The final race of the Mustang Challenge North America weekend at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) proved to be an eventful one, with Will Lucas, driving the No. 34 Wheelhouse Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse R, claiming victory in the Dark Horse (DH) class, while Oleg Gorshkov completed a weekend sweep in the DHL class aboard his No. 70 Round 3 Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R.
On the opening lap, DHL championship leader Tom Tait, driving the No. 8 Wheelhouse Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse R, endured an early setback when he spun and went off into the grass, dropping toward the tail end of the class field.
In the DH class, the battle for the lead continued into the weekend finale between Cole Loftsgard in the No. 42 Round 3 Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R and Devin Anderson in the No. 22 TechSport Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R, with Anderson once again applying pressure to Loftsgard for the top spot.
Ten minutes into the race, Anderson made contact with the rear of Loftsgard entering Turn 1, sending Loftsgard into the grass and allowing Anderson to assume the provisional lead. However, Anderson was subsequently handed a drive-through penalty for the contact, giving the lead to Sandy Satullo.
Shortly after the Loftsgard-Anderson battle came to a head, a new fight for the lead emerged between Wheelhouse Motorsports teammates Satullo, driving the No. 7 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R, and Lucas.
Ultimately, Lucas gained the upper hand on Satullo with less than 30 minutes remaining, taking control of the DH class.
While Lucas continued to hold off Satullo, the battle for the DHL lead began to intensify. With more than 20 minutes remaining, Chris Clarke in the No. 9 Paley Motorsport with AAG Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R led a trio of challengers that included Nicholas Smither in his self-owned No. 58 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R, Saturday’s race winner Gorshkov and Tait.
During that stretch, DHL entrant Paolo Salvatorre, driving the No. 84 Torre Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R, made contact with the tire barrier at Turn 12 but continued on. Tait also went off track at Turn 1 as he continued his charge back toward the front of the field.
As the clock approached the 20-minute mark, Loftsgard clawed his way back into the podium fight, passing Ethan Low in the No. 25 Flying Lion Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse R for third. Anderson, meanwhile, remained in fifth following his earlier contact with Loftsgard.
With just over 15 minutes remaining, Gorshkov worked his way past Clarke to take the DHL class lead. Tait went off track at Turn 1 once again, capping a difficult race for the DHL championship leader.
Inside the final five minutes, the DHL podium reshuffled once again when Clarke went off at Turn 10, bringing out the race’s only full-course yellow.
When the checkered flag fell, Lucas secured the DH victory, while Gorshkov completed his dominant weekend with another DHL class win.
Lucas was joined on the DH podium by Satullo in second, who mounted a strong challenge after initially losing the lead, and championship leader Loftsgard in third. Loftsgard was able to regroup following his earlier incident with Anderson and recover a podium finish.
In DHL, Smither earned second following a wild finish to the weekend, while Salvatorre rebounded from his earlier Turn 12 incident to claim third.
“It’s pretty crazy that things came full circle like this,” said Lucas, the DH class winner. “It’s a good story to get my first Mustang Challenge win where I won my Mustang Cup [USA] championships. I feel like I had the pace to run at the front all weekend, and I was able to put it all together today. [Sandy] Satullo was really putting the pressure on me for the last 35 minutes of the race, but I was able to keep him behind me.”
“It feels really good to sweep the weekend,” said Gorshkov, the DHL class winner. “Today I was able to get the win by staying consistent and taking advantage when the guys in front of me made mistakes. A big thank you to Round 3 Racing; they prepped me an amazing Mustang Dark Horse R.”
Exiting VIR, Loftsgard retains his championship lead in the DH category over Anderson. In DHL, Tait continues to hold the championship lead over Clarke.
The final race weekend of the 2026 Mustang Challenge North America season will take place at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Sept. 4-6, supporting the FIA World Endurance Championship’s six-hour Lone Star Le Mans.
