Ask Mike Shank how the 2025 IMSA GTP campaign has gone and he will give you a modest answer. “It was a very good year for the first year back…but we have a lot more room to be better.” But the Meyer Shank Racing co-owner reiterates they are on target for the 2025 season. “This was our #1 goal going all the way back to Daytona…was to win this manufacturers championship.” Going into today’s Motul Petit Le Mans, Acura is level on points with Porsche after a blistering lap from Tom Blomqvist for pole on Friday.

Slow Start…

It is amazing to believe there is even a manufacturers championship considering how the season started. “We had to fight our way back these last 4-5 races”, Shank told me Saturday morning in the paddock. Acura was not as much behind the eight ball as Porsche was just that far ahead.Meyer Shank was 2nd at Daytona and 3rd at Sebring. The only problem is Porsche won both of those races and the next two after that. Acura left the fourth race at Laguna Seca 202 points behind Porsche.

…then cue The Comeback

The turning point for Acura was their win in Detroit. Renger van der Zande muscled around Ricky Taylor in the Cadillac to score the team’s first GTP since (ironically) Petit Le Mans in 2023 when they left for a year. The momentum stayed at Watkins Glen as Tom Blomqvist managed his energy to perfection to score Acura’s second win on the bounce.

As Acura continued to score podiums, Porsche struggled to keep up during the second half of the season. Bit by bit, Acura chipped away at Porsche’s lead. With their 3rd place finish at Indianapolis by the #60 crew, the margin was down to just 7 points. With Acura’s pole and Felipe Nasr only grabbing 4th as the best Porsche, that is how we got here tied going into race day.

All Coming Together

Meyer Shank is a dangerous team because they are in the right place. But don’t take my word for it. “It took us a while to get our mojo and we have it now”, Shank says of his two-car team. Additionally, Meyer Shank just seems to love endurance races. They have had at least one car on the podium in each of the four enduros so far this season. Shank owes that to the team, “our people are very experienced…and just tuned in to strategy for big races like this.” As for today, with the size of the field and nature of Road Atlanta, Mike prefers a simple strategy. “Stay clean and follow each other for the first 8 hours…and then fight for the last 2.”

Hopefully, they will be in position come nightfall to bring their season-long mission full circle. And thanks to Friday, the mission is even simpler. Just beat Porsche. Unfortunately, this is racing and that is easier said than done.

Stay tuned to GT REPORT for more Raceday coverage from Petit Le Mans.