Late-race pass from Taylor at Indy sets fire to the title fight

A wild pass in the dark during the final minutes of the 4-hour race was the key moment for the TCR class in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge’s penultimate round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

Mikey Taylor passed Robert Wickens heading into Turn 7 with two minutes left, giving Taylor and polesitter Chris Miller their second-consecutive victory, and third of the season, in their #17 JDC Miller MotorSports Audi RS 3 LMS. 

“I knew if I had a big enough run, I would be at least side-by-side,” Taylor said. “But he actually braked earlier than I expected, and I got a nice run around the outside. I don’t think he was expecting me to go there. It’s not a normal place to pass.”

The contact surrounding the pass didn’t go over well with Wickens, who, with co-driver Harry Gottsacker, managed to help maintain the TCR championship lead for the #33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR.

“I don’t want to be the poor loser, but I’ve never raced the #17 yet this year where there hasn’t been contact,”Wickens said. “I can race everyone else without any contact. It’s just the way he is. If that’s how he wants to play, that’s how we’re going to play.”

The race restarted with 11 minutes left after a full-course-yellow period following an incident between Michael Lewis’ #98 Hyundai Elantra and Tim Lewis’ #5 Alfa Romeo Giulietta while they were fighting for P4. Taylor passed Wickens, who quickly regained the lead when Taylor tangled with a Ford Mustang GT4. Minutes later, Taylor pulled his Audi alongside Wickens’ Hyundai, and the final tussle for the victory commenced. 

Taylor’s winning margin at the line was 1.138 seconds, while #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra co-driven by Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi finished third.

Wickens and Gottsacker will take a 20-point lead over Taylor and Miller into the season-ending race, on October 13 at Road Atlanta. 

Indianapolis – Race

1. M. Taylor/C. Miller (JDC Miller MotorSports, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 141 laps

2. R. Wickens/H. Gottsacker (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 1.138

3. M. Filippi/M. Wilkins (Bryan Herta Autosport, Hyundai Elantra N), 2.295

Championship points

1. R. Wickens/H. Gottsacker, 2730 pts; 2. C. Miller/M. Taylor, 2710; 3. M. Wilkins/M. Filippi, 2600

Picture: IMSA/LAT Images