The NFRN Amateur Cup Series' first playoff elimination race featured limited passing deeper in the field, a surprise for the high-speed, high-banked track, but with only one stop necessary in the 40-lap event and no cautions to split things up, Moore and the #50 team was able to gain 13 spots while still taking on four tires.
Kenny Knox entered the race 17 points ahead of the cut line and maintained a gap despite a 34th-place qualifying effort, but Moore's sudden jump through the grid put the EAGLE Motorsport team in a situation it couldn't overcome. Moore grabbed the last transfer spot into the Round of 8 by two points. "Just frustrated I was in that situation," Knox said. "Didn't finish well at Nashville [Superspeedway], got 9th at NASCOR but maybe could've found those points if we didn't get spun. I don't blame the crew at all, they didn't make dumb mistakes." Meanwhile, the battle for the lead kept the race somewhat intriguing. Playoff competitor Austin Rogers was in the hunt for most of the race after qualifying 7th and led some laps, and outside polesitter Kyle Basaglia did the same, marking his first laps led in the NACS. However, it was Jacob Rose who was able to take the lead on lap 29 and didn't look back despite several looks from the #44 car. It was Rose's first career victory and added to the total for RPG-7 Motorsports that has two victories in the NFRN Elite Cup Series with Stuart Gratton and Jek Porkins. Rogers entered the race two points below the cut line. While it wasn't necessarily a must-win for the Rayne Racing driver, he kept being aggressive despite his safe point gap by the end of the race and wound up in the runner-up spot. He was the only driver to advance to the Round of 8 who started below the cut line. Chris Harley, Eric Van Arsdale, and Sparky the Sun Devil all failed to finish inside the top-20 and were eliminated in addition to Knox. Ford was dominant on the 1.25-mile oval, with all of the top-five sporting the blue oval, including Basaglia, Ray Chapman, and Jesse Makana, and seven of the top-10 representing the manufacturer. Shane Borlan kept a hot streak going after finishing in the 9th position, marking four races in a row where he finished no worse than 13th. Jon Gilbert also capped off a good round after finishing 6th. Both were 44 points or more ahead of the cut line at the round's end. In the non-playoff crowd, Wisconsin native Craig Martin picked up his fourth straight top-10, the longest active streak in the NACS, and solidified his 13th-place standing.
In a reversal of fortune, Dwayne Callaway, who was 2nd in the previous session, fell all the way back to 41st, 35th among full-timers and more than a tenth of a second slower than Thales. Also falling further behind on poor early times were Robert Harrison, teammate to Rogers, and Shane Borlan, teammate to Thales. Sparky the Sun Devil, who is also below the cut line, fell further back in the practice charts, and last in the Chase standings Eric Van Arsdale gained positions but still falls midpack.
Here's how drivers track on speed heading into the elimination race: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Jason Thales - 25.069 (111 laps) 2) Andy Coleman - 25.074 (119) 3) Austin Rogers - 25.080 (107) 4) Chris Harley - 25.084 (119) 5) Kyle Basaglia - 25.091 (112) T6) Jay Jefferson - 25.099 (120) T6) Jake Thomas - 25.099 (116) 8) Anthony Lopez - 25.111 (117) 9) Ray Chapman - 25.114 (120) 10) Justin Rodeback - 25.116 (112) 15) Kenny Knox - 25.125 (119) T18) Conor Mays - 25.141 (111) 21) Kyle Law - 25.142 (117) (19th among FT) 27) Jon Gilbert - 25.150 (110) (22nd) 30) Donnie Moore - 25.164 (114) (25th) 31) Eric Van Arsdale - 25.165 (114) (26th) 37) Shane Borlan - 25.177 (107) (32nd) 39) Sparky the Sun Devil - 25.183 (111) (33rd) 40) Robert Harrison - 25.184 (108) (34th) 41) Dwayne Callaway - 25.194 (117) (35th)
On the other end of the leaderboard, Austin Rogers and Eric Van Arsdale were slowest among the full-timers. Both drivers find themselves outside the cut line heading into the elimination race, with Rogers two points out and Van Arsdale 20 points behind.
