Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier claimed their second Silver class podium and highest overall finish in Pirelli GT4 America at Barber Motorsports Park, following a stellar drive that saw them gain 20 positions and win the Super Fuel Hard Charger Award.
Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier claimed their second Silver class podium in Pirelli GT4 America, along with their highest overall finish in the series, after a stellar drive in the second race at Barber Motorsports Park. Their performance earned them the Super Fuel Hard Charger Award after gaining 20 positions from the start.
The Heart of Racing all-female duo maintained momentum after securing their first Silver class podium at Road America, following a re-categorization from ProAm.
In their first season as teammates, Grisham and Greenemeier had already experienced success in the AM class, winning on their debut at Sonoma, followed by a podium in Sebring. After moving up to Silver, they also achieved their first overall top-10 finish this year.
The sixth round of the Pirelli GT4 America championship took place at Barber Motorsports Park, a circuit making its return to the SRO America calendar for the first time since 2016.
“I’m looking forward to racing at Barber Motorsports Park following our strong performance at Road America,” said Grisham before the event. “Barber will be a new track for me, and I’m excited to take on the challenge. It seems like a fantastic circuit, and I’m eager to build on that momentum that Hannah and I have had recently.”
Her teammate, Greenemeier, in her first full season of GT competition after single-seaters, had previous experience on the Alabama track, having raced in the World Racing League.
“Barber should be a lot of fun and I’m excited to get there,” said Greenemeier. “Barber is a great track with some high commitment corners. I know that everyone on the team will be giving it their all. I’m really looking forward to continuing the positive momentum from Road America just a few weeks ago.”
The drivers of the #26 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 quickly found their pace, resulting in a strong qualifying performance, with Grisham securing a top-10 spot.
In Q1, in fact, Grisham moved up to the top six in the early stages and then remained in the top ten, finishing P9 overall and P6 in class. Corey Lewis took pole position overall and in Silver, driving the #68 Smooge Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo.
In Q2, Greenemeier qualified P23 overall and seventh in Silver.
Grisham took the wheel for the first stint of Race 1 in the afternoon, aiming for another strong finish after their class podium at Road America.
She had an impressive start, moving up to P7 overall and P5 in class at Turn 1, while Roman De Angelis, in the sister car, seized the overall lead. Despite a small error on lap 2 out of Turn 3, Grisham stayed on track, holding off Matt Bell.
Grisham was in great form, closing in on Kevin Boehm and staying half a second behind, matching the pace of the front runners. She set new personal bests and had the speed to run in the top five overall and top three in class. On lap 12, she attempted a move on Matt Travis but went too deep, dropping to P9 overall and P6 in class as Bell and Garrett got by.
When Johan Schwartz’s #23 Techsport Nissan halted on track in Turn 3, the safety car was deployed on lap 16, with 34 minutes remaining. Grisham, now up to P8 overall, pitted under caution, handing over to Greenemeier in a busy pit lane.
After the restart, Greenemeier quickly gained positions, moving up to sixth overall and fifth in class, and passing the sister car of Grey Newell when he ran wide into Turn 1. She defended well from Dyszelski’s Porsche while chasing Jason Hart’s ProAm car to avoid losing contact with her Silver class rivals.
Chaos ensued behind them, with multiple collisions and Kris Wilson’s #98 Random Vandals Racing BMW going off on lap 25, bringing out another safety car with 18 minutes to go.
After the restart with 8 minutes remaining, Greenemeier attacked Jason Hart, overtaking him for P5 overall. She then engaged in a battle with Capestro-Dubets, who had just lost the lead, while Anderson and Koch fought ahead in a BMW 1-2. Greenemeier briefly passed Capestro-Dubets but was repassed in an exciting duel for fourth.
In the final laps, the two ProAm leaders McQuarrie and Leist collided, and although Greenemeier saved her car after contact, she lost ground to the Silver class battle. Unfortunately, on the very final lap, the #26 Aston Martin came to a halt with technical issues, preventing Greenemeier from crossing the finish line. It was a disappointing end to what could have been a top-five finish overall and in Silver class.
In Race 2, Greenemeier started from P22 overall and seventh in Silver. She lost a couple of positions at the start but avoided a massive first-lap accident that took out eight cars. The Heart of Racing Aston Martin dropped to the tail end of the field after being pushed through the grass, and Greenemeier pitted under the safety car to check for damage, rejoining in P20 overall and sixth in Silver.
After a lengthy cleanup due to debris and barrier damage, Greenemeier handed over to Grisham still under caution. The strategy paid off as Grisham advanced to P10 overall and fourth in class.
At the restart with 30 minutes to go, Grisham charged through the field, moving up to P5 overall and second in Silver. She passed Johan Schwartz and then cleared Lance Bergstein for third overall. With 22 minutes left, she was in a Heart of Racing 1-2, with Roman De Angelis leading and Grisham now in the Silver lead after Corey Lewis dropped back.
Kevin Boehm began chasing Grisham, who set her personal best lap of 1:30.7. Despite a small mistake at Turn 2, she defended superbly, but Boehm eventually passed her for the class lead on lap 17.
De Angelis was pulling away, but a safety car with 18 minutes remaining brought the race back together after Kanisczak’s Random Vandals Racing BMW became stranded on track.
At the restart with 14 minutes to go, De Angelis led Boehm and Grisham, who followed closely, managing to open a gap to the cars behind. Grisham held her position well, unable to challenge Boehm but maintaining a safe margin over Schwartz, Bell, and Walker, who were locked in close battles.
In the closing stages, Grisham kept logging fast laps and held on to second place in Silver, finishing third overall. De Angelis secured the overall and ProAm win, while Grisham earned her second Silver podium in two rounds and her first overall podium alongside Greenemeier, finishing ahead of Corey Lewis and Alex Ellis in Silver class.
“Finishing second today was amazing, honestly,” said Grisham. “I think a big part was just the really smart strategy call and switching our usual driver lineup like we did at Road America. It seemed to really pay off."
"Hannah and I are really excited to get our second podium in the Silver class with a second place finish. I’m excited to get to Indy and continue this trend! Congrats to our sister car on their win today as well!”
Having recovered from 23rd to 3rd overall, Grisham and Greenemeier earned the Super Fuel Hard Charger Award for most positions recovered. The third place overall was also the their highest finish ever in the series.
“Overall, a really great weekend with lots of positive notes to take from it,” added Greenemeier. “The team did a great job with the strategy call again, and then Hannah and I had really good race pace on top of it. Saturday was fun to fight it out with all the silvers and just show that we have the pace to contend with the top class in GT4 America. I think we can build on this momentum heading into Indy and land on that top step!”
The Pirelli GT4 America series will in fact wrap up its 2024 season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 4-6, on the iconic circuit that saw Heart Of Racing's driver Grisham collect a historic first class victory last year.
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