Heart of Racing’s all-female team takes fourth pole, secures top-6 in Indianapolis
The all-female Heart of Racing Team pairing of Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier once again demonstrated the front-running pace in IMSA Pilot Challenge at Indianapolis, securing a fourth overall pole position of the season before a late caution ultimately dropped the #26 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 to sixth at the chequered flag.
The all-female Heart of Racing Team pairing of Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier once again demonstrated the front-running pace that has defined their maiden IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign at Indianapolis, securing a fourth overall GS pole position of the season before a late caution ultimately dropped the #26 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 to sixth at the chequered flag.
Greenemeier controlled the opening stint from pole and handed the car to Grisham in the lead, with the latter subsequently producing the fastest lap of the race and recovering through the field after a difficult pit strategy sequence to put the Aston Martin firmly back into podium contention, only for a final full-course yellow with five minutes remaining to neutralise their charge and trigger another chaotic restart.
The Indianapolis weekend came at a particularly significant venue for the Heart of Racing all-female programme, with the circuit having hosted the project's first-ever victory in GT4 America three years earlier. Grisham and Greenemeier arrived at the event with considerable momentum from their first season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, having already established themselves as regular contenders at the front of the GS field.
Before Indianapolis, the pairing had recorded three top-ten finishes, while their qualifying performances had been particularly remarkable. Grisham became the first woman to secure an overall GS pole position at Watkins Glen, before Greenemeier followed with pole at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Grisham added another at Road America, giving the #26 three consecutive overall pole positions.
The pair's speed was immediately evident again during practice. Grisham set a 1:30.418 in FP1 to place the Aston Martin sixth overall, while Greenemeier improved to a 1:29.973 in FP2, good enough for fifth overall and another indication that the Heart of Racing entry would be capable of fighting at the front.
Greenemeier then delivered the strongest possible confirmation of that pace in Saturday morning's GS qualifying session. The Aston Martin driver produced a spectacular 1:29.351, including a purple middle sector, to take overall pole position by two tenths of a second over the #13 Ford Mustang of Wiebelhaus.
It was the fourth pole position of the season for the all-female Heart of Racing team and the latest chapter in an extraordinary run of qualifying performances.
Greenemeier retained the starting duties for the two-hour race and immediately established a strong rhythm from pole. The Aston Martin driver initially attempted to build a gap while the Ford Mustangs behind battled among themselves, with the resulting fight costing the cars behind some time and allowing Greenemeier to establish a lead. The McCumbee McAleer Mustang of Wiebelhaus soon emerged as the only car capable of staying close, however, while the remainder of the field quickly dropped around two seconds behind the leading pair.
The first caution arrived only ten minutes into the race when Chaves spun the Toyota Supra into the barriers at Turn 7. The full-course yellow erased much of the advantage Greenemeier had built, bringing the field back together despite the #26 having had the race under control and maintaining a gap of more than two seconds to Wiebelhaus.
Greenemeier nevertheless produced another excellent restart when racing resumed. Wiebelhaus came under pressure from Slater but continued attacking the leading Aston Martin into Turn 1, with Greenemeier defending decisively to retain the lead.
The green-flag running lasted only briefly, however, as the leading TCR car, the #77 Stallion Motorsports Cupra, suffered a front-suspension failure at Turn 1, immediately bringing out another full-course yellow.
The race restarted again on lap 13, and Greenemeier once more executed a strong launch. This time Slater moved ahead of Wiebelhaus for second, while further back a Toyota was tagged into a spin in the middle of the pack but managed to rejoin without another interruption. Ward was subsequently forced to pit with damage, but the field continued under green until another major incident involving the #66 Aston Martin and several other cars, including the #46 Team TGM Mustang, created further chaos and triggered a third full-course yellow.
For the third time, Greenemeier had to rebuild her advantage from a restart, and once again she did so. She briefly lost the lead into Turn 1, but immediately responded by switching back through Turn 2 and positioning the Aston Martin perfectly to regain the advantage.
