Then everything changed.
The green flag run to the finish just about matched the projected fuel window, putting all the crews on edge. With three laps to go, the floodgates opened and many of the cars headed to pit road for a splash of gas that would get them to finish. Not every car needed the late splash. Noah Pontzer suddenly had a windshield full of nothing but the Ontario Motor Speedway surface. His #92 team gave him the green light to go, believing it was boom-or-bust for a chance at victory. He wasn't in the clear, as three other cars took up the entirety of his mirror. However, as Reece Butcher pushed for a last-lap attack, Caleb Campbell made the move first into turn 3, giving Pontzer plenty of breathing room to claim his first career NFRN Elite Cup Series victory. "We really needed that for our whole crew," crew chief Ross Milo said. "We were having solid runs, a few top-10s, but we needed something that said we're here to stay. Our driver and our team got it done today." Campbell would end up finishing a career-best 2nd while Dwayne Callaway also got by Butcher on the final turn to finish 3rd. "I think the four-tire call made the difference for all of us there at the end," Callaway said. "You look at who all finished up there and we all took four. Everyone was concerned about track position, we felt like the time it took us to make the tire change we could fill our tank up until it couldn't hold any more." The move to pit also had a major shakeup in the playoff picture. Adam Mundinger, who was seven points below the cut line before the crowd pitted, ended up with a top-five finish and is now seven points to the good. Phillip Fry's 7th-place run brought him from 10 points below to five points above. Jake Baskinger, who was slowed by hard pit lane contact on the first caution of the day, finished 15th and went from one point down to 21 up. It wasn't all positives for the Chase contenders. Stuart Gratton, Jek Porkins, and nascarfan19 were all above the cut line before their pit stops and now enter Milwaukee Mile in a deficit of at least five points. In a race that last season was marred by multiple large accidents on pit entry, the reconfigured track saw less drama on that side, but until the late stages of the race, no green-flag stops were needed because of the action and questionable moves on the speedway. Austin Rogers tried to slip inside Nick Smith on lap 3 but took himself out as a result while the #18 suffered major damage. That caution would lead to Baskinger's trouble in which he was hammered in the side by Rampage as he exited his stall, leading him to contact a stopped Kyle Law and make further contact with Cody Hagen. The #84 did not pit again for repairs, causing the field to stack up on the ensuing restart. Amethyst Ashley burst to the inside of the stalled line, but that led to a stop-and-go penalty that only impacted her and not the drivers who followed directly behind her. She would get saved by another turn 4 accident when Julio Cesar tried to pass Noah Kars, putting both of them in the wall and causing a secondary incident in which Zachary Fitzwater Sr. flipped. He was hit again by Kars and Law before coming to a stop. Despite being saved by the caution, the #57 crew blundered the strategy by not taking tires and having to pit shortly after the next restart. That issue would put Ashley a lap down and force her well below the cut line entering the cutoff race. Another multi-car accident took place on the frontstretch near the halfway point of the race when Dominic Carranza blended into traffic after a slide with Butcher, contacting Callaway and Allyson Rayne. Smith drove incredibly late into the accident, nailing the back of the #1 and forcing himself out. The final caution occurred as Mitchell Marc dove deep into turn 2 and turned Ryan Maiden, sending both airborne after contact with the wall. Gratton swiped the #5 as he tried to avoid, but it didn't appear to impact his car's performance. Entering the cut race, only eight points separates 4th from 11th, leaving the battle to advance to the Round of 8 very much up for grabs.
Bruno de Barros made similar gains, going from 34th to 5th between practices, while Jek Porkins maintained a top-10 spot, setting the RPG-7 Motorsports drivers up nicely for the race.
Second practice was otherwise a bust for the remaining playoff drivers, as four placed in the top-11 but eight placed in the bottom-15. Amethyst Ashley fell from 6th to 24th, Julio Cesar from 11th to 29th, nascarfan19 from 14th to 27th, and points leader John Arndt from 22nd to last among full-timers. Ashley and nascarfan19 are below the cut line while Gratton and de Barros are above it. Here's the final time chart from the 2.5-mile oval: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Cody Hagen (R) - 48.392 (57 laps) 2) Stuart Gratton (R) - 48.401 (58) 3) Brad Stover (R) - 48.411 (58) 4) Gerrard Oran (R) - 48.413 (58) T5) Bruno de Barros (R) - 48.430 (57) T5) Nick Smith - 48.430 (57) 7) Tyler Markel - 48.439 (60) 8) Jek Porkins (R) - 48.443 (61) 9) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 48.445 (60) 10) Caleb Campbell (R) - 48.450 (58) 11) Adam Mundinger (R) - 48.464 (61) 22) Phillip Fry (R) - 48.530 (57) 24) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 48.564 (59) 26) David Davidson (R) - 48.581 (59) T27) Jake Baskinger (R) - 48.584 (55) T27) nascarfan19 - 48.584 (59) 29) Julio Cesar (R) - 48.591 (60) T31) William Brock - 48.626 (57) 36) John Arndt - 48.660 (60)
Much like in the NFRN Truck Series' first session, playoff drivers were far less visible. Only Amethyst Ashley and Jek Porkins cracked the top-10 while David Davidson, Bruno de Barros, and Stuart Gratton were outside the top-30, with Gratton a full three-and-a-half tenths off Butcher's time. All of these drivers are within eight points of each other at the cut line, with Ashley one point below and the drivers struggling for speed anywhere from one to six points above.
