Both the Grand Sport and Street Tuner class championships came down to the last race of the season for the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, the Road Atlanta 150, part of the Petit Le Mans weekend.

And the champions figured the easiest way to secure the title was go out and win the race, and that’s what they did: Drivers Scott Maxwell and Billy Johnson took the GS title and the race win in the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R-C.

And in ST, Nick Galante and co-driver Spencer Pumpelly won their first season title after years of competition, as well as the class race win, in the No. 17 RS1 Porsche Cayman.

The Multimatic team essentially clinched the title when Maxwell drove the mandatory 45-minute first stint, then turned the car over to Johnson for the balance of the two-hour, 30-minute race. “That was the longest 45 minutes of my life,” Maxwell said. “The car was fine, it was just that I was trying to go around and not get involved in any trouble.”

Their chance at a victory looked doubtful early, as a caution flag flew during Maxwell’s stint, and his competition came to the pits for fuel and fresh tires, but he elected to stay on the track and log his 45 minutes. “That put us off-strategy,” Johnson said, and Maxwell fell back through the field.

Fortunately for the team, another caution flag flew later and everyone pitted, allowing Johnson to close back up on the field and eventually take the lead, passing the No. 33 C.J. Wilson Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 of Danny Burkett and Marc Miller, who finished second both in the race and in the season points. Ford and the Multimatic team won the drivers’ championship, the team championship and the manufacturers’ championship.

Third in the points was the No. 12 Bodymotion Porsche Cayman GT4 of Trent Hindman and Cameron Cassels, which retired early and was never a factor in the race.

In ST, Galante and Pumpelly fought through the field after a disappointing qualifying run that had them start 11th in the class. Galante said his stint as the first driver was to maintain a “blend of conservation and speed,” and turn the car over to Pumpelly in good shape. Pumpelly said the Porsche “struggled to find grip” on the track, but evidently found all he needed.

Murillo Racing’s No. 56 Porsche Cayman of Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss was second in points, and Chad Gilsinger, co-driver of the No. 93 HART Honda Civic, was third. The title could have gone to the No. 25 Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5 of Chad McCumbee and Stevan McAleer, which was slowed by engine problems late in the race, dropping the team to fourth in points.

In the race, the Honda of Gilsinger and co-driver Ryan Eversley finished second, and the No. 19 RS1 Porsche of Greg Strelzoff and Connor Bloum was third.

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