Cadillac Racing’s Johnny O’Connell, of Flowery Branch, Ga., took advantage of a last-lap incident between the lead two cars to earn the manufacturer’s first Pirelli World Challenge win since 2007 on Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Paul Brown, from Covina, Calif., and Toronto’s Aaron Povoledo earned the GTS and Touring Car class wins, respectively at Sunday’s Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by StopTech, Round Eight of the championship.

O’Connell started seventh in the No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, took advantage of the standing start to complete the first lap in sixth place, and then charged forward again on a restart following a caution period to fourth.

The Cadillac moved past Randy Pobst in the esses for third in a moved that earned him the Invisible Glass Clean Pass of the Race award with one lap to go, and appeared to be settled into the third position. But last lap contact between polesitter Alex Figge – who had led the opening 29 laps of the race in the No. 9 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60 – and Mike Skeen’s No. 2 CRP/Cragar Wheels Chevrolet Corvette sent Skeen spinning and Figge off the pace, opening the door for O’Connell.

The win was the first for Cadillac Racing in Pirelli World Challenge since Andy Pilgrim won at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2007. Cadillacs ran as a privateer effort in 2008, then moved away from the series until this season.

“It doesn’t matter how you get ‘em, it’s just gettin’ ‘em,” O’Connell said after the race. ”After all the work that everyone at Cadillac Racing has done, it is nice to get the win today. There are some really good cars out there today. That’s got to be the closest battle we’ve had all year, where you had both Volvos out front, both Corvettes were extremely strong. We did not qualify where we wanted, but we had a couple of issues this morning that we got sorted out.”

O’Connell averaged 79.349 mph over the 30-lap, 67.74-mile race that was slowed twice for nine laps by caution flags on his way to a 1.005-second win. Figge limped to the finish line in fifth place, with Skeen scored in 13th.

“There were certain parts of the racetrack where the Corvettes were amazingly strong and then there were other parts where the Volvos were strong,” O’Connell said of the incident. “But it looked like Mike [Skeen], with the Corvette, probably had the best tires and the fastest car. It was just my hope that they’d get into each other and race hard that last lap. I was not hoping for them to wreck, but I was hoping for them to lose their momentum and I could get in the battle.

“Seeing them go side-by-side into Two, I thought ‘this might work toward my advantage if they stay that way to Four.’ But they touched and it was bad luck for Mike—he actually hopped in the air and it moved around. I think [Figge] bent his car a little bit. That was an exciting thing. The worst part about that last lap was my crew chief going completely mental in my ear as all that stuff was going on. I was like ‘shut up!’ But, of course it was a real good win for the team.” 

Skeen and Figge’s teammates benefitted from the last lap contact. CRP Racing’s Patrick Lindsey moved past Figge into the runner-up position in the No. 12 CRP/Hawk Chevrolet Corvette, his best career finish and his fourth career podium. Randy Pobst finished third in the No. 6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60, the first podium finish of the season for the defending GT Champion. Pobst ran second for most of the race, but fell back in the closing laps.

It was an extra special finish for Lindsey, who was hosting young Ben and family as guests from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

With a fourth-place finish in the No. 45 Privacy Star/TruSpeed Porsche 911 GT3, Patrick Long extended his GT Championship lead to 44 points over James Sofronas, 840-796. Skeen (755), O’Connell (753), and Andy Pilgrim (606) complete the top five. Cadillac closed the gap to Porsche in the Manufacturers’ Championship, 56-30, with Volvo (18 points) and Nissan (1 point) behind.

Brown had to survive a very physical battle to claim the GTS win. Starting third after the morning qualifying, his No. 50 Lucas Oil/K&N Filters/Wellendorf Ford Mustang Boss 302S battled with Eric Foss. Running side-by-side out of the keyhole on lap six, the two made side to side contact with Brown actually moving off the road and coming back on.

The side-to-side contact slowed both down and let Ben Crosland whip around the outside of the pair going down the back straight and take the lead for 17 laps and earn the Cadillac CTS-V Move of the Race. Brown recovered to chase down Crosland and take the lead for the first time on lap 23.

Brown led to the finish for his fourth win of the season and second in as many days. 

“The race was kind of a blur,” Brown said. “There was a lot of stuff going on. I just tried to put the pressure on Eric [Foss]. I didn’t think we had a car strong enough to win today and my goal was just to put pressure on the guys and run as consistently as possible. Eric was running a defensive line, which allowed me to get a little bit of a run on him. And then every time we’d have a bobble, then someone else would go by. It seemed like I kept making passes, but none of them were for the lead until later in the race after the restart.