Here's first practice times from Ontario, California: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Reece Butcher - 48.285 (86 laps) 2) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 48.315 (87) 3) Noah Pontzer (R) - 48.317 (88) 4) Ryan Maiden (R) - 48.338 (88) 5) Jett Kraus (R) - 48.341 (86) 6) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 48.345 (88) T7) Nick Smith - 48.354 (85) T7) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 48.354 (87) 9) Jek Porkins (R) - 48.359 (87) 10) TheOtherJR (R) - 48.361 (90) 11) Julio Cesar (R) - 48.374 (89) 14) nascarfan19 - 48.394 (92) 17) Adam Mundinger (R) - 48.401 (91) 22) John Arndt - 48.446 (88) 24) Phillip Fry (R) - 48.459 (89) 26) Jake Baskinger (R) - 48.478 (89) 29) William Brock - 48.502 (89) 32) David Davidson (R) - 48.527 (87) 34) Bruno de Barros (R) - 48.540 (86) 36) Stuart Gratton (R) - 48.639 (88)
Butcher qualified in the 27th position. When the race had its final restart on lap 14, he was in 18th after the pit stops.
The odds never seemed in his favor, but there was no quit in the #90 team. He cracked the top-10 after the first round of green flag pit stops and crept up to 7th after the second. As he caught the lead pack by lap 62, slowly but surely Butcher crept up the leaderboard one-by-one. On lap 69, he led, he pulled out even further, and, thanks to a no-tire pit stop, defeated the field by over three seconds. "We knew there was going to be a sacrifice on time on track, but clearly that set of tires was special," crew chief Mathew Blackburn said. "No point in fixing what ain't broke." With the win, Butcher becomes the second driver in series history to reach three NFRN Elite Cup Series victories, following fellow eliminated driver Rampage who hit the mark at Van Zandt Super Speedway. Butcher won last season at Delaware Speedway and this season at Green Valley Super Speed Ring. The victory in the face of previous elimination, not unlike Grayson Acevedo in the first Season 1 Chase race or Zac Campbell in the Season 1 finale, was a bittersweet feeling, but it gave Butcher a leg up to try and improve on his 12th-place points finish from a season prior. With the amount of NECS Chasers facing off at the front of the field, it appeared that one of the remaining 12 in the playoffs were sure to go to victory lane. nascarfan19 had the pole and kept the lead through the first caution, but a slow pit stop and contact in the second accident sent him back to 26th. Outside polesitter Adam Mundinger went for a spin in the big crash on lap 9 and made further contact on pit road that resulted in a 32nd-place finish. By the time the dust settled, multiple playoff drivers were still in contention. Julio Cesar was the most consistent frontrunner, leading 34 laps and grabbing the bonus point for leading the most laps. William Brock, Bruno de Barros, Jake Baskinger, John Arndt, Jek Porkins, and Amethyst Ashley all had time spent inside the top-10 on green flag runs, with Brock and Arndt both leading at least five laps. Still, they couldn't match the speed of the #90. The race saw early action as Arndt clipped Phillip Fry in the left rear quarter panel exiting the first corner, sending Fry into contact with Dominic Carranza and causing the #78 to deal with damage for the remainder of the race. Craig Martin also made contact with Cesar but both got away without incident. The recently eliminated NFRN Amateur Cup Series playoff competitor Chris Harley ran into the back of NASCOR winner Jett Kraus entering the first turn and would spin into the outside wall, collecting Nick Smith, Eli Bright, and Gerrard Oran. Harley and Oran both exited the event with heavy damage. On the resulting pit stop, Donnie Moore and team chose to go for no tires. While the result was a big gain in spots, the cars that chose to go for four tires were primed to run over the #43. With less than one lap back to green, Porkins caught the back of Moore exiting the final corner and sent him hard into the inside pit wall. He rebounded back into the field, first getting hit by Allyson Rayne and sending other drivers like Ryan Maiden and Mundinger into a spin. Moore and Rayne could not continue in the race. The aggression didn't stop after the green waved for the final time. Mitchell Marc made contact with Dalejrfan8883, sending both up the track into traffic, and an ailing Cody Hagen clipped TheOtherJR. The three- and four-wide racing was a far cry from the NACS race that saw mostly single-file racing deeper in the field. Stephen Willey had an admirable performance in western Wisconsin, scoring a runner-up finish after qualifying 4th. The lowest in points of the full-time drivers, Willey had just scored his first top-10 of the season at NASCOR and managed to score consecutive top-10s for the first time in his career. Martin, who finished 10th in the NACS race in his home state, matched Butcher's aggressive late pit call and went for no tires from about the 15th position, initially holding down 2nd-place before being passed up to ultimately finish 5th. To wrap up the first race of the Round of 12, new points leader Arndt is only 18 points ahead of the cut line, while on the other end, Fry is 13 points below the line. All drivers will remain on edge as the series heads to Ontario Motor Speedway for the second time in series history and the first in the playoffs.
