Hyundai arrives at Road America on Saturday holding the most commanding position a manufacturer can occupy in a racing series: leading the team standings, leading the drivers’ standings, and doing both at the same time with four cars instead of one.
The Bryan Herta Autosport lineup of Hyundai Elantra N TCRs enters the Road America 120 occupying the top four spots in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR Drivers’ Championship. That kind of total-field dominance makes the team’s own cars the primary competition. Mason Filippi and Bryson Morris lead in the No. 33 Hope on Wheels Elantra N TCR at 1,850 points. Preston Brown and Denis Dupont sit second in the No. 76 at 1,650. Harry Gottsacker and Lance Bergstein are third in the No. 18 at 1,590, and Maddie Aust and Mark Wilkins round out the top four in the No. 98 at 1,580. Forty-point separations across four cars is tight enough that Saturday’s two hours could scramble the order considerably.
In the Manufacturers’ standings, Hyundai holds 2,010 points against Honda’s 1,960, with Cupra at 1,770 and Audi at 1,760. A 50-point buffer over Honda sounds comfortable until a bad race eats most of it in one afternoon.
The No. 33 crew enters with the most momentum. Filippi and Morris won at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park earlier this month, adding to what has been a consistent front-running season. Morris knows Road America well: he won here in 2025 alongside Wilkins, who now rides in the No. 98 car. The circuit suits a car with the Elantra N TCR’s characteristics. Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn layout at Elkhart Lake is the longest on the IMPC calendar, mixing extended flat-out straights with heavy braking zones and high-speed sweepers. Tire management over two hours on that surface is a genuine strategic variable.
Gottsacker and Bergstein in the No. 18 have tracked near the top of the standings with consistent finishes rather than outright wins. That approach works when you have three other Hyundais applying pressure to rivals; it becomes a liability if the No. 33 crew gaps the field and the intra-team fight tightens.
Off the track, Hyundai Hope on Wheels continues its donation program for the third consecutive season, contributing $100 for every lap led by a Hyundai at each round. Through five races, the program has raised $65,300 for pediatric cancer research and treatment. At Road America, the designated beneficiary is Children’s Wisconsin hospital. The No. 76 car driven by Brown and Dupont carries the Hope on Wheels campaign as its primary program, meaning the team has a reason to lead laps beyond championship points.
The Road America 120 starts Saturday, August 1, at 12:50 p.m. CDT, with live coverage on Peacock and YouTube. The championship picture is clear enough coming in: Hyundai needs to hold position against Honda while managing the intra-team fight. What isn’t settled is which Hyundai crew benefits most by the time the checkered flag drops on the 4-mile loop.
Morris has already won this race. The question Saturday is whether he does it from the front, or whether one of the three cars behind him gets there first.
Source: Hyundai. Images courtesy of Hyundai.
