Heartbreak for AE Victory Racing After Dominating Run at Daytona

Shift Up Now Athletes Alana Carter, Sarah Montgomery and Laura Hayes, together with teammate Charlotte Traynor, put on a dominant performance that ended in disappointment during the fifth event of the World Racing League (WRL) season at Daytona International Speedway on June 5-7, 2025.

Driving the No. 119 Shift Up Now by AE Victory Racing (AEVR) Toyota Supra GT4, the driver lineup looked a bit different for the weekend after team founders Vogel and Aaron Snair announced that they’re expecting a baby in December. As a result, Vogel has opted to step back from driving for the remainder of the 2025 racing season.

The team then temporarily enlisted the help of fellow Shift Up Now Athlete Hayes and rookie Traynor. Hayes made history in 2024 as the fastest woman ever on Pikes Peak and had previously driven with AEVR. Traynor, currently in her debut Mazda MX-5 Cup season, was runner-up in AEVR’s January shootout. The duo joined pro driver and coach Montgomery, and shootout winner Carter.

On Friday, the team recorded the fastest lap of the day at 2:01.040 during practice and followed it up by qualifying sixth in class for the 14-hour endurance race on the 3.56-mile, 12- turn racetrack.

The race began at 8:00am EST on Saturday. Despite unrelenting heat and the constant challenge of multi-class traffic, the AEVR team advanced into the top three and maintained position for more than half the race, setting their sights on victory.

However, disaster struck around 8:40pm EST. Hayes was yielding position on a straight when she was clipped on the left rear of the car. The contact broke the car’s axle and forced her into the pits. The AEVR got to work repairing the damage, then Traynor went out to complete the final stint. When the checkered flag flew, the team crossed the line in sixth place.

“As much of a bummer the results turned out to be this weekend, AE Victory Racing made huge strides to get closer to the top step of the podium,” said Montgomery. “It seemed to be such a great learning experience for Charlotte and Alana, and I’m honored to be one of their coaches. Laura and I go way back, and I loved having the opportunity to drive with her again. I’m very grateful to be part of an incredible movement, all while doing something that brings me joy. Big thank you to the team for their hard work and commitment, as well as my long-term partner, TeamOne Logistics.”

Team owner Vogel echoed the sentiment, adding, “I am extremely proud of the performance, dedication and focus of both our crew and drivers today. The passion and commitment shown by the team was phenomenal and everyone gave it their absolute best. I look forward to the rest of the season.”

Next up, the World Racing League heads to Georgia for the sixth round of the 2025 championship, at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on July 25-27, 2025.

Hadley, Mott and Speed Making Moves in MX-5 Cup at Mid-Ohio

Shift Up Now Athletes Heather Hadley, Sally Mott and Ashlyn Speed competed in rounds seven and eight of the 2025 Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 6-8, 2025.

Hadley piloted the No. 54 entry for Hendricks Motorsports. Mott, competing with JTR Motorsports Engineering and supported by Collision Careers, drove the No. 15 car featuring the “Iron Dames” livery. Speed, the 2025 Mazda Women’s Initiative Scholarship winner, was behind the wheel of the No. 31 entry, driving for Hendricks Motorsports and sporting Whelen livery.

The weekend began on Friday with two practice sessions on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course. Mott led the trio of Shift Up Now Athletes on the timesheets, running 16th with a time just 0.6 seconds off the session leader.

On Saturday morning during qualifying, Mott set her best time of the weekend, once again running just 0.6 seconds off the leader’s pace. This time however, it put her 20th on the starting grid for race one, among a very competitive 32-car field where the top 24 cars were within eight-tenths of a second.

Hadley was just a couple of tenths off of Mott’s pace, putting her on the outside of row 12 for the first race of the double-header weekend. Speed used the session to continue her learning curve during her rookie season in the MX-5 Cup series.