While he was not diagnosed with an injury at the medical center, he admitted to suffering post-concussion symptoms that he did not disclose with his playoff birth at stake. Rampage was also involved in multiple incidents in the next two races at Peoria Motor Speedway and Nazareth Speedway.
"It's been a great career with some ups, downs, and a few flips along the way," Rampage said in a statement. "It's time to step away and let another exciting new team fill the void that will be left behind." nascarfan19 is prepared to leave as well and indicated that it is a business-related decision. He is expected to take up a managerial role at his current team after his driving career is finished. The #64 driver remains active in the Chase as part of the Round of 12. "I’ve really enjoyed my time in the NFRN Elite Cup Series, and while I’m stepping out of the driver’s seat and moving onto the next stage in my career, I know this team and series is in good hands," nascarfan19 said in a statement. "It means a lot to walk out on my own terms with a great friend and teammate. We still have unfinished business as a group, and hopefully this will clear the air as we attack these final seven races." As a duo, they are among the most decorated NECS drivers in the short tenure of the league. Rampage has posted three wins, seven top-5s, and 12 top-10s to date alongside his Season 1 title. nascarfan19 has earned two wins, 10 top-5s, and 14 top-10s, finishing 7th in last season's standings. They are #1 and #2 in the NFRN's All-Time Driver Power Index. The team indicated that it would continue to operate under the rebranded name of Arch Motorsports starting next season. While it could not announce a potential future replacement, a newcomer to the league appeared to be most likely to join the team. Team drivers Sparky the Sun Devil and Clint McComb will likely remain in their current roles. RamCo will also still compete in the offseason 24-Hour Race with its quartet of drivers. "Rampage and nascarfan19 have been essential to the growth of the league as part of the inaugural class of NFRN Elite Cup Series drivers," the NFRN said in a statement. "With both drivers' accomplishments on the track, leading several statistical categories, and Rampage being crowned the first champion in series history, they have set the foundation for future drivers in the years to come. We appreciate their contributions to the NFRN and wish them both the best in their future endeavors." The league also said it would review its medical policies following the revelation of Rampage's injuries. The NFRN will not penalize the driver of the #1 car.
Five Chasers ended up in the top-10 after only two hit that mark in the first practice, with Phillip Fry and Amethyst Ashley proving to be early favorites after running top-10 in both sessions. Six of the playoff drivers improved their position between sessions.
Some drivers still have reason to be concerned, with three Chasers in the bottom six positions. Jake Baskinger, who ended the Round of 16 with the points lead, was 33rd in this session, and David Davidson, 5th in standings, was dead last. Neither driver placed in the top-20 in first practice. Here's the final practice results for NECS Race 20: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Aidan Shepherd (R) - 24.875 (110) 2) Gerrard Oran (R) - 24.877 (100) 3) nascarfan19 - 24.891 (107) 4) Nick Smith - 24.900 (111) 5) Phillip Fry (R) - 24.905 (109) 6) Bruno de Barros (R) - 24.906 (109) 7) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 24.914 (112) 8) Julio Cesar (R) - 24.917 (111) 9) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 24.924 (113) 10) Noah Pontzer (R) - 24.926 (111) 11) Jek Porkins (R) - 24.929 (111) 12) John Arndt - 24.930 (111) 22) Adam Mundinger (R) - 24.966 (112) T23) Stuart Gratton (R) - 24.967 (103) 31) William Brock - 24.995 (113) 33) Jake Baskinger (R) - 24.998 (112) 36) David Davidson (R) - 25.020 (115)
Several Chasers were in the back 10 of the speed charts, with Stuart Gratton, who tied with Fry to be the spot just above the cut line after NASCOR, lapping almost a tenth of a second slower than the leader.
