Dateline: Saturday, August 15th, 2026
Ladies and gentlemen, courtesy of the scribe formerly known as “The Teenager,” one final missive to get us through this mid-season drought before our race in two weeks at Road America. This one gets a little in the weeds with Walker family history, but if you click on all of the links it might eventually make some sense to you. Or not. There’s a lot of subtle IYKYK content here.
See you at the track!
JWJr
#36 GT4 America <- this is new!
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Q: Guess who’s back? Back again?
A: Filippi’s back. Shaved his head!
Ah yes, the book of Judges, chapter 16, verse 17.
Q: When did your dad learn how to make all those sick racecar moves?
A: I know, right? There has been an impressive amount of wheel-to-wheel action from these past two GT4 race weekends, and the #36 has been right in the middle of it. Maybe you were thrilled by the slicing-and-dicing through Road Atlanta’s Esses, or you were wowed by the hard-braking lunge into Turn 3 at Sebring. Something for everyone! May offered a nice switcheroo from the historically “meh” weekend at Sebring, and Atlanta proved a worthwhile addition to the calendar, even at the cost of BimmerWorld’s home race. While James Walker, Jr. is not exactly Daniel Ricciardo (though they both are Bills fans), he has provided plenty of exciting moments for the fans as we cross the halfway point of the racing season.
Q: You know James Walker, Jr. has the help of ABS, right?
A: Maybe so, but he doesn’t have the help of a little flappy-doodle in his rear wing that can make him go faster. So, it’s equally impressive.
Q: There’s been a lot of racing since COTA; where do we start?
A: So, there I was, side-by-side down the front stretch, battling to see who was the faster thespian-turned-racecar-driver…
He passed the horse right here. His name is Paul Revere. And it’s Sebring, so you know the weather’s clear.
Q: Right, your dad has mentioned his acting career…but are there photos?
A: Move over, Frankie, there’s another famous actor on the grid. Glad you asked. Here’s Sperry High’s big man on campus in 1989 (when our competitor Mr. Muniz was only three years old) as Obadiah in Guys and Dolls.
I hope my facial expressions carry this much emotion someday.
Q: Obadiah?
A: Obadiah Masterson. That’s his real name. He’s never told anyone that before.
[Dad edit: Zack, these are some pretty esoteric references. But I love your command and grasp of our family’s acting history. I’m flattered.]
Q: Wasn’t it Stone in the car at that time, not Muniz?
A: Stop trying to make my story conform to the rigid shackles of reality. Who knows, maybe Tyler Stone had a successful high school acting career as well. You don’t know.
Clay getting big air in practice.
Q: How did James (and James) finally conquer the bumps of Central Florida?
A: My dad qualified second in class for Friday’s race, just four spots behind the #21 of the Cherry Garcias on the Am pole. After a drama-free start, he ran about a second or so behind them for nearly all of the first stint, and we got our first look inside the cockpit of the #36 with the SRO Ride Along Camera.
Lurking behind the competition, waiting for an opportunity.
This meant that millions of fans worldwide had a front-row seat to watch as Matt Travis coasted in for a pit stop, only to be rear-ended by the Cherry Garcias and spin right in front of my dad. He took excellent evasive action, but the contact resulted in a penalty for the #21 which handed the class lead to Mr. Clay, and he did not squander it.
This is the beginning of a trend.
Q: Is that why Matt Travis was so mad at the beginning of Race 2?
A: We’ll get there. First, we have to celebrate a second consecutive victory for James and James! Solid driving all day by Walker, including expertly avoiding the incident in front of him, and then Clay did more of the same as he kept it out in front with no mistakes all the way to the finish. Just a no-frills victory. The further Sonoma fades into our collective memory, the better.
“The Optima Batteries Red Line Oil M336 number I love this car, I love this team!” – James Walker, Jr.
Q: Does he know what car he’s driving?
A: It’s a wonder he was able to memorize all his lines in high school. I, on the other hand, got pneumonia right before my second-grade play, so my acting career never got off the ground. But I did get the part that I wanted: a firefly.
