After 12 races and six weekends of racing from February to September, Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama celebrated its 2026 champions – and its fifth season of competition – on Sunday evening after the finale at Laguna Seca.
Four title-winners were recognized among the GT3 Cup Pro-Am and Masters classes, plus the same categories for the Cayman class, all of whom dedicated year-long efforts that led to success.
Ely’s GT3 Cup landslide and Hankins’ narrow triumph.
Laura Ely ran light-years ahead of her GT3 Cup Masters competitors, winning the class championship by more than 200 points. Adding another season-long trophy to her collection – she was a Sprint Challenge USA West title-winner in 2022 – Ely won three of the final four races with Black Sheep Racing to secure the top spot.
Combined with three victories earlier in the year, Ely’s season-ending total of 574 points made her the highest-scoring driver since Sprint Challenge USA West’s inception in 2022.
“Part of this is competitive and part of this is to have fun. We have a great group of people, our logo and everything,” said Ely, who doubles as the Black Sheep Racing Team Principal and aims to continue building the brand in the coming years.
“At the beginning of the season, I only planned on running three events. I figured out a way to budget the whole year except for COTA. It’s been a great season, and I’ve had a lot of fun over the years.”
The GT3 Cup Pro-Am championship produced a much tighter contest, with Brannan Hankins prevailing by just 15 points. Hankins, who also received the GT3 Cup Yokohama Apex’n Award on Sunday evening, won eight of the nine races he contested with Loftus Motorsports.
It marked a significant improvement from 2025, when Hankins finished runner-up by an even narrower margin – 12 points – after recording one victory across 12 starts.
Hankins’ Porsche single-make journey hasn’t stopped at Sprint Challenge USA West. He is expected to complete the Porsche Endurance Cup North America season at Road Atlanta from September 11–13. After three of four rounds, Hankins and co-driver Andy Lee sit second in the GT3 Cup Pro-Am championship.
Marc Crigler finished second to Hankins in the USA West standings, with Crigler Sport LLC ending its season on a high note by claiming two victories during the Laguna Seca finale.
Bradford unanimous Cayman Pro-Am champion, Lewis nips Herback in Masters.
Zach Bradford’s journey in the Cayman Pro-Am class mirrored that of Ely, winning top honors by more than 300 points. While Bradford was the lone season-long entry in the class with ZRB Motorsports, he faced a handful of one-off entries and challenged competitors in the remaining three classes.
He particularly credited the Masters class drivers during his award acceptance as he learned from them throughout the season.
In total, Bradford logged eight wins in 2026.
“We’ve done a lot of racing this year, and this has been an amazing platform to do that. I’ve really enjoyed it,” said Bradford.
“We are not good out of the gate, but it’s about how quickly can we learn? How quickly can we put it together? And this has been an amazing year, I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Regarding the Masters class, the point deficit was significantly less between rookie Justin Lewis and Greg Herback. The pair traded wins throughout the season in their respective Lewis Racing and Tatum Racing Porsches, but the advantage went to eventual championship winner Lewis.
“Winning is great, but the competition, the camaraderie, I think y’all are my people,” said Lewis, who also took home the Yokohama Apex’n Award for Cayman drivers. “I like people who are passionate about doing things. So showing up, battling people, wanting to put it out there and do your best, it feels really good.
“The one thing I learned about car racing this year across endurance racing and this – in any race, you’re never out of the game. Anything can happen, you’ve just got to operate with that belief that you can win. If you do, good things can happen.”
Lewis had four wins to his name by the year’s end compared to Herback’s eight, but a missed race earlier in the season for Herback would prove costly in the points. It’s the second consecutive year that Herback has finished runner-up for the title.
Calendar closes for Sprint Challenge, Endurance Challenge North America this weekend.
While the Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West season has reached its end, its sister Sprint Challenge North America series does the same this upcoming weekend at Road Atlanta. Porsche Endurance Challenge North America by Yokohama will also run at the event to cap off its fourth and final event of 2026.
Results.
Race 1
GT3 Cup Pro-Am
- Mark Crigler, #204
GT3 Cup Masters
- Laura Ely, #209
Cayman Pro-Am
- Zach Bradford, #14
Cayman Masters
- Greg Herback, #49
- Justin Lewis, #75
Race 2
GT3 Cup Pro-Am
- Mark Crigler, #204
GT3 Cup Masters
- Laura Ely, #209
Cayman Pro-Am
- Zach Bradford, #14
Cayman Masters
- Justin Lewis, #75
- Greg Herback, #49
