CrowdStrike Aims for Championship Close-Out at SRO America Indianapolis Finale

George Kurtz, Colin Braun seek first GT World Challenge Pro/Am title
Ben Keating rejoins Kurtz, Braun, No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS Mercedes AMG GT3
in fight for second Indianapolis 8 Hour victory
Kurtz, CJ Moses ready to close GT America campaigns with two more victories
TC Champion Kevin Boehm seeking second consecutive season with Indy victory
CrowdStrike celebrates expanded partnership with Operation Motorsport

AUSTIN, Texas (Oct. 5, 2022) – CrowdStrike Racing will close its most successful season of participation in SRO Motorsports this weekend with one of the year’s most high-profile events: the Intercontinental GT Challenge Indianapolis 8 Hour.

CrowdStrike has been at the forefront of multiple international motorsport events this year and Indianapolis now joins that collection.

As Official Cloud and Internet Security Provider to SRO Motorsports America, CrowdStrike is the cybersecurity frontrunner, on the front line of protecting data and stopping breaches. Similarly, CrowdStrike Racing has proven to be a leader on the track, finishing first in many of SRO America’s racing categories – including the premier Fanatec GT World Challenge America.

The Fanatec GT World Challenge America will receive the majority of the attention during the four-day festival of speed as CrowdStrike Racing drivers George Kurtz and Colin Braun race for their first championship together in the series’ Pro/Am category.

Kurtz and Kevin Boehm will also close out their championship-winning seasons in GT America Powered by AWS and Touring Car America Powered by Skip Barber Racing Schools, respectively. In addition, CJ Moses returns to GT America to add to an already strong field for the year’s final two rounds.

The CrowdStrike Experience in Indianapolis

With Indianapolis as the center of the world’s GT racing stage, CrowdStrike is lining up a variety of VIP and guest experiences to highlight its activation program around SRO America events.

At the forefront is the CrowdStrike/AWS CXO Summit, a unique platform where executives and thought leaders from both organizations will meet with guests and VIPs. Shawn Henry, president of CrowdStrike Services and chief security officer (CSO), and Angelo Comazzetto, principal in the Office of the Chief Information Security Officer (OCISO) at AWS, will lead a roundtable discussion on leading issues in cybersecurity. In addition, CrowdStrike guests and VIPs will have the opportunity to experience trackside hospitality and interact with CrowdStrike Racing team members.

CrowdStrike team members also will visit with student groups from a local SAE International (Society of Automotive Engineers) chapter along with participating in additional SRO activations throughout the weekend.

Select VIPs also will attend Sunday’s SRO America championship awards banquet as guests of CrowdStrike and AWS.

CrowdStrike & Operation Motorsport

One of the most rewarding relationships for CrowdStrike is the one it enjoys with Operation Motorsport (OpMo).

A not-for-profit, OpMo provides a chance for retired and disabled service members to use their skill sets in a variety of areas including paddock operations, car and tire prep, marketing, social media and other key areas that are part of a racing program.

In addition to helping place veterans into some of its race team operations during the last three seasons, CrowdStrike has entered into a long-term partnership with OpMo that will support the goal to professionalize the organization so that it may better serve the military service member community and increase the number of beneficiaries in the program.

Those beneficiaries will have opportunities to work in any number of areas within the CrowdStrike Racing program: crew and mechanic, engineering, marketing, communications and hospitality, among others.

Key features of the partnership will include:

Multi-year donation of $400,000, paid through the CrowdStrike Foundation
Future employee volunteer opportunities at the Patriot Corral at SRO Motorsports Group events
Future employee skills-based volunteer opportunities to support OpMo program needs
Future mentorship opportunities for CrowdStrike employees paired with OpMo beneficiaries
Future internship opportunities for OpMo beneficiaries
Future scholarship opportunities for beneficiaries to pursue higher education focused on cybersecurity

“Operation Motorsport and CrowdStrike have a shared passion for supporting military service members in need. Our new partnership aligns perfectly with the core values of both organizations,” said George Kurtz, co-founder and chief executive officer at CrowdStrike. “Partnerships like this are important to the future of racing. Motorsports is about teamwork and our teams are better when they’re more diverse. We want to create more opportunities for everyone that wants to get involved in racing, including women and underrepresented groups, and help them become the drivers, mechanics, engineers and leaders of the future.”

The Championship Chase

The Indianapolis 8 Hour is a unique event that not only serves as a round of the SRO’s Intercontinental GT Challenge but also the final race of the season for Fanatec GT World Challenge America. CrowdStrike Racing drivers Kurtz and Braun are in the thick of the Pro/Am championship battle and arrive at Indy second in points with their No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS Mercedes-AMG GT3 from CrowdStrike Racing with Riley Motorsports.

“This is one of the biggest races of the season,” Kurtz said. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to race at Indianapolis again, especially in a long-distance endurance race. I enjoy this type of competition as it puts an emphasis on consistency and teamwork. I have every confidence in our CrowdStrike Racing with Riley Motorsports team to put us in the best position to contend for the race win and championship.”

The 8 Hour counts as a double-points race with 50 points to the winner, 36 for second and 30 for the final podium position. Kurtz and Braun are 14 points from first place.

“I am really looking forward to the Indy 8 Hour,” Braun said. “I think this longer race format will suit the CrowdStrike Riley team well. Given the extensive endurance experience of the Riley team and also our driver lineup, I know we are ready to put up a good fight. The IGTC field is extremely competitive and every single detail will count! As one of the best Bronze drivers in the world, having Ben (Keating) join the lineup is fantastic – with his background in the Mercedes, with George and I the last two years, and with Riley in the past we feel prepared! I can’t imagine two better Bronze drivers to pair with for this event. Championship-wise we just have to focus on what we have done to this point in the season: being smart and running our game plan. It has worked very well to put us in a great position to fight at the end.”

The CrowdStrike Racing with Riley Motorsports effort will round out its roster with a very familiar – and very successful – face. Keating will team with Kurtz and Braun for the third consecutive year. Keating is one of the most experienced and fastest gentleman drivers in GT racing with a number of major victories with the Mercedes-AMG brand. One of those was a class win with Kurtz and Braun at Indianapolis in 2020.

“I am so excited to be racing with CrowdStrike and Riley for the Indianapolis 8 Hour race again,” Keating said. “We won the race two years ago and I am pumped to attempt a repeat with Colin and George. I love driving the Mercedes-AMG GT3 car and I love driving with these teammates. The icing on the cake is that Riley Motorsports is running the team this year. I raced with Riley Motorsports for seven years, and I think they are the best in the business. With our driver lineup, this car and this team, I think we have a winning combination.”

Kurtz, Moses Set for GT America finales

While Kurtz races for one championship, he already has another to his credit for this season in GT America Powered by AWS. Kurtz already has won eight times in 14 races and put a bow on his first SRO championship since 2017 with back-to-back wins at Sebring two weeks ago.

His No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be joined in the GT America field by a returning CJ Moses. Moses will race the No. 58 CrowdStrike/AWS Audi R8 LMS GT2 from GMG Racing in the two 40-minute races around IMS.

This will be Moses’ fourth GT America event of the year in a development season for the GT2-spec Audi R8, which has more horsepower but also more weight than a GT3 car. Moses has had zero issues in any of this year’s previous races, a testament to his driving and the build of the Audi.

“We are fortunate in GT America to race at some great tracks,” Moses said. “It’s hard to think of another with the history and prestige of Indianapolis. It’s really awe-inspiring to go across the bricks and be on the same track where so many legends have driven. So I’m excited to go back and close out our Audi GT2 program. I’ve learned a lot and am looking forward to seeing what kind of pace and results we can show at the end of the weekend.”

Victory Lap for Boehm in TC America?

Also in action at Indianapolis after clinching a class championship at Sebring is Kevin Boehm in TC America Powered by Skip Barber Racing School. Boehm’s eighth victory in the Touring Car category netted him his second TC title in three years, having won the TCA championship in his SRO America rookie season in 2020.

Boehm has finished on the podium in all 12 TC races this season in his No. 9 CrowdStrike/AWS Honda Performance Development Civic Type R TC. It comes a year after a runner-up championship finish in his first season of TC category competition in 2021. A victory in last year’s finale at Indianapolis set him on the road for a dominating season that he hopes will end with two more winning trips across the Brickyard.

“It’s nice to go into Indianapolis with the championship already locked up,” Boehm said. “We can go out there and focus on running up front and winning races for our partners at CrowdStrike and AWS. Closing the season at an iconic place like Indianapolis obviously is a really big thrill as well. I was fortunate to win there last year and I can tell you there’s no better feeling than going over the yard of bricks first!”

CrowdStrike Racing next participates in the Intercontinental GT Challenge and SRO Motorsports America’s season-ending event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Oct. 6-9.

For more information, visit CrowdStrikeRacing.com. Follow #CrowdStrikeRacing on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for updates.

About CrowdStrike

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Photos:

Brian Cleary/BCpix

Media Contact:

Danielle Crespo, Sr. Racing Program Manager, CrowdStrike

[email protected]