- Andre Castro Delivers Comeback Win on Saturday After Friday Misfortunes
- Castro Reclaims Points Lead Over Arthur with Only Two Rounds Remaining
- Race 2 Provisional Results
After a turbulent Race 1 the day prior, Race 2 at Barber Motorsports Park for the TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School field in the UAB Medicine GT World Alabama benefiting Teal Wings of Hope event.
Andre Castro completed a remarkable turnaround at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday, leading a Ricca Autosport podium sweep in Race 2.
After a mechanical issue derailed Castro's Race 1 on Friday and dropped him to eighth at the finish, the No. 77 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC EVO driver responded in dominant fashion. Starting from pole, Castro led from the opening lap and never looked back to claim the victory.
More importantly, the result puts Castro back at the top of the championship standings with just two rounds remaining.
Justin Gravett followed his teammate home in second in the No. 8 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC EVO, while Friday's race winner Matan Rosenberg completed the podium in third aboard the No. 78 Hyundai, giving Ricca Autosport a clean sweep of the top three.
Castro made a strong start from pole and immediately established himself at the front, with Gravett and Rosenberg giving chase behind. Championship leader Braydon Arthur started the race fourth in the No. 4 JMF Motorsports Toyota GR Corolla TC, looking to rebuild the advantage he had seen shrink to just five points following his ninth-place finish in Race 1.
Castro continued to control the race as it progressed, building a 2.3-second advantage by the halfway point. Gravett maintained second while Rosenberg remained within striking distance in third.
The No. 77 continued to stretch its advantage in the second half of the race, with Castro's lead growing to 3.2 seconds as the laps wound down. Behind him, the battle for second remained much closer, with Gravett and Rosenberg separated by just a second inside the final 10 minutes.
Neither position changed before the checkered flag, with Castro taking the victory and completing his comeback from Friday's troubles.
The win also delivered a major swing in the championship standings. Castro entered Barber Motorsports Park trailing Arthur but leaves the event with an eight-point advantage over his championship rival.
With two rounds remaining, the title fight is now firmly in Castro's hands heading into the season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in just a couple of weeks.
“ We had the race in the bag and things didn't work out our way,” said Andre Castro when reflecting on the prior day’s outcome. “But today the car was flawless. It's important in the championship battle, so it's good to be back in the lead. It’s exactly what we wanted yesterday, but we took it today. We'll see at Indy how it goes, but I’m really excited and looking forward to it.”
“You think about it for sure,” he admitted when asked about the championship implications. “I try to not think about it too much, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really affect what you do in the car. I was out front and I started managing my lead at a certain point because I didn’t want to overstress the car. I knew I had enough of a lead so I was trying to take it a little bit easy, just making sure I got the car to the end. So in that sense, I'm thinking about championship. But generally, you know all the things you have to do and execute on a race weekend. You always want to win, and that's what we did today. Thanks to Jeff Ricca, the GOAT obviously, and Hyundai for making this whole season possible. It’s just a dream come true, so thank you to all of them.”
Up Next
The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School field will return for the season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from October 9th to 11th, 2026.
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