2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America

The 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America was the 30th season of the United States Auto Club's Blancpain GT World Challenge America. It was the first under Blancpain sponsorship, taking over from the longtime Pirelli sponsorship, as part of the standardisation of names of Stéphane Ratel Organisation-run GT3 sprint racing series globally, following the series' acquisition by the SRO Motorsports Group.^[1] It was also the last under Blancpain sponsorship, after they and the SRO concluded their partnership at the end of 2019.^[2] The season began on 2 March in Austin and ended on 20 October at Las Vegas.

2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge America

Previous

2018

Next

2020

Pirelli GT4 America Series
TC America Series

Calendar

At the annual press conference during the 2018 24 Hours of Spa on 27 July, the Stéphane Ratel Organisation announced the first draft of the 2019 calendar.^[3] The date for the season opening weekend in Austin was confirmed on 15 August.^[4] The Grand Finale at Las Vegas was announced on 26 July.^[5]

Race format

In previous years under the Pirelli World Challenge name, a race weekend consisted of one Qualifying session, one race on Saturday (in some cases on Friday) - of which the fastest laps set up the grid for the second race - and one race on Sunday. On 7 December 2018, changes to the format of race weekends were announced. In 2019 a race weekend consisted of two races scoring equal points and featuring separate Qualifying sessions for each race. In addition to a revised schedule as the Sprint-format was dropped and the SprintX-format - 90-minute races with two drivers per car and mandatory Pit stops with driver changes - remained, the FIA international points system was adopted.^[6]

Round	Circuit	Date
1	Circuit of the Americas, Elroy, Texas	2–3 March
2	Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Virginia	27–28 April
3	Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario	18–19 May
4	Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California	8–9 June
5	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	31 August–1 September
6	Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin	21–22 September
7	Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada	19–20 October

Entry list

