Paley Motorsport Return Highlights 16-Car Field for COTA

Photo: Wes Duenkel/Ford

The return of Paley Motorsport to the Mustang Challenge grid has resulted in a two-car boost for this weekend’s penultimate weekend of the season at Circuit of The Americas.

The IMSA-sanctioned series will again serve as a support event for the Lone Star Le Mans FIA World Endurance Championship round in Austin, featuring a 16-car field spread between the Dark Horse and Dark Horse Legends classes.

The only change since the last round at Virginia International Raceway comes with the addition of two Paley-run Ford Mustang Dark Horse Rs, one for Ford Performance Junior Team driver Sam Paley and a second DH entry for current Mustang Cup points leader Will Lucas.

The 21-year-old Georgian, who so far has seven wins in the USAC-sanctioned single make series that debuted this year, will make his points-paying Mustang Challenge debut after taking part in the Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational in June. He currently leads both the Miles Cup and the Parnelli Cup in the DH class of Mustang Cup.

Paley, meanwhile, will be looking to rebound following a Race 1-ending accident at Road America, which saw the owner/driver borrow a Dark Horse R from fellow Ford Performance Junior Team member Robert Noaker for Race 2, where he finished a hard-fought second.

Of note, Noaker could mathematically wrap the DH class title this weekend ahead of next month’s season finale at the Charlotte Roval.

The Robert Noaker Racing owner/driver, who has been undefeated in points-paying races this year, holds a sizable 900-point lead over Marcos Vento, with DH competitor Devin Anderson a further 20 points behind in third.

The DHL title battle, however, has tightened up significantly, with Alex Bachoura holding just a 150-point margin over Zachry Lee, and Alfonso Diaz third, just ten further points behind.

Track action at COTA kicks off with a pair of practice sessions on Friday, followed by qualifying on Saturday morning and Race 1 at 4:40 p.m. CST that afternoon. Race 2 takes the green flag Sunday at 9:50 a.m., with both rounds to be broadcast live on Peacock, as well as both IMSA and Ford Performance’s YouTube channels.

Pre-Event News & Notes:

***Mustang Challenge is set for its second event alongside the FIA World Endurance Championship this year, following the Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational in June, which came under the backdrop of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A total of 40 Mustang Dark Horse Rs took part on Circuit de la Sarthe.

***Four drivers racing this weekend call Texas home: Alex Bachoura, Paolo Salvatore, Zachry Lee and Joseph Dederichs, are all based in the Lone Star State. Additionally, two Mustang Challenge teams, Torre Racing and NV Autosport, have operations in Texas.

***Salvatore and his girlfriend Michelle, who works on the Torre Racing team, tied the knot on the podium following the second race of the weekend at Virginia International Raceway, in a ceremony officiated by Mustang Challenge series director Glenn Long. The two will be competing as husband and wife for the first time this weekend.

***Both races at VIR saw drivers take their first trip to the top step of the podium in the Dark Horse Legends class. In Saturday’s race, Lee claimed his first class win of the season, and Tom Tait was victorious for the first time this year on Sunday.

Source: Sports Car 365