The opening TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School race at Barber Motorsports Park, as part of the UAB Medicine GT World Alabama benefiting Teal Wings of Hope event, delivered a dramatic turn of events before the green flag even flew.
Pole sitter Jeff Ricca pulled his No. 78 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC EVO into pit lane on the formation lap with a suspected leak, handing the top starting spot to Jonathan Neudorf in the No. 4 JMF Motorsports Toyota GR Corolla TC. Ricca would go on to return to the track eight laps later, salvaging valuable points toward the championship hunt and securing pole position for Race 2.
The drama continued when PJ Groenke, running second in the No. 76 Ricca Autosport Hyundai, was handed a drive-through penalty for a start procedure violation. This opened the door for Ricca Autosport newcomer Alana Carter to move into second in the No. 74 Hyundai, with teammate Eric Kunz following closely behind in the No. 77 Ricca Autosport entry.
Kunz soon found himself under heavy pressure from Connor Attrell in the No. 75 Hyundai, who hounded him to the finish but ultimately could not find a way past.
At the checkered flag, Neudorf claimed a commanding victory, his second of the season, followed by Carter scoring an impressive second-place finish in her series debut, and Kunz rounding out the podium.
Despite finishing eighth after his delayed start, Ricca’s points haul was enough to secure the 2025 TC America Championship title with a handful of races remaining, adding another accolade to his decorated career.
“ It feels great to get the second win, especially at Barber where we got a triple header,” exclaimed Jonathan Neudorf. “It feels good to have a strong car, so I'm excited for the next two races. I'm happy for the team and for Toyota. I just can't thank everyone at JMF Motorsports enough for the opportunity to be here, and I’m excited for tomorrow.”
“I'm so happy, it was a great race,” expressed Alana Carter. “It’s my first time racing a front wheel drive car, I drove this car for the first time ever on Thursday and we just had to figure it out. Ricca Autosport gave me a phenomenal car. It did not step a foot wrong the whole race. Everyone was awesome to race with as they were respectful, but competitive. I'm just so happy to come out on the podium in my first race with you guys.”
“We secured another championship,” said 2025 Champion Jeff Ricca. “This is a good moment that we can all embrace as a team, and for the manufacturer too. It just shows how strong we are, and it's only up from here. We just keep on going, and next year's going to be even stronger.”
Let’s Get Racing
The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School field will return to the track for Race 2 on Friday afternoon, September 5th at 4:50 PM CT.
If you can’t make it to Barber Motorsports Park, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTBHM.