Copeland Motorsport’s Tyler Maxson is just two points away from clinching the TC America title, after the Hyundai driver scored his tenth victory of the season in race one at the Circuit of the Americas.
Maxson took a lights-to-flag win in Friday’s first race, edging clear of KMW Motorsport’s Roy Block, who had moved up to second in his Alfa Romeo at the first corner.
Front-row starter Taylor Hagler dropped to third in her Honda through the first few corners, ahead of fellow Honda racer Scott Smithson.
Further back no the first lap, DXDT Racing’s Olivia Askew dropped back into the clutches of the TC field, before spinning when contact was made with the BMW of Tom Capizzi.
Smithson passed Hagler for third at the end of the second lap, and set about closing down the gap to the Alfa Romeo of Block in second, whilst Maxson sprinted into an ever-increasing lead.
A few corners later, Victor Gonzalez Jr also passed Hagler for fourth briefly, before she fought back and reclaimed the position as the Honda duo scrapped hard for the position.
By lap ten Smithson had closed the gap to Block completely, and the pair were then slowed down whilst lapping cars in the TCA class, also allowing Hagler to join in the scrap.
In the end, Smithson passed Block for second on the final lap, denying the Argentine a second consecutive podium position whilst giving Smithson, the only person to have defeated Maxson this year, his third second place finish in 2020.
Block held on to claim third ahead of Hagler, whilst Gonzalez Jr was fifth in the last car to keep with the leading group.
Askew was a distant sixth, ahead of CJ Moses, who had also slipped back into the TC pack at the start.
In the championship, Maxson has a near-unassailable 262 points, with second-placed Gonzalez Jr on 160 and third-placed Smithson on 150.