Three of the eliminated playoff drivers had best laps faster than 10 remaining Chasers, the only exception being Ryan Maiden who was 31st. Allyson Rayne came up 6th, with Rayne Racing teammate Zachary Fitzwater Sr. timing in runner-up. Last race's winner Jett Kraus was P8. Here's the top-10 for first NECS practice at SimTel: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 24.369 (178 laps) 2) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 24.378 (175) 3) Gerrard Oran (R) - 24.384 (175) 4) Phillip Fry (R) - 24.389 (175) 5) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 24.392 (173) 6) Allyson Rayne - 24.396 (176) 7) Stephen Willey - 24.399 (173) 8) Jett Kraus (R) - 24.403 (177) T9) Caleb Campbell (R) - 24.408 (170) T9) Reece Butcher - 24.408 (171) T12) John Arndt - 24.413 (170) T18) Julio Cesar (R) - 24.431 (169) 21) Jek Porkins (R) - 24.436 (164) T22) Jake Baskinger (R) - 24.438 (168) T24) Adam Mundinger (R) - 24.439 (164) T27) Bruno de Barros (R) - 24.442 (169) T27) David Davidson (R) - 24.442 (175) 29) nascarfan19 - 24.447 (175) T31) William Brock - 24.450 (166) 34) Stuart Gratton (R) - 24.458 (170)
Only the latter made it, entering the race 16th in points.
Fry, who put together a 16th-place finish, bumped another two-time playoff contender Reece Butcher, who first had incidental contact with Zachary Fitzwater Sr. on the first lap that ultimately sent Rayne in flight on the backstretch and then was struck from behind on pit lane as Mitchell Marc and TheOtherJR had contact entering their stalls. Butcher exited after the Round of 12 last season. This season, the #90 couldn't clear the first hurdle. The league's original champion might have been as big a surprise as anyone. Rampage looked destined to win in the first playoff race at Texas World, but a series of events there and a non-existent performance at Toronto Lakeshore Speedway led to an early exit for the 3-seed entering the Chase.
Maiden almost played the spoiler among the back four, climbing throughout the race as Stuart Gratton struggled in the pits, but it was the #99 that faltered at the worst time as he slipped back to 32nd on the final pit stop and kept Gratton's title aspirations alive.
So the Round of 12 is set, but we've still yet to talk about the battle for the win, which was in itself a story. Jett Kraus and Brad Stover, the season leaders in top-10s but neither a part of the playoffs, found themselves in a chess match in the latter part of the race, and they took two different paths to get there. Stover made his way to the front by not pitting on the first caution. David Davidson was the initial beneficiary, but his pit crew's speed on the first stop was unable to keep him in the lead, eventually putting him in position to finish 4th. Kraus was one of those to pit under the first caution, and was actually 15th before the first green flag stops took place, but all cylinders were clicking as he eventually caught up to the #55 after the second green stop when Stover was caught in traffic. By the way, both of those drivers started on Row 14. Despite lapped cars giving the #34 team a scare at the end, he was able to keep Stover behind him, as he claimed his first-ever victory and added a slight advantage to his edge on 17th in points, with Stover jumping up to 18th. "It's been such a feast or famine season for us that finally getting to victory lane is really validating for us," crew chief Frank Elwood said. Now the playoff field resets, with the remaining 12 drivers all on equal ground heading to SimTel Park. With the eliminations of Rampage, Butcher, and Rayne, only three veterans have a shot at a title: nascarfan19, John Arndt, and William Brock. Rookies like points leader Jake Baskinger or Bruno de Barros, who had top-10s in each race of the Round of 16, are very much in contention to be a champion in their first season of competition. In other race news, the NFRN stated it has warned Marc after being involved in pit road contact for the third race in a row but stopped short of handing out a probation. At Texas World, he was slow entering his stall leading to Rampage's poor finish, and he ran into Fitzwater Sr. at Toronto Lakeshore after exiting his stall.
Chasers had a hot run on the one-mile track, with five cracking the top-10 at the end of 60 minutes, three of whom are below the cut line. Jonny Gardner led the way in the group, giving Gardner Racing a 2-3 effort in the practice. Jake Baskinger and Ryan Maiden also placed inside the top-10 in both sessions, finishing 5th and 6th, respectively. Gardner, Maiden, and Phillip Fry, are between six to 12 points behind 12th place.
