The team’s two Aspiring Driver Shootout winners both vying for a position in the team’s 2025 Toyota GR Cup program
SEBRING, Fla. (February 18, 2025) – PT Autosport is dedicated to providing merit-based motorsport industry opportunities for diverse individuals and continued to build on that program ahead of the 2025 season, as two young racers got behind the wheel in testing.
With its two Aspiring Driver Shootout winners both testing the No. 88 PT Autosport Toyota GR86 Cup Car at Sebring International Raceway last week, PT Autosport kicked off a 2025 sports car season that includes its second annual iRacing eSeries that will see the winner earn entry into the 2025 Aspiring Driver Shootout.
Both the 2022 Shootout winner Henry Drury (Tampa, Fla.) and 2024 winner Zach Hollingshead (Lake City, Fla.) have their eyes on a GR Cup campaign this season, and the two-day test with Copeland Motorsports gave them the opportunity to gather plenty of data points – with the team that captured the series championship and held three of the top four positions in the final 2024 GR Cup driver point standings.
Both Drury and Hollingshead briefly shook down the car with Copeland last November at New Jersey Motorsports Park, just days after Hollingshead won the Aspiring Driver Shootout. The Sebring test gave both drivers the chance to compare notes – and for Drury, learn a new team (Hollingshead worked with Copeland as a mechanic last season, earning two races with the team).
“This was the first chance both Zach and I had to properly come to grips with not only the car, but also Copeland Motorsports as a team,” said Drury. “That was probably the biggest challenge of the two days. They are a very large team with a lot of success and a lot of that comes from their processes and how they operate, and it’s so different to anything that I’ve experienced before. So for Zach and I, it was really about how we integrate into that system and best utilize the resources that Copeland has, so that we can get the best out of ourselves and pull ourselves up to the level that they operate at.
“The car has been completely torn to pieces and rebuilt since last year and I have to say, it’s night and day between the car that I drove at Indy last year and the car that we’re driving here at Sebring,” continued Drury. “So for me, the test was about adapting to that and learning how people like Gresham (Wagner, 2024 series champion) have found success in this car. We also have a new tire for 2025, so we were throwing all kinds of different things at it, seeing what worked and what didn’t. We settled on a nice little compromise between Zach and I as we were sharing a car, with each of use getting some long runs in. We focused on gathering as much data as possible, both on myself and my performance and also Zach, as the newest member of PT Autosport, and where we can both improve and keep moving forwards.”
Hollingshead knew the team well but had only driven the No. 88 PT Autosport GR86 once – and then, only briefly. Add in the updated Continental tires for 2025 (with 1” more sidewall), and there was plenty on the learning curve.
“It wasn’t my first time driving the car, but I only drove it in New Jersey for a session or two, so I wasn’t completely comfortable at the outset,” said Hollingshead. “So that was my focus on the first day, trying to become one with the car – just in the sense of knowing I could handle whatever happened, to be able to catch it when it got loose, and really push the limits. Once I was doing that, I was able to become a lot more consistent and that really helped my confidence, especially since this was the first time I’d driven on the new tires. But knowing the team and having a history with them made the process a lot easier. We knew what to expect from each other and communication was seamless.”
For PT Autosport team leadership, including team principal Jason Myers, who attended the test, the decision regarding 2025 plans will not be an easy one.
“Both Henry and Zach impressed us at the test, with both setting good times through the two days,” said Myers. “We really wanted to get our drivers familiar with the No. 88 car now that it has been brought up to the Copeland standard, with both drivers logging over 300 miles around the bumpy circuit. Mock qualifying, some race-length sims, and just getting to run the car with the new team were the priority. The test went very well, with a ton of data from both drivers that we can take into more off-season testing and into the season-opener at Sonoma next month. Stay tuned for more news on our GR Cup and other plans for our PT Autosport drivers in 2025!”
eSeries update
The first two rounds of the six-round iRacing eSeries have been completed, with drivers learning to navigate the unique program. Racers are not informed of either the car and the racetrack until an hour before event, leveling the playing field for everyone. Round one was contested in USF Pro 2000 cars at New Hampshire Speedway (won by Ben Nelson), with round two – in Volkswagen rallycross cars on Daytona International Speedway’s rallycross course – won by Garrett Manes. Round three is Saturday, February 22.
PT Autosport would like to thank partners STEAM Sports Foundation, Classic Car Club Manhattan and New Jersey Motorsports Park.
About PT Autosport — Discover Unique Talent. Develop Champions.
PT Autosport is dedicated to providing merit-based motorsport industry opportunities for diverse individuals with high integrity, grit, and coach-ability, achieved through a development program for young aspiring drivers, engineers, mechanics, and other professionals. The first step of this process is applying for the annual Aspiring Driver Shootout, in which aspiring drivers aged 18-23 can compete for a team racing partnership with the team.
A rigorous evaluation process of applicants determines the final competitors for the driver shootout. The winner earns financial support of up to $250,000 ($50,000 guaranteed) to pursue their racing career. The review process also provides the team the chance to identify unique talent for other roles in motorsport, including race engineers, mechanics, and professionals.
PT Autosport is building a community that fosters the development of young talent to find a place where they can make an impact in the motorsport community as a career.
PT Autosport social media
Instagram: @pt_autosport
TikTok: @ptautosport
Twitter: @PtAutosport
Facebook: PT Autosport
