Last race winner Jake Baskinger came up in third place, looking to solidify his playoff spot. Four of this session's top-10 have wins on the year.
Here's the quickest old school skins on track: 1) Jonathan Raines (R) - 35.512 (129 laps) 2) Aidan Shepherd (R) - 35.514 (123) 3) Jake Baskinger (R) - 35.521 (124) 4) Reece Butcher - 35.522 (123) 5) Noah Pontzer (R) - 35.527 (125) 6) Phillip Fry (R) - 35.533 (127) T7) TheOtherJR (R) - 35.538 (125) T7) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 35.538 (129) 9) Adam Mundinger (R) - 35.544 (124) 10) Ryan Maiden (R) - 35.547 (127)
"After reviewing data and replay footage, we determined that there was no mechanical issue on the #4 car to cause this and it was a case of negligence that had serious consequences," NFRN Director of Competition Kris Neuert said.
As with all prior probations this season, the #4 will be on watch at Peoria for aggressive incidents or incidents that are deemed the driver's fault.
"We're really proud of our driver," crew chief Titus Ivan said. "There's only so many adjustments we can make on this race track, and his driving talent shone through there at the end."
Baskinger and Sparky the Sun Devil traded the top spot for multiple laps until the #16 made a mistake in turn 1 that he was not able to recover from. Baskinger was 5th in points at the time, in position to earn an open playoff spot on points, but his victory means he won't need to stress in that area and it will also help drivers who are right near the cut line seeking a win. William Brock also gained enough points to become the first and only driver currently clinched into the NECS playoffs. The end of the race saw a longer green flag run than any point before then thanks to numerous accidents that took out big contenders. One of the notable incidents was an accident committed by a couple of lapped cars, Hierjel Arvin Alonso and Eric Monaco, coming off a green flag. The #33, still at competitive speed, ran over the #10 off of turn 1, forcing Alonso onto the apron until he came back up into Monaco in turn 2, collecting Stephen Willey. When the trio fell back down the track into traffic, Jek Porkins, who led most of the race to that point before making a pit stop, plowed into the #62 and dropped out of the race, as did nine other drivers from the accident. Zen Joltis Quad Oval Mega Speedway winner David Davidson was also wrecked in the crash as he remains outside the top-25 in points. "We’ll just have to try even harder in the next two races, and hopefully not get caught up in any more wrecks," Davidson said. Some drivers were not happy with Alonso on the way that accident turned out, including Dalejrfan8883, who was not involved in the crash. "I don't know what that #10 was thinking earlier in the race but that was a f---ing stupid move and he needs to be suspended for that. I think everyone agrees." Alonso didn't comment on the accident and instead called out Kyle Law for an incident on the first lap that likely gave the #10 the damage that made him slow. "Kyle has been aggressive since my runner-up finish at NACS (at Nox Raceway where Law won), and I think it is intentional. I hope NFRN will investigate this." It appears the NFRN has concluded its review on both incidents.
While Baskinger succeeded in the clutch at the cut line, others were not so lucky at Castle Gorge. Dalejrfan8883 was involved in the accident involving polesitter TheOtherJR in turn 2, giving him a heavy hit that took those two out of the race. Brad Stover was also in a wreck with previous winners Jonny Gardner and Amethyst Ashley in which he went on his side and barely avoided flipping. Stover is now out of open playoff points position while the #76 is still in.
Mundinger was sent for a spin by Caleb Campbell in a wreck that also involved William Brock and Brad Stover. There were also a couple of merging incidents in turn 2 involving David Davidson against Bruno de Barros and Rampage against Jake Baskinger. De Barros was also spun by Noah Kars in turn 3.
Here's the fastest drivers heading into Race #14: 1) Adam Mundinger (R) - 20.993 (145 laps) 2) Nick Smith - 21.022 (138) 3) Reece Butcher - 21.027 (123) 4) Noah Pontzer (R) - 21.035 (141) 5) Bruno de Barros (R) - 21.058 (135) 6) Tyler Markel - 21.065 (136) 7) Ryan Maiden (R) - 21.068 (138) 8) Jonny Gardner - 21.071 (139) 9) Stuart Gratton (R) - 21.078 (129) 10) Julio Cesar (R) - 21.103 (132)
Zen Joltis Quad Oval Mega Speedway winner David Davidson also made a good lap, coming third in the session.
Here's the fast 10 for the first Castle Gorge practice:
1) Tyler Markel - 20.723 (207 laps) 2) William Brock - 20.724 (202) 3) David Davidson (R) - 20.731 (210) 4) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 20.760 (189) 5) Noah Pontzer (R) - 20.767 (186) 6) Stephen Willey - 20.786 (204) 7) TheOtherJR (R) - 20.788 (216) T8) Noah Kars - 20.789 (200) T8) Adam Mundinger (R) - 20.789 (190) 10) Julio Cesar (R) - 20.790 (185)
Two drivers risked everything for a shot at victory in the end.
David Davidson prevailed. A large pack broke up lap after lap as teams couldn't bear to risk their spots after multiple drivers ran out of gas in the earlier parts of the race. After William Brock and Nick Smith pulled off (they still finished 3rd and 4th), Davidson and Dalejrfan8883 were the only two who hadn't pitted and wouldn't have the chance to until the checkered flag waved. The #76 was in front at the line for the white flag, but Davidson had the inside line and kept the block through the next circuit, earning a playoff birth. "It feels so great to finally get a win," Davidson said. "Big thanks to (crew chief) Lou [Pierino] and the rest of the guys for continuing to believe in me throughout the struggles of the season." For Dalejrfan8883, there was a bit of regret for how he approached the final lap. "Glad our #76 Chevy was able to bring us home to a second place finish," he said. "I’ll be kicking myself for not making a move on the #11, but at least we we’re able to give the bowtie a 1-2 finish." Although Davidson could advance to the playoffs with his victory, he is actually not in the position to advance. His win bumped him up to 28th in points after a difficult start to the season, but he must be 25th or better by the end of Race #16. If he does not reach that mark, another open spot on points opens up. That position is currently occupied by the race's runner-up, Dalejrfan8883. The biggest crash of the day took place on lap 2 when Stephen Willey and Jek Porkins made contact, sliding up the track and instigating a multi-car accident that took out Eli Bright and Noah Kars, and wounded big points contenders like Porkins and Brad Stover, the then-points leader. "These guys were desperate, because they were going 5, maybe even 6-wide, and that's never going to work, so a crash like that was bound to happen," said Bruno de Barros, who finished 35th. "I was hit so many times, I think the track was the pinball machine and myself and the other drivers were inside of it." The day was not good for Julio Cesar, who was involved in the first crash and grinded to a halt on his roof. He then ended up holding up faster cars on several occasions after getting back on track, including one that made Jonny Gardner run into the back of the #0 and collect Ryan Maiden. The NFRN issued a warning to Cesar, but he is not expected to receive a penalty. In other playoff news, drivers that were in danger of sliding towards the cut line had solid days, including Amethyst Ashley in 15th and Reece Butcher in 18th. Cesar is now outside the top-10 in points after his tumultuous day.
Veteran drivers William Brock and Tyler Markel followed Baskinger on the chart, while four drivers in total made the top-10 in both practice sessions.
Here's the speediest of the bunch heading into Zen Joltis: 1) Jake Baskinger (R) - 1:27.566 (31 laps) 2) William Brock - 1:27.583 (30) 3) Tyler Markel - 1:27.600 (31) T4) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 1:27.625 (30) T4) Dominic Carranza (R) - 1:27.625 (30) 6) Phillip Fry (R) - 1:27.646 (29) 7) Jett Kraus (R) - 1:27.740 (29) 8) Noah Pontzer - 1:27.844 (30) 9) Stephen Willey - 1:27.880 (30) 10) Jonathan Raines (R) - 1:27.935 (30)
The big difference between this year's race and last year's is the incorporation of restrictor plates, which should slow down the cars significantly and allow for drivers away from the pack to slow down in the event of a big wreck. By comparison, the top laps turned last year were 14 seconds faster than this year. Drafting, however, is not expected to be impacted as cars will remain pretty tightly packed.
Here's how the rest of the top-10 look: 1) David Davidson (R) - 1:30.051 (48 laps) 2) Stephen Willey - 1:30.079 (46) 3) Eric Monaco (R) - 1:30.097 (47) 4) Adam Mundinger (R) - 1:30.171 (49) 5) Jonathan Raines (R) - 1:30.172 (47) 6) Rambo (R) - 1:30.263 (48) 7) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 1:30.299 (48) 8) Jett Kraus (R) - 1:30.301 (44) 9) Cody Hagen (R) - 1:30.391 (45) 10) John Arndt - 1:30.392 (46)
"It was a tough grind for our entire team, especially in the middle stretch where we were crashing out or outside of the top-20, but we knew starting position was crucial to getting ahead here and we focused all of our resources on qualifying trim," #97 crew chief Wolfe Lambert said.
Several drivers tried unsuccessfully to run different pit strategies to beat out Mundinger. Brock stayed out an extra lap on the first green flag stops while Arndt stayed out on the final pit stop, both leading two laps in the process. Both also ended up losing spots on the other end of their stop. "Hindsight is 20-20," #05 crew chief Ace Rube said. "Looking back at it, we needed to pit one lap earlier rather than one lap later, but we're so far ahead on points that we can try to take that risk and go for the victory. It just didn't work out today." Mundinger's victory also changed the complexion of the playoff standings. His win bypassed what would've been a points spot if he wasn't able to win. It helped Arndt maintain a larger lead against the cut line and also put Jake Baskinger in the third open spot with drivers like Jek Porkins, nascarfan19, and Eric Monaco all struggling at Nox. Porkins' terrible last-place day started in turn one on lap one, where Julio Cesar ran into the back of Dominic Carranza, triggering a multi-car accident. Porkins and nascarfan19 ran wide into the gravel trap, while Jonny Gardner and Monaco were involved in the crash. Carranza pitted later that lap, but Gardner went wide to avoid the #24 and ran into Porkins, putting them both hard into the wall and forcing them to pit. Gardner is safe in the playoffs with his victory at the other road course this season, Calder Park Raceway. Just four races remain in the regular season with a superspeedway, intermediate track, and two short tracks left on the schedule.
He looks to earn a victory on the first of three races in the western part of the United States, including Zen Joltis Quad Oval Mega Speedway in New Mexico and Castle Gorge Speedway in Washington.
Here's how fast they're wheeling on the road course: 1) TheOtherJR (R) - 1:01.538 (48 laps) 2) Ryan Maiden (R) - 1:01.685 (47) 3) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 1:01.736 (49) 4) Julio Cesar (R) - 1:01.769 (49) 5) Reece Butcher - 1:01.789 (50) 6) Dominic Carranza (R) - 1:01.801 (49) 7) Phillip Fry (R) - 1:01.806 (45) 8) John Arndt - 1:01.814 (49) 9) Mitchell Marc (R) - 1:01.817 (49) 10) Nick Smith - 1:01.827 (49)
Here's first practice times from Nox:
1) Ryan Maiden (R) - 1:00.804 (71 laps) 2) TheOtherJR (R) - 1:00.818 (74) 3) Adam Mundinger (R) - 1:00.943 (69) 4) Jonny Gardner - 1:00.992 (74) 5) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 1:00.999 (76) 6) Cody Hagen (R) - 1:01.045 (73) 7) Stuart Gratton (R) - 1:01.050 (74) 8) Jonathan Raines (R) - 1:01.054 (76) 9) Eli Bright (R) - 1:01.056 (71) 10) Noah Kars - 1:01.083 (74)
For the #75, the competition was a lot easier when everyone around him was struggling on gas mileage. By the time the race ended, only two other drivers were within earshot of his Toyota: Tyler Markel and Jek Porkins.
