Elkhart Lake, Wisc. (1 August 2022) – Jr III (“Junior Three”) Racing heads to Road America with eyes on the IMSA LMP3 championship lead for the IMSA Fastlane SportsCar Weekend on August 7 (11:40am ET, USA).
Continuing its first full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) campaign at the track where the team made its series debut last year, Jr III Racing has its sights set on the final two rounds of competition. Ari Balogh and Garett Grist will drive the No. 30 Airbnb Ligier JS P320 and head into the weekend with three podiums under their belt this season. The team has scored a pair of second place finishes at Sebring and Mid-Ohio in addition to a third place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The Charlotte-based team made its IWSC debut at Road America in 2021 before starting its full-season IMSA WeatherTech campaign in 2022. The Wisconsin weekend didn’t go as planned for the team’s debut race with an early retirement for the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS, but the young team with a highly experienced crew rebounded to score a podium finish in their Petit Le Mans debut to close out the 2021 season.
With a third place finish at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Grist and Balogh brought home solid championship points and are keeping their focus on gaining ground to the LMP3 class lead, with the No. 30 Airbnb Ligier 98 points back from the lead.
Jr III Racing tested at the National Park of Speed in July with a handful of other IMSA competitors to prepare for the 4.048-mile road course. Team owner Billy Glavin III feels that testing continues to show the dedication for preparation from his team and drivers to make their way to the top of the championship.
“We’re looking forward to Road America,” said Glavin. “I think we have a good lineup for that track and a good car. At the test, we used our chassis that we had our fire at Watkins Glen, and we got that running and shaken out before the race, so that car is back together. We ran a lot of miles and got a lot of data on our test car and learned a lot, so it was a good test. Obviously, we’re in a position right now where we have to win and finish well over the next two races. We have to control our destiny by winning the last two races, so that’s what we’re working towards.”
Grist, who has previously ran Road America during his time in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, enjoyed his time at the scenic road course in preparation for the fifth round of LMP3 competition this season.
“It was one of our longer tests of the season for sure, but we got a lot done and tried different things as a team,” said Grist. “Overall, it was fun, and Elkhart Lake is beautiful. It’s always a great place to test. It’s a lot different than Mosport, almost close to double lap time. With a longer lap, that does a lot for our strategy and fuel mileage with each stint. Overall, going into next week we’ll be considering those things on the strategy side.”
The IMSA Fastlane SportsCar Weekend commences on August 5 with the main two-hour and 40-minute race on Sunday August 7 at 11:40am ET on USA Network with streaming on Peacock.
