, crossed the line in 23rd. Following a post-race technical disqualification of the race winner, Bell was promoted to third and Schmidt to 22nd.
On Thursday in Indianapolis, Precision Racing LA drivers had two practice sessions to kick off the season's final weekend. In Practice 1 Thursday morning, Bell went seventh-quickest with a time of 1:41.629, less than a second off the fastest time. Schmidt went 27th-fastest in the close practice session. In a second practice session Thursday afternoon, where not all drivers were able to set times, Bell and Schmidt both got a few laps in, with Bell going fourth-quickest and Schmidt going seventh.
Wrapped up the Toyota GR Cup season at the brickyard this past weekend! Not a great weekend for the Tillys car, but feeling grateful to have the chance to drive the track I grew up at.
Thank you to the entire Precision Racing LA family for giving me a great car all season and pushing me to be my best. I signed on to do the second half of this season because I wanted to challenge myself, and this year set a great foundation for whatever comes next.