Speaking of fly…nice suit.
Q: Is that your mom?
A: No, that isn’t my mom. She was a background character, but she still remembers her one line.
Q: Was Race 2 equally successful?
A: Not quite, but it was much more fun to watch. Mr. Clay began the race 6th in class, 24th overall, amidst a clump of Am cars. The opening laps were interrupted by a yellow due to Mr. McQuarrie getting spun out at the final corner. At least, I think he was spun out. Tyler doesn’t make mistakes.
Be careful around those Bronze-rated dudes.
All we saw on camera was the split second after whatever contact occurred, as the rotating #38 suddenly screeched across the frame with no warning. I believe the kids these days call that a “jumpscare”. The best crew in the paddock did get the car back out there, but I can’t believe they used PLAIN duct tape.
What, is Michael not cool enough yet to be taped up with the “Hi Feline” good stuff?
Q: Did Mr. Clay work his way up the field after that?
A: He didn’t have much time to, so my dad got in the car in P8 (ignoring pit stop order) for the slightly-longer half of the race (new experience for him this year). And only then did he get his chance to chase down the Garcia and the Tortilla.
Travis’ teammate with an empathetic spin of his own. It was the Leist he could do.
[Dad edit: Ok, that was a genuine dad joke, Zack.]
Q: The Garcia and the Tortilla?
A: You like that? Good thing we don’t race against any Kias. Or Chia Neons.
And for his next trick, my dad will make those next six red numbers disappear.
Q: Is this when the inner Daniel Ricciardo came out?
A: This is when. Three passes for position in five and a half minutes! This was quite fun to watch, and I recommend watching if you have not, starting with about 27:00 on the clock. An unseen overtake on the #72 Supra (rumor has it he outbraked him at Turn 7), a lunge down the inside on the #30 Mustang, and then a drag race across the start-finish line with the #17 BMW. Boom, boom, boom. Genuinely exciting racing moves! We only saw two of those on the stream, but we’ll assume the first one was equally amazing. SRO must have known he was going to do this, or else they wouldn’t have given him the in-car camera.
Fireworks from the #36!
Then, with just three minutes to go, the #36 edged ahead of the Tortilla coming out of Turn 17, capping off a fantastic stint by making it all the way up to second place! Although the Tortilla dove down to the inside and grabbed the place back in the first corner, it proved to be short lived as he bobbled the next turn and went off track, allowing my dad to pick him off once again and stand on the second step of the podium! An excellent finish to an exciting race. The well-managed victory and the thrilling comeback drive put our BimmerWorld boys on top of the Am standings after five races.
Rapid-fire pick-offs? Who does he think he is, N*than P*terman?
Q: Who ended up winning?
A: Congratulations to the Cherry Garcias for earning their first win of the season. I hate to say nice things about the competition, but I still think they have a great-looking car, especially with the white wheels. It would look better on a lower step of the podium, but still.
This victory is unfortunately also the beginning of a trend.
Q: Were you surprised by your dad’s driving skills?
A: Not exactly, but it was pretty cool to watch him overtake one-by-one in short succession. Everyone I talked to afterwards had pretty much the same reaction of “wow, that looked like a real race car driver!” Don’t tell my dad, or he’ll start thinking great things about himself. But yes, this was one of the more impressive races that I remember watching. I’m sure he was doing equally epic things in a Saturn once upon a time, but I was not paying much attention back then while soiling my diapers.
Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills!
Q: Did Matt Travis survive Race 2?
A: He did, after both he and his “freakin’ IndyCar driver” teammate were each spun once on Saturday. Perhaps the sternly-worded message on the rear bumper was enough to wake up the rest of the field. I think he was entitled to write whatever he wanted.
Whoa there, Matt, let’s keep the party polite.
Q: How could Road Atlanta top all of that?
