Hagler Earns Second Touring Car America Podium of 2019 at Watkins Glen

• Tire issue thwarts Taylor Hagler's bid for a double TCA class podium
• Sally McNulty scores season-best fifth-place TCA finish
• Stephen Jeu takes pair of top-10 results

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – The X-Factor Honda Civic Si team saw some new faces leading its multi-car effort at this weekend's SRO Motorsports Touring Car America event at Watkins Glen International Raceway, with the TCA class results continuing to provide promise for the Honda- powered squad.

Taylor Hagler earned her second podium finish of the 2019 season with a third-place result in Saturday's opener, marking the first time since the season-opening weekend that Hagler had placed in the top three. The Civic Si driver looked set to do even better than that in Sunday's event, climbing from fourth to lead the TCA category before a spin dropped her back into the field. Recovering from the spin, Hagler was fighting her way to the front when a flat tire ended her charge and left her in 11th.

Sally McNulty put together her best effort of 2019, scoring her first top-five finish of the year. The TeamSally Honda Civic Si finished on the lead lap and just 32 seconds behind the leader to take the fifth spot. McNulty followed that result by finishing 10th in Sunday's race to earn championship points for the seventh time in the last eight races.

Stephen Jeu had his best weekend of the year as well in his X-Factor Civic Si, placing seventh in Saturday's ninth round and taking ninth in the nightcap. The pair of top-10 results marked the first time this year that Jeu had earned points-paying finishes in both TCA races in a weekend.

Chris Haldeman suffered a rough weekend as he was looking to improve on a season-high second- place result in Portland in Round 8. The Texan was fastest in practice but crashed in qualifying, then fell out of the first race due to engine damage apparently caused by debris related to a competitor's crash. The X-Factor team worked on the car for Sunday's race, but a lack of practice time prior to the race left the car unable to be repaired sufficiently to run the event.

In the TCR class, Sonoma race winner Victor Gonzalez took his Honda Civic Type R to fifth place on both Saturday and Sunday.

Social media content and video links from this weekend's Acura Motorsports activity at Watkins Glen are available on HPD's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).

Both the TCR and TCA series compete again September 21-22, visiting the classic Road America road course in Wisconsin for rounds 13 and 14 of the 16-race SRO Touring Car Americas season.

SRO Motorsports TC America
Circuit: Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen N.Y. Weather: Clear, 74 degrees F Saturday
Partly cloudy, 71 degrees F Sunday

Sunday Race Top Five TCA Results: