IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge
Road America 120
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
In racing, success often comes from a willingness to push the limits. Souped up engines use modern mechanics and technology to reach nearly unthinkable speeds. Tires scorch the asphalt until they are almost threadbare and drivers maneuver cars in ways that strain the human body beyond what it was evolved to do. In this kind of high-stakes environment, the edge is always near. Push too far, and you go over — but push too little, and you’ll never even have a chance at the podium.
The stakes of this sport were made clear at the Road America 120 a few weekends ago. Thanks to Racing to End Alzheimer’s doubling down via their partnership with RVA Graphics Motorsports and Speed Syndicate, a second purple-and-white-clad car took on the technical Wisconsin track in the TCR division. The No. 31 Audi joined the mainstay Stephen Cameron Racing No. 19 Mustang at the start line. But that’s where their paths diverged.
Once the green flag waved, the two cars set off at blinding speeds towards very different fates.
In a split second
The team behind the No. 19 came into the weekend feeling like bonafide contenders. After a podium finish north of the border, Sean Quinlan and Greg Liefooghe capitalized on the momentum on the first day at Elkhart Lake. Through practice and qualifying, the pair remained in the top four of the field, eventually qualifying for a fourth place start on the grid. As the race approached, the team spoke in hushed tones about how good the Mustang looked on this track.
Mayhem marked the race from the start. As Quinlan patiently moved through the dangerous first lap, he deftly avoided a pileup in turn three that ended the day for a handful of cars prematurely. From there it was stop and go. Interspersed with bouts of racing were three caution periods within the first 45 minutes. With the expanding and contracting field, Quinlan did well to finish his half of the race in fifth place, well within reach of the podium.
After losing a few spots while in the pit lane, Liefooghe quickly made up time at the start of his stint. Weaving through the field, he pushed back up to seventh place, picking up speed and confidence as he went.
But just as it seemed the No. 19 was reaching peak performance, disaster struck.
As the field was in the chute and running down through the kink, Liefooghe found himself three wide in turn four. With so little space between the cars, each driver is depending on the others’ ability to maintain a clean line through the turn. Unfortunately for the No. 19, the inside car hit the grass, swerved back onto the track and bumped the middle car, which in turn slammed into Liefooghe on the outside.
In a split second, Greg and the Mustang were into the wall at 140 miles per hour, crumpling the front end of the car beyond repair. As he walked away from the crash, Liefooghe couldn’t help but think about what could have been. The car, which was nearly unrecognizable, had been one of the best he’d ever driven.
Carrying the flag forward
With the No. 19 Mustang knocked out of the race, the team’s hopes came down to two 26-year-olds and the No. 31 Audi. Luke Rumburg and Jaden Conwright showed grit and persistence on their way to a second place finish in the TCR class. In a blur of purple and orange, the team ran the fastest practice lap of the weekend just before qualifying in fifth place.
With the confidence that comes from knowing you can be the fastest on track, Rumburg wasted no time moving into the top three at the outset of the race. By the time he handed the car off to Conwright, the No. 31 was running in third place with enough juice to compete for better. Positions are hard to come by at the top of the field, and Jaden fought hard to pick up a spot as the end of the race approached. With a skillful pass, the No. 31 rocketed into second place with the checkered flag in sight. But the race was far from over.
In the waning minutes, the third place car staged a dogged effort to regain the second spot. With the car nipping at his heels, Conwright went into defensive mode. The pitched battle, which only lasted for minutes, felt like it went on for hours. Moves and counter-moves had the crowd sitting on the edge of their seats until the checkered flag finally waved and the team behind the No. 31 breathed a triumphant sigh of relief. Second place and a spot on the podium.
The good with the bad
Racing is a sport that can take you to the mountaintop or send you into the depths. It’s defined by risk and reward. How much are you willing to put on the line for the elation of victory?
Rarely are we confronted with that fact as clearly as we were at Road America. A soul-crushing collision and a podium finish, separated by just 40 minutes. But the thing that makes racing special is the same thing that keeps us all coming back. No matter what, next time will be different.
As Greg Liefooghe put it in an Instagram post after the race, “So, I hear loud and clear, Racing, you don’t owe anything to anybody, but I still love you and that will never change.”