Here's first practice times from SimTel: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Jason Thales - 25.008 (170 laps) 2) Dwayne Callaway - 25.018 (171) 3) Al Callaway - 25.021 (170) 4) Dalton Wise (i) - 25.025 (176) 5) Griffin Lynn - 25.028 (173) 6) Chase Baldwin - 25.032 (167) 7) Jake Thomas - 25.034 (163) 8) Justin Rodeback - 25.035 (171) 9) Ray Chapman - 25.041 (167) 10) Conor Mays - 25.045 (168) T12) Kyle Law - 25.047 (168) (T-11th among FT) 14) Donnie Moore - 25.049 (165) (13th) T17) Kenny Knox - 25.058 (170) (T-16th) 20) Jon Gilbert - 25.065 (168) (19th) 22) Shane Borlan - 25.067 (171) (21st) 24) Sparky the Sun Devil - 25.072 (164) (23rd) T25) Chris Harley - 25.073 (174) (T-24th) 28) Robert Harrison - 25.081 (178) (26th) 40) Austin Rogers - 25.106 (173) (35th) T41) Eric Van Arsdale - 25.108 (170) (36th)
Jones' #4 car hit an embankment on the inside of the track, which ended up launching him into a higher ground that supports a bridge over the backstretch. The end result was a car launched 20 feet in the air and a total of 32 rotations in some fashion.
Spectacularly, Jones climbed from the car and ended up uninjured. "He's alright, was a bit shaken up but his vitals look good," crew chief Everette Miles said. "Had a lot of promise tonight and he was looking forward to it, but he's just glad to be alive." Following two more early cautions -- both of which involved Chasers with Kenny Knox taking a slide to the back of the field and Rogers making contact with Kyle Law that led to damage for the #44 car -- pit strategies were varied that put Ryan Kendall and playoff contender Jon Gilbert out front, but fresh tires and situational awareness allowed Steve Rea to take over the lead within a single turn. But the race was not over with a pit stop needed to get to the end. Rea made the first move and Shane Borlan snagged the lead from Robert Harrison before he could claim it himself, but the #60 suffered a slow pit stop that dropped him out of the top-10. NFRN Truck Series playoff contender Mike Simpson ended up with the flying stop that put his #74 car out in front. Dwayne Callaway also made gains towards the front of the field, but his efforts to pass Simpson and automatically qualify into the Round of 8 were harmful, as he'd fall from 2nd to 5th in the final laps of the race. Ultimately, it was Simpson's crew that gave the trucker his first NACS win and second overall NFRN victory. He had just qualified for his seventh NACS race in a row.
"I just tried everything I could at the end to sneak our way in," D. Callaway said. "I knew our point situation was alright so I did anything short of wrecking the car to go for it. I hoped the traffic would hold him up where I could make the middle work and it didn't happen."
Callaway's good finish still was a positive for the driver who entered the race below the cut line, as he moved to 5th with a 17-point cushion. Rogers' accident with Law would put him at the bump spot, two points behind Donnie Moore. Sparky the Sun Devil, Chris Harley, and Eric Van Arsdale finished no higher than 30th and lost more ground to 8th-place, putting them in dangerous position of missing the next round. With regards to the Rogers/Law accident, the NFRN stated that Law would not face further penalty, determining the wreck to be incidental. Law appeared to scrub off speed to avoid hitting the turn 4 wall. He is on probation through the next race at SimTel Park due to his accident with Rea at Peoria Motor Speedway.
Kenny Knox also posted a top-10 run in the last session, with three other playoff drivers posting a top-15 time. Donnie Moore went the opposite direction, going from 8th to 33rd with a drop-off of over a tenth of a second.
Here are final practice times from NASCOR: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) 19carfan - 23.513 (119 laps) 2) Dwayne Callaway - 23.537 (125) T3) Jason Thales - 23.540 (118) T3) Shane Borlan - 23.540 (123) 5) Craig Martin - 23.542 (125) T6) Kenny Knox - 23.546 (134) T6) Jake Thomas - 23.546 (119) T6) Anthony Lopez - 23.546 (115) 9) Andy Coleman - 23.551 (119) 10) Justin Rodeback - 23.554 (121) T13) Robert Harrison - 23.561 (130) T13) Chris Harley - 23.561 (123) T15) Kyle Law - 23.563 (131) T17) Sparky the Sun Devil - 23.564 (119) 25) Eric Van Arsdale - 23.582 (124) 26) Jon Gilbert - 23.584 (127) T29) Austin Rogers - 23.597 (120) 31) Conor Mays - 23.598 (123) 33) Donnie Moore - 23.603 (124)
Shane Borlan was fastest among playoff drivers at 4th, and teammate Donnie Moore made it 2-for-2 for Western Motorsports inside the top-10 in a tie for 8th. Ultimately, a fair eight Chase drivers were inside the top-20 speeds, with Nashville Superspeedway winner Conor Mays coming in at 12th.
