Taylor Hagler Powers to Third at Road America
After four hours of racing on a remarkably warm Wisconsin afternoon, Taylor Hagler and her co-driver Michael Lewis finished on the podium at the Road America 240 on Saturday. The result marks another strong run as she looks to make a successful IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC) championship defense in 2022.
The run to third garnered enough points to help Hagler and Lewis continue to hold the lead in the championship standings, with two rounds of competition left to settle the 2022 title.
Hagler and Lewis paired to fight to the finish of the four hour race in the No.1 Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) Hyundai Elantra N TCR. The second endurance race of the season saw the two combine for another strong result, having opened the season with a run to second place at Daytona International Speedway.
The race got off to an inconsistent start as multiple caution periods slowed the action on the 4.048-mile road course, but Hagler was able to navigate the restarts and make progress from eleventh on the starting grid, moving up to fifth before taking to pit lane.
During the lengthy caution to clear the track, Hagler brought the No. 1 BHA Hyundai in for a second full service stop an hour into the race, which included a driver change as Lewis took the reins to power up through the field.
With three additional cautions slowing the action, Lewis was able to push forward from sixth to take third at the finish line, netting the sixth podium of the year for Hagler and Lewis. The Texas native continues to lead the IMPC provisional championship standings by 30-points after a strong day in Wisconsin.
“We had a solid day going from eleventh to third, but there are always things that I want to do better,” said Hagler. “We definitely made changes to make that happen this weekend but still have room to grow before VIR. I really tried to keep the car as clean as I could through the traffic and multiple yellows to hand Michael (Lewis) a good car. I’m happy with the movement we made to still lead the championship.”
Hagler will return for Round 9 of IMPC competition at the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers at the Virginia International Raceway on August 27.