INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (Sunday, October 6, 2024) – SKI Autosports racer Johnny O’Connell clinched the 2024 GT America powered by AWS championship today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a dramatic final round.
O’Connell once had dreams of glory at the fabled “Racing Capital of the World” and had a single – but unsuccessful – start to his name at the Indianapolis 500 in 1996.
While the speedway gods did not shine upon the New York-born, GA-based racer – O’Connell today wrote another chapter in his amazing sportscar career by clinching today’s championship by a single point.
SKI Autosport’s chances of title success went flat – along with a tire – at the previous race weekend at Barber Motorsport Park. O’Connell had entered the penultimate race weekend with the points lead but left 16 points adrift of rival Jason Daskalos.
In Friday’s opening race, O’Connell charged to second place at the finish and pulled the margin back to a mere six points.
But starting sixth on the grid today, his chances looked remote – until the first corner. O’Connell made a brilliant start and charged around the outside, threaded the needle and jumped into second avoiding the collision behind him. In his mirrors, his points rival Daskalos suffered contact and was forced off track, and was badly delayed.
O’Connell had to stay in the tire tracks of young star Justin Rothberg, who remained in championship contention. The SKI Autosports driver had to finish in second place or better to maintain an advantage over Rothberg. Daskolas, however, began his fightback but could only make it back to sixth place at the checkered flag.
The final result gave O’Connell and SKI Autosports the crown by a single point. O’Connell’s incredible consistency throughout the season was the key to his success. In the 16 races in 2024, he only finished off the podium twice.
“It is incredibly surreal to come away with this championship win as after Barber Motorsport Park we knew it was ‘mathematically possible’ – but extremely unlikely,” SKI Autosports owner Kent Hussey said.
“Luck was certainly on our side at the first corner today, but Johnny still had plenty of work to do to maintain that position. We feel terrible for Jason as he has been a great competitor, and today, he was extremely unfortunate.
“Johnny’s experience was the deciding factor today enabling him to “shoot the gap” and avoid what could have been a championship-ending contact that unfortunately ruined Jason’s race.
“You never know what is going to happen on race day, and you have to be prepared for everything. This is a massive achievement for this team, and I am just so proud of Johnny, my wife Melissa, Rosella, Phil, and all the crew.
“This is our first season competing in this championship with a current-spec GT3 equipment, and the Audi was an amazing car for us all season. For us to take the championship win after three years competing here is just so rewarding for everyone.
“We set a goal of winning this championship over the offseason last year. To have accomplished it today is humbling. We are blessed and grateful . And as we all know, it takes a team and we have one of the best.”
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JOHNNY O’CONNELL
“This championship win is not just me; it’s about everybody at SKI Autosports.
“The dedication and the hard work – Rosella, Phil, Kent, Melissa, Alton, Will, Brian – all the guys – their efforts have been amazing.
“In racing, the driver is kind of like the quarterback, and I woke up this morning feeling a little bit like Tom Brady or Joe Montana. Today and the whole season was down to the great work by everybody.
“Today it was terrible luck for Jason (Daskalos). He is such a great competitor. We’ve all had our share of misfortune this season, and I’m very fortunate that we obviously got all our bad luck out of the way before we got to Indianapolis.
“Hopefully, we get to do this again. I’m 62 years old and just got another championship. A lot of guys might think about retirement, but I’m not ready – we’re just going to keep digging.
“A huge thank you to all the fans out there who have been following me and supporting me for so long. Obviously, I’m thrilled for Kent and Melissa (Hussey). They have put so much into this, and I’m just delighted that we were able to make this happen.”
