Jaminet led from the start in the #6 entry, squeezing past the sister #7 car to grab the lead at the opening corner, but the Porsches later lost their advantage when they didn’t follow instructions in a timely manner as GTP were splitting from the GT cars under caution.
But once the challenge of Action Express Racing’s Cadillac – that grabbed the lead as a result – had faded, they retook control. In the end, the deciding factor between the Porsches was an out-lap miscue by Felipe Nasr in the #7 after the final pitstop that made the difference and allowed Tandy to pounce and claim victory in his boss’s house, in IMSA’s first race at IMS since 2014.
“It's twofold because this is Indianapolis – it's a world-renowned historic venue, the IMSA series is a world-renowned historic race series,” said Tandy, who earned his 20th career IMSA victory. “So, to come here to a venue like this, especially for Porsche Penske Motorsport, and all the ties that Penske Corporation have with this place, is massive.
“It means a huge amount. And the fact that it's a team 1-2 makes it even sweeter. From a manufacturers’ championship point of view, it's massive. Obviously, the second part of this is the point situation and being the penultimate round.
“I said before the weekend, we realistically needed to win here to have a decent shot going into Road Atlanta. And it's given us a chance at the end of the day. The teamwork that has gone into give the people that work in this team a chance of winning a championship in Atlanta, it's amazing.
“Really pleased to cross that yard [of bricks]. It was an emotional moment.”
Penske, the 86-year-old team owner, greeted his pair of winners with “good job” after the race.
The result marked the second win of the year for Jaminet and Tandy, who were victorious on the streets at Long Beach in April. But the crew was stripped of another victory, at the Six Hours at The Glen, due to excessive wear to its front skid plate that breached the rules by “less than one millimetre” – according to the team.
Now they head to the season finale at Road Atlanta only five points behind points leaders Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims, who drive the #31 AXR Cadillac.
“I've been very disappointed since Watkins Glen,” Jaminet admitted. “Looking back at it, it still hurts.
“So, to finally get a win back and that puts us back also on the championship hunt, it really feels good. Today really feels good. I'm just hungry for more, to be honest.
“I just want to go to Atlanta now and race.”
