ray Gregory, Randy Buck and Ethan Shippert Score "HSR Classics" Record-Extending Win in the 1974 No. 26 Chevron B26 in Run Group A
Dante Tornello Gives Hudson Historics a Home Track Victory in Run Group C in the 2014 No. 80 Coyote Corvette Daytona Prototype
Todd Sloan Leads Riley 1-2 Finish in 2006 No. 60 Riley XX Daytona Prototype in Run Group B
The Inaugural Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Classic 6 Hours of The Glen came to a safe and successful conclusion Sunday with the first three Run Group winners in the history of the newest "HSR Classics" race honored after two days of competition on the legendary Watkins Glen International Grand Prix circuit. The Classic 6 Hours joins the HSR Classic Daytona 24 Hour and HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour as the third race in the HSR Classics triple crown and delivered in its first edition this weekend the same intense competition and drama for which the Daytona and Sebring HSR Classics have become known.
The weekend's trio of Run Group winners were each awarded custom designed watches carrying the race's logo from B.R.M. Chronographes.
One of the weekend's most notable victories was a record-extending seventh HSR Classics win by the 1974 No. 26 Chevron B26 co-driven by car owner/driver Gray Gregory and his teammates Randy Buck and Ethan Shippert. The always-quick Chevron swept all three Run Group A rounds at The Glen over the course of Saturday and Sunday to become the first team and drivers to win each of the HSR Classics races at Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen at least once.
This weekend's win at The Glen was also the third-consecutive HSR Classics victory for the No. 26 Chevron team and drivers after sweeping the 2022 Daytona and Sebring HSR Classics races late last year. Gregory and his teammates have four career HSR Classic Sebring victories - 2018 through 2020 and '22 - and a pair of HSR Classic Daytona wins last year and in 2020. Along with the Classic 6 Hours, the seven victories are the most for any single team and driver lineup in the nearly 10-year history of the HSR Classics events.
The biggest challenge for the Group A winners came from the similar 1975 No. 62 Chevron B31 of Mitchell Eitel that pressured Gregory's No. 26 throughout the event on the way to a second-place finish. The final podium spot went to the highest finishing production-based GT car as Yves Scemama capped a full weekend of podium results with a third-place showing in his Arnage Motorsports 1974 No. 52 Porsche 911 IROC.
The Run Group B victory was secured by Todd Sloan in his ex-Michael Shank Racing 2006 No. 60 Riley XX Daytona Prototype. Sloan finished a solid third-place overall as the top prototype finisher in his Run Group in last November's HSR Classic Daytona in a similar Riley Daytona Prototype. At The Glen, Sloan stepped up to take overall Group B honors and led a one-two Riley finish as David Huber and Chip Vance scored runner-up honors in a 2004 No. 10 Riley XI Daytona Prototype.
Another quick GT car claimed the final Classic 6 Hours podium spot. The family team of Theo Ruijgh and his son Tjebbe Ruijgh finished third overall and topped the GT field in their Alex Job Restorations 1997 No. 23 Porsche 993 RSR.
The Daytona Prototype and GT-podium trend continued in Run Group C that saw Dante Tornello and Hudson Historics break through for the overall victory in the 2014 No. 80 Coyote Corvette Daytona Prototype. The win was particularly sweet for the Hudson Historics operation that is based in upstate New York and calls Watkins Glen a home track.
Dominick Incantalupo finished second in his 2014 No. 54 Roin Realty Holdings Oreca FLM09 "PC" car while Wayne West and Stanton Barrett completed the run of GT cars on all three Classic 6 podiums with a third-place finish in the Brumos-themed 2012 No. 59 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup prepared by Vintage Racing.
The Classic 6 Hours race weekend also featured the HSR Watkins Glen Historics that were points-paying races for HSR's various season-long championships. Sunday's final day of competition began with a pair of Watkins Glen Historics one-hour B.R.M. Chronographes Endurance Challenge races that set the stage for the afternoon Classic 6 finales.
Todd Treffert wrapped up a feature race three-win weekend with an overall and GT Classic (GTC) victory in the first B.R.M. race in his 1974 No. 14 Speedconcepts Porsche 911 IROC prepared by the 901 Shop. The Vintage class win in the same race went to the DAS Sport Classic 1988 No. 77 Porsche Turbo Cup of Colin Dougherty, who finally reached the top step of the podium after finishing second and third in Glen Historics feature races earlier in the weekend.
In a sign of things to come, Tornello and Hudson Historics took the overall and Prototype victory in the second B.R.M. race. The GT Modern (GTM) class win went to the 2018 No. 117 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo of Alexandre Lima and Pierre Kleinubing while Benjamin Myers earned Historic-class honors in his Wolf Motorsports 2001 No. 129 Carbir CS2 Sports 2000.
Next up for HSR on the 2023 calendar is a return to Watkins Glen for the Inaugural HSR Stock Cars at The Glen on NASCAR weekend, August 19 - 20. Prior to that, HSR returns to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for its third year as the sanctioning body for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, August 16 - 19, and Monterey Pre-Reunion the week before, August 12 - 13.
