Maxson Paces Lone COTA Practice

Photo: Jessica Johnk/Porsche

Pro class championship leader Tyler Maxson got off to a strong start to the weekend by topping the lone Porsche Carrera Cup North America practice session at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Friday afternoon.

Maxson best lap of 2:06.255 in his No. 77 Topp Racing Porsche 911 Cup car led the overall standings in the 30-minute session.

Topp Racing teammate Cole Kleck was second overall and in the Pro class with a 2:06.670 in the No. 78 entry, while Janne Stiak completed the overall and class top three in ACI Motorsports’ No. 40 machine.

James Sofronas led the Pro-Am class with a 2:09.093 in GMG Racing’s No. 14 Porsche, marking the team owner’s first series appearance since March’s doubleheader at Sebring International Raceway.

2026 Pro-Am champion Patrick Mulcahy finished second in class in the No. 54 ACI Motorsports entry, followed by Steve Wetterau in KellyMoss’ No. 58 car.

Joel Johnson paced the Masters class with a 2:09.923 in JDX Racing’s No. 70 Porsche. Scott Blind was second in his Ruckus Racing No. 45 entry, while Rob Walker completed the top three in the No. 53 JTR Motorsports Engineering Porsche.

Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday at 9:10 a.m. CST, followed by Race 1 at 2:35 p.m. CST. The first of two 40-minute races is set to be streamed live on Peacock and the Porsche Motorsport North America and IMSA YouTube channels.

Source: Sports Car 365