IMPC: Riley Pegram Matches Best Result at VIR as Maddie Aust Suffers First DNF of 2026

Riley Pegram and her father Larry Pegram converted a positive race into another top-ten finish for Pegram Racing, matching their seventh-place result from Road America, while Maddie Aust’s strong season was interrupted by an unfortunate race-ending incident that was beyond her control.

Photo credits: Brandon Badraoui

Virginia International Raceway delivered another dramatic chapter in the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, with the eighth round of the championship producing a contrasting afternoon for the two women in the TCR field.

Riley Pegram and her father Larry Pegram converted a positive race into another top-ten finish for Pegram Racing, matching their seventh-place result from Road America, while Maddie Aust’s strong season was interrupted by an unfortunate race-ending incident that was beyond her control.

Riley Pegram arrived at Virginia International Raceway in the midst of her sophomore IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign, again sharing the family-run Pegram Racing Honda Civic TCR with her father, Larry Pegram. The pair had shown promising pace early in the 2026 season, most notably at Daytona, where they battled for victory during the opening stages before misfortune ended their challenge. A difficult weekend at Sebring was followed by several races affected by technical issues and setbacks, with an 11th-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park matching their best result of the year and providing renewed confidence. That momentum continued at Road America, where a well-timed strategy helped the Pegrams secure their strongest result of the season to date, finishing seventh in TCR.

Maddie Aust, meanwhile, continued her second season with Bryan Herta Autosport, sharing the #98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR with veteran Mark Wilkins. After narrowly missing the podium with fourth-place finishes at both Daytona and Sebring, Aust and Wilkins secured their maiden podium of the season at Mid-Ohio before adding another top-six result at Watkins Glen. A fuel strategy gamble at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park brought their run of top-six finishes to an end, but the pairing remained among the championship contenders. At Road America, they again showed the pace to challenge near the front, although an unfortunate strategy ultimately left them tenth at the checkered flag.

The VIR weekend began with a disrupted first practice session as rain affected running and made it difficult for teams to establish a representative baseline around the technical Virginia circuit. Aust and her Bryan Herta Autosport teammate Mark Wilkins ended the session eighth in TCR, while the Pegram Racing Honda Civic TCR of Riley and Larry Pegram did not set a representative time.

Conditions improved for the second session, however, allowing the Pegrams to demonstrate some encouraging pace as Larry posted a 1:57.804 to place tenth in the TCR class.

Qualifying saw both Riley Pegram and Aust take responsibility for setting their respective cars' starting positions, with the TCR field quickly becoming increasingly competitive as lap times tumbled. Aust initially placed fifth after her first timed lap of 2:04.9, before improving to a 1:58.023 to move into sixth as the session progressed. Pegram was ninth at that stage, continuing to build her pace, but the session was interrupted by a red flag with only two minutes remaining.

The brief interruption left little time for further improvements, although both drivers were able to complete another flying lap once the session resumed. Aust ultimately recorded a 1:57.145, which placed the #98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR ninth in the final classification, while Pegram set a 1:58.667 to qualify 12th in TCR. It meant Aust would start from seventh in the TCR class for the two-hour race, with Pegram lining up tenth.

Photo credits: Jake Galstad

Aust took the start for Bryan Herta Autosport, while Pegram was behind the wheel of the #72 Pegram Racing Honda Civic TCR when the field went green on Saturday afternoon. The opening laps were clean across both the GS and TCR classes, although neither driver was able to make immediate progress. Aust dropped to eighth in TCR at the start, while Pegram slipped to 11th, and the #98 Hyundai subsequently fell to tenth as the opening exchanges developed.

Aust was then passed by the recovering Pasquarella and Tally, although she remained close behind Tally while maintaining roughly half a second over Pegram. The two were therefore running in close proximity during the early stages, with the race settling into a rhythm during the first 20 minutes.

When Gou was forced to pit with an issue on his TCR car, Aust moved back to ninth and Pegram to tenth, setting the stage for what appeared to be a potentially productive race for both.

The situation changed dramatically on lap 10, however, when Ammann made contact and continued with damage to the rear suspension. The damaged car subsequently spun again at speed a few corners later, creating a rapidly developing hazard for the cars approaching the incident. Ted Giovanis and Aust were caught in the chaos as they attempted to avoid Ammann, with both cars ultimately making contact with the barriers.

For Aust, the incident brought an abrupt and particularly frustrating end to her race. The #98 Hyundai suffered a heavy impact and Aust was forced to retire, recording her first DNF of the season. The incident was particularly unfortunate given the consistency that had been one of the defining characteristics of her 2026 campaign.

Photo credits: Brandon Badraoui

Pegram managed to navigate through the chaos and emerged in eighth place in TCR as the field came under Full Course Yellow conditions. When racing resumed with approximately one hour and 30 minutes remaining, Riley began what would become one of her strongest stints of the season to date.

Pegram steadily moved forward as the TCR pit cycle unfolded, benefiting from staying on track longer than many of her rivals while also maintaining strong pace. Running as high as fourth in class, Pegram whowcased genuinely good pace and placed the Pegram Racing Honda in a good position as the race approached the halfway point.

When Riley eventually made her pit stop and handed the Honda Civic TCR over to Larry Pegram, the car rejoined in sixth position. The team was still very much in the fight, with Larry just two seconds behind Karl Wittmer in the MMG Honda for fifth place. Larry also showed competitive pace, recording a 1:58.2 and keeping close to both Wittmer and Tim Lewis as the battle for the top positions continued.

The race then entered another tense phase with just 11 minutes remaining, when the GS-class car of Plumb lost its rear bumper, leaving debris on the circuit and prompting another Full Course Yellow. The caution created the possibility of a chaotic late restart, with eight TCR cars now on the lead lap and the entire group still capable of changing positions during the final minutes.

The green flag finally returned with five and a half minutes remaining, setting up a short but intense sprint to the finish. Larry Pegram maintained sixth position through the initial restart phase, but the final two laps brought another reshuffling of the TCR order, as Caleb Bacon moved ahead of Pegram, dropping the #72 Honda to seventh at the checkered flag.

Seventh represented another strong result for Pegram Racing, matching the team's best finish of the season, achieved just one round earlier at Road America, and marked back-to-back top-ten finishes after a challenging middle portion of the campaign.

Riley Pegram moved to 13th in the TCR championship with 1,600 points, while Aust remained fifth in the standings on 1,980 points despite her retirement at VIR.

With only two rounds left in the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, both drivers will now turn their attention to the next stop at Indianapolis, scheduled for September 18–20.