Jessup, MD., (Sept. 26, 2013) – For rounds thirteen and fourteen of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Series, the TPC Racing / Porsche of Towson team took to the track at Circuit of the Americas. This was the first time that the team had been to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, but Ben Keating, Michael Levitas and David Williams all got up to speed quickly.

The weekend was action packed with ALMS and also WEC being at Circuit of the Americas, but this also limited the teams time on track. The 35, 36 and 37 TPC Racing / Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup cars had two test sessions and two practice sessions before qualifying. During the practice sessions, the team worked hard on chassis setup to prepare strong cars for qualifying. Once it came time to qualify though, there was a short downpour as the cars were on grid. IMSA did not call the qualifying session to be a wet session though since the sky was clearing up but the track surface was wet, so the team could not put rain tires on. With this happening, qualifying was cancelled and the cars would grid based off of combined practice times.

For race one of the weekend, the skies opened up once again and the team would go out on rain tires. During the race, it was raining the entire time which made for an interesting race. Ben Keating would start further back in the field due to not having a qualifying session, starting nineteenth on the grid in the 35 Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup. Michael Levitas started second in the Gold Class in his 36 Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup with teammate David Williams starting in third in his 37 Merkle / Porsche of Towson entry.

At the start of the race, Ben Keating made up three positions in turn one and had a fantastic start to the race. Levitas in the 36 Porsche of Towson entry was fighting with Platinum traffic to catch the Gold leader and Williams was holding a consistent pace to keep up with Levitas. During the race, there were many caution periods which made for only five laps of green flag racing. This did not give the team enough time to fight for higher positions on track, but Levitas and Williams who have proven to be a dynamic duo finished second and third in Gold.

Race two of the weekend was a great race with a dry track. Michael Levitas and David Williams went out on track with one goal in mind which was to survive the race to secure the championship. Levitas started the race in second once again and David Williams started in fourth. At the drop of the green flag, David Williams had a great run in the 37 Merkle / Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup and made a great pass for third. From there, the race would not see a caution period and the 36 and 37 TPC Racing / Porsche of Towson / Merkle GT3 Cup cars would finish second and third, but more importantly secure the team and drivers championship.

With the strong finishing position by both Michael Levitas and David Williams, this allowed Michael Levitas to secure the Drivers Championship, David Williams secured second place in the Drivers Championship and the TPC Racing / Porsche of Towson / Merkle team secured the Team Championship.

“Racing at Circuit of the Americas in my Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup car was fantastic,” stated Michael Levitas. “It is a great track and I hope to race here again. We had one goal in mind this weekend and it was to keep the cars in one piece and secure the championship. We accomplished that and it could not have been done without the hard work from our amazing TPC Racing team and the great support from Porsche of Towson. The team has worked so hard this season and we have always brought fantastic cars to the field. It is great winning the team and drivers championship and also to have my teammate David Williams finish second.”

“COTA is one of the greatest sports car racing facilities in North America and it was fantastic to have the opportunity to race there,” stated David Williams. “Getting 3rd place in both the rain and the dry made for a fantastic weekend! Being my first year in the IMSA GT3 Challenge series I didn’t really know what to expect. The level of completion was fantastic and the Porsche Cup car is truly something special to drive. Getting second place in the Gold Championship was very rewarding. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my teammate Michael Levitas and the entire TPC Racing team. Can’t wait for next year!”

With the championship secured, the team goes to Road Atlanta next for the season finale.

About TPC Racing:

TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sports cars. This long time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled us to become experts in Porsche service, tuning and racing.

TPC Racing has its roots in the IMSA Supercar Series of the late 1980’s and early 1990s, as well in the Grand Am Rolex Series with over 28 race wins and 40 podium finishes. In 2004, the team won the team and drivers championship in the SGS class. In 2006, TPC Racing won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in the GT Class.

By combining a lifetime of automotive enthusiasm, business experience and technical skill with advanced aeronautical training and certifications, Levitas has managed to extend the engineering of some for the most advanced and well-regarded machines in existence – Porsche race cars.

About Porsche of Towson

Porsche of Towson is Baltimore’s only exclusive Porsche center. That means that our Porsche staff is 100% dedicated to the Porsche brand and nothing else. They will be able to assist you with all of your Porsche needs. On behalf of the entire Priority 1 Automotive Group family of dealerships, welcome to Porsche of Towson. We look forward to meeting all of your Porsche needs.

Porsche of Towson is a part of the Priority 1 Automotive Group which is a family owned and operated group of dealerships. As a family dealership, the family’s reputation in the community is of the utmost importance. Therefore, there is a tremendous focus on providing exceptional customer service. With a brand new state-of-the-art Porsche dealership (completed in 2010), the most elite and experienced group of client advisors for sales and service, and a highly trained team of service and support personnel, your sales and service experience is assured of being second to none. Our clients appreciate the way we do business. We know you will too!

About Merkle

Merkle is the nation’s largest and fastest-growing customer relationship marketing (CRM) agency. For more than 20 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. Employing data-driven strategies, Merkle combines a complete range of marketing, technical, analytical and creative disciplines to offer complete integrated customer marketing solutions. With a strategically led, consultative approach, we work closely with clients to design, execute and continuously evaluate CRM programs throughout the buying cycle, across channels and media.

About CrunchDaddy Popcorn

CrunchDaddy Popcorn makes “Popcorn Unusual!™”, an array of sweet and savory inventions that take the sophisticated snacker beyond the common recipes for caramel, kettle and cheese popcorn. All CrunchDaddy Popcorn flavors are available on-line through their website, www.crunchdaddy.com