CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Depart Mid-Ohio with First Podium of the Season

Lexington, Ohio (June 8, 2026) - The CarBahn with Peregrine Racing three-car lineup, featuring competitors in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC) and VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, returned to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for their third and fourth rounds of the 2026 season, respectively. 

The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge contenders including the No. 37 and No. 39 BMW M4 GT4 EVOs came prepared to tackle the 13-turn road course for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio after a successful testing session at the course just one week prior. After a challenging start to the season, the drivers and team were on the hunt for a solid qualifying position to set themselves up for success in their second endurance race of the season. 

Jeff Westphal, who made his first qualifying appearance of 2026 in the No. 39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing BMW team, put on a show for the 15-minute qualifying session securing not only Pole Position, but set a new track record with his fast lap at a 01:25.216. As the green flag flew for the four-hour endurance race, Westphal immediately got to work defending his lead from the encroaching GS cars behind him. Westphal completed a short first stint of less than an hour before handing over driving duties to co-driver, Sean McAlister. McAlister returned to the race in fourth position after a pit stop for fuel and a new set of tires - prime conditions for him to take the No. 39 back to the front of the pack. Demonstrating clean racecraft, McAlister navigated his way into second position during his hour-long stint before bringing the car back into pit lane for Westphal to jump back behind the wheel. The pit stop sequence brought Westphal quickly back up to the front, where he resumed his pursuit of the lead, but as he made his way into position to challenge for first, the field saw a full course yellow.  That brought Westphal into the pits for two new tires and to top off on fuel. On the restart, Westphal kept pushing as the summer heat on track saw the BMW come to life in the final hour of racing. A final pit stop, with fresh tires and fuel, put Westphal in a dominant position to go all out to the end when another caution set itself across the field. On the restart, with less than 30-minutes to go, traffic with the TCR class prevented Westphal from immediately challenging the GS leaders for the race win, despite showing stronger pace than the two in front of him before time ran out. At the checkered flag, Westphal and McAlister in the No. 39 BMW M4 GT4 EVO managed to collect third place, securing a step on the podium for the first time this season.

Stephen Wetterau handled qualifying duties for the No. 37 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing BMW, capitalizing on the hot, humid weather that is well-suited to the BMW machinery. Wetterau managed to post his best qualifying performance of the season making his way to seventh position for Sunday’s grid. As the race went green, Wetterau made moves to advance forward before the field saw an early caution. On the restart, Wetterau felt the power behind the wheel of the BMW M4 GT4 EVO, making advances on the competitors ahead before coming in just shy of the 1-hour mark for two new left tires and a fresh tank of fuel. In his second stint, Wetterau got comfortable behind the wheel around the 2.258-mile circuit as the track temperatures increased. Maintaining solid track position to climb to sixth position before handing the reins over to co-driver, Cameron Shields, who took full fuel and a full set of tires on their driver change. A clean pit stop put Shields in a key position to challenge within the field, and the pit cycle lended itself to the No. 37 shuffling forward in the running order. Shields immediately got to work, climbing up the order before pitting from the lead lap under a full course yellow. Once the field came to the restart, Shields managed to gain two positions before an issue brought him back into pit lane less than ten minutes later. Further diagnosis showed that there was a water leak under the hood, and while the crew worked to repair this on pit lane, Shields unfortunately lost track time that put him a lap down to the GS leader when he rejoined the race. With plenty of time left, Shields put his head down and got to work, determined to make up time on track and managed to post one of the fastest laps of the race to put the No. 37 team back on the lead lap with just under an hour to go. As Shields made his way in for the final pit stop of the day, taking fuel and a full set of tires, an issue on the front left tire resulted in a slower than average time on pit lane before heading out on track for his final stint. Shields kept pushing, ultimately securing the fastest lap of the race and a new Mid-Ohio in-race lap record for IMPC at a time of 01:25.740 before taking the checkered flag from 15th position.

In the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Courtney Crone arrived at Mid-Ohio looking to build on momentum from her breakthrough double-podium performance at Circuit of the Americas just a few months ago. Driving the No. 35 BMW M4 GT4 EVO, Crone was poised to challenge amongst the field of GSX competitors. After finishing first in both practice sessions, Crone was set for a primed for a solid qualifying result, ultimately taking third place on the grid for Race 1. As weather started to roll in, the VP Racing field saw a delayed start to the first of two 45-minute races, and with wet track conditions the race saw a full course yellow to begin the race before going green two laps in. Crone ran the majority of the race contending for podium positions, but was ultimately shuffled back after an extended battle for third that saw her finishing in fourth position. In Race 2, starting from seventh, Crone was poised to move forward, but an incident with a driver ahead saw her taking a drive-through penalty with less than 20-minutes to go. With little time to make back track position, Courtney ended the race in 14th place.

The IMPC BMW duo for CarBahn with Peregrine Racing will have a short break before returning to racing action at Watkins Glen International on June 25-27, 2026. Courtney Crone and the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX class compete next month at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on July 10-12, 2026. 

What They're Saying: CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Quotes
Jeff Westphal, co-driver, No. 39 BMW M4 GT4 EVO: “It’s nice to get a podium, really rewriting the story of the year and setting the rest of the season off on a different track. I’m looking forward to Wtakins Glen, it’s a favorite of mine - top five in the world. The car usually goes pretty well there, but I think we need to do our homework and see if we can do anything in pit lane to go a little bit faster and gain some positions that way, but otherwise I want to commend the team - everyone worked super hard. Sean did a great job and the crew worked hard. It was a hot day, and we ended up with a podium, so there's not really much more to say.”

Sean McAlister, co-driver, No. 39 BMW M4 GT4 EVO: “I think today was a good way to get the team back on track. It’s been a rough start to the season, but luckily we had a really good stint today. Jeff did a lot of the hard work out there, but we just kept it clean, and we will keep it moving in the next one.”

Stephen Wetterau, co-driver, No. 37 BMW M4 GT4 EVO: “What a weekend, wrapping up the four-hour at Mid-Ohio. The team executed well in pit lane, we had a fast car, which we showed in qualifying. The race came around, great strategy, and I felt really solid in the car - I think our pace showed that. Getting Cam in the car when he was ready to go, and things were looking great. We unfortunately had a bit of a temperature issue, but Cam was driving great, and I can’t wait for Watkins Glen to come around. We are really showing what is capable with this team, this car, and this driver pairing, so I can’t wait for the next one.”

About Peregrine Racing

Founded by two venture capitalists in 2018, Peregrine Racing is a title-winning organization competing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class and the VP Fuels SportsCar Challenge. Champions of the former category in 2019, Peregrine stayed true to their ideals of growth and innovation by making the jump to GT3 racing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2021. After achieving success with multiple podiums and a GTD championship challenge in two years in IMSA's top series, Peregrine Racing has refocused their efforts on GT4 racing and winning championships.

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Media Contact:
Nicole Welsh
nw@coforce.com