PT Autosport Aspiring Driver Shootout winner to contest Toyota GR Cup season opener

PT Autosport teams up with Copeland Motorsports to contest Sonoma round with Zach Hollingshead

MILLVILLE, NJ (March 21, 2025) – PT Autosport and Copeland Motorsports will team up in the Toyota GR Cup season opener, with Floridian Zach Hollingshead behind the wheel of the No. 88 Toyota GR86 Cup Car.

Hollingshead won the team’s Aspiring Driver Shootout last November, earning him a racing partnership package of up to $250,000. The 21-year-old first came to the notice of the team during the 2024 GR Cup season, as he worked with Copeland Motorsports under the tutelage of his father Ricky, a longtime Copeland mechanic. PT Autosport team principal Jason Myers believes that this experience – and initiative – sets Hollingshead apart.

“So many aspiring drivers talk about how much they want to race, to be at the racetrack,” said Myers. “Zach actually did that, going to work with the Copeland team to learn about this car from the ground up. Yes, he had an introduction through his dad that most other kids don’t have, but he ran with that opportunity and made the most of it. We saw that determination in the Aspiring Driver Shootout, as he became progressively more comfortable and more adept through the three-day event, both in and out of the car. We feel this sets him up well for a shot in the GR Cup opening weekend.”

Coming up through the karting ranks in northern Florida, Hollingshead and his brother were both interested in karting, though it was Zach who decided to take it from a hobby to something more serious. His father helped work on the kart as Hollingshead moved from local and regional races to national events. Earning a spot with Ocala Grand Prix just after future racing stars Kyle Kirkwood and Oliver Askew graduated from the program, he raced as a team driver from 2015 to 2018, then as a factory driver with TB Kart before transitioning to race cars. He and his dad bought a spec Miata that he raced in Florida for several years before joining his father at Copeland Motorsports last year.

Hollingshead so impressed the Copeland team with his determination to earn a racing career that they put him into one of their GR Cup cars for the VIRginia International Raceway round, where he finished seventh and 19th. He goes into the 2025 season as a rookie, having never raced at Sonoma but very familiar with both the team and the car.

“Working with the team as a mechanic helped me last year, but to be honest, it wasn’t anything new for us,” said Hollingshead. “That’s something that was instilled in me from my karting days, to work on my own car. When I raced with Ocala Grand Prix, we traveled as a team, working on the karts, cleaning them, setting up the tents, and doing everything it took to be part of the team as an employee. I tried to carry that over into cars and it paid off after last season with Copeland. Winning the PT Autosport Shootout really propelled my career forward and I know I have to perform at Sonoma to continue. It’s a bit of pressure, but I think I’m ready and Copeland is the team to do it with, so I’m excited to get started.”

Myers, who lived in the Sonoma area for several years while managing sports car teams, is equally excited to see the youngster make his debut with the team at the track Myers considers home.

“We’re happy to be giving Zach the opportunity to race at Sonoma – and hopefully beyond,” said Myers. “After he won the Shootout, we’ve been taking a slow and steady approach to getting him time in the car, preparing for the race weekend at my home track. I am very optimistic that his raw speed and natural talent – coupled with a Copeland-prepared car – will give him what he needs to run up at the front! We’ve been very happy with Zach’s progress and with the massive amount of preparation and attention that Copeland gives these cars – it should be a good weekend.”

Hollingshead will be able to get additional “track time” at Sonoma on Saturday, March 22, joining the PT Autosport Toyota GR Cup eSports team of Michael Janney, Aaron Smith II, and Nick Janney in action on the challenging, 12-turn 2.520-mile circuit.

The Toyota GR Cup series will contest two 45-minute races at Sonoma Raceway – race one will take the green flag Saturday at 5:05 p.m. ET, with race two Sunday at 3:55 p.m. Both races will be broadcast live at www.grcup.com.