"Our engineers were spot on," crew chief Johnnie Cedric said. "We didn't start pitting too late like some of those guys that ran out before their first green stop, we didn't pit too early and have to make a fourth stop. If we had a faster last stop, it might've been a little less exciting but we're definitely thrilled after our first race didn't go so great." It's the second victory in three races for Gardner Racing following Jonny Gardner's win at Calder Park Raceway. Gardner is the first team to earn two NECS victories so far. Only one caution occurred during the race, but it involved two separate, large incidents. Gerrard Oran and Craig Martin first made contact coming off turn two, collecting then-points leader Brad Stover and previous winner Amethyst Ashley as the two went airborne. Past the tri-oval, Aidan Shepherd bounced off the outside wall and was ran up on by Gardner, turning Shepherd into Race #10 winner Rampage and causing a multi-car accident that sent David Davidson onto his side also. "It's a fast oval, and some of the guys driving like a bunch of mad men, going 3-wide, almost 4-wide, but, hey, it's part of the show," Bruno de Barros said. "Sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you just don't. It could have gone either way."
First practice leader Rampage continued to show speed, running 7th in final practice.
Here's the fastest 10 in first practice: 1) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 42.579 (66 laps) 2) Phillip Fry (R) - 42.586 (63) 3) Reece Butcher - 42.598 (63) 4) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 42.608 (64) 5) Julio Cesar (R) - 42.609 (64) 6) Mitchell Marc (R) - 42.647 (64) 7) Rampage - 42.651 (58) 8) Stephen Willey - 42.662 (68) 9) Ryan Maiden (R) - 42.692 (66) 10) Stuart Gratton (R) - 42.706 (63)
No other veterans placed in the top-10. Several notable drivers who placed top-10 at Eight Bowl Superspeedway, including winner Phillip Fry, were near the top of the leaderboard in this session.
Here's the fastest 10 in first practice: 1) Rampage - 42.231 (103 laps) 2) Ryan Maiden (R) - 42.302 (101) 3) Cody Hagen (R) - 42.317 (98) 4) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 42.318 (97) 5) Mitchell Marc (R) - 42.323 (102) 6) Phillip Fry (R) - 42.402 (98) 7) Noah Pontzer (R) - 42.406 (99) 8) David Davidson (R) - 42.422 (97) 9) Aidan Shepherd (R) - 42.427 (102) 10) Adam Mundinger (R) - 42.430 (95)
His victory follows teammate Clint McComb's spoiling win in the NACS, and the #1 held the field off for five laps to grab the checkers. nascarfan19 finished third in an incredible weekend for RamCo.
"It was definitely a confidence booster for our team as a whole," nascarfan19 said. "I don't like being the only driver who isn't locked into the playoffs, but I trust my crew more than ever and I'm super excited for my teammates." On the restrictor plate track, a rotation of drivers topped the board or challenged for the lead. Jon Gilbert won the pole in his NECS debut and showed back up near the front of the field by being the first to pit on the final set of green flag pit stops, but he would ultimately finish 2nd. Eight drivers are now locked into the playoffs with two spots confirmed open on points. Rampage was third among non-winners before the Van Zandt victory, so Brad Stover and John Arndt have a large gap on the field for the open spots. The race saw more accidents than the NACS race, with Arndt, Julio Cesar, and Reece Butcher getting involved in more than one incident. The latter two were issued warnings for what appeared to be a retaliatory nudge by Cesar after the two made contact in a later wreck. Also engulfed in controversy were the drivers of Checkmate Motorsports, Stephen Willey and Jonathan Raines, who wrecked each other out of the race after contact on the backstretch. This isn't the first time the duo have crashed each other, as both made contact at Green Valley Super Speed Ring off the final turn and wrecked in a multi-car accident. Neither driver offered comment after their most recent crash.
Willey and David Davidson were the only two drivers to run top-10 in both sessions, but this practice saw a major veteran presence, with four of the top-five being 2nd-year drivers.
Here's who's making it big in Texas: 1) Stephen Willey - 35.206 (76 laps) 2) nascarfan19 - 35.237 (81) 3) David Davidson (R) - 35.248 (81) 4) Reece Butcher - 35.252 (79) 5) Jonny Gardner - 35.273 (75) 6) Julio Cesar (R) - 35.275 (71) 7) Bruno de Barros (R) - 35.308 (77) 8) Caleb Campbell (R) - 35.312 (71) 9) Dalejrfan8883 (R) - 35.335 (71) 10) Jake Baskinger (R) - 35.337 (80)
"It's a nice bonus when we get to go to tracks where the driver's from," #57 crew chief Charles Ruggero said. "All the fans get behind our team and I'm sure Amethyst's got a little more motivation to go out and win."