A: It was certainly a tall order. You know what else is a tall order? Trying to write an entire newsletter in one sitting. I have to go make dinner now, but here’s a picture of the dogs to keep you entertained while I do so.
Sleepy brainless dogs. But rather cute.
Q: Awww. Is dinner done now? Time for more race recaps?
A: Actually, it’s been several days. But yes. I harangue my dad all the time about not writing newsletters, but then I remember just how absurdly long they take to come together.
Not as interesting as Dave’s chicken feet, but it’ll do.
The Race Formerly Hosted At VIR dawned bright and early, with similar beginnings as Sebring. Our favorite racecar driver qualified third in class, a mere twelve spots behind the Garcias who again lived up to that “PolePace” sticker on their car. My dad hung out in that same position for most of his stint, right behind the striped #37 Mercedes, and brought it in safely and smoothly for the driver change.
Tyler engaged in a nice battle right here.
Q: Did the striped Mercedes directly ahead bring its usual bad juju?
A: If you watched Indy last year or Sonoma this year, you’d have expected it. But no, it was a nice drama-free stint. The #36 pitted from P3 in class (and overall) having maintained about an eleven-second gap to the leading car. But the BimmerWorld crew showed off their incredible pit stop skills once again and Mr. Clay found himself leading the Am class after the pit stop cycle! How did that happen?
If you squint, it looks like they’re in BimmerWorld’s backyard.
Q: In a series with a minimum pit stop time and no tire changes?
A: It was certainly due to the flawless driver-change execution, and not the irrelevant footnote about the #21 struggling to restart in the pit lane. I don’t know why the announcers mentioned that. Anyways, after some strong defensive laps by Mr. Clay, the #21 burrowed (following the lead of the raccoon-mobile) past the #36 following a yellow-flag restart and that was that. A second-place finish, not too shabby. The BimmerWorld boys got to bring their cars across the line together. Ken Miles would be proud.
Photo finish! Even if they’re not racing each other.
Q: You did say the pink car on the top step was becoming a trend.
A: Am I ever wrong? What do you know, the same thing happened on Saturday. The other James started second in class this time, three spots back from the polesitting #21. He found his way around the leader about twenty minutes into the race with a great move down the inside of the Esses, then handed the car off to my dad having held the lead despite much pressure from the pink and black thing in his mirrors. Always cool to see cool racecar drivers do cool racecar things. We have been spoiled these last few races.
Clay takes the lead!
Q: Could your dad hold on to that lead?
A: My dad could have. His tires, well, that was a different story. The second half of this race turned into a mess of yellow flags and wall bumps and “yo-what-the-f**k”s. None of which involved the driver of the Optima Batteries Red Line Oil M336, but he was passed for the class lead RIGHT before the first yellow. Unfortunate timing, but at least no one from BimmerWorld said a bad word on the livestream.
Hardcore SRO fans can hear this picture.
Q: Was it another second place?
A: It was another second place. Not for lack of trying though. Props to my dad for keeping it clean in the midst of many, many cars, some of whom were racing him, some of whom were not, and some of whom gave zero sh!ts about the battles going on around them (to be fair, they are not required to). My dad was all over the rear bumper of the #21, having squeezed by said traffic, but eventually found that there was no way by, dropped back a few seconds, and secured a fifth consecutive podium for the team. Another very exciting race that I recommend going back to watch if you missed it live.
That was a lot to navigate. Good job, Dad.
Once again, not too bad of a weekend at all. The Jameses certainly have had enough pace to win five races in a row as the season has heated up, both literally (not that our Houston-based driver has even noticed) and metaphorically. Of course they will never all swing the right way, but a round of applause to BimmerWorld for consistently excellent performances since whatever happened in California.
James was seen apologizing to his tires after the race.
Q: Seems like they were right there all weekend, but couldn’t get over the hump.
A: That’s an accurate analysis. Excellent car, excellent team, and excellent drivers, which couldn’t quite produce a win, but we know BimmerWorld has the skills to pay the bills on any given weekend. It’s more fun to race against tough competition and this season has most definitely brought that. In their defense, Road Atlanta is a difficult place to get over a hump.
