Yelloly on the hunt to end another IMSA streak Saturday in Detroit

Now that Acura Meyer Shank Racing's Nick Yelloly broke one long IMSA streak by taking the pole position in Detroit on Friday, he's looking to end another on Saturday.

"Yes," the Englishman said confidently when asked about the possibility of ending Porsche Penske Motorsport's unbeaten run in 2025 after snapping a run of four straight poles for BMW and driver Dries Vanthoor.

Meyer Shank's hotshoe said he was a big fan of street circuits leading into this weekend's race around the Detroit Renaissance Center, but now the affinity is "a bit more" after getting his first career IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole position.

"It's the best place to start, definitely, on any street circuit," Yelloly said. "Having been on pole, actually, at a few street circuits, it usually makes your life quite a bit easier. I obviously know this circuit from last year already, and we were pretty fast last year already as a combination (with BMW M Team RLL). I felt very good in the race last year, but now, back with Acura and Meyer Shank, I'm super happy to get my first pole in IMSA."

The pole run was the first for Meyer Shank Racing since the 2023 round at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, the first since the team returned from its 2024 sabbatical, and the first for the new #93 team, which is engineered by Honda Racing Corporation US.

With MSR's No. 60 ARX-06 of Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun qualifying second, it makes for an all-Acura front row – the first time the Shank team had locked out an overall front row in IMSA since the 2008 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Yelloly and van der Zande have been together for some time, making this pole that much sweeter. Jake Galstad/IMSA

"We've been working so hard to make sure we get everything right," Yelloly says of the No. 93 squad. "Chipping away, week after week. I mean, the program is so new; we all got together in November only last year, and I think we go from strength to strength every weekend, and we're just getting better and better. It's a sign of things to come.

"I think it's an amazing achievement. Obviously, [HRC has] been in motorsport beforehand, but never actually ran a car specifically that is theirs and controlled by them. We share everything across both cars, and we work together as a two-car team. I'm super happy for all the guys and girls over on the HRC side and the Meyer Shank side. They've been working their little tails off for a long time, with some results that really haven't gone our way.

"Now, to give them our, let's say, first little high point is very, very nice," he affirmed.

To defeat his former team in qualifying, Yelloly grabbed provisional pole and continued to improve, lap after lap, all the way to the end of the 15-minute GTP qualifying session. He also had the usual close calls with the barriers that comes with the territory of street circuits, and was disrupted slightly by Aston Martin's Roman de Angelis going off an escape road and reversing back onto the course.

"I knew I'd done a relatively good lap already," Yelloly recalled, "I can't remember if it was the Aston or a BMW that went long in turn one. We did a cool-down lap and I knew I had two laps to go at the end. ... I put it all on the line and rubbed the wall a few times, but it was just enough to get that pole. it's great to have the one-two. Tom's a great driver, and when we qualify, we're usually very close. This time, it was my time, but I'm glad to be sharing the front row with him."

Meyer Shank Racing's pole at the course formerly known as Mosport two years ago was also the last time in GTP that the pole-winning car went on to win the race. Even last year, Wayne Taylor Racing's Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque started fourth on their way to a win.

At Detroit, a course where on-track overtaking is expected to come at a premium unless drivers are ready to take big risks, pit strategy could be as one-dimensional as it was in the series' last street race in Long Beach.

"I would say it depends on where you are after the time where you can fuel," Yelloly pondered. "If there's a yellow at the wrong time and you want to put on some tires and maybe rush through, there is a possibility to do so, but I think it's going to be quite important to try and get a bit of a gap, whether that's with the traffic or just on pace, and make sure you nail the driver change and then see from there.

"The people starting further back will maybe roll the dice more than the people at the front, with track position at such a premium."

Depending on what risks Porsche is willing to take from the third row of the grid, they can't be counted out, but at the moment, Acura Meyer Shank Racing is best-positioned to put a new manufacturer in the win column before Le Mans.