Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin - The championship race rages on for Jesse Lazare and Elliott Skeer.

Lazare won Round 9 of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama on Saturday at Road America to pull to within three points - 137-134 - of Platinum Cup championship leader and fellow young star Skeer.

Montreal resident Lazare beat Angel Benitez Jr. to the finish line by 3.034 seconds in the No. 21 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche. The win was special for Kelly-Moss Motorsports, based in nearby Madison, Wisconsin.

"I want to thank the team," Lazare said. "They worked their hearts out the last few weeks getting the car where it needs to be. They did a great job."

Benitez, from Miami, picked up his fifth podium finish in as many starts this season in the No. 05 JDX Racing Porsche.

Skeer, from Carlsbad, California, made a last-lap pass to finish third in the No. 14 Wright Motorsports entry after starting from the back of the field due to failing post-qualifying technical inspection. He has finished on the podium in seven of eight starts this season.

Andrew Longe, from Naples, Florida, finished fourth in the No. 47 Fall-Line Motorsports entry. Kasey Kuhlman, from Cincinnati, rounded out the top five in the No. 15 Wright Motorsports entry. Kuhlman was also the top Platinum Masters Cup finisher.

Jeff Mosing, from Austin, Texas, won the Gold Cup and Gold Masters class from the pole in the No. 01 TOPP Racing Porsche.

Lazare started from pole and led the first 25 minutes of the race, building a 1.595-second lead before a caution caused by Lucas Catania getting stuck in the gravel adjacent to Turn 14.

Benitez took the lead from Lazare on the ensuing restart, holding off the charging Lazare. But Lazare passed Benitez in the Carousel section of the 14-turn, 4.048-mile circuit with 15 minutes to go and never trailed thereafter.

"Angel took advantage of the restart and got around me," Lazare said. "After that I just waited for his mistake, and when it came going into the Carousel, I was the one that took advantage and we brought it home. It feels great to win in front of the team's home crowd. They worked so hard."

Lazare earned his third win of the season after sweeping the opening rounds in mid-March at Sebring International Raceway.

Platinum Masters

Kuhlman controlled the Platinum Masters class from start to finish for his fifth class victory of the season.

"I struggled with understeer all day," Kuhlman said. "So when you have that condition, you just have to do the best you can. I couldn't really press or challenge, so I just needed to adapt and hit my marks and held my position. I picked up two spots from seventh starting point.

"My goal is always a top five, so I am really happy. It was a good, clean race, so thanks to Wright Motorsports."

Jay Patel finished second in the No. 00 Kelly-Moss Motorsports entry, holding off teammate Bill Peluchiwski, who finished third in the No. 74 Porsche.

Peluchiwksi started 16th overall and seventh in class. His run through the field made him the Yokohama Hard Charger Award winner.

Patel and Peluchiwski tied season-best finishes. Patel also was second in Round 6 at Watkins Glen International. This was the fourth third-place finish in the last five races for Peluchiwski.

Gold Cup/Gold Masters

Mosing dominated the race from flag to flag for his third Gold Cup and fifth Gold Masters victory of the season.

"We had pace on (David) Ducote," Mosing said. "He was pretty much the guy I was going to keep an eye out for because he beat me twice last year. So we had something to settle. Todd (Opperman) did a wonderful job setting up the car, and hats off again to all the drivers for staying clean."

David Ducote, from Houston, finished second in the No. 6 Kelly-Moss Motorsports entry. It was Ducote's fourth podium of the season.

Mark Llano rounded out the podium, finishing third in the No. 22 NGT Motorsport Porsche. It was Llano's second Gold and Gold Masters podium of the season, after finishing second in Round 1 in March at Sebring.

Up Next

Round 10, a 45-minute race, is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. (CT) Sunday, Aug. 9.

Live streaming: Race streamed at www.imsa.tv

Live timing: All on-track sessions at scoring.imsa.com or on new IMSA mobile app for iOS, Android or Windows

TV: Delayed television coverage will be provided Aug. 22-23 on major network affiliates in numerous U.S. markets by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Visit http://www.imsa.com/porsche-gt3-cup-usa-channel-finder and enter your ZIP code into the box at the bottom of page to check availability in your area.

Twitter: Live text commentary from all sessions at @IMSALive

For more information about Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, visit www.gt3cupchallengeusa.com, follow hashtag #GT3USA @IMSA on Twitter or like IMSA on Facebook.

ROUND 9 POST-RACE QUOTES:

JESSE LAZARE (No. 21 Kelly-Moss Motorsports, winner): "I want to thank the team. They worked their hearts out the last few weeks getting the car where it needs to be. They did a great job. I want to thank Porsche and all the sponsors. Angel (Benitez) took advantage of the restart and got around me. After that I just waited for his mistake, and when it came going into the Carousel, I took advantage and we brought it home. It feels great to win in front of the team's home crowd. They worked so hard."

