For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LKMRestart@gmail.com

(Two podium photos are attached; photo credit is Porsche GT3 Cup photos. IDs are on the photo files.) 

Wright Motorsports' Snow and Luck
Record Podium Finishes in Porsche GT3 Cup
Season Finale at Road Atlanta

BRASELTON, Ga., Oct. 10 - With a second and a fourth-place finish in the season-ending doubleheader for the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Series Presented by Yokohama last week at Road Atlanta, young McKay Snow earned a fifth-place finish in the series’ Platinum championship in his rookie season. Another Wright Motorsports rookie, Charlie Luck, posted his first podium finish of the year on Thursday in the Gold Cup class and came in fourth on Friday to finish fourth in that class championship for the Batavia, Ohio-based team.

Andrew Longe of Naples, Fla. had two top-10 finishes in the Platinum class at Road Atlanta with his Trianon Hotels No. 47 to finish seventh for the season, which saw him place in the top five four times, including one podium. Anthony Imperato of Brooklyn, N.Y. was unable to compete in the season finale with his Henry Repeating Arms No. 91, but he placed eighth in the final Platinum point standings with eight top fives and two podiums. Another New Yorker, Phil Bloom, was 13th overall for 2017 after a partial season of competition.

Snow, of Lehi, Utah, qualified third with his UIS No. 63 to earn the inside starting spot in Row 2 for Thursday’s 45-minute contest on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course near Atlanta. He used that inside line to blast past the driver who started second before Turn 2 on the first lap, and then stayed in that position until he took the checkered just 0.512 after the winner did to post his third podium finish of the season. 

Luck, of Richmond, Va., started fourth in the Gold Cup division on Thursday, but he had a good start just like Snow did, and made a pass for third in class early to assume that position by lap two. He made another pass on lap three for second place, but a rival got by on a restart on lap six to push him back to third. There was a late yellow to bunch the field for a final green-white-checkered restart, but both Snow and Luck held on for their podium finishes.

Snow started third on Friday too. He held off repeated challenges from the driver who was fourth throughout the race until that rival was able to set up a pass on the last turn of the last lap and out drag him to the finish line. 

Luck avoided a big accident at the start of Friday’s race and held the class lead for four laps, second place for five laps, and third for three laps before the class champion passed him on lap 15 and he placed fourth when the checkered dropped on lap 29. 

Longe did not have finishes in line with his speed. He was second only to Snow in the first practice session by just 0.139; he qualified fifth, and he had one of his best starting spots of the year on Friday when he lined up fourth. Unfortunately he was the innocent victim of accidents in both races, but luckily he escaped injury. 

The doubleheader supported the Motul Petit Le Mans.

The Sinclair Broadcast Group airs the series' races on TV in numerous American markets; check local listings. The broadcasts are also available internationally on YouTube 24 hours after they air on TV.

For more information on Wright Motorsports, see WrightMotorsports.com and follow it on Facebook and Twitter. For more information on the series, see imsa.com. 

Luck’s post-race quote follows:

Charlie Luck: “The Road Atlanta weekend marked the highlight of my season, and I have so many people to thank for it. 

“First, John Wright has been a fabulous team owner and has organized so many people and logistics and set high standards, and has been my personal coach over the radio during the race. 

“Bob Viglione has invested a tremendous amount of time with me, starting with getting me a simulator in January and coaching me after each practice session and being extremely responsive to a million difference questions and requests. 

“A third shout out goes to Jan Heylen, who has constantly been there, pushing me and expecting more, and explaining the dynamics of the track and the race car. Bob and Jan have coached me tremendously on my race craft. 

“Next I want to thank Art Arredondo, who has been my car chief from the very beginning. Art has been incredibly informative and totally dedicated to the maintenance and repair of the car during our testing and race weekends. He has coached me with lap times during the course of every race and has responded to hundreds of requests over the course of the season. I couldn’t have done it without him. 

“Last I want to send a thank you to A.J., who has been Art’s right-hand man, and has experienced his first year in racing and has been extremely supportive of our total effort. 

“The development that took place during testing and a consistent arch of improving my technique, my line, and braking and throttle application resulted in very respectable lap times at the end of our testing session. 

“Coming into the Road Atlanta weekend with lots of confidence resulted in two good finishes, one of which was the best of the year with a third-place podium finish in Race 1 and a fourth-place finish in Race 2, which resulted in finishing fourth overall in the points championship for the year.

“This has been a tremendous experience for Lisa and myself and our family and friends who have attended races throughout the year. We have all absolutely loved the experience, and can’t wait for the 2018 season to begin. Many thanks to all!” 

About Wright Motorsports:  

Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series, international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio near Cincinnati, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning 11 driver and eight team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team, driver, and Sprint championship in Pirelli World Challenge in 2017. It also won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012, 2013 and 2015. In 2014 it had four podium finishes in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. For more information see WrightMotorsports.com and follow it on Facebook and Twitter.