Q: You’d know, huh?
A: There is one hump on the infield in particular that is particularly challenging to get over. I would know.
That grass was deceptively solid-looking.
Q: Now that the season is halfway done, can we start tallying championship points?
A: You could, but SRO has been acting silly and mistakenly uploaded the COTA results from 2025 onto the 2026 webpage, which may cause confusion and delay. Congratulations to Tyler?
I hope they fix this, so I look silly instead.
Q: In that case, where can I go for accurate standings?
A: Fear not, it’s 2026 (everywhere, not just at COTA), and we have the technology available to solve these kinds of problems. Meet my helpful new AI assistant. He was able to develop a little app that displays race results and season-long points totals. All you have to do is point him at the SRO website, tell him which numbers you know to be wrong, and he does the rest. I call him “Robb”.
His friend “Claude” kept forgetting that COTA was double points, but “Robb” kept him honest.
Q: Wouldn’t it be easier to just post the correct race results on the SRO website?
A: It would, but then “Robb” wouldn’t be able to drain a small Mongolian village of its weekly water supply in order to create the same points tracker that James Walker, Jr. and Matt Travis made with only a napkin and a pen. All roads lead to Rome, even the ones that are just a bit overdesigned.
Which one do you like better?
Q: Does “Robb” appreciate your criticism of his innovative solution to SRO’s problem?
A: Well, the napkin is much more resource-efficient than his app, but his app has cute little logos on it. We will agree to disagree on whose solution is superior. His is more marketable for sure, which is why I will not be providing the link for free just yet. I don’t want to get into a copyright battle with my AI assistant (who invites me over for a free dinner every week or two).
May need to write that bumper message a little larger next time.
Q: So BimmerWorld is leading the championship?
A: Present tense, yes. There are still three weekends and six races left in the year, and we will have to bring our A-game to them all. It’s a BMW-heavy Am fight, with each of the top three having collected at least two wins. They say you make your own luck, but a little outside assistance can’t hurt. The Jameses are on top for now, and we will hope that Lady Luck will be a little nicer to BimmerWorld down the stretch than she has been in the past. Last Guys and Dolls reference, I promise.
Stick with me baby, I’m the fella you came in with…
[Dad edit: Zack, you do realize I’m probably the only one besides your mom that gets all of these references, right?]
Q: What am I supposed to do now until Road America?
A: Our next SRO GT4 event will not come until the last weekend of August, so you can spend your summer doing whatever the heck you want. Being a race fan is serious business, and you can give yourself a well-earned break for the next two and a half months. [Zack edit: I wrote this for my dad two months ago. So, this sounds kind of dated now.] Get outside. Go for a walk. Stop and smell the flowers. Relax in the pool, but watch out for the weird BimmerWorld guy taking selfies in the hot tub.
Q: What?
A: Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I don’t know any more than you about that one. According to my secret inside source, what happens in the Braselton rental house stays in the Braselton rental house.
Not even in the YouTube intro is Matt Travis safe from being wrecked.
Q: What if I don’t want to relax, and I want to watch racing?
A: That’s the spirit. You could always watch film from this year, studying the strengths and weaknesses of BimmerWorld’s opponents, and send any helpful information to my dad as he prepares for Road America. I’m sure he and Mr. Clay will be gathering intel as well, when Mr. Clay is not gathering cheese curds with which to ambush his co-driver. Or you could visit the new BimmerMart if you live near Virginia. Also known as: James Clay’s first step towards national fame and eventually owning an NFL team.
The hungry beast goes on break, but it will be back.
Q: Will your dad get more interviews now that SRO knows he’s a famous actor?
A: Mr. Muniz had better look over his shoulder, for sure. Nana couldn’t find me any photos of little Jay as Charlie Brown, but it’s only a matter of time before someone does…
Looks nice on victory lane, doesn’t it?
See you at the track!
ZJW