The penultimate round of the 2026 Porsche Carrera Cup North America season is underway, and Wednesday’s practice sessions at Road Atlanta have a familiar name at the top of the time sheets.
Tyler Maxson led the way in the heat of the day both overall and in the Mobil Pro Class during Practice 2, when the TOPP Racing driver turned a best lap of 1:20.824 in his No. 77 Porsche 911 Cup. That time was just quicker than JTR Motorsports Engineering driver Jared Thomas, who unloaded on Wednesday morning and posted a lap of 1:20.825.
“Overall, it was a good session for us and a good improvement from FP1,” Maxson said.
“I don’t think FP1 was representative of where we actually are, so this was a much better indication.
“Tomorrow morning will be quite different with the cooler temperatures, but I think we have a really good race car, and we’re optimistic heading into the weekend.
“We’ve always felt good here, and the team has always been super fast. This is my home track, so I’ve always felt really confident here. We’re ready to go for the weekend.”
Maxson’s TOPP Racing teammate Cole Kleck, who made his championship debut at this round a season ago, was third in 1:21.171. Aaron Jeansonne (Kellymoss), second in the title fight, was fourth on the day.
Joel Johnson put his JDX Racing Porsche 911 Cup on the top of the Solairus Aviation Masters class. Johnson ran the championship race at Road Atlanta a year ago at Road Atlanta and recently captured the inaugural Porsche Sprint Trophy Porsche Club of America by Yokohama title. Johnson’s lap of 1:22.925 came in the morning session.
“It feels great to be back,” Johnson said. “We’ve been working real hard as a team and with a couple of coaches to get my driving more consistent so I feel like I’m in a zone right now. It’s a lot of hard work, but the car feels awesome.”
Patrick Mulcahy was best in the Solairus Aviation Pro-Am class once again in his No. 54 ACI Motorsports Porsche 911 Cup. Mulcahy’s time of 1:23.466 in the afternoon session was 16th overall.
Drivers are back on the Road Atlanta surface at 9:50am ET on Thursday morning for qualifying, which will set the grid for Thursday afternoon’s race at 5:25pm.
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RESULTS.
Practice 1
Mobil Pro Class:
- Jared Thomas, #96
- Aaron Jeansonne, #24
- Callum Hedge, #9
Solairus Aviation Pro-Am Class:
- Patrick Mulcahy, #54
Solairus Aviation Masters Class:
- Joel Johnson, #70
- Rob Walker, #53
- John Goetz, #57
Practice 2
Mobil Pro Class:
- Tyler Maxson, #77
- Cole Kleck, #78
- Aaron Jeansonne, #24
Solairus Aviation Pro-Am Class:
- Patrick Mulcahy, #54
Solairus Aviation Masters Class:
- Joel Johnson, #70
- Scott Blind, #45
- Marco Cirone, #88
