Dateline: Friday, August 28th, 2026
Well, I have to admit that Zack is getting pretty good at this sort of thing. Not only has he done a remarkable job of replicating my reporting style, he continues to raise the intellectual level of his content. If this keeps trending in the same direction, I might just give up the keyboard duties to focus more on the driving side of things. Let’s just hope that Tony Gaples can take a joke…because that bit below is, in my opinion, an instant scR classic.
I will apologize in advance to those of you that might not quite follow the high school acting references. But trust me, the boy has seamlessly woven that Walker family history into the present-day racing storylines in a way that makes his dad smile. It’s so much fun watching the next generation come into their own, especially when their interests dovetail into your motorsports addiction.
Raise them right, and they may just continue the traditions in their own special way. Yes, I’m looking at you, Kenton…
See you at the track!
JWJr
#36 GT4 America <- this is new!
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teamscR.com <- click here to e-mail us!
Q: Does anyone know who the winningest driver in the history of SRO GT4 America is?
A: Gosh, I can’t seem to remember. Who was it again? Was it the guy who partners with Tony Gaples? I wish they would mention cool factoids like that on the broadcast.
The BlackDogFather.
Q: Sweeping the weekend in Pro-Am? Now that’s an offer he can’t refuse.
A: You come to me on the day of Kenton Koch’s daughter’s birth, you put 35 extra kilograms of weight in my cah, and you don’t even think to call me Godfather!
[Dad edit: can somebody with Tony’s e-mail address please get this to him? Instant classic.]
Q: Which is more important, a birth or a graduation?
A: The baby only cost SRO’s newest dad four points (congratulations by the way!), while Mr. Walker was rewarded with fifty for skipping TWHS Graduation 2024. If you don’t go home, at least you can go big. Now, when the second kid comes along, that’s when you have to sell your Saturn. This is a sacred rule of motorsport. Weigh your options carefully, Mr. Koch.
Check out that 95th-percentile cranium.
Q: Is there an alternate timeline where you started writing newsletters in kindergarten?
A: There might be. All that empty space inside my giant baby head (oldest child success ballast) could have gone towards something useful. Though I would NOT choose to go back in time to try and change my dad’s mind. I enjoyed going to college.
Look, the sun. Don’t get used to it.
Q: Is there another alternate timeline where the Elkhart Lake cleaning crew took a littttttle bit longer to clean up that crash?
A: Now that would have been preferable.
Q: Where else would you rather be than right here, right now?
A: ANYWHERE! Or, right here, but about fifteen seconds earlier. This is how you go home BY going big.
Talk to the hand.
Q: Alright, whose idea was that?
A: It seemed like a good one at the time. If only the safety car drove a littttttle bit slower, or the cleanup crew took just a littttttle bit more time to sweep bits of McLaren off the back straight, the gamble would have paid off in a big way. Perhaps the risk-taking spirit of notorious bettor Sky Masterson has spread to the rest of the team (and the Dome Motorsports Mercedes squad too for good measure). In that case, maybe it’s time for James Jr. to finally let go of the last remaining vestige of his former high-roller persona.
Gotta know when to fold ’em, Sky.
Q: Will we ever see such strategic boldness in GT4 America again?
A: Probably not. This is just about the only scenario in which you can play around with the rules in this manner. Just one more safety car lap, and the BimmerWorld drivers would have been released from the clutches of the Standing Guy, caught the back of the pack, and blown by the rest of the field while they were in the pits for an easy overall win!
Q: Taking the race by a full lap?
A: Where’s the entertainment in that? The fans needed a little…sizzle.
Yo, ACI, get out of the shot! Everyone wants to see the bolt!
Q: Are you sure the rest of the field wouldn’t have pitted right then from behind the safety car, not had to wait for an extra minute to satisfy drive-time requirements, and still come out in front of the early pitters, since a fast lap is around 2:20, and the minimum pit stop is around 1:31?
[Dad edit: Warning! It’s about to get kind of cerebral.]
