Brad Gross, of Grapevine, Texas, won a closely-contested battle for the Mid-States Conference in GT-2. In only his second season of racing, Gross methodically worked his way toward the front of the field throughout the year. That culminated in a win at High Plains Raceway in his final outing of the season.

“It is absolutely fantastic!” Gross said. “This is my second year of SCCA competition. I only ran 3 races the first year, including the race during SCCA Competition School. Things really clicked this year as I improved driving and No. 13 never failed me! I can only hope to defend it next year!”

Gross said he did have some struggles to overcome, but that the enjoyment of being at the track far outweighed any of it.

“The most difficult part of the season was waiting for the next race!” Gross said. “Seriously though, the season was made difficult by all of the international business travel along with long domestic trips. Racing has been our getaway from reality. Our only vacations this year have been ‘race-cations’ and we have thoroughly enjoyed them. It has brought my wife, who doubles as my crew chief, and me closer together, and that’s hard to put a price on!

“Everything came together this year. I learned an important lesson, to finish first you must first finish. So true. Sometimes the better part of valor is to back off and let the equipment have a chance to breathe.”

Gross pointed out two important moments throughout the season – one at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit and the other at High Plains.

“The Saturday Hallett ‘Torrential Downpour Race in a stock car with no wipers/defoggers’ was a gut-check,” Gross said. “I was very uncomfortable doing it, but I knew that I had to do well there to get ahead in the points. It wasn’t so much of a race of technique as it was a survival test of keeping the car on track and not doing anything unwise. We ended up with a podium, third place, which was a huge boost!

“Then, winning at High Plains Raceway was the turning point, giving me enough points to put me in the lead for the championship.”

Gross made sure to call out those people that made his year so successful and fun.

“The first person I have to thank is Dani, my wife/crew chief,” Gross said. “This was her first year to do this. She put the headset on and has been a big part of my success!

“Also, thanks to Pinnacle Autosports, and Gregg Rodgers, for the fantastic prep work they performed on the car before every race. Without this prep, my wife and I would not have been able to crew by ourselves. Last, but not least, thank you to my parents for their support and my father-in-law for coming to all my races and cheering me on.”