In a relatively uneventful cutoff race, Jonny Gardner easily handled a win at RTR Motorsports Park after a strange lineup off a restart. In the process, Josh Harris, Stephen Willey, William Brock and Paul Brenner all fell out of the Chase, bringing the field of potential champions down to 12. Andrew Rich, NascarMan#1, Dexter Black, and Alexander Miller rounded out the top five.
Three Takeaways: No Place to Pass: Passing seemed to be a luxury at this racetrack. Cars didn’t appear to be able to draft off one another and were caught in just one drivable lane. When Gardner took off from lap one, it seemed the only way drivers were going to make moves was through pit strategy and strength. Points Leader Falls: The regular season points leader Brenner was unable to make the next round of the Chase after an incredibly disappointing Round of 16. Despite only one win at Seattle Superspeedway, Brenner accumulated ____ top fives and ____ top tens over the first 18 races. In the first round of the Chase alone, he could not finish in the top 30. nascarfan19 came in as an at-large Chaser, but down in Lake Havasu City, he took his first career win at Arizona Speedway. It is uncertain where some drivers may have been because of differing pit strategies, but leader tlove48man’s decision to pit a few laps shy of the finish because of fuel struggles came at the same time Harrison Butt got turned in the middle of turn 3. The #64 car got picked up by the pace car and claimed victory, clinching a spot in the Round of 12. Rounding out the top five were Lego Busch, Noah Kars, Grayson Acevedo, and tlove48man.
Three Takeaways: Blow For Brenner: Paul Brenner had a top five run going in the middle of the race, but the slow car of John Arndt forced Brenner high on the race track and running into Andrew Golden out of the tri-oval. Suddenly, the top points runner for most of the season, despite a lone win at Seattle Superspeedway, might be at risk to drop out of the Chase after just one round. More Chaser Woes: Chase drivers were certainly not spared of accidents and DNFs at Arizona, similar to the multitude of Chasers wrecking out at Riki Raceway last week. Rampage went for a flip after getting squeezed into the turn 4 wall, Arndt struggled to perform after his involvement in the same wreck, and many cars plowed into the accident involving Brenner and Arndt. Another Fuel Shortage: tlove48man took a risk to pit after Nick Smith spun into turn 3 on lap 28. For a few laps, it looked like the #12 as well as Smith, who had to pit because of damage sustained from his accident, could make a fuel run last into the final laps of the race. However, they ran a few laps dry and the caution came out at the wrong time for them to recover. |
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