It’s been an up-and-down season for the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT race teams, but good fortune was with the Ford teams at Road America in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Not only did the Mustang GT4 triumph in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS class, but the #67 Ford GT piloted by Joey Hand and Dirk Müller also qualified in the top spot and won the race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM class.

“Starting from pole and really being able to manage this race is what you need to do,” Joey said. “GTLM is a tough category. There are a bunch of good drivers, a bunch of good cars and teams, so you, if you can, want to stay out front. You don’t want to get stuck in the back. That’s what we did, until that one restart. I was shuffled a little bit and got into a dogfight, ended up in the grass, but caught that quick yellow again and I was able to capitalize on it and get back out front. This is a good one for us. We had a few bad races and we’re coming up to the last run to the championship, so this is just what we needed.”

It came down to a duel between the eventual winner and the #912 Porsche in the waning laps of the 2-hour, 40-minute race.

“You never really know what to expect during this race but we had a nice, clean start and that gave me some room,” Dirk added. “I probably walked five miles the last hour. I couldn’t watch it. It was so nail-biting, with all the yellows at the end, but thanks Joey. It was a helluva job there. It’s a good points day for the No. 66 but it’s a good points day for Ford CGR. I’m really delighted and happy to be here.”

The Ford GT teams will return to racing action looking to ride this momentum at Virginia International Raceway on August 25.