Later that day, the first 45-minute sprint race took place under clear blue skies at 3:05pm EST. The field lined up side-by-side for the unique green flag start on the back straight. After a clean start, more than half of the field formed the lead pack and ran under green-flag conditions for the first 30 minutes. Hadley, Mott and Speed were all focused on working their forward, one car at a time.

With approximately 15 minutes remaining in the race, a full-course yellow flew for a car in the barriers. The caution period was quick, and the field lined up on the front straight for the restart less than five minutes later.

Mott lost a little ground on the restart but then advanced to 19th, while Hadley moved up to 21st. When the 20-car pack in the front finally began breaking into smaller groups, Mott took over the 17th-place spot, and Hadley the 19th.

When just five minutes remained, Mott gained one additional spot and then another, putting her in the top 15. However, in a drag race to the finish line, she was just 0.01 of a second behind the 15th-place spot. Her 16th-place finish made her the top-finishing female racer.

Hadley crossed the finish line in 18th, and Speed in 26th.

Sunday morning brought the second of the two 45-minute sprint races, beginning at 10:05am EST, this time in treacherously-rainy conditions. Mott was lined up on row 10, with Hadley in the row behind and Speed on row 16.

After an additional pace lap was added due to the wet track, the field took the green flag and immediately began running two- and three-wide through turns four, five and six, and into Thunder Valley.

Coming down the short front straight for the first time under green, Mott moved to the inside to make a pass through turn one but spun at the exit. Luckily, she missed getting collected by passing cars, so she was able to get her pink car restarted. When a full-course yellow flew to clear up debris from other incidents on track, Mott cycled around and caught the back of the pack before the restart.

Hadley moved into the top 20 after a solid restart and took her place along the “snake” of cars in the lead pack.

With 30 minutes to go, another yellow emerged when Speed went into the gravel trap. Prior to the incident, she had advanced nine positions and was having one of her best runs of her rookie season.

Cleanup ate up five minutes of the clock before the green flag flew again. Hadley, still in the lead pack, had her sights set on the top 15. Meanwhile, Mott steadily began picking off her competitors from the back, one car at a time.

A third full-course yellow flew for a stranded car with 20 minutes remaining in the race. Cleanup took just three minutes before Hadley had another strong restart, now running in 13th. Mott continued her impressive comeback, already up into the top 20.

The yellow trend continued when a fourth full-course caution emerged with 10 minutes to go. The field closed up for the finale shootout, with only four minutes remaining at the green flag.

When the white flag flew, Hadley was running in 13th. Mott had gained three spots in the closing minutes to put herself in 15th. As the two approached the final corner, Mott set up a pass around the outside of Hadley through the long penultimate carousel corner, which placed her on the inside as they came to the line. Both drivers earned a top-15 finish, with Mott in 14th and Hadley just behind in 15th.

“Even though I was frustrated with the spin, it lit a fire under me,” said Mott. “I knew I had something to prove, especially at my favorite track on the MX-5 Cup calendar. I just had to stay focused, and as the car came to me throughout the remainder of the race, I found my rhythm and clawed my way back. I’m grateful that I could salvage something from it.”

Next up, the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Series heads to Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada for rounds nine and ten of the championship, at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on July 11-13, 2025.

“A Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation” presented by PenFed Credit Union and Tom Wood Porsche Returns in October 2025

The Shift Up Now Foundation is excited to announce the return of its highly-anticipated, in-person fundraising event, “A Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation” presented by PenFed Credit Union and Tom Wood Porsche on Saturday, October 25, 2025 at the Tom Wood Aviation Hangar and event space at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport in Fishers, IN.

A Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation will take place from 6:00-10:00pm EST, with a VIP cocktail hour from 6:00-7:00pm. The “blue tie” event will feature a cocktail dress code where attendees are asked to show up decked out in their favorite shades of blue, in support of the foundation.

