The Heart of Racing Team’s Newell take pole and podium at Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach, Calif. (April 13, 2025) - The Heart of Racing Team took to the streets of Long Beach this weekend in SRO’s GT America as Gray Newell entered a one-off race weekend with an Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
After two practice sessions on Friday, Newell qualified the No. 24 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage in pole position with a 1:21.754-second lap, marking his first pole award in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Newell entered the 2024 edition of the race in the GT4 category where he also secured pole position.
Saturday evening hosted the first of the double header race weekend. After maintaining second place for a majority of the 40-minute race, Newell had an issue after contact with a competitor placing him in third. Newell secured his first podium in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and his second Grand Prix of Long Beach podium after finishing third in 2024.
“I felt like we executed really well in qualifying, we were fortunate to put the car on pole for the race,” said Newell. “I was happy to see that I was really competitive with the cars around me, especially since it being only my second race weekend in this car. We still have a need for a bit of pace development, but goes to show there’s still more work to be done.”
In the opening lap of Sunday’s race, Newell was going for a pass when he made contact with a curb ultimately forcing him to pit lane for a tire change. Rejoining in the rear of the field, Newell fought his way back to finish ninth.
“In Sunday’s race, I made a mistake at the start that launched me into the Corvette,” continued Newell. “That was completely my fault. Afterwards, I felt like I stabilized really well and put down really consistent laps. The weekend was frustrating and encouraging at the same time. Going into COTA (Circuit of the Americas) I feel confident. COTA tends to be one of our strong circuits and makes for great GT3 racing. I really believe that Darren (Turner) and I have a chance at being front runners by the season's end. I’m just ready to get back with Darren (Turner), put my head down and keep digging.”
Newell will be back on track with the rest of the Heart of Racing SRO squad at Circuit of the Americas April 25-27.
