Steve Streimer Takes Nissan 370Z to Touring Car Victory Sunday at VIR in Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of Virginia

ALTON, Va. – Following a 2nd place finish in yesterday's Round 3 Touring Car 40-minute sprint race, Steve Streimer of Portland, Ore., had a sensational race Sunday at VIRginia International Raceway where he held back the challenges of Jeff Ricca and Karl Wittmer to capture the Round 4 TC race in the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of Virginia presented by Audi Sport.

Streimer took the No. 23 TechSport Racing Nissan 370Z TC Spec car to the front in a duel with fellow Nissan racer Vesko Kozarov in the No. 3 Rearden Racing Nissan 370Z TC Spec and Saturday TC race winner Johan Schwartz in the No. 80 Rooster Hall Racing/West Virginia University BMW M235iR.

However, both Kozarov and Schwartz had off track excursions during the 40-minute race and Streimer held his advantage throughout the 20-lap contest.

With Streimer up front, both Ricca, in the No. 78 GenRacer Genesis Coupe, and Wittmer, in the No. 91 Classic BMW BMW M235iR, moved into contention late in the event. Streimer held off both drivers in the final three laps.

At the checkered flag, Streimer nipped Ricca by 0.384 seconds for an average speed of 94.76 miles per hour to make it two TechSport Racing wins on Sunday at VIR after Eric Powell won the TCA division in the morning.

Rounding out the top-five in the Touring Car Round 4 was Matt Travis in the No. 26 Classic BMW BMW M235iR and Kozarov in the No. 3 Nissan 370Z TC Spec.

“It was a great race for me today,” said Streimer. “I got together with Vesko early in the race and that knocked my car out of alignment. I was able to make a late-braking move on Johan and later Vesko to get the lead. I was basically trying to stay on the track and hit my marks. I was not wanting to open the door for Jeff at the end. Honestly, I was thinking how many minutes are left in this race. I thought Jeff was going to get by me a on the back straight. He was coming on strong with the draft and got along side a couple times, but I was able to hold him off. I can’t say enough for Kevin Anderson and Deb Popolizio and their TechSport team. This is only the second weekend we have run the Nissan and it was fast.”

“I used up a lot of tires trying to get close to Steve today,” said Ricca. “I wanted to try the over/under move on Steve in a couple of corners, but I just couldn’t get next to him. My car was spot on today and I thought I could get a run on Steve on the long straight. Then outbrake him. The track was slipperier than Saturday and I was better on managing my tires today. I loved battling with Steve today and we put on a good show for the fans. Early on in the race, I played it easy. It was pretty rough with the leaders early. I want to get to the end of the race today. I was able to hold off Karl in the esses for second.”

“Seems like every TC has some great racing and always some bumping and solving,” said Wittmer, who scored two third places finishes this weekend. “I need to thank Fast Track Racing and Classic BMW for giving me a great car again. I just needed to execute. Finding an opening at this track is difficult. I kept looking for a spot, but I couldn’t find it. So, I just looked at the big picture and got my points. Two podium finishes is a good showing for us here.”

The VIR TC Rounds 3 and 4 will be aired on CBS Sport Network on Sunday, May 13, at 2 p.m. EDT.