The Toyota GR Cup made it’s visit to VIR for Rounds 5 and 6, and Gresham Wagner and TechSport Racing w/ Baby Bull Racing put on a front-running performance to earn themselves another podium finish in 2023.
Like he did at COTA, Wagner skipped the test day on the Thursday before the event. He hit the track for the first time in the Free Practice 1 and 2 sessions on Friday, immediately finding strong pace and a comfortable car. Wagner put in top times throughout both the sessions, and him and the team were confident heading to the race day.
Wagner stormed to his second pole of the season Saturday morning, earning the first starting spot by over half a second. The race was another challenge, and Wagner tried to establish a gap as soon as Race 1 began. He quickly jumped out to a large lead, followed in second by Lucas Weisenberg, and the rest of the field behind him.
Gresham and Lucas found themselves at the front, with a large gap to the rest of the cars battling for third. Wagner was passed for the lead in the midpoint of the race, and settled into second place for a number of laps. Nearing the end of the race, Wagner found a bit more pace and closed back up to challenge for the race win. He finally got into the position he wanted coming to the white flag, but slipped to second as he and Lucas went side-by-side into Turn 1. Wagner tried a last-ditch move coming to the end of the lap, but it wasn’t enough to earn the win.
Still, Gresham and the TechSport Racing w/ Baby Bull Racing team were happy to follow up their success at COTA with another podium run at their home track. Now, with a 1st, a 2nd, and a 3rd from the season, the team looks ahead to the back half of the season to try to finish the inaugural championship in a strong position. The next race for Gresham will be at Road America in August, after a conflict with the Mazda MX-5 Cup at the Nashville round.