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BRASELTON, Georgia – Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing team Winward Racing brings its biggest GT Daytona (GTD) class championship lead of the season into this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (MRRA) where the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 team and drivers join Mercedes-AMG in pursuit of repeat GTD class championships. The driving team of Russell Ward, Philip Ellis and Indy Dontje secured the team’s first IMSA championship – and sealed the first GTD manufacturer title for Mercedes-AMG – last year at Motul Petit Le Mans, and the same trio is set to pull off the repeat triumphs this Saturday in the season-ending 10-hour race.

Scheduled to start at 12:10 p.m. EDT this Saturday, October 11, live coverage of Motul Petit Le Mans begins at 12 p.m. EDT for three straight hours of programming on the flagship NBC network. Flag-to-flag coverage can be viewed in the U.S. on NBC’s Peacock streaming network while international viewers can also watch live flag-to-flag coverage on www.IMSA.tv.

After a GTD class-leading three race wins earlier in 2025, the No. 57 team and drivers gave their repeat title bids a final boost with a fifth-place finish well clear of their championship rivals last month in the Battle on the Bricks 6 Hour at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Full-season co-drivers Ward and Ellis, and the No. 57 Winward team, have arrived at MRRA with the season-high lead of 224 points, 2,817 – 2,593 over the closest challengers.

Mercedes-AMG in turn continues to lead the GTD manufacturer championship with 3,053 points, 114 markers clear of the nearest competitor, heading into the Road Atlanta finale. The Winward team and drivers have been the primary points earners for Mercedes-AMG, which joins the Winward squad in seeking a repeat title this weekend.

Although anything can happen in a 10-hour endurance race, the No. 57 team and drivers can wrap up their repeat championships even with a distant finish in the 19-car GTD field.

Even if their closest team and driver championship challenger secures its maximum points potential in qualifying and the race, all Ward and Ellis would need to do is finish 16th to ensure enough points to take the title, even if the No. 57 qualified near or at the back of the class.

Mercedes-AMG has a comfortable but still tighter race, but any Silver Star finish ahead of the closest manufacturer – or even a result a few spots behind – should be enough to wrap up the repeat manufacturer crown.

A huge assist for the Mercedes-AMG title bid comes from IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup competitors Lone Star Racing that brings an all-important additional Mercedes-AMG GT3 to the Petit Le Mans field.

Even better, the returning lineup of team drivers Scott Maxwell, Wyatt Brichacek and Lin Hodenius comes to MRRA after an eye-opening performance last month in Indianapolis in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Hodenius, who was making across-the-board debuts at Indianapolis, in IMSA competition and with the Lone Star Racing team, qualified third in the No. 80 at Indy and charged straight to the GTD lead in the run into Turn 1 at the race start.

Hodenius, 19, went on to lead all 44 laps of his 70-minute race-opening stint. Brichacek turned in a similar performance after taking over in the race’s second hour only to feel the No. 80 lose its left rear wheel at full speed on the IMS road course. Lone Star rejoined the race after a lengthy delay but eventually elected to retire after reaching the race’s halfway mark.

Both Winward Racing and Lone Star Racing have tested recently at MRRA in preparation for Petit Le Mans, including Winward’s productive session just over a week ago on Monday, September 29.

Philip Ellis, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “The test was really good, very productive for the team. We are looking for that consistency and long-run pace that we need, especially in these longer endurance races like Petit Le Mans. Every year it's a lot of chaos, so we want to have a good overall run in the car to have something for whatever ensues in the race and be there at the end. Obviously, our main priority is the championship, and that is what we are going for. We will look for a good qualifying position, good qualifying points of course, and that will make it a lot easier for us in the race with a lot less pressure on our side. After qualifying, it is all eyes on the championship with just another race with clean execution like we have had all year. This year, even though it doesn't perhaps look like it from our side, we did better than we did last year. We just had more outside circumstances holding us back a little bit this year. All in all, the entire team has made another big step in the right direction. An example was Indianapolis where we were thrown a curveball but still came out with a top five finish. That's what we will do at Petit again and make sure we get that championship title, but for sure, if we know enough cars have retired in the race to give us the points we need, we will go all-in for another race win. That will tie the four victories from last year.”

