- Dan Knox Returns to GT3 Competition in GT America Powered by AWS Doubleheader in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
- Marc Austin and Jason Golan Make GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS Debut in Sunday's Three-Hour Race in the No. 11 Mad Joker by Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
Lone Star Racing rolls into a "home game" at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) this weekend with its first two-car Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry at COTA with contenders in both Sunday's featured GT World Challenge America powered by AWS three-hour race and the weekend's GT America powered by AWS sprint race doubleheader.
Lone Star Racing is based in Cresson, Texas, just southwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and about a three-hour drive to COTA.
While Lone Star Racing is the only Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing team in North America that has fielded multiple Mercedes-AMG GT3, GT4 and GT2 efforts on numerous race weekends the last few years, this is the first time a pair of the top-tier Mercedes-AMG GT3 entries have run out of the Lone Star Racing garages at COTA.
“Circuit of Americas sometimes feels like a second and home and definitely our home track as a Texas team, so running two Mercedes-AMG GT3 entries at COTA for the first time is a bit of a milestone for us," said Team Manager and Technical Director AJ Petersen. "It is great to have Dan back in the Mercedes-AMG GT3, and he knows this car and this track well. And with Marc and Jason stepping up to GT World Challenge America, we’ve got the right combination of experience and competitive drive. Our goal is a clean, fast and competitive weekend with good results for of our Texas friends, family and supporters.”
Knox previously raced a Mercedes-AMG GT3 at COTA in Trans Am in 2020 and co-drove with Mike Skeen in IMSA GTD in 2017. More recently he competed in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the opening rounds of the 2025 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup at Daytona and Sebring. In 2024, he swept the GT America GT2 class races at Long Beach and scored another victory at Indianapolis to close out the season in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2.
Austin and Golan move up to GT World Challenge America in the Am class in the No. 11 Mad Joker by Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 after a competitive run together in a Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the Pirelli GT4 America three-hour race on the SRO America COTA weekend last year. The duo just missed a class podium with a fourth place finish after a traffic issue during a late-race safety car period, but Austin has been a frequent visitor to COTA victory lane in Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT entries.
A resident of nearby Buda, Texas, Austin swept the Bronze Cup victories and secured third-place overall finishes in both rounds of the IMSA VP SportsCar Challenge in a Mad Joker by Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 just last month. The weekend marked another recent chapter of success at COTA for Lone Star Racing and Austin after he secured a second-place Bronze Cup finish in his very first IMSA VP Challenge race start at COTA in 2025. In 2024, Austin scored his first GT America top-five finish at COTA in a Mad Joker by Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
“It’s a new challenge and the first time for both Jason and me in GT World Challenge, and we are pretty excited to step back into the GT3 ranks, Austin said. “Jason and I did a few races with the Mercedes-AMG GT4, but this is traditionally the car and category we really want to be in. We are excited about it and just really focusing on a good clean weekend and race. It is still a learning curve for both of us and we are just going to have a good time. This will be our longest race at this level of national competition although it is really an international lineup of drivers and teams. It’s been mostly sprints, but we have done World Racing League endurance events, and Jason and I co-drove the Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the three-hour Pirelli GT4 race at COTA last year. So, not entirely unfamiliar but a step up, and we are ready for the challenge. These race weekends are always a lot of fun because we’re really close to home and some of our biggest supporters, like JG Roofing, are all local too, so it’s great to have them and all of our other partners, supporters and friends come out and be a part of this with us. I can hear cars running on track from my house, so it definitely keeps my juices flowing! We’re ready to go!”
After Friday practice sessions for both series, two Saturday GT World Challenge practice runs and Saturday morning qualifying for GT America, Lone Star's first race of the weekend is the opening 40-minute GT America sprint for Knox Saturday afternoon at 3:20 p.m. CDT. Sunday begins with GT World Challenge combined driver time qualifying and GT America Race 2 at 9:40 a.m. CDT. The weekend's featured three-hour GT World Challenge race begins at 12:30 p.m. CDT. All of the weekend's races stream live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.
About Lone Star Racing: Based at Motorsport Ranch within the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area in Cresson, Texas, Lone Star Racing is competing in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the 2026 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup in the GTD class, in addition to other top sports car racing series. Lone Star Racing and its team members have won races across North America spanning sprint and endurance racing formats. The crew has worked together on many different teams and various types of cars, developing a strong bond and proven capability that gives them a competitive and winning advantage. Lone Star Racing competes with the support of primary partner ACS Manufacturing, Inc. (www.ACSManufacturing.com). Look for Lone Star Racing and team owner/driver Dan Knox on Facebook and follow the team on YouTube at Lone Star Racing, on Twitter and Instagram @LSRTeam and on the official team web site at www.LoneStarRacingTeam.com.