The narrow concrete corridors of Detroit Belle Isle played host to Round 7 of the 2025 VSCA SportsCar Championship on Saturday, serving as the penultimate event of the 2025 VSCA Sprint Cup. With 14 corners squeezed into just 2.35 miles, the famed street course lived up to its reputation for drama and unpredictability.
Qualifying saw Lucas Moncla in the #22 Twin Turn Simracing Dallara P217 claim pole with an assertive lap of 1:23.437. At the green flag, Moncla maintained the lead from the front, fending off early pressure from Ryan Read in the #532 Pandemonium eSports entry. But the calm start didn’t last.
Guerin Damien’s third career VSCA start quickly turned sour. After battling Chad Dalton in the #158 iRacing Today Dallara for sixth on lap one, Damien lost control exiting Turn 4, lightly tagging the wall and slipping to the rear of the LMP2 field. Worse would follow. Just 26 minutes into the race, Damien spun again in Turn 7. His car ricocheted off the wall and was struck by both Dominik Isenberg in the #23 Twin Turn car and Jason Brothers in the #94 SWF Motorsports GT machine, prompting the race’s only full-course yellow.
Mid-Race Mayhem and Momentum Shifts
Once racing resumed after the 21-minute yellow, the #3 Tri-State Racing Dallara with Christian Sherrard led the way. Dalton, now in second, applied relentless pressure but found no opening on Belle Isle’s notoriously tight layout. The battle of pit crews soon followed.
Dalton handed the #158 Dallara over to team-mate Timothy Johnston on lap 34, and just two laps later, the leading #3 Tri-State Racing machine pitted, with Garret Spenst taking the wheel. Although Johnston's crew executed a quicker stop — 30.2 seconds versus the #3 team’s 33.1 — it was not initially enough to leapfrog the leader out of pit lane.
But it didn’t take long. With cold tires and heavy fuel on board, Spenst was vulnerable. Johnston attacked immediately and made the decisive move between Turns 6 and 7. The two went side by side into Turn 7, but Johnston held the inside line and emerged as the new leader.
The defining moment for Tri-State came just ten laps later. With 20 minutes left, Spenst’s race unraveled as he lost control in Turn 12 and struck the wall. The damage forced the team behind the pit wall and out of contention after leading a race-high 32 laps.
A German Climb and a Close Call
While iRacing Today controlled the front, Albrecht Motorsports put on a show of resilience. Starting eighth on the grid, the #96 Dallara — shared by Germany’s Sven Albrecht and Marc Scherschel — carved through the field with pace and patience. The pair ultimately secured second place, gaining six positions by race end.
The final lap nearly turned disastrous for Scherschel when two GT AM cars collided and blocked the road at Turn 11. In a hair-raising moment, Scherschel narrowly squeezed through the gap, securing the runner-up spot. Behind him, Scarlett Di Marco in the #23 Twin Turn entry also evaded the incident, bringing her car home safely in fourth alongside co-driver Dominik Isenberg - priving the race truly isn't over until it's truly over.
Johnston in control, brings home win for iRacing Today
At the front, Johnston maintained a controlled pace and extended his advantage to win by 18.902 seconds, securing a vital Sprint Cup victory for the #158 iRacing Today Motorsports Dallara with co-driver Dalton. It marked a textbook mix of speed, strategy, and composure.
Third place went to the pole-sitting #22 Twin Turn Simracing entry of Moncla and Sebastian Isenberg, followed closely by the #23 sister car of Isenberg and Di Marco in fourth. Rounding out the top five were Ricardo Anselmo and Tiago Maduro Dias in the #14 Grow Racing Team Dallara.
Sixth place — a frustrating result after leading so many laps — belonged to the #3 Tri-State Racing duo of Sherrard and Spenst. Seventh was claimed by the #11 Vision 1 Motorsports Dallara of Kyle Allen and Damien Behnke, while the battered #677 Valkyrie Exype entry of Julien Lecoq and Guerin Damien recovered to eighth. Ninth went to the #531 Pandemonium eSports car of Ryan Read and Tseard Ploeg.
Post-Race Reactions
Timothy Johnston, #158 iRacing Today Motorsports Dallara: "It’s an unbelievable feeling to be standing in victory lane here at Detroit, especially with the caliber of drivers and teams that are here at VSCA."
"Our car was fast right off the truck in FP1. The team went through a few changes with the car and the speed carried over through FP2 and then the race today. I can’t thank the iRacing Today Motorsports Team enough for all their hard work to get the car both fast and comfortable for Chad and myself."
On strategy in the race: "The discussion started with our team as soon as the FCY flew on the different strategies that we might be able to go with. Ultimately, the team agreed to stay out as it was going to cut Chad and I way to close on drive time. Once the green flag flew, Chad was able to continue running a great pace and staying right with the leader which gave us some options when it was time to pit."
