TPC Racing Drivers Wesley Slimp, Tyler Hoffman and Billy Johnson Look to Close North American IMSA Super Trofeo Season with a Pair of Podium Performances
DANVILLE, Virginia (August 25, 2022) – TPC Racing and a pair of its Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 teams head to VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) this weekend for a Saturday and Sunday doubleheader that the team and its drivers consider a “Home Game” on a familiar and favorite 3.27-mile circuit in Southern Virginia.
Although Maryland-based TPC Racing is headquartered several hours away from VIR, the relatively close location to the first-class facility makes it a favorite testing and development track for not only TPC’s Lamborghini teams but its wide variety of other sports car road racing and high-performance street-car programs.
The main order of business this weekend is the twin Saturday and Sunday 50-minute sprint races that will bring the North American portion of the IMSA Super Trofeo season to a close. The VIR doubleheader will be the final U.S. race of the championship before the season-ending event in Portimão in Southern Portugal, November 3 – 6, where both the Super Trofeo North America final rounds and the 2022 World Finals will be held.
Both the No. 9 HNTB Companies Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2, co-driven by Wesley Slimp and Tyler Hoffman, and the Pro-class No. 71 DSC Sport/Erin Levitas Foundation Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 of Billy Johnson are scheduled to go to Portugal. A pair of podium showings this weekend by both teams would be the perfect launch pad to Portimão, and some recent on-track runs by both the No. 9 and No. 71 TPC entries bode well for a visit or two to victory lane at VIR.
Slimp and Hoffman gave TPC its first Super Trofeo victory in 2022’s season-opening event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in late April. That win in the LB Cup-class promptly saw race officials elevate the HNTB No. 9 to the Am-class in which Slimp and Hoffman have been on the brink of another victory all summer.
The duo’s most recent top showing was a third-place finish in the Saturday sprint one race weekend ago at Road America. The podium showing followed another third-place finish at NOLA Motorsports Park in May, and Slimp and Hoffman come to VIR in a tight battle for a top-three finish in the season-long Am-class championship. While the championship is realistically out of reach, a strong finish to the season could elevate the No. 9 drivers and team to third and maybe even second in the final season point standings.
Johnson and the No. 71 team have been knocking on the door of their first race win in the top-tier Pro class all summer. Road America was their most competitive race of the season with Johnson starting from the outside front row and leading the first six race laps in Sunday’s final sprint. The race was run in mixed wet-and-dry conditions that produced a string of yellow flags and even a red-flag pause that saw the field switch to rain tires.
The slow-downs and stoppages ultimately didn’t work with TPC’s and Johnson’s strategy but the season-best pace, and gains from a test last week at VIR, have everyone on the No. 71 squad optimistic for a pair of good results this weekend at VIR.
Noticeably absent from VIR will be winning team driver Scott Schmidt who made the tough decision after Road America to end his 2022 racing season early to attend to his successful business away from the track. The unplanned move puts the brakes on a successful season Schmidt had put together in the No. 38 DSC Sport/Erin Levitas Foundation Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2. In the span of the last five races, Schmidt produced a solid record of four podium finishes, including his first Super Trofeo victory in late June at Watkins Glen International. Schmidt has already shifted focus to a return to competition with TPC in the near future.
A full three-day weekend event, Super Trofeo action begins Friday with two practice sessions and qualifying first thing Saturday morning. The first 50-minute race starts at 2:05 p.m. EST on Saturday with the second scheduled to go green at 11:35 a.m. EST Sunday. Both races can be viewed live on IMSA.com/TVLive.
Harris Levitas, TPC Racing Director of Race Operations: “With VIR, it is kind of our backyard track, and we always seem to have very competitive cars there. We had a very successful test there last week with both the No. 71 and No. 9 cars, and we found quite a bit in both cars. I think we have made really good progress in having even better front-running cars. All of the drivers did a great job, and the team has been doing a great job prepping the cars and giving us front-running cars. I think we can show more pace at VIR and hopefully close out the U.S. rounds with podium finishes – or even better – standing on the top step of the podium. We are going to miss Scott Schmidt, who has done a fantastic job and is one of those racing success stories. Coming from little to no background to actually being a front-running and winning driver really shows his commitment. He has really done that and put forward the effort. With the multiple cars that he races, and the different programs we have put together with him and his coaching staff, Scott has really come a long way. It’s unfortunate he can’t make the last two races of the year. He has to step away to take care of his business, but he will be back sooner rather than later.”
Tyler Hoffman, Driver – No. 9 HNTB Companies Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2: “To pay my respects, I recently quoted the great Paul Newman as he originally called VIR heaven on earth. I have to agree. The VIR circuit is a truly rewarding combination of high-speed, high-downforce sectors rolling straight into great passing opportunities while demanding precision the entire time. Virginia International is our home track on the Lamborghini Super Trofeo calendar, and it would be great to get a win there. The points championship is a bit of a stretch this year, but a win would be great to lead us into the World Finals in Portugal.”
Billy Johnson, Driver – No. 71 DSC Sport/Erin Levitas Foundation Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2: “I am really looking forward to racing the Lamborghini at VIR. It’s an iconic American track with elevation, no run-off, and it is just a real fun place to race. We tested there last week and found some things in the car, so every week and every weekend the TPC guys are just doing an amazing job making the car better and faster. I am very optimistic after what we found and the position the car will be in going into the VIR race this weekend. We have definitely had things that have held us back all year long due to delayed parts and availability. That’s been out of our hands, but I am very thankful to have this opportunity to race in the Super Trofeo series and driver for TPC. They are such a great organization. At Road America, we had the best car that we have ever had. Now, after what we have found between then and now that the car will be even better. Hopefully we will get a result this weekend the team definitely deserves.”
About TPC Racing: TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sportscars. TPC Racing specializes in R&D and sales of high-performance modifications for Porsche sports cars and race cars, offering a wide range of vehicle upgrades. Best known for a line of forced induction solutions for the Porsche 911, Cayman and Boxster, a long-time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled TPC Racing to become experts in Porsche service, tuning, and racing. In 2000, TPC Racing began entering races under its own banner, scoring an SGS-class Championship in 2004 in the Grand-American Rolex Series and was a class winner in the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and captured the 2013 and 2016 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Gold Cup Championships. More information can be found at www.TPCRacing.com.