“It was a battle and there wasn’t much breathing room. You had Alec [Udell] in the Camaro, and Eric in the Mustang and Jason [von Kluge] in the Mustang. Ben [Crosland] passed both of us when we were screwing around and then I’ve got Peter [Cunningham] in my mirror! It was just one car after another. We had to work really hard for this one today.”

Defending GTS Class champion and Mid-Ohio race winner Peter Cunningham earned his best finish since Round Two at St. Petersburg in the No. 1 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX. Cunningham outlasted the Mustang contingent to finish second a day after a mechanical failure ended his race with hard contact into the wall, resulting in a ride to the medical center and his team faced with a night’s worth of repairs.

Crosland, after losing the lead, battled back to finish third in the No. 25 InterbankFX/RaceWithRP.com Ford Mustang FR500S. The finish was the fourth podium in five races for the 18-year-old driver.

Foss finished fourth in the No. 73 Traxxas/St. Jude Hospital/SPX Ford Mustang FR500S, followed by Brad Adams in the No. 75 VooDoo Music/RaceWithRP.com Ford Mustang FR500S.

GTS polesitter Alec Udell, who at 15-years-old became the youngest in World Challenge history to take the honor, ran with the leaders in his No. 06 Momentum Autosport during the early stages of the race before mechanical difficulties left him in twelfth place.

Brown’s doubleheader sweep at Mid-Ohio extended his GTS Drivers’ Championship lead over Foss, 1000-876. Crosland (795), Cunningham (752), and Adams (597) follow. Ford leads the Manufacturers’ Championship over Acura, 76-35.

By comparison, Povoledo’s Touring Car victory appeared easy. The polesitter led start to finish in the No. 88 K-Pax Racing Volvo C30 for his second win of the season, matching teammate Robb Holland’s victory from the opening race of the twin bill.

“Today was a relief to just get out front,” Povoledo said. “It was by no means a cruise up there. I was probably driving one of my most focused races ever. I wanted to push as hard as I can to get a little bit of a gap but still trying to keep my tires and my brakes beneath me. What really flattered the effort today was the Superman job my teammate, Robb Holland, did. He came up from sixth to second on the first lap. And, of course, we had Lawson [Aschenbach] and Tristian Herbert coming up from behind and those guys were fighting so hard that it allowed me to dictate how hard I needed to push. Had it not been for that, who knows? I might have burned the tires off the car trying to stay ahead.

“It was definitely a much different dynamic than yesterday, when I was like ‘Really? I’m dead last again?’ It was a lot of fun and I’m really proud of this team.”

Holland held off Touring Car Championship leader Lawson Aschenbach’s No. 71 Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si for second place on Sunday, with Aschenbach completing the podium. Holland got a boost on the opening lap, earning the Optima Batteries Best Standing Start Award for improving six positions during the first circuit.

Tristan Herbert drove the No. 33 Germanautoparts.com/Techtonics Volkswagen Jetta to fourth place at Mid-Ohio. Ray Mason, from nearby Columbus, finished fifth in the No. 74 Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si.

Branden Peterson earned the Sunoco Hard Charger award in the No. 64 Branden Peterson Racing Honda Civic Si after moving up 11 positions during the race.

Aschenbach has scored 1010 points this season to lead the Touring Car Drivers’ Championship, followed by Povoledo with 864. Holland (726) moves to third, followed by Ron Zitza (622) and Herbert (592).

Both Saturday and Sunday’s Pirelli World Challenge races will air on VERSUS on Saturday, August 20th at 5:00 p.m. (EDT). The series returns to action with a doubleheader at Infineon Raceway, August 25-27.

For more information, please visit www.world-challenge.com

Follow World Challenge on Twitter @WCRacing.

LEXINGTON, Ohio - Results from Sunday's 30-lap, 67.74-mile Pirelli World Challenge Championships Round Eight race, part of the Pirelli Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, with finishing position, class, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out (if any).

1. GT, (8), Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, Ga., Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, 30.
2. GT, (6), Patrick Lindsey, Santa Barbara, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 30, -1.005.
3. GT, (3), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Volvo S60 AWD, 30, -1.819.
4. GT, (2), Patrick Long, Bellaire, Fla., Porsche 911 GT3, 30, -3.324.
5. GT, (1), Alex Figge, Denver, Colo., Volvo S60 AWD, 30, -5.504.
6. GT, (7), Andy Pilgrim, Marina Del Rey, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, 30, -7.076.
7. GT, (5), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 30, -8.236.
8. GT, (9), Rob Morgan, Ladera Ranch, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 30, -16.925.
9. GT, (12), Tony Gaples, Libertyville, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette, 30, -20.609.
10. GT, (11), Tomy Drissi, Costa Mesa, Calif., Porsche GT3 Cup CAr, 30, -23.190.
11. GT, (13), Robert Prilika, Castle Rock, Colo., Porsche GT3 Cup, 30, -34.757.
12. GT, (14), Jason Carter(R), Dallas, Texas, Porsche 911 GT3, 30, -1:01.631.
13. GT, (4), Mike Skeen, Charlotte, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 29, Crash.
14. GTS, (17), Paul Brown, Covina, Calif., Ford Mustang Boss 302S, 29, -1 lap.
15. GTS, (18), Peter Cunningham, Milwaukee, Wis., Acura TSX, 29, -1 lap.
16. GTS, (19), Ben Crosland(R), Salt Lake City, Utah, Ford Mustang FR500S, 29, -1 lap.
17. GTS, (16), Eric Foss, Dallas, Texas, Ford Mustang FR500S, 29, -1 lap.
18. GTS, (24), Brad Adams(R), New Orleans, La., Ford Mustang 500S, 29, -1 lap.
19. GTS, (20), Nick Esayian, San Diego, Calif., Acura TSX, 29, -1 lap.
20. GTS, (26), Todd Napieralski(R), Chelsea, Mich., Chevrolet Camaro, 29, -1 lap.
21. GTS, (27), Ardee Toppe(R), Houston, Texas, Chevrolet Camaro, 29, -1 lap.
22. GTS, (25), Chris Waterman(R), Bolder, Colo., Ford Mustang FR500S, 29, -1 lap.
23. TC, (29), Aaron Povoledo, Toronto, Ontario, Volvo C30 FWD, 29, -1 lap.
24. TC, (34), Robb Holland, Denver, Colo., Volvo C30 FWD, 29, -1 lap.
25. TC, (30), Lawson Aschenbach, Darnestown, Md., Honda Civic Si, 29, -1 lap.
26. TC, (32), Tristan Herbert(R), Reston, Va., Volkswagen GTI, 29, -1 lap.
27. TC, (31), Ray Mason, Columbus, Ohio, Honda Civic Si, 29, -1 lap.
28. TC, (33), Ron Zitza, Orlando, Fla., Volkswagen Jetta, 29, -1 lap.
29. TC, (39), Chad Gilsinger(R), Marysville, Ohio, Honda Civic Si, 29, -1 lap.
30. TC, (36), Charlie Putman, Mills, Wyo., BMW 328i, 29, -1 lap.
31. TC, (42), Branden Peterson, Edwards, Colo., Honda Civic Si, 29, -1 lap.
32. TC, (37), Eric Meyer, Indianapolis, Ind., Mazda RX-8, 29, -1 lap.
33. TC, (43), Thomas Ehlen(R), Vancouver, British Columbia, Honda Civic Si, 29, -1 lap.
34. GTS, (23), George Winkler(R), Frederick, Md., Ford Mustang FR500S, 28, -2 laps.
35. TC, (45), Shea Holbrook, Groveland, Fla., Honda Civic Si, 28, -2 laps.
36. TC, (44), Carolyn Kujala, Tucson, Ariz., Volkswagen Jetta, 28, -2 laps.
37. GTS, (21), Jason von_Kluge(R), Ann Arbor, Mich., Ford Mustang Boss 302S, 26, Mech.
38. TC, (40), Brett Sandberg, Allendale, N.J., Honda Civic Si, 23, -7 laps.
39. GT, (10), Stephen Ruiz(R), Redondo Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3, 18, Mech.
40. GTS, (15), Alec Udell(R), Houston, Texas, Chevrolet Camaro, 14, Mech.
41. TC, (41), Patrick Seguin(R), Calrence Creek, Ontario, Honda Civic Si, 12, Mech.
42. GTS, (22), Richard Golinello(R), Oldsmar, Fla., Ford Mustang FR500S, 3, Mech.
43. TC, (35), Dan Clarke, Indianapolis, Ind., Mazda RX-8, 3, Mech.
44. TC, (38), Devin Cates, Broad Run, Va., Volkswagen GTI, 1, Mech.
45. GTS, (28), Bill Ziegler, Ponte Verde Bch, Fla., Mitsubishi EVO, 0, DNS.