Team Car No. Drivers Class Rounds K-PAX Racing[7] Bentley Continental GT3[7] 3 Rodrigo Baptista[7] P All Maxime Soulet[7] 9 Álvaro Parente[7] P All Andy Soucek[7] DXDT Racing[8] Mercedes-AMG GT3[8] 04 Colin Braun[9] PA All George Kurtz[9] 63 David Askew[8] PA 1–6 Ryan Dalziel[8] 1–3, 5–6 Mike Skeen[10] 4 Gradient Racing[11] Acura NSX GT3[11] 5 Till Bechtolsheimer[11] PA All Ryan Eversley[11] 1–2 Marc Miller[12] 3–5, 7 Trent Hindman[13] 6 US RaceTronics[14] Mercedes-AMG GT3[14] 6 Steven Aghakhani[14] PA 1 Richard Antinucci[14] Squadra Corse[15][N 1] TR3 Racing[15][N 1] Ferrari 488 GT3[15] 7 Martin Fuentes[15] Am 1–2, 4–5 Caesar Bacarella[15] 1–2, 4 Mark Issa[16] 5 Martin Fuentes[15] PA 6–7 Mark Issa[16] 6 Renger van der Zande[17] 7 31 Wei Lu[15] PA 1 Jeff Segal[15] Patrick Byrne[18] 4 Guy Cosmo[18] Vital Speed Motorsports[19] Ferrari 488 GT3[19] 8 Rich Baek[19] Am 1 Trevor Baek[19] GMG Racing[20] Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019)[20] 14 Brent Holden[20] Am 1 James Sofronas[20] PA 4 Dirk Werner[10] One11 Competition[21] Ferrari 488 GT3[21] 19 Brian Kaminskey[21] Am 1–2 Chris Cagnazzi[21] PA 4 Andy Lally[22] Sergio Jimenez[21] Am 5 Anthony Lazzaro[23] 99 Alfred Caiola[21] PA 1–2, 4 Matt Plumb[21] Alegra Motorsports[24] Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019)[24] 22 Daniel Morad[24] P 1–6 Michael de Quesada[25] 1–4 Billy Johnson[26] 5–6 24 Wolf Henzler[24] P 1–6 Marco Holzer[24] K2R Motorsports[19] Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019)[19] 38 Alex Barron[19] PA 1–2, 4–7 Kevan Millstein[19] RealTime Racing[27] Acura NSX GT3[27] 43 Bret Curtis[27][N 2] PA 2–3 Dane Cameron[27] P 3 Trent Hindman[28] Dane Cameron[27] PA 4–7 Mike Hedlund[29] Wright Motorsports[30] Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019)[30] 58 Scott Hargrove[30] P All Patrick Long[30] 91 Anthony Imperato[30] PA All Dennis Olsen[31] 1, 3, 5 Matt Campbell[30] 2, 4, 6–7 R. Ferri Motorsport[32] Ferrari 488 GT3[32] 61 Toni Vilander[32] P All Miguel Molina[32] 1–4, 7 Daniel Serra[33] 5–6 Scuderia Corsa[34] Ferrari 488 GT3[34] 64 Alessandro Balzan[34] PA 7 Bret Curtis[34] P1 Motorsports[35] Mercedes-AMG GT3[35] 71 Maximilian Buhk[19] PA 1 JC Perez[35] Racers Edge Motorsports[36] Acura NSX GT3[36] 80 Martin Barkey[36] PA All Kyle Marcelli[36] Risi Competizione[37] Ferrari 488 GT3[37] 82 Anthony Lazzaro[37] Am 1 Pierre Mulacek[37] Stephen Cameron Racing[38] BMW M6 GT3[38] 87 Greg Liefooghe[38] PA 1–2, 4–6 Henry Schmitt[38] Turner Motorsport[39] BMW M6 GT3[39] 96 Takuya Shirasaka[39] Am 3, 5–7 Naoto Takeda[39] Autometrics Motorsports[19] Porsche 911 GT3 R (2017)[19] 991 Alan Metni[19] Am 1 Joe Toussaint[19]

