- Championship leads in two SRO America series heading into summer
- George Kurtz, Colin Braun back at scene of monumental first victory
- Kevin Boehm going for five wins in six races
- CJ Moses returns to GT America with Audi R8 GT2 entry
- Cloud security and breach prevention story prominentwith Falcon placements
AUSTIN, Texas (June 17, 2022) – CrowdStrike Racing’s full complement of racecars are together again this weekend at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) as things heat up for SRO Motorsports America at the start of the summer stretch.
For the first time this year, four CrowdStrike-branded entries will compete together on the same weekend, battling over three days at VIR’s fast and flowing 3.26-mile, 18-turn road course. This weekend continues the company’s participation in SRO America as a commercial sponsor. For the 2022 season, CrowdStrike is also continuing in its role as the Official Internet and Cloud Security Partner of SRO and GT World Challenge.
CrowdStrike – a leader in cloud-delivered protection of endpoints, cloud workloads, identity and data – uses its participation in racing to market its tools to highly influential audiences both at-track and via global streaming broadcasts.
CrowdStrike is on the front line of protecting data and preventing security breaches, while also being on the starting line in many of SRO America’s racing categories – including the premier GT World Challenge America. The company’s powerful Falcon graphic is the dominant feature on all CrowdStrike Racing entries in SRO America competition.
Two CrowdStrike entries enter the VIR weekend leading their respective championships. In the premier Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, George Kurtz and Colin Braun have parlayed a victory and three additional podium finishes into a four-point advantage in the highly competitive Pro-Am category.
The Kurtz/Braun pairing also posted an overall race win at VIR in 2020.
"VIR is one of the best events of the season,” said Kurtz, co-founder and CEO of CrowdStrike. “The staff is great and the track is phenomenal. As a driver, you face every kind of challenge – slower technical sections, fast and sweeping turns and good straightaways. Historically, we’ve had some good success at VIR. With the right preparations and set up, we will stay in contention and fight for another podium.”
The No. 04 Mercedes-AMG GT3 from CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports won the first 90-minute race at NOLA Motorsports Park last month and recorded a runner-up and two third-place finishes this year between Sonoma and NOLA. Given their recent history at VIR, hopes are high for more podiums and points, Braun said.
"I'm very excited to get going at VIR,” Braun said. “It's one of my favorite tracks to drive in any car, let alone the CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG. The high-speed stability of the Mercedes should be a great strength for us. The team is coming off a strong weekend in NOLA, and I think we are really starting to gel together as a group. George had an incredible drive in the final race at NOLA, and the Riley guys have been working hard between events and I know that momentum will carry into the VIR weekend. I am looking forward to putting on a great show for all the CrowdStrike guests!"
Kurtz will also pull double-duty with another No. 04 Mercedes-AMG GT3 from CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports – this one in GT America Powered by AWS. He stands second in points thanks to one win, a runner-up and one third-place finish through four rounds with the CrowdStrike/Riley Mercedes. The team is tied for first in class.
CJ Moses will make it two CrowdStrike-liveried entries in GT America and return to his home track with the No. 58 CrowdStrike/AWS Audi R8 LMS GT2, entered by GMG Racing. This will be Moses’ second event of the year, having debuted the Audi GT2 at St. Petersburg in February.
The fast and flowing VIR layout should suit the Audi much more than the tight, twisty street track at St. Petersburg. It should allow Moses to run with the front of the GT3 field given that the Audi has more power and it won’t be as limited by a smaller level of downforce.
“I’m really looking forward to taking the Audi GT2 car to VIR,” said Moses, who has previous experience as a driving instructor at VIR. “While we are continuing to learn about the Audi and manage its strengths and weaknesses, it’s great to race at a place like VIR where I have a lot of experience. I’m genuinely curious about how the weekend will go. We will have better opportunity to stretch our legs with the level of power over the GT3 cars, so hopefully we can all give the fans – especially our AWS and CrowdStrike guests – a good show.”
In Touring Car America Powered by Skip Barber Racing School, championship leader Kevin Boehm is hoping for a break-through to continue what has been an incredibly strong start to his second year in the Touring Car category.
Boehm has won three of four races this year in his No. 9 CrowdStrike/AWS Honda Performance Development Civic TC Type R entry. Running out the Skip Barber Racing School camp, Boehm owns a healthy, early-season margin in the TC championship by 27 points.
Boehm swept the Sonoma weekend and recorded another win plus a third-place finish at NOLA. A victory at VIR would be a breakthrough as it’s one of the few tracks where he hasn’t won a race since debuting and winning the TCA title and Rookie of the Year in 2020.
“In the past we haven’t had a lot of luck in TC America at VIR,” Boehm said. “We have a lot of momentum behind us this season, so we are really hoping to turn our luck around this year. It’s never easy, but I think we’re prepared and I’m looking forward to fighting for a couple more podiums.”
Southern Hospitality
In addition to multiple entries on-track, CrowdStrike also will have a considerable share of supporters cheering its teams during the VIR weekend. CrowdStrike and AWS will play host to more than 200 East Coast employees and guests for race activities.
Employees from each company, along with their family and invited guests, will take in a full program of competition plus have opportunities Saturday to interact with each CrowdStrike Racing team, meet the drivers and connect with fellow employees during the day.
CrowdStrike and Operation Motorsport
Working together is a key to success in any venture. A great example is the partnership between CrowdStrike and Operation Motorsport with both helping to serve retired and disabled veterans.
A not-for-profit, OpMo provides a chance for these service members to use their skill sets in a variety of areas including paddock operations, car and tire prep, marketing, social media and other key areas that are part of a racing program.
Three OpMo beneficiaries will continue to be part of the CrowdStrike family at VIR: Craig Neri, Retired – U.S. Air Force, and Retired Air Force Technical Sgt. Michael Neri will continue their good work on Boehm’s TC program as crew members; and Brandon Mateo, Retired – Army National Guard Master Sgt., will work his first SRO America event on Moses’ GT America entry. All three will carry on the OpMo mantra of “Recovery Through Motorsports #OneAtATime.”
CrowdStrike also is a proud part of American Corporate Partners (ACP), which provides CrowdStrike mentors for service members looking to transition to the private sector, and a partner with HireMilitary, to provide meaningful internship experiences to service members exiting the military via the DoD SkillBridge program.
CrowdStrike Racing competes at VIR in Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS GT America Powered by AWS and TC America Powered by Skip Barber Racing School from June 17-19.
For more information, visit CrowdStrikeRacing.com. Follow #CrowdStrikeRacing on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for updates.
About CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike (Nasdaq: CRWD), a global cybersecurity leader, has redefined modern security with the world’s most advanced cloud-native platform for protecting critical areas of enterprise risk – endpoints and cloud workloads, identity and data.
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