Lin Hodenius, Driver – No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “The cars are quick in IMSA, which is great for a driver, and it is cool. I am very grateful for the Lone Star Racing team. I feel like they have done a great job getting this together and giving me this huge opportunity. I really love working with the team. We're all one team, we are all pushing to win, and it was a really great environment in Indy. Road Atlanta is definitely one of my new favorites, definitely in the top three, and it compares quite well to some of the tracks in the UK - I have been to Silverstone - and it is just white lines and grass. I really like a track like that, it is a bit more daring, but Road Atlanta doesn't compare to many other tracks in Europe to be honest. It is its own thing, and I am very keen on running in Atlanta with Lone Star Racing and hopefully reaching for the podium. We will shoot for that and see where we end up.”

Wyatt Brichacek, Driver – No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “The Indianapolis race had some bad luck for us, but the team is working well together. The engineers, drivers, mechanics and the entire crew, everyone is just flowing super well together. We just need the luck to go to our way, or maybe not even luck, we just need no bad luck! I think we can all have a good weekend at Petit Le Mans. I've had a few events at Road Atlanta, mostly in open wheel cars back in the junior formulas, and it's always been a track I really enjoyed. It's a place where I started my early career and continued on from there, so I'm glad to be back. It's been a few years, but it is nice to come back for such a legendary event like Petit Le Mans. The team seems to have a really good car for us, and the Mercedes-AMG seemed to run well here. I'm really looking forward to getting back to the track. I was at the test with Scott and Lin, and it was a very productive two days. We learned what we needed to learn. We all got up to speed fast, and we were all on pace. It gave us a lot of good confidence going into the weekend.”

Kaleb Johnson Eager for World of Outlaws Weekend in New Jersey and Pennsylvania

Inside Line Promotions – MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (Oct. 6, 2025) – Kaleb Johnson is competing with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series in New Jersey and Pennsylvania this weekend.

The Team DGRD driver will make his debut at New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, N.J., on Friday during the New Egypt Showdown before heading to Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa., on Saturday for the Keystone Showdown.

“I’m looking forward to the weekend,” Johnson said. “I’ve watched videos of New Egypt. It looks like a unique place. I’m excited to get to smaller tracks as that’s where we’ve been more consistent. Hopefully we can make the A Main, learn and roll it into the trailer each night.”

Johnson raced with the World of Outlaws last weekend at Williams Grove Speedway, which hosted the J & S Classics National Open.

The weekend began on Friday with Johnson qualifying 24th quickest in his group. He placed 11th in the non-qualifier before rallying from 11th to fifth place in the C Main.

On Saturday, Johnson was 20th quickest in his qualifying group. He ended 11th in a heat race and third in the C Main, finishing only one position out of a transfer into the Last Chance Showdown.

“We knew it’d be tough going into it and it wasn’t the weekend we wanted, but we got better as the weekend went on,” he said. “We needed to be quicker in qualifying each night. The starts there are pretty much everything and that’s something I need to work on. With how the corners are shaped and the long straightaways, if you can pass a guy or two on the start it’s everything. I think I raced okay. I just need to work on starts and putting myself in a better position to pass guys when I can. I got more comfortable as the weekend went on so there were some positives.”

Oct. 3 – Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa. – Qualifying: 24; Non-qualifier: 11 (8); C Main: 5 (11).

Oct. 4 – Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa. – Qualifying: 20; Heat race: 11 (10); C Main: 3 (3).

Friday at New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, N.J., for the New Egypt Showdown and Saturday at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa., for the Keystone Showdown with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series

Hefty Seed Company, which is located in Baltic, S.D., dates back to 1969. The family business has grown to more than 50 stores and is the seventh largest crop protection retailer in the United States. For more information, visit http://www.HeftySeed.com.

“I’ve had the opportunity to get to know the team at Hefty Seed Company over the last year and we’re looking forward to a great partnership in 2025,” Johnson said.

Johnson would like to thank Hefty Seed Company, Oddson Underground, Inc., Blondie Motorsports, Innovative Design/Sletten Properties, Construction Products & Consultants, GRP Motorsports, Folkens Brothers Trucking, DKW Transport, Merle Johnson Farm Toys, Epoxy Co., State Bank of Fairmont, Specialized Caulking Sealants, AB Custom Construction, the Ron Weber Team, Mike Brudigan Home Loans, Heartland Properties, Clarks Custom Coatings, New Era Plumbing, ICE Contractors, Speedquip Motorsports, Norwalk Small Engine Repair, Janssen Fabrication, MPD, Ti22, Smith Ti, Hellraizer Jacks, DMI, 8740 Suspension, Maxim, HRP Wings, Hepfner Racing Products, Keizer Wheels, Hoosier Racing Tire, Howe Motorsports, FID Media and Stanton Racing Engines for their continued support.