Icon Class P Pro Cup PA Pro-Am Cup Am Am Cup

Race results

Bold indicates overall winner.

Round		Circuit	Pole position	Pro Winners	Pro-Am Winners	Am Winners
1	R1	Austin	No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 3 K-PAX Racing	No. 31 TR3 Racing	No. 7 Squadra Corse
			Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Rodrigo Baptista Maxime Soulet	Wei Lu Jeff Segal	Caesar Bacarella Martin Fuentes
	R2		No. 80 Racers Edge Motorsports	No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport	No. 80 Racers Edge Motorsports	No. 7 Squadra Corse
			Martin Barkey Kyle Marcelli	Miguel Molina Toni Vilander	Martin Barkey Kyle Marcelli	Caesar Bacarella Martin Fuentes
2	R1	Virginia	No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 80 Racers Edge Motorsports	No. 7 Squadra Corse
			Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Martin Barkey Kyle Marcelli	Caesar Bacarella Martin Fuentes
	R2		No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 3 K-PAX Racing	No. 43 RealTime Racing	No. 7 Squadra Corse
			Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Rodrigo Baptista Maxime Soulet	Dane Cameron Bret Curtis	Caesar Bacarella Martin Fuentes
3	R1	Mosport	No. 58 Wright Motorsports	No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport	No. 5 Gradient Racing	No finishers
			Scott Hargrove Patrick Long	Miguel Molina Toni Vilander	Till Bechtolsheimer Marc Miller
	R2		No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 80 Racers Edge Motorsports	No. 96 Turner Motorsport
			Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Martin Barkey Kyle Marcelli	Takuya Shirasaka Naoto Takeda
4	R1	Sonoma	No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport	No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport	No. 43 RealTime Racing	No. 7 Squadra Corse
			Miguel Molina Toni Vilander	Miguel Molina Toni Vilander	Dane Cameron Mike Hedlund	Caesar Bacarella Martin Fuentes
	R2		No. 91 Wright Motorsports	No. 58 Wright Motorsports	No. 14 GMG Racing	No. 7 Squadra Corse
			Matt Campbell Anthony Imperato	Scott Hargrove Patrick Long	James Sofronas Dirk Werner	Caesar Bacarella Martin Fuentes
5	R1	Watkins Glen	No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport	No. 43 RealTime Racing	No. 7 Squadra Corse
			Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Daniel Serra Toni Vilander	Dane Cameron Mike Hedlund	Martin Fuentes Mark Issa
	R2		No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport	No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport	No. 43 RealTime Racing	No. 7 Squadra Corse
			Daniel Serra Toni Vilander	Daniel Serra Toni Vilander	Dane Cameron Mike Hedlund	Martin Fuentes Mark Issa
6	R1	Road America	No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport	No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport	No. 43 RealTime Racing	No. 96 Turner Motorsport
			Daniel Serra Toni Vilander	Daniel Serra Toni Vilander	Dane Cameron Mike Hedlund	Takuya Shirasaka Naoto Takeda
	R2		No. 80 Racers Edge Motorsports	No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport	No. 43 RealTime Racing	No. 96 Turner Motorsport
			Martin Barkey Kyle Marcelli	Daniel Serra Toni Vilander	Dane Cameron Mike Hedlund	Takuya Shirasaka Naoto Takeda
7	R1	Las Vegas	No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 43 RealTime Racing	No. 96 Turner Motorsport
			Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Dane Cameron Mike Hedlund	Takuya Shirasaka Naoto Takeda
	R2		No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 9 K-PAX Racing	No. 7 Squadra Corse	No. 96 Turner Motorsport
			Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek	Martin Fuentes Renger van der Zande	Takuya Shirasaka Naoto Takeda

