The win was the first class win for Root.
Maxwell Root spent most of Saturday morning’s IMSA Porsche GT3 race chasing pole-winner Roman DeAngelis around the wet-then-dry-then-wet-then dry Virginia International Raceway. Although behind by as much as six seconds during the 45-minute race, the San Diego native always maintained a positive attitude.
“I drive the wheels off the car until I put it in park,” he said after snatching his first-ever class victory from DeAngelis in the final minutes. The 20-year-old Pepperdine University student was in the No. 7 Wright Motorsports 2018 Porsche 991. “I go 100 percent all the time. I never thought I was out of it, that I couldn’t catch and pass him.”
IMSA declared the 45-minute race “wet” because of the morning’s intermittent rain. Even though the 17-turn, 3.270-mile track was beginning to dry, all 24 starters were obligated to start on rain tires. “But the track was dry in some places while it was raining in others,” Root said. “You never knew how the weather was going to affect the racing. It might be raining at one place on one lap, then be almost dry at the same place on the next lap.”
Root won by 36 seconds after DeAngelis had tire issues down the stretch. The winner had noticeably cut into DeAngelis’ lead with three minutes remaining, then created the race’s only lead change 90 seconds later. The breakthrough victory was Root’s eighth podium finish in nine GT3 races this year.
DeAngelis, from Belle River, Canada, was a distant second in a 2019 Porsche 991 for the Kelly-Moss Road and Race team. Fred Poordad of San Antonio was third in a 2019 Porsche 919, also for Wright Motorsports. Charlie Luck of Richmond finished 17th overall, 13th in class, for Wright Motorsports. He’s a former NASCAR racer and – perhaps more importantly – Richard Petty’s son-in-law. (There were no reporting sightings of the King).
In the Gold Cup class for slightly older Porsches, Rob Ferroi of Sumter, S.C. ran second to Sebastian Carazo of Puerto Rico until Carazo spun off with 17 minutes remaining. Carazo charged from 6 seconds back to within .365 seconds at the flag but needed another lap to complete the comeback. The Porsche GT3 Cup series has another 45-minute race Sunday morning at 9:45.
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