CrowdStrike Racing’s whirlwind season of top-level motorsports continues this weekend as George Kurz, co-founder and CEO of CrowdStrike, returns to IMSA competition at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at famed Watkins Glen International.

It’s the first race in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Kurtz and CrowdStrike Racing since March’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Kurtz will rejoin Jon Bennett and Colin Braun behind the wheel of the No. 54 CrowdStrike/Motul/FLEX-BOX Ligier JS P320 in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) category.

This year’s Watkins Glen round will see a bigger promotional presence for CrowdStrike as it continues as an Official Partner of IMSA, the sanctioning body for the WeatherTech Championship.

The Race

Kurtz charges into Watkins Glen following three race victories this weekend at the SRO America competition at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). He now leads both the Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS and the GT America Powered by AWS championships with the next SRO race scheduled for Watkins Glen in July.

Kurtz looks to build on his earlier success this year in long-distance races. He finished third in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with CORE autosport and recorded a runner-up finish at the 24 Hours of Dubai in January. Those results built on a solid 2021 where Kurtz and CORE won in class at the Sebring 12 Hours and placed second at Watkins Glen.

“Endurance races are some of the best and most competitive events all year,” Kurtz said. “I enjoy the multi-driver, multi-class format because of the challenge it presents and the teamwork involved. Long-distance racing is a blast, but it’s even more fun at an old-school, classic track like Watkins Glen. The layout of the track tests every part of a car and driver. I’m looking forward to reuniting with Jon and Colin to see if we can climb a step higher this year at the Sahlen’s Six Hours.”

The IMSA Experience

Watkins Glen is the third round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup – a championship involving the four long-distance rounds on the calendar. As it did at Daytona and Sebring earlier this year, CrowdStrike will play a major role as sponsor of the Endurance, Teamwork and Speed Award for Michelin Endurance Cup events.

The honor recognizes the team in each IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship class demonstrating the unique qualities needed to be successful in long and grueling IMSA endurance races. It will be given to the team that sets the fastest time on the final lap of each Endurance Cup race with presentation of the Sebring awards taking place during Sunday’s pre-race ceremonies at Watkins Glen.

In addition to sponsoring the Endurance, Teamwork and Speed Award, CrowdStrike’s IMSA partnership will also include on-track signage at the Michelin Endurance Cup tracks (Daytona International Speedway, Sebring International Raceway, Watkins Glen International and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) and IMSA VIP experiences at other IMSA races throughout the season.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 26. The race will stream live on Peacock with USA’s live television coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions at IMSA.com along with XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

For more information, visit CrowdStrikeRacing.com. Follow #CrowdStrikeRacing on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for updates.

Three consecutive weekends of racing action begin today at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with the start of the 40th annual Vintage Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. Ohio’s largest annual motorsports event, The Honda Indy 200 Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R, follows next weekend on July 1-3. The jam-packed stretch concludes July 8-9 with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series making its Mid-Ohio debut in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 150. 

The Vintage Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, the longest continuously-running spectator event at the track, will feature 24 races taking the green flag across tomorrow and Sunday’s schedule at the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course in Lexington, Ohio. The Sports Car Vintage Racing Association’s (SVRA) SpeedTour will offer diverse, non-stop racing action for fans as it brings three very different types of racing series to town.

SVRA’s SpeedTour encompasses 16 races of historic SVRA action providing car enthusiasts history in motion on track and allowing fans to enjoy and reminisce on racing’s past. More modern-day racing machines will be featured in two Trans Am Series classes of ground-pounding, muscle cars. Open-wheel action from the sport’s rising stars will take place in the F4 U.S. Championship Powered by Honda and the Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda with both series staging tripleheader races.

“We're thrilled to be able to bring our fans world class racing over the next three weekends,” said Craig Rust, president of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. “From vintage race cars this weekend to INDYCAR to NASCAR, there really is something for everyone. This is truly a great time to be a race fan in Ohio.”

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R will again be a major part of Ohio’s Fourth of July weekend celebrations, July 1-3. On track, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to Mid-Ohio for the 39th time, and all three series from the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder also join the schedule. The Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks cap off the on-track action featuring 11 total races. 

On Saturday, July 2, after the on-track activities conclude, fans and campers can enjoy a spectacular fireworks display after sunset. “Camping with Honda” also returns for campers to participate in throughout The Honda Indy 200 Presented by the All-New 2023 Civic Type R weekend. This year’s theme encourages campers to show their “Civic Spirit” and decorate their sites in patriotic red, white and blue. 