Event participants will enjoy lounge-style seating while being treated to catering by Cunningham Restaurant Group, live music from local artist Kenna Loren and a diamond pull from Master Jewelers. In addition to a silent auction, the event will also feature live Q&A panels throughout the evening, hosted by Julia Landauer, with Shift Up Now grantees, plus the women supporting women and male allies supporting women in the sport.

The goal of the second annual “A Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation” event is to raise funding for Shift Up Now Foundation grantees for the 2026 season. Last year, the inaugural event raised more than $80,000.

These grants award opportunities to racers believed to have the talent and aptitude to succeed in motorsports, giving them access to more competitive equipment, seat time for testing and practice, and resources to help grow their careers.

“PenFed is proud to continue our partnership with Shift Up Now to support women trailblazers in motorsports,” said PenFed Credit Union President/CEO James Schenck. “Shift Up Now racers are driving the sport forward and inspiring future generations by achieving victory on and off the track.”

Shift Up Now CEO echoed this sentiment, saying, “I’m thrilled to share the details of our second-annual ‘Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation,’ and I’m delighted to welcome back PenFed Credit Union as our presenting sponsor for a second year, alongside Tom Wood Porsche, stepping into a co-presenting sponsorship role to help elevate the event for 2025.

“Our new event space at the Tom Wood Aviation Hangar is an incredible location, and I’m excited to be able to offer tickets this year for race fans and supporters to attend this gala in person. We’re looking forward to a great evening celebrating female racers, and raising the funds to continue fueling their careers in 2026.”

There are several options for fans and supporters who want to get involved.

First, sponsorship opportunities are still available for companies and brands that want to support the Shift Up Now Foundation and its mission. Please reach out via our contact form to learn more.

Second, guests can choose their ticket level for the event, starting at $150, or VIP tickets are available for $250. Tickets can be purchased online here.

Lastly, fans who are not able to attend the event but still want to participate should watch for information in the coming months about the silent auction, which will also be available online.

Double Podiums in Breakthrough Weekend for Hayes in GT4 America at Sebring

Shift Up Now Athlete Laura Hayes, along with teammate Allen Patten, earned their first podium of the 2025 season, competing for Thunder Bunny Racing (TBR) in rounds four and five of Pirelli GT4 America at Sebring International Raceway on May 16-18, 2025.

Hayes and Patten were ready for the scoresheets to finally match their performance after the results from the first two events of the season hadn’t shown what they were capable of. In the season opener at Sonoma, despite qualifying well and earning the pole position in class, they were collected in a lap-one incident that forced them to retire for the weekend.

In the second event at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), the duo once again had a great qualifying run and led the race overall. But with just 20 minutes remaining in the three-hour race, a tie rod broke on the car, taking them out of contention.

Now ready to take on Sebring for the third event of the season, Hayes and Patten had two practices on Friday to dial in the No. 606 Oore Jewelry Toyota Supra GT4. Both drivers took stints behind the wheel to prepare for qualifying the next day on the 3.741-mile, 17-turn road course.

On Friday morning, Hayes was nominated as the first qualifying driver. Just like the day before, the weather was unpleasantly hot and humid, creating slick, greasy track conditions. Nonetheless, Hayes continued the teams successful qualifying streak with an 11th-place spot overall and sitting on the pole in class. Patten qualified second, earning sixth in class, just 0.3 seconds off the class pole.

The first of two one-hour races took place on Saturday afternoon in temperatures that commentators noted felt like more than 100-degree heat. Hayes was behind the wheel first for TBR, on the inside of row six as the 28-car field lined up two by two for the green flag.

After a clean start through the first turn, Hayes found herself briefly running three-wide into turn three before chaos erupted behind her. As the field headed to turn five, three cars went off track, bringing out a full-course yellow at the end of the first lap.

It took approximately 15 minutes to clean up the track before the green flag flew for a single- file restart. Hayes held the lead in class and began putting pressure on the 10th-place car overall. As her stint continued, she maintained the pressure, running just 0.5 seconds behind the car ahead while also defending her position as the car behind filled her mirrors.

