- [Announcer] Four drivers, two cars.
(car engines roar)
One goal.
To win.
This is In the Pit with 3GT Racing.
- When you think about what Lexus has signed up for here,
they made a commitment to go racing,
but that's only part of the story.
The rest of the story
is where they've now elected to compete,
inside IMSA in the WeatherTech Championship.
It's the most competitive,
the most high-pressure environment
of any motorsport platform in the world.
Manufacturers that have been at this for decades,
evolving, rubbing on it, so to speak,
making their car, their team, optimized in every detail.
So to parachute into that environment
and have expectations beyond just finishing,
some would say is a lofty goal.
(voice echoes over loudspeaker)
- The biggest surprise of the year
has been how hard it's been.
I did not expect...
I did not expect to come in and win right away,
but I expected, you know, to have a podium
or something by now.
The level of competition in IMSA is unreal.
- All right, you guys ready to go on, here?
We'll do our debrief.
So, Scott, you want to go around your lap.
Go through your balance, what the car was like.
- Yeah, I feel like in qualifying,
of the setups we've been chasing around,
I feel like we continually make improvements
between the track and the car balance.
I was actually fairly impressed that I can run, you know,
I can do three, four, five, six laps at a fast pace.
Not just throw down one lap.
- That's true.
- [Scott] So, I think we're in a pretty good ballpark.
- Okay, get some lunch, hang out.
Good job, guys.
Good job bringing the cars back,
and we're going to have a good race tomorrow.
- Sounds good.
- All right, cool.
- Hi, my family at home.
- Hi, my family at home. (men chuckle)
- It's hard to have a highlight
because we haven't won a race.
Now, we've led a lot of races.
We've been on the pole.
We've set fastest race laps.
All of those are...
tinsel on the tree, but they're not the Christmas tree.
- With our level of performance
we've had at many of these races, you know,
multiple fastest laps, strong race runs, things like that,
race results just snatched away from us
for sometimes things out of our control,
sometimes silly things we had control.
But for a first-year car,
the speed and performance that we've got out of the car,
and the reliability of the car has been very, very positive.
So, you know, on the flip side of that,
with the competitiveness we've had,
we perhaps would have expected a couple more podiums.
We've been so close on so many occasions.
I think it's only a matter of time 'till we get that podium.
- [Announcer] Sage Karam holds up the lead in GTD tournament
from Andrew Davis in the Audi number 57 in second,
and Jeff Segal in the 86 Acura in third position.
- It's been a unique year for sure.
I mean, the team has been trying everything
to try and get a car in victory circle on the podium.
Even, you know, switching up drive lineups.
Working with Scott early in the season was great.
Scott's one of the most technical guys
I've ever been around.
And then about three races ago,
we did a switch in the driver lineup,
and Robert Alon came over to the 14 car with me.
We've had a good run at it, you know.
We've...
You know, we've had a lot of fun.
I think me and Robert's driving styles
are actually slightly similar to me and Scott.
- For me, I mean, I've been very happy with Sage.
I mean, he's done an amazing job,
and he's a really nice, cool kid to work with,
and I've learned a lot from him,
and just, you know, kind of seeing the different approach
that different guys have towards driving.
Like, I learned a lot from Jack,
and then I learned a lot different stuff from Sage.
Pressure, yes, that played a huge part
in the beginning of the season for me.
Was just I did feel a lot of pressure from people watching,
people wanting results.
You know, once you realize that,
that's only going to make you slower.
It kind of has to go away.
Either keep going slow or you get rid of your anxiety.
(racecars roar)
- We're all really great together,
so it was an easy transition to do that, and...
And why not?
I mean, we're looking at our first season,
just trying to get...
And we're doing the same things
with some of the mechanics as well,
trying to figure out what that best fit for everybody is.
- To be honest, Petit's my favorite race of the year,
and I was very much looking forward to that one.
I think that's the one where, I mean,
I would look to win 'em all,
but that's certainly one which is very much at the top
of my list, and it'd be great to finish on a high there.
I've run very well.
I always run well.
I've run very, very well in 2014,
like the fastest I think I've gone on record there in PC,
so I would like to get a GTD one as well.
- [Racer] Atlanta's a great track to go to.
It's always one of my favorites.
I've raced there a few times,
won a couple championships there.
- It's a different kind of race,
and the mindset coming in is different.
You have to be more patient, more calm throughout the race,
and know that the result's going to come.
You can't, you know, just push every lap as hard as you can
like you can in a sprint race.
- The Lexus team has evolved very effectively
through the course of the season.
There's been a lot of ups and downs,
but let's keep it all in perspective.
They're going up against manufacturers and teams
that have been at this for decades,
and here we are in the first season.
So, the car has proven its ability
in terms of its outright speed.
It has proven its ability, especially recently,
with its reliability.
So, coming into this final 10 hour endurance race,
I think expectations should be very high,
not only for a finish, but for a podium,
and if the moon, the sun, the stars line up,
it could be the first win.