In the 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America season finale, Riley Dickinson was first out of the gate over championship rival Ryan Yardley, as the Texan local star topped the final practice of the year.
As the Porsche Carrera Cup North America finale unfolds at Circuit of The Americas during the Formula One United States Grand Prix, only two points divide Dickinson and Yardley in the fight for the ExxonMobil Pro class crown.
Dickinson ran fastest in Friday’s lone session with a time of two minutes, 8.225 seconds around the Austin, Texas circuit – which is located less than an hour from his hometown of New Braunfels. But as they are in the point standings, Yardley was right on Dickinson’s heels in second place, just .176 seconds from the lead himself. Tyler Maxson, Yardley’s Topp Racing teammate, finished third.
“Racing on my home track really doesn’t provide any added momentum,” said Dickinson.
“At the end of the day, it’s just another track, coincidentally, just 45 minutes down the road which is nice. I can sleep in my own bed. But no, it’s just another track.
“I love it here, and the fans are already showing out in force this weekend. It’s cool to see everyone up so far on Turn 1. It’ll be a good weekend for everybody.
“At the end of the day, we just have to focus forward and work on hitting every lap that we can, every apex that we can. Like I said in (the last round at) Road Atlanta, the results are going to be what they’re going to be. Just focus on ourselves and see what we can do.”
The Solairus Aviation Pro-Am championship remains undecided as well, with JP Martinez holding a 19-point advantage over fellow Texan and Austin local Alan Metni heading into the season-ending doubleheader.
The pair finished second and third on Friday’s charts behind spotlight-stealer Patrick Mulcahy.
Mulcahy, who will seal third place in the Pro-Am championship this weekend after a win and podium in two of the last four rounds, lapped COTA at 2:10.632. It was .129 seconds quicker than Martinez and .319 seconds quicker than Metni.
“We only have one practice this weekend, but we’ve got to show up and put down a good lap,” said Mulcahy, who drives with GMG Racing.
In the Solairus Aviation Masters category, Ruckus Racing driver Scott Blind wrapped up his title several rounds ago, but continues to set blistering times, including on Friday’s practice at COTA.
Blind finished just behind the top three Pro-Am drivers with a quickest time of 2:11.327 in his Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car.
“As hot as it is, anything can happen,” said Blind. “We’re at the last two races of the season. A top-15 (overall) would really make me feel good. Let’s see what we can do, but I’d be really happy with a top-15.
“I haven’t been out here in a long time, so this first practice, then going tomorrow into quali, I think we’re going to do great.”
With Friday’s lone practice session now complete, Porsche Carrera Cup North America competitors turn to the weekend’s activities. Saturday’s schedule includes qualifying at 10:45 a.m. ET (9:45 a.m. local) and Race 1 at 3:40 p.m. The season finale takes place Sunday at noon, just before the Formula One United States Grand Prix at 3 p.m.
All Carrera Cup races, including replays from Circuit of the Americas, will be shown live on IMSA and Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube Channels, IMSA TV, Peacock, and the Porsche Motorsport North America social channels on Facebook, Linkedin, Threads and X.