When the pit window opened 25 minutes into the race, a majority of her competitors took to pit lane, but TBR elected to leave Hayes on track for some clean laps before her stop. She advanced to second-place overall before the mandatory pit stop and driver change.

When Patten went out, he was leading in class and continuing Hayes’ battle with the lead car overall. As they approached turn one, his competitor made a pass to claim the lead, and Patten tucked in cleanly behind.

The race stayed green until the end, giving Hayes and Patten their first podium of the year, and a fourteenth-place finish overall.

On Sunday morning, the oppressive heat continued to linger for the start of race two. This time, Patten was behind the wheel, rolling off from row 12.

The field made a clean start and Patten set his sights on making passes. When the race settled in, he maintained his position until the pit window opened. TBR elected to pit early and Hayes took over as driver.

Just a few minutes later, a full-course yellow flew and bunched up the field for the single-file restart with twenty minutes remaining in the race. Hayes was running 18th overall on the restart, and third in class, with several out-of-class cars between her and her competition ahead.

Hayes had a strong restart, advancing to the top 15 and onto the tail of the class leaders. With 10 minutes remaining, she made the pass for 13th overall, and second in class. Then, with just one minute on the clock, she caught the first-place car and made the pass, headed for the white flag with the lead.

The now second-place car stayed on her bumper for the first few corners before Hayes was able to establish a car’s length gap. The two caught the cars ahead, battling for position in their own class.

In the final corner, Hayes was forced to defend slightly and got caught by the traffic mid-corner, resulting in a drag race to the line. When the checkered flag flew, she crossed the line in second, missing the victory by just 0.05 seconds.

"After a tough start to the season, it's rewarding to finally walk away with results that reflect the pace we've shown all year," said Hayes. "Sebring isn't the strongest track for our car, so to be in the fight for the win felt good. While it was frustrating to come up just short, I'm proud of the performance we delivered and the statement we made to the rest of the grid. It was a fun race and Allen and I really are looking forward to VIR!"

Next up, the Pirelli GT4 America series heads to Virginia for rounds six and seven of the 2025 championship at VIRginia International Raceway on July 18-20, 2025.

Podium Finishes for Hoffmann and Unser in Porsche Sprint Challenge at COTA

Shift Up Now Athletes Erika Hoffmann and Loni Unser each earned a podium finish during two sprint races in round three of Porsche Sprint Challenge North America presented by Yokohama, at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on May 16-18, 2025.

Both Athletes competed in the ProAm class for Kellymoss Racing in Cayman GT4 RS cars. Showcasing new partner Southwest Business Corporation (SWBC) on her livery, Hoffmann piloted the No. 21, with Unser behind the wheel of the No. 4 “Be Your Own Hero” / Speedway Motors entry.

The first practice on Thursday afternoon marked Hoffmann’s first time driving on the 3.426- mile, 20-turn racetrack, despite having been to COTA several times before.

On Friday, practice two took place in the morning, ahead of qualifying later that afternoon. The weather was dry and sunny, and both Shift Up Now Athletes worked with their teams to dial in the cars.

Later that day, under the hot Texas sun, the 19-car field took to the track for qualifying. Unser had a strong session, laying down a couple of stellar laps on her Yokohama tires to put herself in third place overall - and second in class, just 0.2 seconds off the pole. Meanwhile, despite still learning the new track, Hoffmann qualified fourth in class and seventh overall.

The first of two 35-minutes-plus-one-lap races took place early on Saturday morning. The heat hadn’t yet rolled in but the humidity brought hazy conditions for the drop of the green flag.

Starting from the inside of row two, Unser made a strong start and eyed a pass for second heading into turn one, but found herself squeezed tightly to the apex. She was forced to slow and avoid contact, but maintained her third-place spot.