Contenders found themselves on different ends of the spectrum, as three of the bottom five spots were also occupied by playoff drivers. David Davidson came up dead last, with nascarfan19 and Amethyst Ashley failing to find speed. First practice leader TheOtherJR was also tied for second-to-last. Here's practice times for the final session prior to racing at NASCOR: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Eli Bright (R) - 22.720 (115 laps) 2) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 22.725 (120) 3) Jonny Gardner - 22.735 (124) 4) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 22.747 (118) 5) Jake Baskinger (R) - 22.751 (137) 6) Ryan Maiden (R) - 22.752 (122) 7) Jonathan Raines (R) - 22.755 (129) 8) Aidan Shepherd (R) - 22.758 (124) 9) Phillip Fry (R) - 22.760 (133) 10) Adam Mundinger (R) - 22.762 (124) 15) Reece Butcher - 22.767 (135) 16) John Arndt - 22.769 (125) T17) Stuart Gratton (R) - 22.771 (126) 20) Rampage - 22.774 (124) T21) Julio Cesar (R) - 22.775 (126) 24) William Brock - 22.778 (131) T27) Bruno de Barros (R) - 22.787 (120) T29) Jek Porkins (R) - 22.788 (134) T32) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 22.793 (135) T34) nascarfan19 - 22.794 (120) 36) David Davidson (R) - 22.802 (118)
From a playoff perspective, Ryan Maiden led the 16 Chasers as he holds an eight-point deficit to the cut line with Reece Butcher, who was 29th in the session. Stuart Gratton also placed inside the top-10 as a second RPG-7 Motorsports driver in that sector. Points leader Jake Baskinger came up in 10th.
Here are the first times off of the one-mile track: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) TheOtherJR (R) - 22.852 (187 laps) 2) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 22.866 (197) 3) Noah Pontzer (R) - 22.867 (183) 4) Ryan Maiden (R) - 22.871 (193) 5) Dominic Carranza (R) - 22.878 (193) 6) Stuart Gratton (R) - 22.883 (191) 7) Mitchell Marc (R) - 22.884 (195) 8) Caleb Campbell (R) - 22.886 (194) 9) Jonathan Raines (R) - 22.888 (181) 10) Jake Baskinger (R) - 22.890 (197) 13) Adam Mundinger (R) - 22.895 (194) 14) Bruno de Barros (R) - 22.896 (190) 15) Phillip Fry (R) - 22.898 (192) 21) nascarfan19 - 22.906 (180) 22) Jek Porkins (R) - 22.913 (186) 24) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 22.915 (204) T25) Rampage - 22.916 (191) T25) Julio Cesar (R) - 22.916 (192) 27) John Arndt - 22.918 (182) 28) David Davidson (R) - 22.922 (199) 29) Reece Butcher - 22.924 (193) 31) Jonny Gardner - 22.926 (189) 32) William Brock - 22.930 (194)
Tyler Markel went one lap earlier than Ashley after joining her on the first pit stop, and by the time the #57 was merging out of turn 2, Markel was blowing by at race speed.
"We knew we had to do something different if we wanted to win this thing," crew chief Dax Street said. "There were too few opportunities for this team to be as high as it was, and this time we wanted to capitalize." The gamble paid off, as a battle between Ashley and Jek Porkins kept the #48 ahead for the final stint of the race and claimed his first victory in 44 career starts. In trying to fight off Porkins and the lapped traffic running faster through the field, Ashley couldn't catch back up to Markel and finished runner-up. Despite not getting the win, it was a big points rebound after her late-race incident with Rambo and Jonny Gardner and Texas World Speedway. "I'm encouraged by the way we're running right now, but I'd like to see us run more like we did tonight than the past few races," crew chief Charles Ruggero said. "Top-20s may do us fine this round, but settling there won't make us championship contenders." The race ran caution-free, capping off a full weekend of racing that saw zero yellow flags, though an incident took place entering pit lane where Eli Bright hit the dividing wall and was hit from behind by Conor Mays, taking both out of the race. In the playoff battle, Porkins joined Ashley on the podium as well, and both negated poor finishes from Texas World that put the drivers 5th and 6th in the standings, respectively. Bruno de Barros, also in the top-10, solidified his spot at 43 points ahead of the cut line. Jake Baskinger and Julio Cesar kept in close proximity, now tied for the top spot one point ahead of de Barros. Drivers in danger of falling out in the Round of 16 include Season 1 champion Rampage, who finished 36th in the race and is eight points below the cut line. A possible top-five run at Texas World was hampered by a run-in with Mitchell Marc, costing him valuable points. "We just didn't execute tonight," crew chief Brent Aston said. "Our team has fast cars and there's no reason we should be finishing a lap down." Phillip Fry also dropped to last in points after contact on pit lane that put him five laps down. An average finish for Gardner provided assistance from last race's misfortunes, but he sits six points behind Reece Butcher for the last spot into the next round.
Among playoff drivers, Adam Mundinger went from 9th to 3rd to be the fastest playoff driver heading into the race. Ryan Maiden. who was the fastest Chaser at 4th last session, fell to 23rd. Overall, the strength of the playoff drivers appeared to weaken, with 10 in the back half of those practicing, including seven straight between 28th-34th.
