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Thienes / Kujala Finish Second at Sebring, Thienes Claims Bronze Cup Win in VPRC Endurance Debut

Forte Racing Pit Crew Has Fastest Pit Stop of the Race

Monrovia, Calif. (Tuesday, March 10, 2026) – Brian Thienes and co-driver Patrick Kujala, along with the entire Forte Racing team, delivered an impressive performance in Sunday’s inaugural IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge race at Sebring International Raceway. Competing in the new two-hour endurance format for the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, the duo secured a strong second-place finish in the No. 77 Thienes Engineering Ligier JS P325.

The result also earned Thienes the Bronze Cup class victory, placing him first in the Bronze Cup championship standings and second overall in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge championship standings following the opening endurance round.

Despite a lack of testing with the brand new car, the team showed speed immediately. Kujala quickly adapted to the new Ligier platform, setting the pace in the first practice session with a P1 result during his first time behind the wheel of the No. 77 Thienes Engineering Ligier on the Sebring circuit.

The new endurance format also introduced pit stops to the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge paddock. Drawing on experience from crew members who worked in last year’s IMSA WeatherTech GTD program, the Forte Racing crew executed a flawless stop that proved to be the fastest pit stop of the race.

While Brian Thienes is competing in both the Sprint and Endurance races within the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge this season, the strong Sebring result also delivered a victory in the Bronze Cup class for the veteran driver. The new format also allowed him to reunite with former co-driver Patrick Kujala.

“It was great to get back on the podium thanks to some incredible driving by Patrick Kujala,” Thienes said. “Patrick showed off his great driving skills keeping the car at the front end of the race with a damaged wing. The team did a great job to put the race car together last minute. We had an incredible result this weekend considering we just pulled the new car out of the box without any testing. We hope to do better at the next race after we've had some time to work with the car. As always, Pete Jacobs provides a very competitive race car and, in this case, he was able to provide a very good car with no testing."

Kujala was equally enthusiastic about returning to the Forte Racing lineup alongside Thienes for the endurance rounds of the championship.

“Happy to be racing with Brian again!” Kujala said. “The team did a great job and we collected important data for the new car which hopefully will help as understand it better. Looking forward for COTA now!”

Behind the scenes, Forte Racing Technical Director Peter Jacobs was pleased with the performance of both drivers and the team as they adapted to the new car and format throughout the weekend.

“I want to extend a big thank you to our drivers, Brian Thienes and Patrick Kujala, as well as our entire team,” Jacobs said. “Right from the start, we secured P1 in the first practice session with Kujala behind the wheel, followed by dedicating the second practice to Thienes for maximum track time.”

“Before the event, we decided to run the car in a low downforce configuration,” Jacobs continued. “However, both Brian and the team had limited experience with this setting as well the new 325 car. So, as we approached qualifying, we switched to a higher downforce setup, which gave Mr. Thienes the confidence to secure the 3rd starting position for race day.

At 63 years of age, Brian delivered an outstanding performance in the first half of the race, bringing Patrick a well handling race car. Our pit stop was flawless and the fastest of all teams, allowing Patrick to gain a significant advantage in his last half of the race.

Shortly after all the pit stops were completed, a full-course yellow was called due to an on-track incident. This changed the game for Patrick, bringing all the cars back within striking distance. Unfortunately, just a few laps into green flag racing, Patrick had contact with another car that turned down on him while he was attempting to take the position, damaging the left front dive plan and causing the car to understeer. However, Patrick is a fighter that never gives up maintaining a close third place position with a great deal of pressure from behind.

Sometimes, it’s better to be a little lucky than good, as the leader fell out due to a mechanical issue handing us a second-place podium finish.”

Forte Racing team owner Shane Seneviratne praised the drivers and crew for delivering a strong result despite the limited preparation with the new car.

