Race Recap GT3-Espresso Cup
Long Beach Street Circuit
Tue, Jul 28, 2026Round 10
Brice Takes the Checkered Flag at Long Beach Street Circuit
Race at a Glance
Field Size
14
Laps
15
Avg Lap Time
1:21.129
Lead Changes
1
Clean Runners
4
Lead Lap Finishers
4
Margin
+0.62s
Winner Spotlight
Tom Brice
P1 Finish
Round 10 of the GT3-Espresso Cup at the Long Beach Street Circuit produced a dramatic finish as #72 Tom Brice converted a fourth-place starting position into a victory, his first win of the season and first in the series. Brice led just 2 of the race's 15 laps, but they were the ones that counted, as #20 Alex Claudio — who had claimed pole and led 13 laps from the front — ultimately slipped to fifth at the checkered flag. With zero cautions across the full 15-lap distance, the racing was raw and relentless around the streets of Long Beach, and the single lead change told the story of a race decided late. #2 Kevin Miller followed Brice home in second for his own series-first podium finish, while #137 Heath Olinger rounded out the top three in third despite accumulating 11 incidents across the race distance.
The hard charger award belonged emphatically to #77 Lando Abbott, who carved six positions from his tenth-place starting spot to finish fourth. In a 14-car field on a street circuit where gaining ground is earned inch by inch, Abbott's run was the most aggressive charge of the afternoon and put him just outside the podium. Meanwhile, Claudio's fade from the lead to fifth was the race's defining swing — 13 laps of front-running that ultimately didn't convert — while #89 Bradley Tidwell, who started second, fell six positions to finish eighth after accumulating 22 incidents, a damaging afternoon for the championship leader. The carnage wasn't limited to the top — #55 Curtis Matthews led all comers with 36 incidents on his way to sixth, and #11 Will Bailey racked up 16 incidents finishing seventh.
With 40 rounds still remaining in the GT3-Espresso Cup season, the standings are tightly compressed at the top, making every result consequential. Bradley Tidwell holds the points lead despite his troubled run at Long Beach, with Jonathan Williams and Claudio sitting second and third respectively. Brice's victory moves him to fifth in the standings, putting him squarely in contention as the series heads away from the streets of Long Beach. The four drivers who completed the race without a single incident — Claudio, #9 Brandon Berg, #816 Hays Boughan, and #14 Scotty Larson — will take some comfort in clean sheets even if the results were mixed, and cleanliness will matter as the incident totals across the field continue to shape the standings in the long campaign ahead.
Top Movers
Lando Abbott77
▲ +6Heath Olinger137
▲ +5Tom Brice72
▲ +3Finishing Order
| Finish | Start | +/- | Car # | Driver | Inc | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | +3 | 72 | Tom Brice | 2x | — |
| 2 | 5 | +3 | 2 | Kevin Miller | 2x | — |
| 3 | 8 | +5 | 137 | Heath Olinger | 11x | — |
| 4 | 10 | +6 | 77 | Lando Abbott | 8x | — |
| 5 | 1 | -4 | 20 | Alex Claudio | 0x | — |
| 6 | 3 | -3 | 55 | Curtis J Matthews | 36x | — |
| 7 | 9 | +2 | 11 | Will F Bailey | 16x | — |
| 8 | 2 | -6 | 89 | Bradley Tidwell | 22x | — |
| 9 | 7 | -2 | 43 | John Gardner Sr | 12x | — |
| 10 | 11 | +1 | 17 | Alan Purser | 12x | — |
| 11 | 12 | +1 | 3 | Jonathan Williams | 4x | — |
| 12 | 6 | -6 | 9 | Brandon N Berg | 0x | — |
| 13 | 13 | 0 | 816 | Hays Boughan | 0x | — |
| 14 | 14 | 0 | 12 | Scotty Larson | 0x | — |