Here's the final practice leaderboard heading into Race #18: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Noah Pontzer (R) - 21.638 (117 laps) 2) Gerrard Oran (R) - 21.644 (114) 3) Adam Mundinger (R) - 21.647 (109) 4) Eli Bright (R) - 21.653 (123) 5) TheOtherJR (R) - 21.657 (131) 6) Aidan Shepherd (R) - 21.658 (124) 7) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 21.660 (129) 8) Phillip Fry (R) - 21.666 (121) 9) nascarfan19 - 21.683 (133) 10) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 21.687 (129) 13) Reece Butcher - 21.698 (127) 15) Jonny Gardner - 21.701 (128) 22) Jake Baskinger (R) - 21.713 (111) T23) John Arndt - 21.714 (126) T23) Ryan Maiden (R) - 21.714 (115) 28) David Davidson (R) - 21.722 (135) 29) Stuart Gratton (R) - 21.727 (134) 30) Jek Porkins (R) - 21.730 (121) 31) Rampage - 21.732 (117) 32) Bruno de Barros (R) - 21.733 (131) 33) William Brock - 21.735 (135) 34) Julio Cesar (R) - 21.738 (130)
On the Chase side, Ryan Maiden was the fastest driver among the 16 after putting up just a 32nd-place finish at Texas World, while Jonny Gardner, crashed nearing the end of the race, came in just behind Maiden.
Here's first practice times from Toronto: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Aidan Shepherd (R) - 21.637 (186 laps) 2) Noah Pontzer (R) - 21.640 (197) 3) TheOtherJR (R) - 21.644 (188) 4) Ryan Maiden (R) - 21.646 (181) 5) Jonny Gardner - 21.650 (191) 6) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 21.654 (187) 7) Jake Baskinger (R) - 21.661 (178) 8) Phillip Fry (R) - 21.662 (195) 9) Adam Mundinger (R) - 21.667 (179) T10) Gerrard Oran (R) - 21.668 (187) T10) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 21.668 (183) 15) Reece Butcher - 21.692 (185) 19) David Davidson (R) - 21.701 (183) 23) Jek Porkins (R) - 21.715 (189) 24) Stuart Gratton (R) - 21.721 (189) 25) nascarfan19 - 21.723 (186) 26) William Brock - 21.726 (173) 28) John Arndt - 21.732 (186) T31) Rampage - 21.740 (191) T33) Bruno de Barros (R) - 21.743 (187) 36) Julio Cesar (R) - 21.749 (182)
This is Rambo's second infraction in four races, with the first bringing a probation of just one race. The probation is now the longest given out in the league, a couple races after Kyle Law received a four-race probation at Peoria Motor Speedway, which is still being served.
"The length of the penalty definitely had to do with it being a second infraction," NFRN Director of Competition Kris Neuert said. "We just have to defuse the tension. We don't want to be in the business of giving out points penalties and especially not suspensions, but with these probation periods, points can be lost if the behavior continues." Under probation, a driver must not have aggressive incidents deemed their fault or else be subject to further penalty.
Suddenly, a twist changed all the momentum.
In the midst of the final green flag pit stops, Chase driver Amethyst Ashley was turned off the front bumper of Rambo exiting pit road, right onto the track where Ashley was slammed hard by Jonny Gardner, another playoff contender. The caution came out with three laps to go and two drivers yet to stop: Eli Bright in the lead and Cody Hagen just behind. But the #88 car knew he was running dry, and stopping mid-course would have risked him losing even more spots, despite most of the field being at least one lap down from already stopping. Bright made the hard left. Hagen was ballsy, yet smart. The #42 team went the longest without stopping in the first pit window: 17 laps, just as long as Jason Langley went in the NFRN Truck Series although he ran out on the backstretch. The confidence on fuel mileage was able to propel Hagen to his first career win, mirroring that of Grayson Acevedo from Riki Raceway last season winning as a non-Chase driver in the first playoff race. "We tested that during practice, we knew what the fuel window was and that in dividing the race, pitting too early could force us to a three-stop strategy," crew chief Edwin Hadley said. "I'm glad we turned those long runs, because I didn't have any reservations keeping him out there on the yellow." Playoff competitor Jake Baskinger snuck his way into 2nd by managing to get off pit lane on the same lap as the leaders and then have Bright come down for his pit stop. The #84 now sits atop the point standings going into Toronto Lakeshore Speedway.
The driver of the #4, under review as a result of the accident, expressed remorse following the accident.
"I know I should be celebrating a top-20 finish today, even at home, but after what happened at the end I have a bad feeling with myself and want to apologize to the #57 and the #6 for wrecking them," Rambo said. "It was a great race but ended badly because of a bad mistake by me."
"I just don't know if we would have gotten to the end without blowing up," Aston said. "We tried to do damage control and the timing potentially saved us some spots but I don't really know. All I know is that if we blew up and the wreck didn't happen, we'd be in even more of a hole."