Here's who's got the heat in their tires this session: 1) Amethyst Ashley (R) - 34.908 (120 laps) 2) Eric Monaco (R) - 34.910 (116) 3) Zachary Fitzwater Sr. (R) - 34.911 (119) 4) Cody Hagen (R) - 34.914 (119) 5) Dominic Carranza (R) - 34.945 (117) 6) David Davidson (R) - 34.957 (116) 7) Rampage - 34.966 (116) 8) Adam Mundinger (R) - 34.968 (114) 9) Stephen Willey - 34.980 (121) 10) Aidan Shepherd (R) - 35.003 (111)
Shepherd had to drop out of the race because of damage incurred from the strike and finished 41st.
"After doing our extensive review of the race footage, we did not see any reasonable explanation for Kraus' actions, not that there is much reason for what took place," NFRN Director of Competition Kris Neuert said. "Order needs to be established." Kraus was already in the deep end as he finished 37th after contact between him and de Barros in the oval that crashed him before the race's conclusion. His probation will apply at Van Zandt Super Speedway and Bumpdraftin' Superspeedway.
"Jonny's a good racer, a clean racer, and we back him entirely," crew chief Hunter Simms said. "He deserves to get to the playoffs, especially after last year's win. He just did what he had to do to get there and it seems to me like Dominic slipped and felt the need to cut off Jonny's momentum."
Carranza certainly wasn't thrilled about a win that got away. "We had a really solid car, but apparently the #6 thinks Australia is really upside down and right is apparently left," he said. "We will try and rebound next time and #6 better watch out because I want to rectify this." Although contact was definitely made, the NFRN does not plan to take present action. "We watched and reviewed the race in real-time and determined that driver error by the #24 set up what the incident became," NFRN Director of Competition Kris Neuert said. "The main mistakes were the line in the first backstretch kink and the braking zone in the second. He broke a lot earlier than cars should in that area and it doesn't appear the #6 was prepared for it, so we rest this incident as a result of racing occurrences." The two drivers made further contact on pit road later that lap. Neuert took note of the contact, and while he expressed that their relative position on the track and the timing of the stops led to it, both drivers are receiving warnings to not let this escalate further. One incident that might lead to a slightly harsher infraction was contact between Jett Kraus and Aidan Shepherd. The #34 was on the bumper of the #7 at the exit of pit lane and turned Shepherd into the inside wall almost immediately past the line. Kraus then pushed Shepherd across the track at the entrance of turn 1 ahead of Bruno de Barros who was not on a stop. Shepherd had to drop from the race because of that and finished 41st. Kraus finished 37th after a later accident.
"I can't say I never saw Kraus, because I did see him," he said. "I tried to pull something out of desperation and ended up causing some funny stuff. Feel bad for the guy, because I didn't want to cause such brouhaha, but it's racing, and it happens."
Kraus's DNF was his fifth straight, which breaks a record for most consecutive times not finishing the race in the NFRN Elite Cup Series, passing Lego Busch last season with four straight DNFs. On positive notes, all top-five drivers saw their season-best runs at Calder Park. "We had a great day," Rambo said after finishing 3rd. "The team pulled through the race and stayed out near the front away from the crazy action." "After we ran well at the NACS [NFRN Amateur Cup Series] race, I didn't think we could perform well at a road course, but we held our ground and had some luck during the race," 4th-place Noah Kim said.
"We reviewed a lot of road courses to host this race, and Pensacola offered a lot," NFRN commissioner Collin Denton said. "There's technical turns but also fast parts of the road course, and the oval allows for drafting and additional passing. It has the feel of the Daytona [International Speedway] Rolex 24 and I think that's what we really aimed for in choosing Pensacola."
The NFRN 24-Hour Race was announced earlier this season as an endurance race with teams of 3 to 5 league drivers rotating throughout the timed event. Signups remain open until the end of the NFRN Elite Cup Series regular season and is open to any driver signed up for current competition. Drivers can either sign up with a team (must have all drivers' names and emails at signup) or join a pool to be auto-assigned to a team when signups close.
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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