Sally McNulty achieved her fifth and sixth podium finishes of the 2024 TC America season, securing a second and third place at Barber Motorsports Park that promote her to third in the championship standings.
Sally McNulty enjoyed her most productive weekend to date in the TC class of TC America, as she equaled her best-ever result of the season with a second and a third place at Barber Motorsports Park, in the penultimate round of the 2024 season that promoted her to third in the championship standings.
McNulty thus collected her fifth and sixth podiums of the season, executing flawless races at the Alabama circuit, which returned to the SRO America calendar for the first time since 2016.
After a strong season opener at Sonoma, McNulty continued to deliver solid results before returning to the podium at Road America, where she earned two top-three finishes, strengthening her fourth-place position in the championship standings.
Building on her progress throughout the season, McNulty entered the penultimate round needing to learn a whole new circuit—her first time racing at Barber Motorsports Park. However, the driver of the #780 Hyundai Elantra N T, operated by Ricca Autosport, quickly adapted and set the fourth-fastest time in practice, finding pace that looked promising for the races.
In qualifying, Sally improved further, setting a 1:36.232 lap, which placed her third on the TC grid, behind teammate Jeff Ricca and Cristian Perocarpi.
Ricca made a strong comeback after an issue on Friday that required a chassis swap with teammate Ron Zaras, who left his car to his title contender teammate.
At the green flag, Ricca got a good launch, while Sally slotted into P3, holding position over Scott Thomson. She quickly built a two-second gap over Thomson and tried to keep up with the leading duo, though they slowly pulled away.
Ricca, consistently in the 1:35 range, led with a healthy margin over Perocarpi, who couldn't match his pace. They both passed the TCX entry of DeFreitas, with Sally following four seconds behind, keeping Thomson at bay.
By lap 8, Thomson gained a few tenths and caught up with Sally, eventually making a move stick with 20 minutes to go; however she fought back, reclaiming third on lap 14. McNulty then set her personal best lap at 1:37.325, though Thomson continued to apply pressure, staying glued to her #780 Hyundai.
Under intense pressure, Sally kept her cool, maintaining her pace and making no mistakes. She managed to build a one-second gap by lap 21. Thomson mounted a final attack in the last few minutes, but despite some late traffic, McNulty held off his advances and secured another podium finish, her fifth of the season.
In Race 2, Ricca started on pole ahead of Perocarpi, while Sally lined up in fourth, alongside Scott Thomson in the TC class. Ricca and Perocarpi had a clean start, and Sally immediately went on the offensive. Thomson spun at the chicane, and Sally quickly seized the opportunity, grabbing third on the first lap.
Ahead, Ricca soon set the fastest lap and built a two-second lead over Perocarpi’s Mini JCW Team entry. He then overtook the TCX Acura of DeFreitas, while McNulty held third with a steady pace, maintaining a healthy margin over Thomson, who later spun again and dropped further down the order.
In a dramatic turn, Perocarpi pitted with front-right issues, allowing Sally to move up to second place, forming a Ricca Autosport 1-2 with 26 minutes remaining.
McNulty’s strong run saw her clock faster laps than the #39 Racer’s Edge Acura from the faster TCX class, closing the gap to Ricca to four seconds. Unchallenged behind, Sally pushed the pace and, by lap 14, was even faster than her teammate and championship leader, who was 11 seconds ahead.
As drivers began managing their tyres, Sally settled into consistent 1:38 lap times, maintaining her position without taking unnecessary risks.
Jeff Ricca won the race, clinching the TC America championship title with two races to spare, while McNulty crossed the line in second, equaling her personal best finish in the series. It was her sixth podium of the season and moved her up to third in the championship standings.
"Double podium weekend and clinched third in the driver championship!", she commented. "This was my fourth podium in a row, and my sixth podium this season. I'm so grateful and had faith I would get there."
"This year so far has been the most effort I have put in, both on and off the track", she continued. "From the countless hours of video and data review, to many a late night on iRacing focusing on repetitions to ensure I was ready for the track. Jeff Ricca really took the extra time this season to help get me comfortable in my Hyundai Elantra N1 TC, whether it be video review post session, or pulling data and making sure to let me know where I am leaving time on the table."
With two podiums at Barber Motorsports Park, Sally McNulty heads into the season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, October 5-8, with strong momentum.
"So thankful for everyone's efforts to have helped me get this far. Really looking forward to rolling this momentum into Indianapolis in a few short weeks!"
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