GRIDLIFE’s 2026 season comes to a close at Laguna Seca

GRIDLIFE’s cross-country tour came to a close at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, wrapping up six rounds of competition at some of North America’s most notable circuits.

Packed grids in Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup and the GRIDLIFE RUSH Series delivered close racing, while competitive fields in GRIDLIFE GT and TrackBattle Time Attack capped off another busy year. GRIDLIFE Drift added to the weekend with a field of nearly 60 drivers.

With most of the season’s championships already decided, Laguna Seca offered one last chance for drivers to put down records, settle unfinished business, and close out the year on track.

Mersberger caps off RUSH Championship as the series bids farewell

Bryce Mersberger, driver of the No.114 RUSH SR, capped off his championship-winning season with two more victories at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, defeating James French in races one and three. The RUSH Series field featured many of the familiar names from throughout the season, including French, Blair Hosie, Jaylan Battley, and Ryerson Whissell, with 50 entrants registered for the finale.

The first race ended under yellow after two brief full-course cautions. Race two brought a little more drama: A car stopped near the finish line prompted a late-race restart, but a flagging error delayed the green flag for the front of the field. Officials reset the running order to its pre-yellow position, and Hosie emerged with the win over French’s No.191.

Mersberger returned to the top step in race three, while reigning champion Ryan Leach worked his way into the top five with a fourth-place finish. Shea Weston also earned points on his RUSH Series debut, finishing ninth in the competitive field.

French broke through for his third win of the season in the final race, adding Laguna Seca to his earlier victories at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and GingerMan Raceway. With three second-place finishes and a win, French took the weekend honors over Hosie after Mersberger dropped out of the points in the final race.

That result did little to diminish Mersberger’s season. His 12 wins in 23 starts, 17 podiums, and average finish of 4.3 made for a campaign nearly as dominant as Ryan Leach’s in 2025. Hosie and French rounded out the season championship podium behind Mersberger.

The Laguna finale also marked the end of the GRIDLIFE RUSH Series. After three seasons of competition in the GRIDLIFE paddock, RUSH Auto Works will head to Racing America for 2027.

Rosenberg clinches GRIDLIFE GT Championship with Laguna sweep

If you ask Matan Rosenberg how the racing went at Laguna Seca, he might not have much to say about the action behind him. Rosenberg swept the weekend in his Vibrant Performance/Eibach Corvette, taking pole position and winning all four races to score 103 points.

Collin King followed him across the line in second in all four races, while Anthony Scafuto and Ed Fardos traded third-place finishes. The 12-car field included familiar faces alongside several new entries, including John Pearson’s gold-and-black C6 Corvette and Christian Okpysh’s E90 BMW.

There was plenty of action further back, too. Justin Low, Stefan Tomalik, Nicholas Padron, Jon Vo and Tom Tang – sharing a Lotus Elise – and Josh Flure made for a competitive midfield throughout the weekend.

Rosenberg’s Laguna performance capped a closely contested season against Christian Aranha, who scored five wins at Carolina Motorsports Park, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, and Watkins Glen. James Houghton, AJ Hartman, and Allen Patten also earned victories during the year, bringing the season total to five different winners.

With the championship on the line heading into the finale, Rosenberg’s perfect weekend secured the GRIDLIFE GT title. Aranha, who did not make the trip to California, finished the season as runner-up.

TrackBattle closes the year with new records and close podium sprints

Most TrackBattle championships had been decided before Laguna Seca, but there was still plenty to race for. Several classes saw records fall, and the final Podium Sprints of the season provided a few close finishes.

Falken Club SC

Mike Janssen closed out his second consecutive championship in Falken Club SC with another record-setting performance. The driver of the No.156 Honda Civic reset the class record to 1m48.453s, then won Podium Sprint by 0.4s to claim his fifth victory of 2026.

David Best, who entered the event late, finished third behind Sam Deuling, with both drivers piloting Honda Fits. West Coast Club SC regular Taylour Wargo rounded out the Podium Sprint field in fourth.

Falken Club TR

Falken Club TR came down to another battle between Peter Granberg and Jerami Bailey, both driving Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S chassis. Granberg had already secured the championship on a tiebreaker, but Bailey still had plenty to fight for in his No.13 FR-S against Granberg’s K-Power No.511.

Granberg led early in the weekend, but ABS issues and an incident at Turn 6 gave Bailey an opportunity to close the gap. Bailey made the most of it, setting a new rear-wheel-drive class record of 1m37.031s in Sunday morning’s final qualifying heat.

With his car repaired and ready for Podium Sprint, Granberg answered back in the final head-to-head battle of the year, posting a 1m38.426s to Bailey’s 1m39.561s. Jared Ramirez was close behind in his Toyota GR86, also recording a 1m39.561s. Jason Mulderig, driving a Honda S2000, was the only other entrant in the class, finishing fourth with a 1:40.693.

Street

Street had a smaller field at Laguna Seca, with Willem Drees and Luke Lederman setting the pace in a Hyundai Elantra N and Porsche 718 Cayman, respectively.

Michael Callaway, who had earned podiums earlier in the season, blew an engine early in the weekend. With help from his team and the Laguna Seca track worker crew (and a forklift) he managed to swap in a replacement. The new engine was unboosted and unmodified, leaving Callaway roughly 100 horsepower down from his usual setup.

He still qualified for Podium Sprint alongside Lederman, Drees, Izak Ambrose in another Subaru, and Benjamin Smolen in a Volkswagen Golf R, who narrowly edged out Rafael Guerrero for the final spot.

