Tyler Maxson Leads Elantra N TCR Front Row

Bryan Herta Autosport

IMPC Round 1: Daytona International Speedway

Qualifying

Tyler Maxson is 17 years of age, he’s a two-time sports car champion and after his stellar performance today in changing and challenging conditions, he’s a two-time pole winner in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

Intermittent rain made the tire choice tricky for the 15-minute session. Maxson and the #77 Hyundai Elantra N TCR crew opted to go with “slicks,” and it was the right call, Maxson was quickest and will start first in his debut with Bryan Herta Autosport. The Elantra is a new car for Maxson and his co-driver Mason Filippi, they both previously competed in Hyundai Veloster N TCR.

AJ Muss scored the best qualifying result of his TCR career, he will start second in the #2 Elantra N TCR, making it an all-Elantra N TCR front row for the second time ever. Muss is also making his debut with Bryan Herta Autosport. Muss and his teammate, Ryan Norman, the 2020 TCR co-champion will roll off the grid on the inside of the front row.

Three days ago, polesitter Tyler Maxson and his teammate Mason Filippi were not sure they would have their #77 Elantra N TCR to drive in tomorrow’s season opener. The team was still awaiting the delivery of both the #77 Elantra N TCR and the #98 Elantra N TCR. The cars were due to arrive the first week of January but were held up in shipping. Fortunately, Maxson and Filippi, along the drivers of the #98 car, Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker were able to jump in the other BHA entries during the Roar to get acquainted with the Elantra N TCR. Just in the nick of time, the cars arrived in Daytona mid-day on Tuesday and the BHA crew quickly and successfully went to work to transform them into top row qualifiers.

BHA RESULTS:

P. 1 #77 Elantra N TCR Maxson/Filippi

P. 2 #2 Elantra N TCR Muss/Norman

P. 6 #98 Elantra N TCR Gottsacker/Chase

P. 7 #33 Elantra N TCR Wickens/Wilkins

P. 11 #1 Elantra N TCR Hagler/Lewis

P. 14 #54 Universal Coating Elantra N TCR Johnson/Simpson

Tyler Maxson: “These guys did an awesome job getting this car ready for this weekend. All credit goes to the BHA boys, they gave me a very, very fast Hyundai Elantra N TCR. It was a little bit tricky out there as the track was drying slowly, but nothing we couldn’t handle. It’s a long race, and starting on pole will be great, I plan to keep it clean and hand a strong car over to Mason (Filippi).” AJ Muss: “My engineers made a call to run slicks. I wasn’t so sure, but I trust this great team, they know what they are doing, and I put my trust in my team. It was the right call, my Hyundai Elantra N TCR car was on rails, and we locked out the front row. Luckily, we get to control the pace of the start of the race, and I can’t thank the team enough.”