Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Champ Gets New 911
Champ Jake Eidson is racking up the heavy hardware with trophies, scholarships and new 911s this year.
Race car drivers have all the fun. They whip around tracks at breakneck speeds, get to show off fancy trophies, and are showered with gifts. If they’re winners, that is. Newly-crowned Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Champion Jake Edison was just given a very special Porsche to help him celebrate his victory.
According to IMSA, Jake got the keys to shiny new black Porsche 911 with a 7-speed manual transmission mated to a 3.0-liter twin-turbo boxer engine pushing 370 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque. The car does zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.
Eidson clinched the Overall and Platinum Cup Championship. The championship caps a whirlwind 2017 when the driver also won the inaugural Hurley Haywood GT3 Cup Scholarship. Speaking on his success this year, Eidson said, “Winning that scholarship was a bit of added pressure because a lot of people really want to see you do well. Trying to meet those expectations and standards was difficult at times, but I think if nothing else, it was more motivation.”
Eidson sealed up the championship weeks earlier at the Sonoma Raceway on Sept. 17. To clinch, Eidson needed to win pole position and both races. He did just that. Commenting on the victory Eidson said, "At Sonoma, we knew that we could tie up the championship, but I had to win both races there and pole position. It was probably the closest qualifying session I've ever had. I qualified on pole by one-hundredth of a second. There's six to seven drivers on any given weekend who could win the pole and the race so it's a lot of tough competition in this series."
As excited as I am for him winning the title, it’s the 911 that’s got me peanut-butter-and-jealous. Manual 911s are increasingly rare nowadays and have always been one of the go-to choices of enthusiasts. And that Alcantara steering wheel looks delicious.