Slater remained the closest challenger, with Zach Veach following in third in the #2 CSM Aston Martin, while Slater began producing purple sectors of his own and applying pressure to the leader. Greenemeier, however, maintained an extraordinary consistency, avoiding any mistakes and eventually opening a margin of around 1.5 seconds as she settled back into her rhythm.
At the 40-minute mark, Greenemeier came into the pits from the lead, becoming the first of a group of cars to stop as the teams adopted different strategies. She handed the #26 over to Grisham and the Aston Martin received four new tyres. Greenemeier's opening stint had been one of the best of the race; she had led from pole throughout, defended successfully through multiple restarts and maintained the lead under sustained pressure.
Grisham immediately showed that the pace of the Aston Martin had not diminished. She produced purple sectors on her first laps and quickly lowered her times to 1:30.2 before setting a 1:30.0, which at that stage was the fastest lap of the race. Her pace was remarkable, with the #26 running more than 1.5 seconds faster than the leaders as Grisham settled into her stint.
The timing of the next caution, however, once again worked against Heart of Racing. The #38 ST Racing BMW went into the gravel, triggering another full-course yellow just as the pit strategy was unfolding.
With the field able to pit under caution, Grisham was forced to make another stop to top up the Aston Martin and effectively returned to the rear of the group following the pit cycle. The strategy placed her fifth among the cars that had completed two stops, while the two cars ahead had yet to make their pit visits.
Racing returned to green with 55 minutes remaining, with Grisham immediately thrown into traffic. She lost a position to the #37 CarBahn BMW through Turn 1 amid the congestion, but quickly regained fifth when Merrill came into the pits on lap 37.
Grisham continued her charge and moved past Burkhard to take fourth, then began hunting down Hays in the #92 BMW. She attempted to make the pass on the main straight and ran side-by-side with Hays, but the BMW closed the door and Grisham was forced to slot back into position.
The Aston Martin continued to climb as the pit sequence unfolded. Hays stopped, promoting Grisham to third, while Mars and Burkhard subsequently made their pit visits, allowing the #26 to move into second on lap 41.
Grisham was now closing rapidly on the race leader Noaker, gaining almost half a second per lap and reaching striking distance of the lead. However, the team's strategy required another stop, and Grisham came into the pits on lap 42 with 43 minutes remaining for her final fuel stop.
The #26 received fuel only, allowing Grisham to return to the circuit in 12th position in class. She immediately resumed her charge, maintaining 1:31s pace as more of the cars ahead completed their second stops. Within the next sequence of pit cycles, Grisham climbed to seventh, then sixth when Yeany brought the #4 Aston Martin into the pits. Her pace remained consistently strong, with the #26 running in the low 1:32s and now clear of the TCR traffic.
As the final strategic picture developed, Grisham moved into fifth and waited for the leading cars to make their second stops. Billy Johnson in the #59 Kohr Motorsport Mustang was around ten seconds ahead, but Grisham was approximately two seconds per lap quicker. Within just two laps, the gap had already been reduced to around five seconds, and the Aston Martin was rapidly closing in on another position.
The podium challenge appeared to be coming together at precisely the right moment, but once again the race was taken out of the team's hands. With five minutes remaining, Gabby Chaves, who was leading overall but had not yet made his final pit stop, slowed dramatically after running out of fuel and was forced to stop on track. The incident triggered another full-course yellow just as Grisham was preparing to attack Johnson, while rain was also beginning to appear around the circuit.
The caution placed Grisham fourth as the field prepared for a final restart, but the resumption proved chaotic. The #26 struggled for grip through Turn 1, allowing several cars to move past as the pack compressed in the difficult conditions. Another late full-course yellow effectively ended any opportunity to recover the lost positions before the chequered flag.
Grisham ultimately crossed the line sixth in GS, a result that once again failed to reflect the genuine podium potential demonstrated by the Heart of Racing Aston Martin throughout the race. The performance nevertheless produced another significant haul of points for the all-female pairing, with Grisham recording the fastest lap of the race.
After nine rounds, the all-female Heart of Racing pairing sits seventh in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS championship with 1,180 points. One round remains on the 2026 calendar, with the season finale scheduled for Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on October 1-3.