As it stands, Jek Porkins sits just outside the group to advance, three points behind Rampage who is 12th in points. Ryan Maiden, Ashley, and Gardner also face elimination with two races left in the round. Gardner, the furthest back, is 12 points outside of 12th.
But when it comes to overall strength of the field, it looks like the non-Chasers want to steal away a victory. Only four playoff competitors cracked the top-10 this session, while 10 drivers were found in the back half of the full-timers. Just three playoff drivers were in the top-10 in first practice.
Here's final speeds heading into Chase race #1: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Julio Cesar (R) - 32.440 (81 laps) 2) Nick Smith - 32.461 (83) 3) Brad Stover (R) - 32.468 (86) 4) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 32.484 (80) 5) nascarfan19 - 32.499 (86) 6) Noah Pontzer (R) - 32.509 (85) 7) Rambo (R) - 32.514 (85) 8) Caleb Campbell (R) - 32.533 (80) 9) Jett Kraus (R) - 32.533 (87) 10) John Arndt - 32.543 (82) 11) William Brock - 32.583 (82) 17) Adam Mundinger (R) - 32.610 (81) 19) Rampage - 32.614 (84) T20) Phillip Fry (R) - 32.616 (85) 22) Stuart Gratton (R) - 32.630 (83) 25) David Davidson (R) - 32.634 (87) 26) Jake Baskinger (R) - 32.646 (83) 28) Ryan Maiden (R) - 32.650 (95) 29) Reece Butcher - 32.653 (83) 30) Jonny Gardner - 32.662 (87) 34) Bruno de Barros (R) - 32.683 (82) 35) Jek Porkins (R)- 32.700 (82)
On the playoff front, it was Texas' Amethyst Ashley leading the way, coming in at 5th place. Ashley won her way into the playoffs at the long-distanced Piggz Cliff Super Speedway. Rampage, one of the best 2-2.5 mile racers in the league, came in just behind at 6th, while Phillip Fry was nearly the slowest among the full-timers.
Here's the first practice times of the playoffs: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Jonathan Raines (R) - 32.864 (124 laps) 2) Gerrard Oran (R) - 32.896 (129) 3) Aidan Shepherd (R) - 32.906 (126) 4) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 32.919 (131) 5) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 32.932 (120) 6) Rampage - 32.948 (132) 7) Noah Pontzer (R) - 32.957 (118) 8) David Davidson (R) - 32.959 (117) T9) Noah Kars - 32.964 (127) T9) Mitchell Marc (R) - 32.964 (127) 12) John Arndt - 32.972 (127) 14) Stuart Gratton (R) - 32.984 (126) 15) Julio Cesar (R) - 32.985 (129) 16) Adam Mundinger (R) - 32.988 (123) 19) Reece Butcher - 33.012 (126) 21) Jek Porkins (R)- 33.024 (125) T23) Jonny Gardner - 33.037 (122) T23) nascarfan19 - 33.037 (132) 25) Jake Baskinger (R) - 33.048 (126) 27) Bruno de Barros (R) - 33.055 (128) T28) William Brock - 33.062 (129) 30) Ryan Maiden (R) - 33.064 (123) 35) Phillip Fry (R) - 33.097 (125)
"We had something to show at the beginning of the weekend, and we had to pull it together to bring it home at the end," crew chief Bob Yale said. "The way the points were, we were way out if someone on the outside or one of those guys right inside the cut line won. Our mentality was to make it must-win."
Then came the race for the open spots, and Davidson's run made a difference as well. The #11 has rarely been in the top-25 in points this season, but it became crucial that he made his way there once he got his win at Zen Joltis Quad Oval Mega Speedway. Despite sluggish practice sessions, Davidson rallied for a 4th to ultimately push him to 22nd in points, 12 points better than he needed.
"It's nerve-wracking to keep doing the points game and being that close," nascarfan19 said. "Fortunately, it was a much bigger gap once the #7 got out. Last year, we only got in by a point."
Less drivers fell out in the race than in the NFRN Amateur Cup Series counterpart. Besides Shepherd and Carranza, Adam Mundinger and Arndt were the only other dropouts as a result of Arndt getting into Gerrard Oran but taking the bigger hit. Both the #97 and #05 were locked into the playoffs going into the race.
For the final ten weeks of racing, the NFRNX channel will offer simultaneous in-car cameras for the NFRN Elite Cup Series, NFRN Amateur Cup Series, and NFRN Truck Series playoff drivers in addition to the main feed on the nascarfan19 channel.