A: Well… hmmm… I think… if we compare here the position of the safety car at that time… yeah, you’re almost right, actually. The only way the strategy would have worked is if the safety car stayed out at 35:00, and the rest of the field pitted on the next lap and got held up 90 seconds later by the Standing Guy as the BimmerWorld boys screamed past them on the restart. With any more yellow flag laps, the field would not have been held stationary at pit exit, and everyone else would have been as-you-were behind the safety car, with the Bimmers in the rear. With the benefit of hindsight and 24 hours to think about it, the window of opportunity where this gamble might have worked was extremely narrow. In BimmerWorld’s (and Dome’s) defense, that was a lot of calculating to do in four minutes, and Sky Masterson never let long odds hold him back. They had to try it once!
I had to draw several little racetracks in my head to verify my math.
Q: Did the 28-point championship lead go up in smoke?
A: Briefly, it did… until the left rear toe link on the pink machine did the same thing! That was highly unexpected. My sincerest condolences to the Cherry Garcias, who have had nothing this season but impressive wins and terrible luck. Not too many condolences, though, since some will be kept in reserve for Race 2. They’re going to need it.
Attrition is the mission.
With the #21 mechanically knocked out and only half a race remaining, Mr. Clay made just one meaningful move and finished the race in seventh place among the Ams. Our favorite team had gone from anticipating the thrill of victory to the agony of only salvaging six points after starting on pole. Such is racing.
Remember, if the kitty looks at you, it’s bad luck.
Q: Your dad qualified on pole? He never does that!
A: Too bad it’s not worth any points. It’s encouraging to know the car had good pace, even though the race results did not reflect it. Mr. Clay qualified in P2 for Race 2, continuing the strong qualifying performance across the weekend. Stay positive, people. Stay positive.
Say cheese.
Q: NOLASport didn’t have an extra BMW to give the Garcias?
A: You’d think they would. They seem to have everything else imaginable, including contributing another whole spare Porsche this weekend after RS1’s Thursday misfortune. Road America was yet another opportunity for the most generous team in the paddock to continue their magnanimous ways. Do we think Oprah might be secretly managing that operation?
Kellymoss gets a car, RS1 gets a car, you get a car, everybody gets a car!
Q: Are you scared of what the paddock will look like if this continues?
A: It’s never too late to start a new spec series.
I promise all my other memes are handmade.
Q: Is that AI?
A: It’s not AI. It’s the future.
Q: Did we at least get some more green flag laps on Sunday?
A: We’ll round both days down to zero. After starting second in class, Mr. Clay’s stint was interrupted by a massive collision between our two unluckiest contestants. Would anyone like to have a guess?
BOOM!
Q: Why does Murphy’s Law have it out for those two teams?
A: No idea. But what an impact. That striped Mercedes is always getting smacked around. An apparent brake issue on one of the Dome machines (both of whom were previously seen spinning) sent him full-speed into the side of the Cherry Garcias in a hard braking zone. Good to hear that both drivers are alright, but terrible luck for the Garcias to lose the passenger-side door of their M4. That’s a six-to-eight-week injury in this economy.
Maybe NOLASport has a spare?
Q: Is it wrong to discuss how BimmerWorld benefits from this enormous wreck?
A: Yes, it is, so we’re not going to. But we know nobody was seriously injured, which is always good to hear. The yellow flag for this one was long enough to preclude any pit strategy shenanigans.
Q: Was the race able to resume after that?
A: It was, after driver changes, and my dad got swamped (by cars and water) at the restart on his way to a P5 finish in class. Given the conditions, let’s give him credit for taking the appropriate amount of care to end the race at the finish line and not in the wall. He didn’t get any camera time even though he had an in-car camera, which makes sense given the opaqueness of his windshield with the amount of rain coming down and being thrown up. This tippy-toe approach was rewarded when the Aerial Iguanas were penalized for nudging an opponent into a spin, moving BimmerWorld up to P4, which is worth an extra two points. Perhaps in rainy conditions we should call them the Flying Basilisks.