“We are extremely proud of the effort from Brian, Patrick, and the entire Forte Racing team this weekend,” Seneviratne said. “To roll out a brand new Ligier JS P325 with no testing and come away with a podium finish and the Bronze Cup victory is a tremendous accomplishment. Brian drove a smart, consistent opening stint and Patrick did a fantastic job keeping the car at the front despite the damage late in the race. The crew also delivered the fastest pit stop of the race, which shows the level of preparation and teamwork across this program. It was a great start to the endurance season and we are looking forward to building on this momentum at COTA.”

With the first of four two-hour races for the LMP3 class of the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge now complete, the team will next head to Circuit of The Americas May 7–9 for the second round of the 2026 IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge.

For updates, behind-the-scenes coverage, and live action from the paddock, follow @ForteRacing on Instagram.

* Photos by Brayan Castiblanco

ABOUT FORTE RACING (Formerly US RaceTronics)

Forte Racing, based in Los Angeles and Charlotte, competes in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar GTD Championship, IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge, and Lamborghini Super Trofeo series with support from Lamborghini Squadra Corse. In 2025, the team will expand into the McLaren Trophy America series in SRO, further broadening its competitive footprint.

Founded as US RaceTronics by Shane Seneviratne in 2005, the team quickly made its mark with multiple wins and podiums in the Atlantic Championship before transitioning to Lamborghini Super Trofeo in 2015, winning multiple North American and World Championships.

In 2023, the team entered IMSA WeatherTech GTD with a Lamborghini Huracan EVO2 GT3, driven by Misha Goikhberg and Loris Spinelli. They secured four top-five finishes in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, including a win at the 2023 Petit Le Mans and a second-place finish in 2024, finishing fifth in the GTD Championship both years. Forte Racing continues to build its reputation as a rising force in GT racing.

For more information on driving opportunities, series details, or event attendance, visit www.forteracing.com.

Sexton Gatlin Racing Heads to One of Its Best Tracks — Imperial Valley — This Week

Lakeside, CA — March 5, 2026 — A quartet of drivers from Sexton Gatlin Racing will head to one of the team’s most successful venues, Imperial Valley Raceway, for this Friday and Saturday’s SoCal Lightning Sprints/California Lightning Sprint Cars co-sanctioned California Clash Series races. Flying the SGR banner this weekend will be Brent Sexton, his two sons Dalton and Grant, and lightning sprint sophomore Braydin Collie.

Even though the track runs a limited schedule, SGR drivers have visited victory lane four times at the track — located just a few miles from the USA/Mexico border — since 2022. In fact, Brent and both of his sons have all taken winner’s trophies home from the Imperial facility. Brent leads the way with two victories, both coming in the now-defunct POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Series. The first came on March 6, 2022, and followed a win by Dalton just 24 hours earlier. Brent’s second victory at the track came on October 20, 2023.

Grant, the youngest of Brent’s offspring, is the only member of the family trio to win there in something other than a lightning sprint. In October of 2022, he outdistanced the field in an open competition sprint car race.

While SGR is bringing four drivers to Imperial, it will only field three cars. Brent and Collie will compete both nights. However, Dalton and Grant will split driving duties in the third car. Dalton, 23, will wheel the machine on Friday, while younger brother Grant, 21, will take over the cockpit on Saturday.

For Dalton, it will be only his sixth race since 2022. He made three starts in 2023, none in 2024, and two last season. His best finish during that span came on April 15, 2023, when he placed third in the POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series main event at Perris Auto Speedway.

Last week, Brent made his 2026 season debut when the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars visited Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway. The three-time lightning sprint champion turned in the 19th fastest lap in qualifying with a 15.237. He then started seventh and finished fifth in his 10-lap heat race. Later in the night, he advanced again, moving from his 18th-place starting position to finish 16th in the main event.

This week’s Imperial Valley races will be contested during the annual Mid-Winter Fair. Admission to both nights of racing is free with the purchase of a fair ticket. Each evening will feature a complete lightning sprint program including qualifying, heat races, and a 20-lap main event. Racing begins at 6:15 p.m. both nights.

For more information or to purchase advance fair tickets, visit www.ivfairgrounds.com/p/tickets--deals. Fans unable to attend in person can watch both nights live on speeduniontv.com.