Hoffmann started from the inside of row four and elected to hold that line into turn one. Despite being three-wide briefly at the exit, she held her seventh-place spot as the field headed into turn two.

The race settled into a green-flag rhythm as the top three began to build a gap to the rest of the pack.

Ten minutes into the race, a pass for the overall lead put an out-of-class car between Unser and her competition. She went to work trying to pass for the second place spot overall while the leader started to pull away from the field.

Then, after spending nearly half the race behind the second-place car, Unser made a clean pass and set her sights ahead on the overall leader, now four seconds ahead. Her first lap in clean air

was the fastest lap of the race and victory seemed almost imminent. However, with just two minutes left in the race, an electrical problem forced her to pull the car off track, retiring in second place.

For Hoffmann, Unser’s bad luck meant she was promoted from fourth to third in class, giving her her second podium of the season.

“I had a ton of fun racing at COTA this weekend,” said Hoffmann. “Huge thank you to the whole Kellymoss team for giving me a fast, dialed-in car all weekend. I learned a lot and made real progress with my race craft. So grateful to have the support of SWBC behind me!”

Later that afternoon, the field lined up again for the start of race two, this time under the brutal Texas heat. Unser started from the outside of the front row and, in a repeat of race one, tried to make a pass heading into turn one. Once again, she was squeezed toward the outside of the track, losing momentum and settling for the second-place spot.

Slightly further back in the pack, Hoffmann dodged contact in turn one and came through cleanly, running in seventh place overall and fourth place in class.

With no out-of-class cars running between Unser and the leader, she set off in pursuit, and the two lead cars began to pull away, running a full second ahead of third place by the end of the first lap.

The leading duo widened the gap even further during the next few laps, and Unser focused on the lead. She forced the leader to defend at the end of the back straight into turn 12, then again into 13.

Ten minutes into the race, a full-course yellow emerged for a stopped car on track. The caution period was short and the field lined up for a single-file restart with 20 minutes remaining. Once again, Unser and the leader pulled away, with Unser training by less than a second.

Meanwhile, in what Hoffmann later described as “eventful,” she was spending most of the race battling back and forth for the sixth-place spot overall. As her tires got hot later in the race, she got loose coming out of turn 19. The car running fifth in class went for a pass as the duo headed into turn 20, and as Hoffmann went for the cutback, they ran side-by-side. Her competitor then had a bobble, hitting her car and spinning her toward the pit wall. She was able to avoid contact with the wall and keep going to finish fifth in class.

Five minutes remained in the competition when Unser closed the gap to half a second. By the final lap, she was 0.3 seconds behind, and filling the leaders mirrors with every turn. She tried an over/under pass into turn one but the leader defended. Then, when an oversteer moment at the exit of turn 11 stymied her, she closed out the race in second place. When Unser and the leader crossed the finish line, they were 13 seconds ahead of the next car.

“I couldn’t be more grateful walking away from COTA with a strong P2 finish,” said Unser. “I was heartbroken after the first race, having an electrical issue that no one could have predicted or prevented. It was just one of those ‘that’s racing’ things. So, ultimately being able to battle for the lead in race two showed just how strong of a team I have behind me.

“I’m endlessly grateful for everyone at Kellymoss Racing for always having my back and giving me a such stellar car. I can’t wait for the next few rounds! Thank you to Speedway Motorsports, Acumatica, Mobil1, Yokohama Tire, and Shift Up Now. I am honored to be able to represent some amazing brands.”

Next up, Hoffmann and Unser head to Virginia to take on round four of Porsche Sprint Challenge North America presented by Yokohama at VIRginia International Raceway on July 11-13, 2025.

Top Ten Finish for Freiberg in Porsche Carrera Cup at Miami

Shift Up Now Athletes Ashley Freiberg and Sabré Cook hit the streets of Miami for round two of Porsche Carrera Cup North America at the Miami International Autodrome on May 2-4, 2025.

