TGRNA: Paityn Feyen charges back to top-20 with recovery drive in Road America race 2
- RACERS
- Aug 20
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 21
After a challenging first race of the weekend at Road America, Paityn Feyen charged through the field in Race 2 of the fifth round of the Toyota GR Cup North America to recover to a top-20 finish after an early incident, gaining ten positions and securing back-to-back Highest Finishing Female Awards.
After a challenging first race of the weekend at Road America, Paityn Feyen charged through the field in Race 2 of the fifth round of the Toyota GR Cup North America to recover to a top-20 finish after an early incident, gaining ten positions and securing back-to-back Highest Finishing Female Awards.
In her rookie Toyota GR Cup North America campaign, Nitro Motorsports driver Feyen has steadily improved through the opening rounds, scoring her first top-15 finish at Sebring International Raceway before adding two more top-20 results at VIRginia International Raceway, with a P17 and P19. Battling increasingly in the midfield, the teenager has continued to adapt to new circuits and demonstrated strong progress over the first half of the season, consistently claiming the Highest Finishing Female Award.
At Road America—one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar with its long straights and iconic corners—Feyen started the weekend with encouraging pace in practice, setting a 2:34.562 for P22 in the opening session before repeating the same position in FP2.
She carried that momentum into qualifying on Saturday morning, finding over a second to post a 2:33.072 and secure P21 on the grid for Race 1 in the strong 28-car field.
However, rain arrived for the first race on Saturday afternoon, resulting in very tricky conditions. The race began behind the safety car for three laps to allow drivers to get a feel for the circuit before the green flag waved. Polesitter Max Schweid initially led into Turn 1, but Parker Delong took advantage to move past as the front-runners battled. Feyen held P20 after the restart, engaging in close fights with Curtis and Kowalski before settling into 21st.
On lap 4, Kowalski and Weisenberg found a way through, and soon after, drama unfolded at the front: contact between Robusto and Delong for the lead sent both off at Turn 1, triggering chaos behind. Feyen was among those caught out, sliding through the gravel in the treacherous conditions. She managed to rejoin but dropped to the back, 13 seconds adrift of the pack.
Feyen began closing the gap but was forced to pit at the end of lap 6 to assess damage. The Nitro Motorsports driver rejoined two laps later, determined to log valuable mileage as the track slowly dried. A further stop followed, and she eventually was classified P28 after an unlucky first race of the weekend.
Sunday morning’s second qualifying session brought more challenges. After setting an early 2:39.604, an incident between Tovo and Kowalski caused a red flag with three minutes remaining. The session was not resumed, leaving Feyen in P26 on the grid for Race 2 with only one representative lap.
Determined to turn her weekend around, Feyen lined up for Race 2 in dry conditions. At the start, several cars ran wide at Turn 1 but avoided contact. Feyen gained two positions on the opening lap to move into P23 and immediately went on the attack against Gilleland. However, misfortune struck again as she ran wide at Turn 1 and slid off in the gravel. She rejoined at the tail end of the field.
Not giving up, Feyen began a spirited recovery. She passed Lennon for P26 and gained another spot when Fletcher retired, while consistently lapping quicker than the cars ahead. Running in the 2:36.4s, she was two seconds faster than Rudnai and over three seconds quicker than others further up the order, though a large gap remained.
Her chance came on lap 4 when Christian Weir crashed heavily at Canada Corner, triggering a full-course caution. Feyen slotted into P24 for the restart with 26 minutes remaining, immediately making up ground. She climbed to P23, then passed Koch after he ran wide, and by lap 7 had also dispatched Curry and Rudnai to break into the top 20 in a brilliant comeback drive.
Although Koch briefly repassed a lap later, Feyen continued to push, setting her personal best lap with a 2:34.7. She steadily closed the gap to Gilleland, gaining nearly two seconds on lap 11 before making the move stick to reclaim P20.
Despite pressure from behind, Feyen defended well and crossed the line in 20th place after a remarkable recovery drive—securing her fifth top-20 finish of the season along with another Highest Finishing Female Award. Feyen was post-race promoted to P16 after penalties. The drive showcased her fighting spirit as she continues to build experience in her rookie campaign.
“This weekend was definitely a learning experience for me,” said Paityn, who had the chance to collect valuable mileage in both wet and dry weather conditions.
“Road America is such a fast and technical track, and while race one didn’t go the way I wanted, I’m really proud of how we came back in race two to move forward and bring home another award. Every race, I’m gaining more confidence and experience, and I’m looking forward to keeping the momentum going at Barber.”
The next round is scheduled for 5–7 September at Barber Motorsports Park, the penultimate race meeting of the season.
