Six drivers finished in the top-10 in both practice sessions, setting up possible success for several drivers seeking their first win or for Phillip Fry to go back-to-back.
Wind speeds during the practice drifted between calm and 25mph over the one-hour session, a sign for the conditions we could expect for the first road course race of the year. Here's the fast ten from final practice: 1) Adam Mundinger (R) - 1:43.689 (29 laps) 2) Phillip Fry (R) - 1:43.701 (28) 3) nascarfan19 - 1:43.715 (29) 4) Jake Baskinger (R) - 1:43.726 (30) 5) TheOtherJR (R) - 1:43.732 (28) 6) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 1:43.765 (30) 7) Stephen Willey - 1:43.797 (29) 8) Reece Butcher - 1:43.802 (31) 9) Noah Pontzer (R) - 1:43.818 (29) 10) Ryan Maiden (R) - 1:43.848 (30)
The race features two Australian drivers, one of whom cracked the top-10. Zachary Fitzwater Sr. finished 6th on the session, but Pikes Peak International Raceway winner Stuart Gratton was all the way down in 30th place.
"We know Stuart knows this course, the car just wasn't at the level he needs it at and he provided a lot of notes for us to make it better for happy hour," #29 crew chief Freddie Sherwood said. Here's the top ten from first practice at Calder Park: 1) Ryan Maiden (R) - 1:43.804 (44 laps) 2) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 1:43.849 (43) 3) Jake Baskinger (R) - 1:43.860 (44) 4) nascarfan19 - 1:43.875 (46) 5) Jonathan Raines (R) - 1:43.952 (44) 6) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 1:43.979 (44) 7) Aidan Shepherd (R) - 1:44.000 (46) 8) Jonny Gardner - 1:44.007 (44) 9) Stephen Willey - 1:44.008 (43) 10) Phillip Fry (R) - 1:44.021 (45)
"We realized early on in our testing that taking the speeds of these cars all the way to the end of the straightaway and forcing them to slam on the brakes could be dangerous in causing an accident, especially at the start of the race when everyone is bunched up," NFRN commissioner Collin Denton said. "This alternate configuration should alleviate that danger, and it will also allow us to sell to a higher capacity with the oval seating."
Calder Park is the first of two road courses on the NECS schedule this season. |
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