Freiberg piloted the No. 22 “Be Your Own Hero” Porsche Cup car for Kellymoss Racing, while Cook, a Hagerty-supported athlete, was behind the wheel of the No. 37 privé / PenFed Credit Union entry for JDX Racing.

Two practice sessions for the 28-car field took place on Friday afternoon and evening, followed by qualifying on Saturday. Then the two 40-minute sprint races, which were part of the supporting schedule for the Miami F1 main event, were held on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

The initial practice on Friday marked Freiberg’s first time on the 3.363-mile, 19-turn Miami street circuit. She quickly got up to speed with a top ten in the first practice. Both Shift Up Now Athletes ran within the top 15 in the second practice session.

Saturday’s qualifying took place in the mid-day heat, creating slick track conditions. Each drivers’ fastest lap would set the grid for race one, and second-fastest lap would determine the race two lineup.

Freiberg earned a 12th-place spot for the first race, and her 10th-place position for the second race marked her first top-ten Porsche Carrera Cup qualifying. Cook qualified 14th for race one and 12th for race two. However, when the pole position qualifier failed to pass tech, both Freiberg and Cook moved up one spot for each race.

Later that afternoon, the field lined up for the start of the first 40-minute competition. Freiberg sat on the inside of row six with Cook directly behind her in row seven.

A late green flag flew as the pack ran side-by-side to start the race. When the car on the outside of row six spun, Freiberg and Cook avoided the incident and both moved into the top ten. But before the end of the second lap was complete, a full-course yellow flew to retrieve one of the cars collected in the incident.

Thirty minutes remained as the field lined up single file to restart. The first couple corners were clean and the Shift Up Now Athletes found themselves running side-by-side though several turns, then heading into 11.

As they approached the turn, Freiberg was putting pressure on the car ahead. As she attempted an over/under pass, she was tagged into a spin. While she was able to recover and

shuffle into the back of the field, unfortunately Cook was forced to retire her 992 due to damage.

Green-flag racing continued before a yellow flag emerged and closed up the pack. After a short cleanup period, the race resumed with 17 minutes remaining. It took Freiberg just a few laps to work her way back into the top 15. Once she made the pass for 14th, the gap to the car ahead was three seconds.

By the time the white flag flew, Freiberg had closed the gap and moved into 13th. And on the final lap, she gained two more position to finish 11th overall and ninth in class. However, post- race penalties assessed to other cars gave her another position and a top-ten finish overall, her second of the season.

Sunday morning dawned humid and overcast with the threat of rain for the start of race two. Freiberg took her place on the starting grid on the outside of row five, with Cook once again directly behind in row six.

At the drop of the green flag, cars fanned out four-wide as they headed for turn one. Despite everyone making it through cleanly, Freiberg was shuffled back to 10th in the melee.

On repeat from the day before, Cook and Freiberg once again ended up side-by-side through several corners. When Cook made the pass, Freiberg was forced to leave the door open to the inside for the car drafting Cook, causing her to lose two places.

When the third car in line made a late move, Freiberg was hit on the rear corner and tagged into a spin.

Once the chaos of the first few laps was over, it would be green-flag racing throughout the remainder of the race. Freiberg fought to gain back as many places as possible and fought her way back into the top 20, finishing 19th.

On the last lap of the race, Cook made a pass to claim an 11th-place finish, narrowly missing the top ten but earning her best finish of the season so far.

“I feel good about the weekend we had in Miami,” said Freiberg. “It was exciting to finish ninth in class on Saturday after driving up from the back of the pack. After I was hit, I was just grateful that my car was still drive-able to be able to continue the fight forward. Miami is such a fun track, and to be racing during the F1 event was truly a bucket list moment. I know I personally learned a ton as a driver, and am really excited to bring that to the next event!”

Next up, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series heads to Canada for round three at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 13-15, 2025.