Championship standings

Scoring system

Championship points were awarded for the first ten positions in each race. Entries were required to complete 75% of the winning car's race distance in order to be classified and earn points. Individual drivers were required to participate for a minimum of 40 minutes in order to earn championship points in any race.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Drivers' championships

Overall

Pos. Driver Team AUS VIR MOS SON WGL ELK LVS Points 1 Toni Vilander R. Ferri Motorsport 4 1 3 5 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 3 274 2 Álvaro Parente Andy Soucek K-PAX Racing 2 2 1 Ret 2 1 3 3 2 2 9 3 1 1 237 3 Rodrigo Baptista Maxime Soulet K-PAX Racing 1 4 Ret 1 3 3 2 11 3 3 5 4 3 2 195 4 Miguel Molina R. Ferri Motorsport 4 1 3 5 1 2 1 2 2 3 181 5 Scott Hargrove Patrick Long Wright Motorsports 3 3 13 2 6 4 6 1 4 4 3 5 5 Ret 160 6 Dane Cameron RealTime Racing 7 6 11 5 5 7 6 5 2 1 4 5 123 7 Mike Hedlund RealTime Racing 5 7 6 5 2 1 4 5 99 8 Daniel Serra R. Ferri Motorsport 1 1 1 2 93 9 Wolf Henzler Marco Holzer Alegra Motorsports Ret DNS 2 3 5 6 4 4 5 10 WD WD 86 10 Martin Barkey Kyle Marcelli Racers Edge Motorsports 7 6 4 12 8 8 Ret 9 8 7 6 6 10 7 69 11 Anthony Imperato Wright Motorsports 6 8 Ret 8 12 10 7 8 7 8 4 7 7 6 69 12 Daniel Morad Alegra Motorsports 17 5 11 4 4 7 9 5 9 6 WD WD 62 13 Michael de Quesada Alegra Motorsports 17 5 11 4 4 7 9 5 52 14 Till Bechtolsheimer Gradient Racing 9 7 5 9 7 12 10 10 15 9 8 8 6 8 50 15 Matt Campbell Wright Motorsports Ret 8 7 8 4 7 7 6 46 16 Martin Fuentes Squadra Corse 11 10 8 11 13 17 10 13 11 10 8 4 23 17 Dennis Olsen Wright Motorsports 6 8 12 10 7 8 23 18 Colin Braun George Kurtz DXDT Racing 15 9 9 7 9 11 11 12 13 11 7 9 9 10 23 19 Marc Miller Gradient Racing 7 12 10 10 15 9 6 8 22 20 Ryan Eversley Gradient Racing 9 7 5 9 20 21 Trent Hindman RealTime Racing 5 18 Gradient Racing 8 8 22 Bret Curtis RealTime Racing 7 6 11 WD 16 Scuderia Corsa 11 9 23 James Sofronas GMG Racing 18 15 8 6 12 23 Dirk Werner GMG Racing 8 6 12 24 David Askew DXDT Racing Ret DNS 6 16 10 9 Ret 16 14 12 12 12 11 24 Ryan Dalziel DXDT Racing Ret DNS 6 16 10 9 14 12 12 12 11 25 Wei Lu Jeff Segal TR3 Racing 5 19 10 26 Billy Johnson Alegra Motorsports 9 6 WD WD 10 27 Caesar Bacarella Squadra Corse 11 10 8 11 13 17 5 28 Maximilian Buhk JC Perez P1 Motorsports 8 12 4 29 Mark Issa Squadra Corse 10 13 11 10 2 29 Alfred Caiola Matt Plumb One11 Competition 13 14 10 10 15 13 2 30 Steven Aghakhani Richard Antinucci US RaceTronics 10 11 1 30 Greg Liefooghe Henry Schmitt Stephen Cameron Racing 12 20 Ret 13 14 15 16 14 10 Ret 1 Takuya Shirasaka Naoto Takeda Turner Motorsport Ret 13 11 16 13 11 12 11 0 Chris Cagnazzi One11 Competition 16 Ret 12 15 12 Ret 12 15 0 Anthony Lazzaro Risi Competizione 14 17 0 One11 Competition 12 15 Brian Kaminskey One11 Competition 16 Ret 12 15 0 Andy Lally One11 Competition 12 Ret 0 Alex Barron Kevan Millstein K2R Motorsports 20 18 Ret 14 Ret 14 WD WD 14 DNS 13 Ret 0 Alan Metni Joe Toussaint Autometrics Motorsports 21 13 0 Pierre Mulacek Risi Competizione 14 17 0 Brent Holden GMG Racing 18 15 0 Rich Baek Trevor Baek Vital Speed Motorsports 19 16 0 Mike Skeen DXDT Racing Ret 16 0 Patrick Byrne Guy Cosmo TR3 Racing Ret Ret Guest drivers ineligible to score points Renger van der Zande Squadra Corse 8 4 Alessandro Balzan Scuderia Corsa 11 9 Pos. Driver Team AUS VIR MOS SON WGL ELK LVS Points

Key Colour Result Gold Race winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Black Disqualified (DSQ) Excluded (EX) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Withdrew (WD) Blank Did not participate Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

