Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier show podium pace again before late drama at VIR
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Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier continued to demonstrate front-running in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, with the all-female Heart of Racing Team lineup fighting for the lead throughout the VIR round before a late restart shuffled them down to eighth at the finish.
Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier continued to demonstrate the front-running pace that has made them one of the most exciting pairings of the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, with the all-female Heart of Racing Team lineup fighting for the lead throughout the Virginia International Raceway round before a late restart shuffled Hannah Grisham down the order and ultimately left the #26 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 eighth at the finish.
After starting fourth, Greenemeier produced an excellent opening stint to move into second before handing the car to Grisham, who subsequently took the lead and remained in podium contention during the closing stages. Although a late caution ultimately prevented the team from converting its pace into their first top-three result, the VIR weekend once again showcased how competitive the Heart of Racing pairing has become.
Grisham and Greenemeier arrived at VIR with considerable momentum after becoming regular contenders at the front of the GS field throughout their first IMSA season. The Heart of Racing duo had already scored three top-ten finishes during the campaign, but their performances had repeatedly suggested that a maiden podium was within reach.
Their breakthrough qualifying run at Watkins Glen had seen Grisham become the first woman to secure an overall GS pole position, while Greenemeier followed that achievement with another overall pole at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The pair then completed the remarkable sequence with a third consecutive pole at Road America.
VIR therefore provided another opportunity to turn that qualifying speed into a race result. The weekend began in mixed conditions, with the opening practice session contested on a wet circuit. Greenemeier set the team's benchmark in a 1:57.447 to finish eighth fastest in GS.
FP2 took place in dry conditions, providing the team with more valuable information for the setup ahead of qualifying, although the mixed weather across the opening day made preparations less straightforward.
Qualifying followed later, with Greenemeier once again entrusted with the #26 Aston Martin. Greenemeier's opening flying lap of 1:54.739 placed her fourth, before she immediately found significant time on her next attempt, lowering the benchmark to 1:53.729 and moving into third.
As the session developed, however, the #26 Aston Martin ultimately settled into fourth place in GS, giving Greenemeier and Heart of Racing a second-row starting position, in once again a remarkable qualifying run for the duo.
Greenemeier therefore started Saturday afternoon's two-hour race from fourth in GS, looking to make the most of the opportunity. The launch was excellent, with Greenemeier going around the outside of Turn 1 to move immediately into third position. She emerged from the opening corners already applying pressure to the #13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang, while the opening laps remained clean across both the GS and TCR fields.
The battle for the lead initially featured Bell at the head of the field, while Greenemeier concentrated on Wiebelhaus ahead of her. By lap three, Greenemeier had found her opportunity and made an excellent move on Wiebelhaus to take second place, completing a decisive pass.
Greenemeier then immediately began pulling away from the cars behind, maintaining a strong 1:54-second pace. With Bell already beginning to edge away at the front, Greenemeier settled into the chase, keeping the leading Toyota within sight while simultaneously building a useful gap over Wiebelhaus.
Over the next laps, Greenemeier was unable to close decisively on Bell, but she remained approximately four seconds behind the leader while creating increasing breathing room behind.
The race remained green through the opening 20 minutes despite some incidents elsewhere in the field, allowing Greenemeier to establish a consistent rhythm.
The first major caution interrupted the race when Ammann suffered contact and returned to the circuit with rear-suspension damage before spinning again at speed several corners later. Ted Giovanis and Maddie Aust were forced to take avoiding action and ultimately became involved in the incident, bringing out the Full Course Yellow.
For Greenemeier, the timing was unfortunate, as she had built a solid advantage over Wiebelhaus and was beginning to settle into a rhythm, while the caution erased much of that work.
Racing resumed with approximately one hour and thirty minutes remaining, and Greenemeier immediately produced another strong restart.
She closed back toward Bell, once again putting pressure on the leading Toyota, while simultaneously pulling away from the cars behind. Within only a few laps, the #26 Aston Martin had opened approximately seven seconds over the chasing pack.
Greenemeier remained unable to quite close the gap to Bell, but she was comfortably in second and had placed Heart of Racing in an excellent position heading toward the pit window.
The team called Greenemeier into pit lane on lap 19 and Hannah Grisham took over the Aston Martin for the second half of the race. The Heart of Racing crew delivered an excellent stop that allowed the #26 car to gain track position over the Toyota. Grisham initially rejoined ninth among the cars that had already completed their stops, but as the remaining GS competitors cycled through pit lane, the Aston Martin rapidly climbed the order.
Grisham was soon running second, with only Holton's Team TGM Ford yet to make its stop. She immediately set competitive lap times as the race entered its middle phase; once the final GS cars had completed their first stops, Grisham emerged as the overall leader.
The #26 Heart of Racing Aston Martin held almost a two-second advantage over Koch's Toyota with approximately 50 minutes remaining. Grisham maintained a strong and consistent pace at the front, although Koch gradually began to take a few tenths out of the gap.
With approximately 48 minutes remaining, Grisham became the first of the leading contenders to make a second pit stop, taking on fuel and two new tyres. Several other competitors followed into pit lane over the next few laps, with Grisham now hunting down the cars that had elected to stay out.
Another strong stop from Heart of Racing nevertheless kept the #26 Aston Martin in contention for the podium.
With four cars remaining ahead on the road because of their different strategy, Grisham circulated in the 1:55s and began steadily reducing the deficit. Koch subsequently made a mistake and went off before rejoining, giving Grisham additional breathing room over the first of the cars pursuing the two-stop strategy.
Grisham recorded a 1:56.1 and began closing rapidly on Weisenberg's BSI Toyota, as more cars cycled through their pit stops. The strategy was beginning to work and Grisham moved into third overall, while Mike Skeen and Matt Plumb remained among those yet to stop, attempting to stretch their fuel strategy to the finish.
The Heart of Racing driver gained approximately a full second on Plumb and reduced the gap to under two seconds. However, Grisham was also beginning to encounter the downside of the strategy as her tyres were losing some of their grip, while Liefooghe was charging rapidly from behind on fresher tyres.
The pursuing car quickly closed the gap and eventually completed the pass for third.
Grisham remained in the hunt, but her advantage had disappeared and the changing tyre balance made the final phase increasingly difficult. Then, with just 11 minutes remaining, another twist altered the race: Plumb suffered damage to his rear bumper, scattering debris onto the circuit and bringing out another Full Course Yellow. The incident proved costly for Plumb, who subsequently received a mechanical black flag and was forced into pit lane to repair the car.
That promoted Grisham back into third place. The race finally returned to green with approximately five and a half minutes remaining. Unfortunately, at the final restart Grisham immediately came under pressure as the field went three-wide into Turn 1. The #26 Aston Martin received contact and was shuffled down the order, with several cars able to take advantage. Hannah fell all the way to eighth.
Another incident involving Robert Noaker's #13 Ford, which spun and lost some bodywork debris, brought out another Full Course Yellow. With no opportunity for Grisham to recover before the chequered flag, the race ended under caution. The #26 Heart of Racing Aston Martin was classified eighth, with a penalty issued to Estep for pushing Grisham during the restart.
The team had once again demonstrated genuine race-winning pace, with Greenemeier charging from fourth to second during the opening stint before Grisham took the lead through the pit cycle and subsequently fought for the podium deep into the final stages. The late eighth-place result therefore only tells part of the story.
The VIR result leaves the Heart of Racing duo ninth in the GS championship standings with 1,630 points, with two rounds remaining in the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season. The next opportunity comes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 18-20.
