Records Fall and a New Era Begins at GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival

SOUTH HAVEN, MI. (16 June 2025) – Thousands of fans packed GingerMan Raceway for the 12th annual GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival, where record-breaking competition and an electric festival atmosphere delivered an unforgettable weekend of motorsport and music. With a refreshed paddock layout and the long-awaited debut of GRIDLIFE Grand Touring (GLGT), the event marked a new chapter in grassroots racing.

A New Era of Accessible Racing: GRIDLIFE GT Debuts with Thrilling Battles

The weekend saw the green flag drop for GRIDLIFE GT (GLGT), GRIDLIFE’s newest wheel-to-wheel racing class. Designed to offer high-performance competition at a fraction of the cost of traditional pro series, GLGT is quickly earning its place as a premier option for budget-conscious drivers looking to step up from amateur racing.

Rooted in the same spirit that built the very successful Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup (GLTC), GLGT maintains a focus on close racing, sportsmanship and community. It follows a similar ruleset to GLTC but raises the performance ceiling with an 8.9 lbs/hp target ratio and expanded aero allowances. Drivers can field builds ranging from 350 to 500 horsepower and a full season including licensing can be run for under $7,000. Thanks to GRIDLIFE’s use of durable 200-treadwear street tires, shorter sprint races and power-to-weight balancing, operating costs are kept far below those of comparable racing series.

“There’s a whole fleet of cars that were just too fast for GLTC,” said GRIDLIFE Co-Founder Adam Jabaay. “GLGT lets us welcome those drivers into the fold without losing the culture that makes GRIDLIFE racing so fun — tight competition, community vibes and a paddock built on respect.”

GLGT’s debut didn’t disappoint. Honda Civic TCR driver James Houghton and Thunder Bunny Racing’s Allen Patten in a GR Supra GT4 traded paint and positions across four races. Houghton claimed the historic first win after a gutsy outside pass in Turn 2 but Patten struck back with three victories to win the weekend overall. AJ Hartman brought a custom-built high-downforce Ford Mustang to challenge the factory racecars while Hans Horpedahl (Corvette), Tony Barber (Nissan 350Z) and David Calzada (Mazda MX-5) delivered a multi-make midfield showdown throughout the weekend.

The series allows racers to either build their cars from scratch like Jax Odinson with his home-prepped BMW or purchase a turnkey option such as Houghton’s Civic Type R TCR. The intentional flexibility opens the door to racers of all budgets and preferences.

With a packed field, close racing and an inclusive rulebook, GLGT is proving that performance and affordability don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

GLTC Shakes Up the Championship With Breakout Winners

The Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup (GLTC) fielded more than 40 entries for Round 3 of the 2025 season and the weekend delivered fresh faces at the front. Eric Magnussen’s LS-swapped BMW M3 stunned the field by taking three of four wins in his first-ever GLTC weekend victory. He held off relentless pressure from championship contenders Eric Kutil (Honda Civic) and Matan Rosenberg (Falken Chevrolet Corvette) showcasing smart driving and precise defense lap after lap.

The weekend’s final race delivered a feel-good finish for longtime competitor Erik Meadows who captured his first-ever GLTC win after six seasons in the series. Meadows took advantage of a field inversion that placed rookie Blake Korth (Porsche Cayman) on pole. A safety car bunched the field with just minutes left and Meadows surged to the front to hold off Kutil and Rosenberg to the checkered flag.

From rookies to veterans, the GLTC paddock continues to prove that anyone can rise through the ranks and that tight, fair racing remains at the heart of the GRIDLIFE experience.

Track Records Fall at GingerMan

The GRIDLIFE RUSH Series made its Midwest Festival debut with a 33-car grid and non-stop action across four races. Championship leader Ryan Leach extended his perfect season, sweeping all four wins to push his streak to 12 straight victories.

GingerMan Raceway once again proved to be fertile ground for fast laps during the GRIDLIFE TrackBattle Time Attack Championship, with records falling in five of seven classes. In Club SC, David Best set a new track record but was edged out by Mike Janssen in a nail-biting Podium Sprint finish. Stan Fayngold and Mario Mirone reset RWD and FWD records in ClubTR, with Fayngold going on to win after Mirone’s off-track excursion. Andy Holst smashed the Street class record by nearly a full second and held off Josh Halka for the win. Street GT was a Corvette showdown, with Luke McGrew narrowly beating Ryan Mathews, while Dallas Reed set an AWD record in his C8.

Street Modified saw two record-breaking runs from Andy Smedegard and Dewey DeWitt, but Kyle McKiou stole the victory with a perfectly timed lap. In Track Mod, Allen Patten dominated with a 1:28.894 lap in his Corvette, breaking the previous record by more than two seconds. Unlimited saw Ernestas Puzelis claim victory by five seconds, capping off a weekend of blistering pace and ultra-tight finishes.

Festival Vibes Meet Fierce Competition

Away from the track, GRIDLIFE Midwest Festival lived up to its reputation as the most immersive motorsport and lifestyle event in North America. With after-hours concerts, silent discos, food trucks, arcade games and a sea of glowing LED totems rising above the campground crowd, the atmosphere pulsed well past the final checkered flag each night.

GRIDLIFE returns to Road America for GRIDLIFE Summer Apex July 25-27, with the same stage (with new artists), the same on track action and the same vibes. For tickets, music line up and event information visit:https://www.grid.life/summer-apex