This is a basilisk lizard. Yes, it’s real.
Q: Who won if the Jameses and the Cherry Garcias were on the struggle bus?
A: It was a triumphant weekend for the TechSport team, whose #30 Mustang leapt up to second in the points with a double win. Their straight-line prowess was extremely beneficial on a wet and nasty Saturday after capturing victory on Friday too. In other words, on the third day, they let the horse run free, because the track had turned to sea.
Call the marketing department, Mr. Rushbrook. I have an idea.
Laaaaa, LAAAAA, la la la la…
[Dad edit: Zack, this is a reference that transcends your generation. Well done.]
Q: Will you meet me in the middle?
A: Mr. Muniz will. Mr. Garcia will meet you in the air.
[Dad edit: Two back-to-back. And compound references…impressive. God Bless America!]
Whoa. Scary, Garcia.
Q: Any lessons we can take away from this crazy weekend of racing?
A: Lessons? How about 16 points (which could have somehow been both much more and much less) and an intact race car? I’m afraid to ask for anything more from the track with more well-documented ups and downs than any other through the history of scR motorsports. With Green Bay just an hour north, we can summarize Road America 2026 with the immortal words of, fittingly, Vince Lombardi: “What the hell’s goin’ on out here!” I think the BW crew should be happy to escape Road America with confidence from Friday’s pole, a sound understanding of pit strategy, and a continued, if precarious, perch on top of the Am standings.
Stay on the gray part!
Q: The standings… where are they?
A: Fear not, Robb.AI was on the ball right away after Saturday’s carnage concluded. Here are the updated GT4 Am standings with four races to go. I will give the SRO team some credit for correctly uploading the 2026 COTA results (from the race, but not qualifying… small steps) after their public callout. The tab on the SRO website does say “Race Results”, not “Qualifying Results”, so it delivers on the promise, technically. James and James lead the Am field by fourteen points, but with five teams within 42, the heat is very much still on for all.
If only the #36 had a big Texas flag on the roof for easy identification.
Q: Only four races left? Where has the time gone?
A: Time flies when you’re cheating death in every corner (dad quote). Time flies when you’re planning on writing a newsletter… right after this nap (dad quote). Time flies when you have two race weekends in three weeks to close out the year! GT4 will be at Barber on September 24th and Indianapolis on October 8th.
[Dad edit: Are we really racing on our anniversary, again? Crap.]
It’s too early to start prognosticating championship permutations, but nearly every team is still mathematically in play, so come support your favorite Jameses as they hopefully get some dry races in! That was enough scary slip-and-sliding for one year. Nana did not enjoy it.
Maybe if I sleep with my neck like this, I’ll have a shot at IndyCar.
Q: Where do wedding anniversaries rank on the scale of births to graduations?
A: Good question, Mom. I knew that date sounded familiar. Maybe you could celebrate it in Indianapolis. They probably have some decent restaurants but make sure to avoid the Buffalo Wild Wings on Washington Street. It sucks, and the waiters put the Texas game on TV when you ask for Texas A&M.
Thought this was Charlie for a second.
Q: Would Charlie ever come out of retirement for one last ride?
A: You know the announcers would have been talking about how that weather on Saturday suited him perfectly. This weekend really would have been the perfect opportunity, and there was even a vacant seat in a BMW! Mr. Postins could have subbed right in for Kenton Koch and guest-starred for the Random Raccoon Secret Garbage Juice Vandals. Because he, like all Englishmen, allegedly, is only happy when it rains.
Let’s leave the storms in the Midwest, please.
Fate whispers, “You cannot withstand the storm.” The warrior whispers back, “I am the storm. Now gimme the dice!”
Q: I thought your dad was finished gambling?
A: Thank goodness it’s illegal in Alabama.
[Dad edit: And so, the best that I can do is pray…]
See you at the track!
ZJW