"When we decided to make our final pit stop, the team went very aggressively on the fuel to make the pit stop as short as possible, to see if we could leapfrog the leader. We were able to accomplish our goal and passed the Tri-State Racing Team on their out lap. At that point, we went into a full fuel savings mode and worked solely on managing our gap to second."
"When we realized that Tri-State had unfortunately crashed, our focus stayed the same with fuel saving and taking minimal risks as we worked our way through the GT3 field."
"I want to thank everyone at iRacing Today Motorsports for the opportunity to hop into the LMP2 over these last couple of races. A phenomenal drive by Chad and a great strategy call by both Eric and Sam are why we are standing here in victory lane. A huge thank you also goes out to everyone at VSCA for putting on a top-notch show every week. I will see everyone at the Glen!"
Chad Dalton, #158 iRacing Today Motorsports Dallara: "It’s an amazing feeling and accomplishment to get a win in VSCA and at Detroit of all places! Honestly, we came in just aiming for our first top five as a team in this league. In fact I had joked with the team we had too many P6 finishes. So, to come away with the win is a big step forward for us and really gives us some momentum in the championship and for the rest of the season. This is a group effort and today is a win for all of iRTM to celebrate!"
"I think anticipating that early wreck put us in a good position, moving us from fifth to second and into clean air. After my poor qualifying effort put us into sixth on the grid, I was concerned about getting to the front. I noticed some jockeying for position ahead early on in the race and from past experiences knew something was about to happen."
"When I saw contact made a few corners later, I just moved as far right as the wall would let me and missed the entire thing. From there, it was about staying consistent and making the most of our pace to run down the leader. We had a great setup and the car was easy to drive. We used that green flag pit stop to help us overtake the leader on their out lap. Then it was just a matter of Tim saving fuel when we accidentally short fueled a bit on the stop. He did a fantastic job saving and the rest is history!"
On the #3 Tri-State Racing's late crash and retirement: "It’s never good to see a competitor’s race end that way, especially since the #3 was running so well. I know they were pushing for their first win too in VSCA this season, and I’m sure they’ll bounce back. It was nice to see some winless teams going for the win today at such a tough track!"
"I want to thank everyone at iRTM for their help and support this season as we race in VSCA. This win is for all of us and hopefully we can get more now that we’ve finally reached the win column."
Sebastian Isenberg, #22 Twin Turn Simracing Dallara: "P3 and the podium is an awesome result, but the damage we suffered early on took the chance away from us to fight for anything more."
"The key moment was our accident in the first stint unfortunatly. We knew that car will get disqualified and didn´t fight too hard but in that scene there wasn´t just enough room left for us to go. I feel sorry for Lucas as he couldn´t finish his stint according to plan after getting this awesome pole lap in."
Marc Scherschel, #96 Albrecht Motorsports Dallara: "First of all, we are very happy. We wanted to drive safely from the start. That was the most important rule. We managed to stay out of everything, except for the incident three corners before the finish. The race itself was very quiet. But all the participants contributed to that! We'll continue on the path we're on. We'll just try to make the best of it."
On the strong trend for the team: "I don't really have an explanation for this. We just kept going, and now the results are coming.We believe with a little luck we could still compete for the win."
Lucas Moncla, #22 Twin Turn Simracing Dallara: "Third place is a great result for Twin Turn Simracing. I was a little disappointed with the incident we were involved in, in the opening laps. That put us on the back foot, but we were able to recover well with the help of the full course yellow."
"Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised to come away with pole position as I had only started driving that track for the first time a few days prior to the race. It was unfortunate we did not convert it to a win as it believe Sebastian and I had the pace to do so without that early race incident but that’s racing right. I am looking forward to Watkins Glen in a few weeks for redemption."
"I’d just like to say it was a fantastic team effort. Sebastian did a fantastic job in the car as always. We will be hungry for the win at Watkins Glen."
Standings Shakeup and What's Next
The #158 Dallara’s win did not shake up the overall standings in the SportsCar Championship, where the #23 Twin Turn Simracing crew continues to lead with 2020 points. The #11 Vision 1 Motorsports entry holds second, 69 points behind. However, Albrecht Motorsports’ runner-up finish propelled the #96 car into third overall, just 153 points off the lead, continuing the team's strong trend of recent months.
In the Sprint Cup standings, the same three teams remain at the top — but not in the same order. The #23 still leads with 1219 points, but the #96 now jumps to second, leapfrogging the #11 car which drops to third.
With only one Sprint Cup round remaining, attention now turns back to the VSCA Endurance Cup and the next event on the calendar: the prestigious and fourth annual Six Hours of the Glen at Watkins Glen on June 21. As the series shifts from a street brawl in Detroit to the fast-flowing curves of upstate New York, the battle for the 2025 VSCA titles remains as intense as ever.
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