Imperial Valley Raceway is located on the Imperial Valley Fairgrounds at 200 E. 2nd Street, Imperial, California 92251.

After this weekend’s races, SGR will have little time to rest. Next Thursday and Friday, March 12 and 13, Brent and Grant will compete with the Ultimate Sprint Car Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

For more updates, follow Sexton Gatlin Racing on social media and stay tuned for results throughout the 2026 season.

Sexton Gatlin Racing would like to thank the following companies for making the 2026 season possible. East County Electric Works, Antonelli’s Deli, Keys Brothers, Geoff Dale, BR Motorsports, Maxima Oil, Automated Interiors, Valley Lubricant Services, Sexton Fire Protection, BK Wings, and Troy Dirt.

If you or your company are interested in becoming a marketing partner with Sexton Gatlin Racing in 2026, please call (619) 454-6945 or E-mail mailto:sextonfire@cox.net or mailto:sextonfire@gmail.com.

Eddie Tafoya Jr. Takes Third at Mohave Valley in His 2026 Debut

Chino Hills, CA — March 2, 2026 — A gritty performance earned Eddie Tafoya Jr. a hard-fought for third-place finish when the Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Cars visited Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway last Saturday night. It was the veteran driver’s first race since closing out the 2025 season last November at Perris Auto Speedway.

With a large, enthusiastic crowd packed into the grandstands and thousands more watching live on Flo Racing, Tafoya turned in the sixth-fastest qualifying time among the 22 cars on hand, stopping the clock at 14.228 seconds. The effort placed him on the inside of row three for the start of the third 10-lap heat race.

Tafoya, who resides in Chino Hills, California, wasted no time charging toward the front in the heat. On the opening lap, he quickly picked off three cars to move into second. After a yellow flag flew at the end of the first circuit, Tafoya seized the lead entering turn three on the restart and paced the field for the final nine laps.

For Tafoya, the 2019 Perris Auto Speedway Young Guns Champion and 2019 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year, the impressive heat race win, combined with his strong qualifying effort, earned him the pole position for the 30-lap main event.

When the green flag dropped, Tafoya rocketed into the lead and set the early pace. He led the first eight laps before surrendering the top spot. By the midway point, he had slipped back to fourth, but the battle was far from over. Running the bottom groove to perfection, he sliced past two competitors to climb back into second.

In the war that unfolded over the final 10 laps, Tafoya slipped back to third. From there, he fended off repeated challenges to secure a podium finish that equaled his best-ever performance on the lightning-fast Arizona clay oval.

“I was leading and trying to find some grip,” Tafoya told the crowd after the race. “It is kind of hard there leading with K.T. (Kevin Thomas Jr.) back there. He runs the bottom and Ricky (Lewis) is going to pound the top. It is kind of difficult figuring where to go. Two or three of them got around me. I had to regather myself, pull back together, make good decisions and get back up on the wheel.”

“I think everyone from California wanted to get that one for Bill Perkins,” he emotionally told the crowd. “He put a lot of us in these racecars.”

“Big thanks to Specialty Fastener, my mom and my dad, to Rowdy coming out to help, my girlfriend Amanda, and to my grandparents watching back home. It is good to be on Flo.”

Tafoya will take this weekend off before returning to action with the Ultimate Sprint Car Series at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on the 12th and 13th of this month. One week later, he will be back in USAC/CRA competition at the track closest to his Chino Hills home, Perris Auto Speedway.

Tafoya can be followed on Instagram at eddietafoya51.

Team Tafoya Racing would like to thank Specialty Fasteners, BR Motorsports, King Racing Products, Gasper Transportation, CMI Precision Machining, Owen’s Insurance Services, Keen Concrete, DRC Chassis, and Rider Racing Engines for their continued support of the 2025 season. If you would like to join forces with the team for another fun and exciting year of racing in 2026, please contact Tafoya at Eddie Tafoya Jr. at (909) 393-3999 or mailto:teamtafoya@aol.com