Zachary Vanier wasted no time making his mark at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, snatching the lead on the opening lap and holding firm through two late-race restarts to score a statement victory in Porsche Carrera Cup North America’s wild first race of the weekend.
Two lengthy caution flags impacted the first Porsche Carrera Cup North America race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and ultimately had significant championship implications ahead of Race 2 on Sunday.
The biggest drama struck on lap 1, not only resulting in the first yellow flag from the mid-pack, but it also led to Zachary Vanier’s eventual race-winning move.
Vanier weaved past polesitter Aaron Jeansonne in the opening turns to capture the top spot, and despite two high-pressure restarts, Vanier would keep the position for his second ExxonMobil Pro class win of the season with JDX Racing.
“This one feels amazing,” said Vanier, who previously finished first at Watkins Glen. “This is such a historic track, such a historic venue. I’m speechless, I’m having a hard time getting the words out. This one means so much. I can’t credit the team enough, all my partners, my dad, everyone who supports me. This is something you dream of as a very young kid.
“I just waited for the moment, found the moment, and went for it. After that, I didn’t look back. I just tried to manage the race, and that’s exactly what we did. Super happy, and now we try to go for the sweep tomorrow.”
At the second restart with 12 minutes on the clock, Ryan Yardley also made a move on Jeansonne and completed the pass for second. As a result, Yardley – who entered the weekend two points behind championship leader Riley Dickinson – inherited the title lead ahead of Race 2.
Jeansonne held on to third for his first podium of the season, while Dickinson finished fourth.
The Solairus Aviation Pro-Am class had the biggest championship shake-up, as title rivals JP Martinez and Alan Metni were caught up in the first caution. Therefore, the path was paved for Patrick Mulcahy to claim his first win of the season with GMG Racing.
“It was chaotic,” said Mulcahy, who previously stood on the podium at Montreal and Watkins Glen earlier in the summer. “Lap 1, I got lucky avoiding some of the traffic and made a lot of passes, but glad to hold it the rest of the race.
“Tom (Sargent, driver coach), Anthony, our team engineer, Tate, everybody was doing a great job for making sure I brought it home.”
Making a late pass for second place was James Sofronas over Marco Cirone to complete the top three. However, it was race-ending damage for Martinez, Metni and others that sets the stage for a redemption battle on Sunday.
The Solairus Aviation Masters class seemed to be the most unscathed in Friday’s race, with Scott Blind converting his pole position to a race win with Ruckus Racing. It was Blind’s eighth of the season and second consecutive after winning Race 2 at Road America in August.
“It was a crazy race, wasn’t it?” Blind noted. “All we wanted to do was stay out of the mess. I had a great vantage point, saw all the activity in front. I was reacting for the first few laps or whenever we were green. We stayed out of it, had a good Turn 1 and rode it to the end.”
After the caution flags, several Porsches from other classes gave a buffer for Blind, but brought together the fight for second place between Chris Bellomo and Michael Auriemma. Auriemma passed last year’s Masters class champion with less than 10 minutes remaining and Bellomo finished third.
The final Porsche Carrera Cup North America race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, September 20, at 10:45 a.m. ET.
All Carrera Cup races, including replays from Road America, 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.