Lederman took the Podium Sprint win by just 0.3s, recording a 1m39.061s to Drees’ 1m39.374s. Both drivers reset drivetrain class records: Lederman in Podium Sprint, and Drees with a 1:37.906 in Saturday morning’s fourth heat.

Callaway’s recovery earned him third in Podium Sprint and vaulted him to third in the championship standings at the last possible moment. He finished behind Drees and champion Josh Halka, who had locked up the title at Watkins Glen in July during a dominant four-event winning streak.

Street GT

Street GT’s Podium Sprint came down to a similarly close finish. Alex Tanaka took the win in his No.918 Toyota GR Supra with a 1m36.074s, just ahead of Alex Bernstein’s No.92 Corvette at 1m36.301s. Felix Huang finished third in his No.82 Corvette Z06, only 0.053s behind Bernstein.

Kai Anderson and Yunni Zhai completed the top five. Street GT was the only TrackBattle class that saw no records fall during 2026. The RWD record remains Andy Voelkel’s 1m33.239s from 2024, while Craig Coker’s 1m35.537s from the same year still stands in AWD. 

Street Mod

Isaac Torres led Street Mod throughout the weekend, setting a new class record of 1m29.361s in Saturday’s fourth heat before winning Podium Sprint with a 1m30.529s. He finished 0.7s ahead of SoCal Driver’s Club teammates Jake Breeden, Sky Chan, and Charles Kuhnau.

The SoCal Driver’s Club contingent made up much of the front-running group, with GR Supras and a BMW M4 Coupe among the cars at the sharp end. Mike Reyes, who had qualified fourth in another GR Supra, was forced to retire from Podium Sprint with a mechanical issue. Dewey DeWitt, who had originally planned to run the finale, had plans change last minute. Despite the withdrawn entry, Dewey had handily won the 2026 championship, his third in GRIDLIFE competition. He remains one of the most dominant drivers in GRIDLIFE TrackBattle history.

Track Mod

Track Mod was hotly contested at Laguna Seca in 2025, but Bailey Woods left little doubt this time around. Woods smashed the previous class record by three tenths, setting a 1m26.031s on Sunday morning, then dominated Podium Sprint by nearly 7s.

George Zhao’s Audi R8, Nick Buchanan’s Mazda MX-5 Miata, and Herrick Huang’s Porsche 911 GT3 followed Woods across the line. Woods’ four-cylinder, B48-powered M3 Coupe continues to punch well above its weight, and the Laguna victory marked his second consecutive Track Mod win at the circuit. This year’s margin was a far cry from the 0.006s finish that decided the class in 2025. Though he wasn’t present, Adam Slowinski won the Track Mod championship after Lime Rock Park and turns his focus to 2027.

Unlimited

Unlimited brought a distinctive mix of machinery to Laguna Seca, with Mike Dusold’s 1967 Camaro facing off against Lief Storer’s 900-horsepower Nissan GT-R, a BBi Autosport-prepared Porsche 993 driven by Tanner Foust, Betim Berisha in a 911 GT3 Cup, and Tony Szirka in a Mitsubishi Evo.

Dusold set the early benchmark with a 1m24.460s, but Foust made an impression of his own, posting a 1m26.699s in the relatively understated Porsche. The BBi Autosport car has years of development behind it, even if it looks a little more subdued next to Dusold’s uncompromising Camaro.

After suffering a high-speed tire failure midweekend, Dusold rebounded to win Podium Sprint by two seconds over Storer’s GT-R. Storer narrowly beat Foust for second in class, while Szirka and Berisha followed in the 1m27s range. Dusold’s win solidified his 2026 GRIDLIFE Unlimited class championship.

GLTC Ends the Season With a 36-Car Finale

Thirty-six cars entered the final Eibach GRIDLIFE Touring Cup weekend of the year, the largest GLTC field ever at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. ASM’s Andy Smedegard and Matt Waldbaum joined season runner-up Eric Kutil, while local competitors from Edge Motorworks arrived ready to take on the regulars.

The locals made their presence felt in qualifying, with Tony Rodriguez taking pole over Kutil and Waldbaum. Rodriguez carried that pace into the weekend, winning the first three races with little challenge from behind. Kutil finished second in races one and two, while Smedegard took second in race three.

The biggest incident of the weekend came at the Andretti Hairpin, where Matthew Ibrahim and Kutil collided. Both drivers received penalties. Following an earlier incident at Watkins Glen, Ibrahim was required to start race four from the pits, but worked his way back to 18th by the finish.

Kutil recovered to fourth in the final race, earning enough points to finish third overall for the weekend. Waldbaum took second, putting together finishes of third, third, fourth, and a win in the finale. The victory was his first since GRIDLIFE Laguna in 2023, ending a 17-event winless streak. Despite that stretch, Waldbaum had finished no worse than sixth in the championship standings in each intervening season.

The season title, meanwhile, belonged to Eric Magnussen in the No.3 BMW M3. Magnussen clinched the championship after the final race at Lime Rock Park in August, bringing another closely contested GLTC season to a close.

That’s a Wrap on 2026

With the racing season in the rearview mirror, drivers can turn their attention to cleaning up, modifying, and preparing their cars for next year. GRIDLIFE’s schedule announcement is just around the corner, and rules adjustments are already in the works, so there’s plenty to look forward to in the paddock over the off-season.

For now, fans can revisit the entire 2026 season for free on YouTube or through the RACER app. Thanks to everyone who joined us at the track, watched from home, and helped make another year of GRIDLIFE possible. We’ll see you in 2027.