The Heart of Racing secures a pair of top-five finishes during Sunday’s Barber double-header
Birmingham, AL (September 8, 2025) - The Heart of Racing pulled double duty, competing at Barber Motorsports Park with GT World Challenge America and Pirelli GT4 America while the team’s WEC operation was on track at Circuit of the Americas. After some unfortunate luck on Saturday, both the No. 24 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and the No. 26 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 finished in the top five during Sunday’s races.
The No. 24 Heart of Racing Vantage GT3 was piloted by Gray Newell and Darren Turner. Each driver took a turn during the 15-minute qualifying sessions on Saturday morning, both of which secured the sixth fastest lap time in the Pro-Am category.
Newell was first behind the wheel during Saturday afternoon’s 90-minute race. Starting from sixth, Newell was able to make his way up to third before being called down pit lane for a driver change, four tires, and fuel. Due to the pit rotation, Turner rejoined the field in fifth but was quickly up battling for third once again. Unfortunately, with just 20 minutes remaining in the race, Turner suffered from a spin after making contact while going for the pass for third. The Brit was able to fight back to fourth at the finish.
Turner started Sunday’s race for the duo, maintaining his sixth-place position in class for the entirety of his all-green 45-minute stint. The field continued to stay green for the remainder of the race, preventing Newell from closing any gaps. Newell ultimately crossed the finish line in seventh, but due to post-race penalties, the team finished fifth.
The No. 26 Heart of Racing Vantage GT4 driven by Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier had a busy three-race weekend, as the weekend also included a makeup race from Road America.
Greenemeier started from eighth for Friday’s make-up race. The duo battled to finish the race in sixth place, despite the power steering issues that arose with two laps to go.
Unfortunately, on Saturday, neither Grisham nor Greenemeier was able to qualify due to the power steering issue. Saturday afternoon, the team believed the issue was fixed, but quickly discovered that it had returned and was forced to retire from the race early.
Sunday’s race had a different tune. The Hannah duo successfully completed the 60-minute race without any issues. Starting from the rear of the Pirelli GT4 America grid, Greenemeier worked her way through the field rather quickly. Grisham finished the final 30 minutes of the race, making her way to cross the finish line fourth in the Silver class.
“It was a tough weekend overall,” said Grisham. “We battled through some tough conditions with the power steering issue, but the team did a great job putting the car together and getting us back on track. We couldn’t be happier with the P4 result from Sunday’s race. We have one more round going into Indianapolis in a few weeks. We’ve had some good luck there in the past, so hopefully we can get that going again.”
The Heart of Racing Team’s SRO program will conclude the SRO America calendar with the final round, taking place from October 16 to 19, where the team will make its Indianapolis 8 Hour debut in GT World Challenge America. In the meantime, the team will compete in a round of the World Endurance Championship and two rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series.
