Momentous Opportunity for Thompson as Carrera Cup North America Concludes at Road Atlanta
ATLANTA, GA
The 2022 season of Carrera Cup North America presented by Cayman Islands, will conclude this week with a pair of races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. After seven weekends and fourteen races, the championship standings in Carrera Cup North America’s Pro-class are closer now than they were after only the first weekend of racing. Mathematically, the championship title is open to one of four drivers. Driving the No. 9 JDX Racing machine, Parker Thompson enters the event holding second place in the standings, just eleven points off the lead.
With four wins in fourteen races to date, only the current points leader, Kelly Moss Racing driver Kay Van Berlo, has more wins than Thompson. Ten podium finishes have made twenty-four-year-old Thompson the series’ most consistent performer. That consistency allowed Thompson to momentarily capture the top spot in the standings earlier this month in Indianapolis before a mid-race collision in the latter half of that weekend resulted in Thompson’s only DNF of the season and dropped him back into second.
Now, Thompson will look to retake that lead spot through two races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. With 25 points available to the race winner and 20, 17, 14, and 12 points available to subsequent finishers, a two-point bonus for pole position, and an extra point for the fastest race lap, there are a variety of scenarios that would allow Thompson to make up the 11 point difference to the leader. The most emphatic of those would follow from Thompson piloting the white, red, and yellow JDX Racing Porsche 992 to pole position and a pair of race wins. That will be precisely his focus when the action begins mid-week. Practice sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, with Qualifying and Race 1 on Thursday. The season concludes with Race 2 on Friday morning.
Parker Thompson
“From the opening race at Sebring up to the finale here at Road Atlanta, I’m proud of our effort this season. We knew when we started that we were not the big dog in this fight, but here we are, and the ultimate goal is within reach. Every member of the JDX Racing crew, our partners at Surgere, Shell Tap-Up, Byers Porsche, Renier Construction, Jersey Mike’s Subs, and SSi Artificial Lift, has shown the tenacity and commitment of a champion. Now we’re in a dream position – sweep the weekend here, and we will win the championship.”
Event Information
2022 Carrera Cup North America
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Rounds 15 & 16
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Practice 1 >> 09:45 AM EST
Practice 2 >> 01:30 PM EST
Thursday, September 29, 2022
Qualifying >> 09:00 AM EST
Race 1 >> 05:00 PM EST
Friday, September 30, 2022
Race 2 >> 10:55 AM EST
Flag-to-flag coverage of the race is available on https://porschecarreracup.us. Follow Parker throughout the weekend at https://parkerthompsonracing.com/live