Grainger Porsche 911 GT3 Scores Breakthrough Win with Jim Slavik at Road America

Elkhart Lake, Wisc. (28 September 2017) – Driver of the No. 89 Grainger Porsche 911 GT3, Jim Slavik scored his first victory of the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA season along with a third-place podium finish at Road America.

Road America boasts four miles of long distance running with iconic corners including the Carousel, Canada Corner and the Kink. With it being the longest and arguably most challenging track on the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA schedule, Slavik was ready to take it on.

The first race of the weekend on Saturday saw Slavik battling it out with fellow Platinum class competitor, Robert Gardner with the two playing cat and mouse for nearly the entire 45-minute race.

After a race-long pursuit, a mistake by his competitor saw Slavik take full advantage to move to the point with the No. 89 Grainger Porsche and take his first Pirelli Cup win of the season for TruSpeed Autosport.

Race 2 saw Slavik enter with a new-found confidence and determination to pull off another victory. The race to the finish would once again come down to Slavik and Gardner. Slavik put the pressure on and made sure to stick in the mirrors of Gardner’s Porsche 911. After 45-minutes of hard fought racing, Slavik returned the Grainger colors to the Pirelli Cup podium with a third place finish.

“Bob (Gardner) and I just kept trading the lead,” said Slavik. “He did a great job and it was fun racing hard the entire race. It really requires all of your focus, to run that hard for that long. It’s about timing, how quickly you close the gap, and I timed it well today and got him, and then he spun.

“It seemed as though every time we swapped places, the guy in front ended up making a mistake. When you’re right behind someone, you make a point to really get in his mirrors. On every straight, whether I was in a position to pass or not, I was in his mirrors. Focus is all-important, which is difficult, especially on a hot day like today. You can’t take a break. All I could do was fill his mirrors when he was in front, and wait for a mistake to make a move. We went side-by-side through the Carousel, through Canada Corner, all over the track. It’s an awesome track, but it’s a bit daunting. The Grainger car ran great and the TruSpeed crew, including my coach Kelly Collins and my mechanic, Austin Day, were fabulous.”

Slavik will return to Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA competition for the season-finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca October 13-15.