Trophy-Winning Weekend for CrowdStrike Racing at COTA - Speedway Digest

CrowdStrike Racing began its 2020 SRO America competition season in strong style with multiple podium finishes in two categories of racing at Circuit of The Americas over the weekend.

George Kurtz, Colin Braun and Kevin Boehm each claimed trophies in CrowdStrike Racing entries before a large number of CrowdStrike supporters and guests, many of whom participated in CrowdStrike’s CXO Summit and premier hospitality program at COTA. In addition, CJ Moses made his highly anticipated debut in a Honda Civic Type R TCR, giving CrowdStrike followers plenty of content to cheer on and follow.

GT WORLD CHALLENGE AMERICA POWERED BY AWS

Kurtz and Braun experienced their best weekend as a pairing in the No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS Mercedes-AMG GT3. A year on from their first race in GT World Challenge together, the two showed championship-contending form throughout with consecutive runner-up finishes at COTA.

Provisionally, Kurtz and Braun are tied for the GT points lead following the opening weekend.

“What a fantastic start for everyone at CrowdStrike and AWS,” Kurtz said. “Thanks to Colin and DXDT Racing for such great teamwork and effort all weekend. Our expectations were high for our second year with Mercedes-AMG. The execution was strong all weekend. Like in the world of cybersecurity, we know that every second counts on the racetrack. That helped deliver a satisfying weekend for our race team, our sponsors and guests.”

Following a damp and challenging qualifying session Saturday, Kurtz drove his way from seventh at the start of the 90-minute race and into fourth at the exit of the first corner.

A past champion in GTS competition, Kurtz found the balance of the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 to his liking. He took third on the fourth lap and held that position until the mandatory pit stop and driver change after 40 minutes. The CrowdStrike/DXDT Racing crew executed an excellent pit stop to get Braun out ahead of the second-place entry as the young Texan rejoined in the runner-up position.

Braun, who was the quickest driver in Friday afternoon’s practice, showed good pace and consistency with the Mercedes-AMG on his way to a runner-up result.

On Sunday, Braun drove the first 50 minutes in fourth position as the No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS Mercedes-AMG challenged for another podium finish. Another superb pit stop by the DXDT crew gained Kurtz a position up to third, and Kurtz only needed five minutes to move up to second place just before two full-course caution periods.

Kurtz challenged for the lead late once the race went green again with 17 minutes left but settled for another runner-up to end the weekend.

“I can’t say enough about the effort from George, CrowdStrike and DXDT Racing this weekend,” Braun said. “Coming into the weekend, we felt pretty confident with a new Mercedes-AMG. To see everything come together and come away with two runner-up finishes is more than we could have hoped for. I’m really excited for what the rest of the season holds for us.”

TC AMERICA

New CrowdStrike Racing team driver Kevin Boehm made his TC America debut one to remember with a runner-up finish in Sunday’s 40-minute race following a third-place showing Saturday in the No. 9 CrowdStrike/AWS Honda Civic Si.

That went along with a pair of top-eight showings for CJ Moses in the No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS Honda Civic Type R TCR, highlighted by a sixth-place effort Saturday. The results for Moses were on top of victories in SRO’s Winter Series to continue Moses’ early-year momentum in a new category.

“I enjoyed getting back in the CrowdStrike/AWS Honda Civic Type R TCR,” Moses said. “The experience earlier this year in the Winter Series was a great springboard into TC America. I’m already looking forward to next weekend at St. Petersburg and racing in front of our CrowdStrike and AWS guests.”

Boehm’s strong form shouldn’t have surprised the field. A four-time SCCA Champion, Boehm took his time in easing into TCA competition. It nearly resulted in victory Sunday with a strong start to go from third to second and a gap of never more than a second throughout the 40-minute race. Boehm also showed considerable pace and skill in Saturday’s debut race with a third-place final result.

“This weekend was incredible,” Boehm said. “Finishing with two podium results – third Saturday and then runner-up Sunday – caps off an amazing first weekend in TC America. The highlight of the weekend for me, however, was adding to the CrowdStrike/AWS guest experience with another car on track to cheer on. We’re all looking forward to more throughout the season.”

The next event for TC America is right around the corner with the series moving to the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for a doubleheader weekend March 13-15 on the St. Petersburg, Florida, street circuit. For more information on the series, visit crowdstrikeracing.com.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.