GT3: AJR's Dino Steiner Utah weekend summary

Dino Steiner wins IMSA Challenge Round Four race at Miller Takes point lead in driver's championship

TOOELE, Utah - Alex Job Racing driver and TRG Finished 1-2 at Laguna Seca Last Year IMSA

Challenge point leader Dino Steiner captured his second career victory in Sunday's Round Four race at Miller Motorsports Park, as part of the Utah Grand Prix weekend.

Piloting the No. 15 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Steiner started third for Sunday's race. Shortly after the race started, second-place qualifier Martin Snow spun in turn three, which led to a multi-car crash. Steiner, who had passed Snow on the start, was able to avoid the wreck.

The accident led to a 20-minute caution. On the restart, Steiner realized that he had a better car than the then race leader Tom Pank in the No. 42 Farnbacher Loles Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and decided to make his move to the front. With eight minutes remaining in the 30-minute race, Steiner passed Pank in turn one and never looked back wining by 1.945-seconds over Pank.

"I passed Martin [Snow] at the start and was behind Tom [Pank] when he dove to the inside, so I had to go wide," Steiner said of the race start. "Martin came back inside and then spun out in the third corner, which created a big crash. There were several cars involved and we were under yellow for 20 minutes.

"At that time, I had already figured out that Pank's car was not really good and that I had a perfect race car today. On the restart, I pushed Pank from the beginning and I did not give him any room to breathe. I was right on his bumper at every turn. Every inch of the track, I let him know I was there. I put a lot of pressure on him. I saw that he struggled in turn one. His car was all over the place. I thought, 'O.K. that is where I will get him.' So, I set him up going into the last turn running a little bit slower. I got a good shot out of the last turn and was right on his bumper, about a foot away. We had a drag race going down the straight. Just before the braking zone, I got out, flashed my lights, and went deeper than we normally go [in turn one]. By that time, he was already in so much trouble and I dove inside. He left me room, which was good and fair. Then, I pulled away by a second and a half from turn one to the start/finish line. [At that point], I saw that we had two laps to go so I set it on cruise control. I knew that they could not close the gap. I just kept the gap and won the race.

"After the two second-place finishes, I wanted to give Alex a win to show him that we are the team to beat. The guys did an awesome job, just like they did at Sebring. I think we are getting closer to winning a championship. I wanted to show Alex that I can do this and not only come in second - that I can win races strategically. I want to dedicate this win to Alex because he could not be here this weekend. We have the best team in the paddock."

"This win was huge for the team, especially Alex," Crew Chief Kerry Foote said following Sunday's race. "He took a chance moving back over here to this series. I know Alex knew Dino, but I don't know if he was quite aware of Dino's talent. For Alex Job racing, I think this win means a lot. It shows that we can come back here and win where it's all spec racing. You just have to pay attention to the details because it makes a big difference. That's the way we do things. That's the way Alex has taught us to do things. Just pay attention to the details and you can win and we have."

In addition to Steiner's win Sunday, he also finished second in Saturday's Round Three race. In four races this season, Steiner has one win and three second-place finishes and currently leads the IMSA Challenge by Michelin Driver's Championship point standings.

The IMSA Challenge by Michelin series heads north of the border June 8 to Montreal, Canada and the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve track for Rounds Five and Six, as part of the Montreal Canadian Grand Prix.

-credit: ajr