The final event of this three-weekend stretch brings the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to Mid-Ohio for the first time on July 8-9. The O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 will cover 151 miles in 67 laps around the historic track, and the two-day event also includes the Dawn 150, an ARCA Menards Series race taking the green flag on Friday late afternoon. Fans will have the opportunity to see ARCA Menards Series team transporters, race cars and drivers up close at the Menards Fan Fest at the Menards store in Ontario, Ohio, on Thursday, July 7 starting at 3 p.m. ET to kick off the weekend’s festivities. The race team haulers will depart Menards and parade in unison to Mid-Ohio at approximately 7 p.m. ET.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course offers an exceptional family value. Children 12 and under are admitted free to Mid-Ohio when accompanied by a ticketed adult. Free parking is available. A Weekend General Admission ticket offers the best fan value. For the Vintage Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, Weekend General Admission is $50, and daily tickets are $30. Tickets are $10 additional each when purchased at the gate. Tent and motorhome camping is available on site. To order tickets in advance, visit midohio.com.

Dr Pepper and 23XI Racing today announced the 23 recipients of the 2022 SPEED Institute Tuition Program. The annual program is designed to provide tuition support and opportunities for students seeking to work in motorsports in a variety of fields, including marketing, communications, human resources, finance, engineering and trade disciplines.

The Dr Pepper and 23XI SPEED Institute tuition program was established in 2021. Since 2008, Dr Pepper has awarded more than $13 million in tuition to deserving students.

“Dr Pepper is thrilled to once again provide tuition support to students in partnership with 23XI Racing’s SPEED Institute,” said Derek Dabrowski, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Juices, Teas, Mixers Keurig Dr Pepper. “This continues a long-standing tradition of Dr Pepper supporting students’ educational goals and Dr Pepper is proud of this inspiring group.”

“When the SPEED Institute was created, the goal was to open doors and create opportunities for students to pursue a career in motorsports,” said 23XI Racing President, Steve Lauletta. “Thanks to the support from Dr Pepper, the 23XI SPEED Institute has been able to provide students over $200,000 in tuition support in just two short years. The program began last year with a well-deserving group of students, and we are excited to again partner with Dr Pepper to provide tuition support for students through the SPEED Institute and 23XI Racing. Congratulations to all the 23 tuition winners and we look forward to hosting two of these talented students for internships at 23XI.”

The two recipients of the 23XI Racing internship will be announced on a later date.

Mobil 1 and Hoonigan are taking on America’s Mountain at the 100^th running of Pikes Peak International Hill Climb next weekend with legendary driver Ken Block at the helm of the recently unveiled the “Hoonipigasus.”

Racing fans can now get a first look under the hood of the Hoonipigasus with a sneak peek of its first test drive on the Mobil 1 YouTube.

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With livery artwork created by Trevor Andrew, known professionally as GucciGhost, the Hoonipigasus has a moniker that combines the spirit of motorsport legacy between three iconic marks: Hoonigan, Porsche and the Mobil 1 Pegasus. The co-branded vehicle and resulting content is the first joint venture of a new partnership that will help fans explore their love of driving in a new way, courtesy of Hoonigan Racing Division and Mobil 1.

VegasInsider had a chat with two-time Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi about George Russell and Mercedes and the Brazilian had the following to say:

• George Russell has been very impressive - 'the young lion is on board'

“George Russell is doing really well. I think he has enough experience in Formula One now.”

“Coming from Williams, the Mercedes is much faster, better than the Williams anyway. 

“Then he's committed to do well, he is focused and to my surprise, is doing well."

"That's another challenge for Lewis (Hamilton), because it's what I call, 'the young lion is on board'.”

• The porpoising in Mercedes is more evident - you can clearly see how it's affecting Lewis Hamilton

“Now if you look what's happened to the porpoising of the Mercedes and even the Ferrari.”

“In a Mercedes it is more evident. Every car has (porpoising) but the Mercedes is more evident - they have this from the beginning of the year."

"When you look the onboard camera with the helmets, can you imagine the neck and the back of the driver how much impact they're suffering, the whole track, how many laps, how many hours they are under this severe porpoising and that's giving a shock to the back for sure.” 

“I'm sure Lewis is feeling a lot, the pain in his back."

"It's very impressive when you look at the onboard camera how much he is moving up and down and how much you can see, the frequency of the bumping of the driver is exactly opposite to the car. And then it gives this you know shaking movement that for the body."

"It's not easy but I think with modern medicine they can help Lewis to run again Friday in Montreal.”

• Mercedes for sure are fighting the porpoising issue - working the suspension could help but it is a different technical problem

“I'm sure Mercedes are fighting this issue from the beginning of the season, still there it is.”

“Sometimes on some tracks it’s more because it depends a lot on the velocity ratio of the suspension, but looks like most of the cars are just working the tires, not even the suspension.” 

“The suspension works minimum, it’s nearly solid suspension, but it's a difficult technical problem to solve because that's when the car is stuck to the ground and then you lose the pressure and it starts going up and down, up and down."

"Pressure, no pressure, low pressure under the car because the the body under the car is generating a lot of downforce and suddenly you lose the low pressure, the car goes up and then comes down.”

Fittipaldi was speaking to VegasInsider, and you can find the entire interview here.