"This is such an exciting program to launch because it's something that's never been done before in this kind of medium," league commissioner Collin Denton said. "The in-car cameras for playoff drivers is kind of our test program for the channel and we hope to find new ways to utilize it for Season 3." NFRNX will take over the channel currently known as "nf19games," which will have its videos deleted in the coming days and re-posted to nascarfan19. In addition to live in-car cameras, premieres for each of the playoff drivers will include:
While a first career victory would be sweet for Pontzer, the #92 team is 31st in points, 17 points back from 25th and would need other drivers immediately in front of him to have trouble. A driver with a victory must be in the top-25 after 16 races to make the playoffs, a situation David Davidson is familiar with. The Zen Joltis Quad Oval Mega Speedway winner is 29th in points, 10 points out of 25th, and needs a great run out of this weekend. He finished 15th in this session.
Here's the top-10 from our final practice session of the regular season: 1) Noah Pontzer (R) - 27.081 (109 laps) 2) Gerrard Oran (R) - 27.098 (108) 3) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 27.102 (111) 4) Ryan Maiden (R) - 27.110 (111) 5) Rampage - 27.112 (104) 6) Nick Smith - 27.115 (108) 7) TheOtherJR (R) - 27.116 (108) 8) Noah Kars - 27.118 (103) 9) Aidan Shepherd (R) - 27.119 (109) 10) Adam Mundinger (R) - 27.122 (107)
Through 15 races, no one has earned multiple victories, so there's only three-point first round advantages between the winners and those that will eventually make it into the playoffs on points. Twelve drivers enter the race with the possibility of gaining an additional three points at their disposal for the first round.
Here's who's showing speed early in Pennsylvania: 1) Ryan Maiden (R) - 27.235 (165 laps) 2) Adam Mundinger (R) - 27.238 (168 laps) 3) Gerrard Oran (R) - 27.242 (157 laps) 4) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 27.254 (170 laps) 5) Noah Pontzer (R) - 27.258 (155 laps) 6) TheOtherJR (R) - 27.276 (160 laps) 7) Rampage - 27.276 (168 laps) 8) Cody Hagen (R) - 27.279 (165 laps) 9) Caleb Campbell (R) - 27.284 (167 laps) 10) Jek Porkins (R) - 27.285 (161 laps)
The majority of those 54 laps were run under caution, with 2 laps the longest green flag stretch in the first 37 laps.
A total of 7 cautions left just 13 cars running at the finish. Maiden's win wasn't as linear as the NFRN Amateur Cup Series race. On what ended up to be the final pit stop, Maiden came down to take four tires while some teams took two or no tires. The combination of worn tires vs. new tires and how much damage each car had in the beatings of the race led to the #99 car being able to fly through the traffic before he eventually passed William Brock, already guaranteed into the playoffs but seeking his second win of the season. "We knew where we were in the standings, and the more and more cars that kept going out, we kept thinking this might be our time," crew chief Casey Ruggero said. "So making that pit call, I figured we had nothing to lose. It was gonna be a great points day regardless, having that chance to be in cut line talks. But everyone else was more beat up than us that it was a perfect storm." Maiden is among those who join Brock as playoff locks, including Season 1 champion Rampage, Phillip Fry, Jake Baskinger, Stuart Gratton, and Adam Mundinger. John Arndt will also join the 16-driver field through points. "Just glad we were able to lock ourselves into the postseason," Arndt said. "Maybe if we can get a win next around, I can put myself at the #1 seed, but at this point, I'm not sure. My day will come, hopefully." The dropouts of the race came through a variety of incidents, both big and small. There was no safe place on the race track as trouble came in all of the turns and straightaways throughout the day. One of the hardest-looking accidents of the day started with Noah Pontzer getting turned into the wall in turn 3, and an ensuing pileup turning two cars on their roofs, Eric Monaco by slight contact and Caleb Campbell from a heavy hit by Kenny Knox.
"[Hagen] needs to learn about personal space and also what a blue flag means," Carranza said after a 7th place finish. "Just plain crowded me out, I couldn't avoid contact. Definitely should have just moved over and given us lead-lap cars a lot more room."
For an added dose of drama, nascarfan19 had a run-in with Donnie Moore, a driver that he tangled with at Eight Bowl Superspeedway when he was still coming up to speed off pit lane and Moore hit him at a higher rate of speed. While Tyler Markel got the worst end of the wreck, the #64 suffered more damage than the #43. "Hope he's satisfied with his move cause I guess that makes us even," nascarfan19 said.
First practice leader Jonathan Raines slots into a tie for third.
Here's the fast ten heading into Race #15: 1) Jake Baskinger (R) - 35.438 (81 laps) 2) Gerrard Oran (R) - 35.464 (79) T3) Reece Butcher - 35.467 (84) T3) Jonathan Raines (R) - 35.467 (84) 5) Jonny Gardner - 35.477 (79) 6) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 35.480 (79) 7) Adam Mundinger (R) - 35.482 (87) 8) Noah Pontzer (R) - 35.488 (84) T9) nascarfan19 - 35.489 (84) T9) Eli Bright (R) - 35.489 (78) |
Archives
September 2023
Categories |