ANGEL BENITEZ JR. (No. 05 JDX Racing, second): "It's a bit sour, the taste of the race. We had a good car. We didn't expect the car to have that much understeer, but the track conditions changed from qualifying, and we didn't change much in the car. We did as much as we could. I have to thank JDX, Hertz and Porsche for making this all happen, and tomorrow is another day. So we're going to have it."

ELLIOT SKEER (No. 14 Wright Motorsports, third): "This is, without a doubt, the best third place of my life. I'll take this one, without a doubt. Unfortunate after qualifying to have that (regarding starting from the rear of the field), but we showed the speed in qualifying, and I was confident we could get it up there. The team was a big support in helping me figure out what the game plan for the race was going to be. I was a little distraught about the issue, but they sat me down and talked it over, and we came up with a game plan. So I have to thank them all for that. I had fun. It was a good drive and a hard race. I am pretty tired after it. But very happy and the car was amazing and the team did a great job, so I will take this third any day!"

KASEY KUHLMAN (No. 15 Wright Motorsports, first Platinum Masters): "I struggled with understeer all day. So when you have that condition you just have to do the best you can. I couldn't really press or challenge, so I just needed to adapt and hit my marks and held my position. I picked up two spots from seventh starting point. My goal is always a top five, so I am really happy. It was a good, clean race, so thanks to Wright Motorsports."

JAY PATEL (No. 00 Kelly-Moss Motorsports, second Platinum Masters): "First I'd like to thank my wife and my new sponsors, ACRD Group and Bentem Partners. The race was great and especially trying to keep up with the lead class of cars. I got behind (Jeff) Mosing, and after that it was a battle between the two of us the rest of the way. We kept it clean all the way through. And then I saw Bill (Peluchiwski) behind me. We're in a battle for second-place points, but he was great charging through the field. It was a great race. Thank you to the team and the series."

WILLIAM PELUCHIWSKI (No. 74 Kelly-Moss Motorsports, third Platinum Masters, Yokohama Hard Charger Award winner): "I started pretty far back. I had a lot of wood to chop to get through the field. I worked through it, and it was a great race. Ultimately I got behind Jay (Patel) and just ran out of time. We want to make sure it's interesting for everybody, and it was a lot of fun. Kelly-Moss put a great car under me, and it was a great time."

JEFF MOSING (No. 01 TOPP Racing, first Gold Cup/Gold Masters): "We had pace on (David) Ducote. He was pretty much the guy I was going to keep an eye out for because he beat me twice last year. So we had something to settle. Todd (Opperman) did a wonderful job setting up the car, and hats off again to all the drivers for staying clean. It was a really good, clean race. Setup was really good. I had a bit of a push in the Carousel, but otherwise the car was really great. The Yokohama's were good through the whole stint. Actually, some of my fastest laps were right at the end. So hats off to the Yokohama guys, too. And thanks to Porsche and all the folks at Road America."

DAVID DUCOTE (No. 6 Kelly-Moss Motorsports, second Gold Cup/Gold Masters): "I had some tussles with 991's, and I had trouble getting clear. Jeff (Mosing) was really quick, and he was able to get a good gap on me and I just never could get back to him, so kudos to him on that. I'm happy with the result. I just wish I had a little more and had gotten clear early in the race. But all in all, it was a good run."

MARK LLANO (No. 22 NGT Motorsport, third Gold Cup/Gold Masters): "I am just thankful to be here. This is an amazing track, with such great lineage and so many great racers. I really want to thank our pit crew at NGT. I want to thank the whole team and all those supporting the mission of SERKET Racing for the veterans. This is really for them. This is not about me. So I am just thankful for everybody around us. It was a great race."

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama

The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama enters its 11th season in 2015 as one of the largest of Porsche's 20 single-make Cup Challenge series in the world. The series produces intense, exciting competition for semi-professional and aspiring professional drivers in the world's most produced and iconic race car, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

Racing is divided into two classes - Platinum Cup, featuring the 2014 and 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which is based on the current seventh, and current, generation of the street car; and Gold Cup, which is comprised of the previous iteration (model years 2010-2013) of the race car. A Masters Championship also is conducted in Platinum and Gold classes. Each class is awarded with its own podium at the end of every race and individual champion at the end of every season. Points are awarded by finish in class.

ABOUT IMSA

The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 with a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, as well as four single-make series: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama; Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin; Ferrari Challenge North America; and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. IMSA - a company within the NASCAR Holdings group - is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected TUDOR Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.