Schmied and Geraci Battle Through Challenging Indianapolis Finale

The final round of the 2026 Pirelli GT4 America series took place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, with a bumper 35-car field including 13 entries in the Am class.

Kenny Schmied and Anthony Geraci arrived at the iconic Brickyard hoping to end their partial-season campaign on a high in the #72 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2. However, an intermittent electrical issue would turn the weekend into a major challenge for both the drivers and the team.

With two test sessions scheduled for Wednesday, followed by free practice on Thursday and Friday, the pairing were aiming to build momentum ahead of qualifying. Unfortunately, the electrical fault first appeared on the opening day of testing. The RAFA Racing crew worked through a number of component changes over the following three days, but the problem continued to prove difficult to trace.

Hoping the issue had finally been resolved, Geraci took to the track for qualifying for Race 1. However, the car shut down again on his out lap, leaving him stranded and unable to set a representative time. With the second qualifying session scheduled immediately afterwards, there was no opportunity to repair the car in time for Schmied to qualify for Race 2.

A stroke of luck followed when a failure in the timing system meant that Race 2 grid positions would be determined using times from Free Practice 2. This placed Schmied third in class, giving the team a valuable opportunity to fight for a strong result despite the ongoing problems.

The crew worked tirelessly overnight in an attempt to identify and resolve the fault. With the car ready for Race 1, Geraci lined up at the back of the field in P34. After two trouble-free formation laps, hopes were high that the issue had been fixed. Geraci made a strong start when the green flag waved, gaining positions during the opening lap, but the electrical problem returned, forcing him to pit and retire the car.

It was another long night for the RAFA Racing team, but their persistence finally paid off as the source of the intermittent fault was identified and resolved ahead of the final race of the season.

Schmied lined up third in class for Race 2 on a drying track, with the field starting on slick tyres. He made an excellent getaway, moving into second place at Turn 1 as the leading group battled for grip in the tricky conditions. Contact among the front-runners brought out a full-course yellow while the stranded cars were recovered.

Racing resumed on Lap 4, with the track drying rapidly. Schmied immediately found himself nose-to-tail with the class leader as part of a six-car train fighting for the top positions. The intense battle continued until Lap 9, when he was shuffled back to third.

The pit window opened on Lap 14, with the team opting to keep Schmied on track for as long as possible. He eventually pitted on Lap 18 to hand over to Geraci. Once the pit-stop cycle had been completed, the #72 Toyota had moved into second place and was firmly in contention in a four-car battle for the lead.

Geraci continued to push and produced an excellent move on Lap 24 to take the lead, only to be passed again the following lap. As his tyres began to lose performance, the fight intensified and he dropped to third on Lap 27. A three-car battle for the final podium positions developed over the closing laps, with Geraci eventually crossing the line in fifth place in class.

Although the electrical issues prevented the team from achieving the result they had hoped for, the final race demonstrated the pace and potential of the #72 Toyota when the car was running reliably. The recovery from a frustrating opening race, following days of persistent work by the RAFA Racing crew, provided a hard-fought conclusion to the 2026 campaign.