Pro-Am Cup

Pos.	Driver	Team	AUS		VIR		MOS		SON		WGL		ELK		LVS		Points
1	Martin Barkey Kyle Marcelli	Racers Edge Motorsports	7	6	4	12	8	8	Ret	9	8	7	6	6	10	7	214
2	Anthony Imperato	Wright Motorsports	6	8	Ret	8	12	10	7	8	7	8	4	7	7	6	200
3	Mike Hedlund	RealTime Racing							5	7	6	5	2	1	4	5	186
4	Till Bechtolsheimer	Gradient Racing	9	7	5	9	7	12	10	10	15	9	8	8	6	8	185
5	Colin Braun George Kurtz	DXDT Racing	15	9	9	7	9	11	11	12	13	11	7	9	9	10	147
6	David Askew	DXDT Racing	Ret	DNS	6	16	10	9	Ret	16	14	12	12	12			76
7	Bret Curtis	RealTime Racing			7	6	11	WD									61
		Scuderia Corsa													11	9
8	Greg Liefooghe Henry Schmitt	Stephen Cameron Racing	12	20	Ret	13			14	15	16	14	10	Ret			41
9	James Sofronas Dirk Werner	GMG Racing							8	6							40
10	Alfred Caiola Matt Plumb	One11 Competition	13	14	10	10			15	13							38
11	Wei Lu Jeff Segal	TR3 Racing	5	19													27
12	Maximilian Buhk JC Perez	P1 Motorsports	8	12													20
13	Alex Barron Kevan Millstein	K2R Motorsports	20	18	Ret	14			Ret	14	WD	WD	14	DNS	13	Ret	19
14	Steven Aghakhani Richard Antinucci	US RaceTronics	10	11													18
15	Mark Issa	Squadra Corse											11	10			14
16	Chris Cagnazzi Andy Lally	One11 Competition							12	Ret							6
	Patrick Byrne Guy Cosmo	TR3 Racing							Ret	Ret
Drivers ineligible to score Pro-Am class points due to being a solo Pro class driver
	Dane Cameron	RealTime Racing			7	6	11	WD	5	7	6	5	2	1	4	5
	Marc Miller	Gradient Racing					7	12	10	10	15	9			6	8
	Martin Fuentes	Squadra Corse											11	10	8	4
	Matt Campbell	Wright Motorsports			Ret	8			7	8			4	7	7	6
	Dennis Olsen	Wright Motorsports	6	8			12	10			7	8
	Ryan Eversley	Gradient Racing	9	7	5	9
	Ryan Dalziel	DXDT Racing	Ret	DNS	6	16	10	9			14	12	12	12
	Trent Hindman	Gradient Racing											8	8
	Mike Skeen	DXDT Racing							Ret	16
Guest drivers ineligible to score points
	Renger van der Zande	Squadra Corse													8	4
	Alessandro Balzan	Scuderia Corsa													11	9
Pos.	Driver	Team	AUS		VIR		MOS		SON		WGL		ELK		LVS		Points

Am Cup

Pos.	Driver	Team	AUS		VIR		MOS		SON		WGL		ELK		LVS		Points
1	Martin Fuentes	Squadra Corse	11	10	8	11			13	17	10	13					200
2	Takuya Shirasaka Naoto Takeda	Turner Motorsport					Ret	13			11	16	13	11	12	11	158
3	Caesar Bacarella	Squadra Corse	11	10	8	11			13	17							150
4	Chris Cagnazzi	One11 Competition	16	Ret	12	15					12	15					84
5	Anthony Lazzaro	Risi Competizione	14	17													61
		One11 Competition									12	15
6	Brian Kaminskey	One11 Competition	16	Ret	12	15											51
7	Mark Issa	Squadra Corse									10	13					50
8	Pierre Mulacek	Risi Competizione	14	17													28
9	Brent Holden James Sofronas	GMG Racing	18	15													27
10	Alan Metni Joe Toussaint	Autometrics Motorsports	21	13													26
11	Rich Baek Trevor Baek	Vital Speed Motorsports	19	16													22
Pos.	Driver	Team	AUS		VIR		MOS		SON		WGL		ELK		LVS		Points

Teams' championships

Overall

Pos.	Team	Manufacturer	AUS		VIR		MOS		SON		WGL		ELK		LVS		Points
1	K-PAX Racing	Bentley	1	2	1	1	2	1	2	3	2	2	5	3	1	1	282
2	R. Ferri Motorsport	Ferrari	4	1	3	5	1	2	1	2	1	1	1	2	2	3	282
3	Wright Motorsports	Porsche	3	3	13	2	6	4	6	1	4	4	3	5	5	6	193
4	RealTime Racing	Acura			7	6	11	5	5	7	6	5	2	1	4	5	144
5	Alegra Motorsports	Porsche	17	5	2	3	4	6	4	4	5	6	WD	WD			119
6	Racers Edge Motorsports	Acura	7	6	4	12	8	8	Ret	9	8	7	6	6	10	7	103
7	Gradient Racing	Acura	9	7	5	9	7	12	10	10	15	9	8	8	6	8	90
8	DXDT Racing	Mercedes-AMG	15	9	6	7	9	9	11	12	13	11	7	9	9	10	69
9	Squadra Corse	Ferrari	11	10	8	11			13	17	10	13	11	10	8	4	50
10	GMG Racing	Porsche	18	15					8	6							18
11	Turner Motorsport	BMW					Ret	13			11	16	13	11	12	11	13
12	TR3 Racing	Ferrari	5	19					Ret	Ret							12
13	One11 Competition	Ferrari	13	14	10	10			12	13	12	15					11
14	P1 Motorsports	Mercedes-AMG	8	12													9
15	US RaceTronics	Mercedes-AMG	10	11													6
16	Stephen Cameron Racing	BMW	12	20	Ret	13			14	15	16	14	10	Ret			6
17	K2R Motorsports	Porsche	20	18	Ret	14			Ret	14	WD	WD	14	DNS	13	Ret	1
	Autometrics Motorsports	Porsche	21	13													0
	Risi Competizione	Ferrari	14	17													0
	Vital Speed Motorsports	Ferrari	19	16													0
Guest teams ineligible to score points
	Scuderia Corsa	Ferrari													11	9
Pos.	Team	Manufacturer	AUS		VIR		MOS		SON		WGL		ELK		LVS		Points

Pro-Am Cup

Pos.	Team	Manufacturer	AUS		VIR		MOS		SON		WGL		ELK		LVS		Points
1	RealTime Racing	Acura			7	6	11	WD	5	7	6	5	2	1	4	5	235
2	Racers Edge Motorsports	Acura	7	6	4	12	8	8	Ret	9	8	7	6	6	10	7	214
3	Wright Motorsports	Porsche	6	8	Ret	8	12	10	7	8	7	8	4	7	7	6	202
4	Gradient Racing	Acura	9	7	5	9	7	12	10	10	15	9	8	8	6	8	189
5	DXDT Racing	Mercedes-AMG	15	9	6	7	9	9	11	12	13	11	7	9	9	10	160
6	Squadra Corse	Ferrari											11	10	8	4	51
7	Stephen Cameron Racing	BMW	12	20	Ret	13			14	15	16	14	10	Ret			45
8	One11 Competition	Ferrari	13	14	10	10			12	13							44
9	GMG Racing	Porsche							8	6							40
10	TR3 Racing	Ferrari	5	19					Ret	Ret							27
11	K2R Motorsports	Porsche	20	18	Ret	14			Ret	14	WD	WD	14	DNS	13	Ret	23
12	P1 Motorsports	Mercedes-AMG	8	12													20
13	US RaceTronics	Mercedes-AMG	10	11													18
Guest teams ineligible to score Pro-Am class points
	Scuderia Corsa	Ferrari													11	9
Pos.	Team	Manufacturer	AUS		VIR		MOS		SON		WGL		ELK		LVS		Points

Am Cup

Pos.	Team	Manufacturer	AUS		VIR		MOS		SON		WGL		ELK		LVS		Points
1	Squadra Corse	Ferrari	11	10	8	11			13	17	10	13					200
2	Turner Motorsport	BMW					Ret	13			11	16	13	11	12	11	158
3	One11 Competition	Ferrari	16	Ret	12	15					12	15					84
4	Risi Competizione	Ferrari	14	17													28
5	GMG Racing	Porsche	18	15													27
6	Autometrics Motorsports	Porsche	21	13													26
7	Vital Speed Motorsports	Ferrari	19	16													22
Pos.	Team	Manufacturer	AUS		VIR		MOS		SON		WGL		ELK		LVS		Points

See also

• 2019 Blancpain GT Series
• 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup
• 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia
• 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe

Notes

1. Car No. 7 entered as Squadra Corse and car No. 31 entered as TR3 Racing.
2. Bret Curtis was ruled out of the second race at Mosport due to back pain. He was replaced by Trent Hindman, which promoted the entry to the Pro class.