Here's how drivers fared in the first practice from Washington: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) TJ Ball - 23.471 (198 laps) 2) Colin Lindsay - 23.477 (189) 3) Craig Martin - 23.480 (189) 4) Shane Borlan - 23.482 (184) 5) Andy Coleman - 23.484 (195) 6) Dwayne Callaway - 23.488 (196) 7) Ryan Kendall - 23.496 (186) T8) Donnie Moore - 23.500 (187) T8) Jon Gilbert - 23.500 (178) T8) Al Callaway - 23.500 (194) T8) Jay Jefferson - 23.500 (187) T12) Conor Mays - 23.504 (197) T12) Kenny Knox - 23.504 (173) 19) Austin Rogers - 23.511 (186) 20) Robert Harrison - 23.514 (181) 27) Eric Van Arsdale - 23.531 (197) 31) Sparky the Sun Devil - 23.538 (188) 32) Chris Harley - 23.540 (197) 35) Kyle Law - 23.544 (200)
Polesitter Craig Martin took the clean air to lead the entire first stint, but it was playoff driver Conor Mays, running 2nd at the time, who made the first move to pit lane. That one lap of fresh rubber, in addition to great speed from the pit crew, led to Mays passing up Martin and never looking back.
With the taking of the checkered flag, Mays not only got his first career win after entering the Chase as an open driver, but now is secured into the Round of 8. "I eventually got tired of being number two," Mays said. "In all honesty, props to (crew chief) Francis [Rowley] for making the call when we were in our window. Clearly we weren't the only ones thinking to come down then, but that made us not have to check up for the #82 the same way they all bunched up pitting the next lap." The effect of pit strategy negatively impacted Martin, as he fell behind TJ Smith and Colin Lindsay who joined Mays on that strategy, and even lost the battle in his own group as Alexander Rowe was faster in the stall and finished runner-up. "It's just frustrating to be in these situations two races in a row," Martin said. "We had a chance at making the playoffs at Nazareth [Speedway] and didn't, even though that was less on our efforts and more on Kenny [Knox] getting lucky with the accidents, and tonight we had a chance to get a victory and couldn't do that. We just want to be P1 in one of these." Two other playoff drivers in Shane Borlan and Jon Gilbert grabbed top-10 finishes and put themselves on top as far as points competitors go. "I think we've finally hit a groove," Borlan said. "We had some of worst finishes in the first half of the season and now we're having some of our best. No better time to peak than now." On the opposite end of the grid, Eric Van Arsdale suffered a slow pit stop that led to him finishing 41st, and other race winners Sparky the Sun Devil, Dwayne Callaway, and Chris Harley also couldn't string together top-30 finishes that leave them outside the playoff cut line heading into NASCOR.
First practice leader Craig Martin dropped all the way to 25th while Anthony Lopez was second in both practices. Other playoff drivers Kenny Knox and Eric Van Arsdale placed top-10 in both sessions, with Robert Harrison also improving a spot to run top-10.
Here's final practice times ahead of Race #13: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Dwayne Callaway - 29.880 (92 laps) T2) Anthony Lopez - 29.904 (106) T2) Kenny Knox - 29.904 (91) 4) 19carfan - 29.913 (94) 5) Jake Thomas - 29.916 (90) 6) Eric Van Arsdale - 29.923 (96) 7) Justin Rodeback - 29.930 (93) 8) Colin Lindsay - 29.944 (100) 9) Jason Thales - 29.949 (98) 10) Robert Harrison - 29.950 (99) 11) Shane Borlan - 29.951 (98) 13) Conor Mays - 29.957 (103) 24) Sparky the Sun Devil - 30.013 (102) 26) Austin Rogers - 30.022 (95) 27) Kyle Law - 30.028 (95) 29) Donnie Moore - 30.030 (94) 31) Chris Harley - 30.035 (99) 32) Jon Gilbert - 30.044 (98)
Similar to the NFRN Truck Series, the top-10 was sparse on playoff drivers, although the leaders in that category included non-winners Knox and Eric Van Arsdale in the top-five, with the first race winner being Dwayne Callaway in 9th. The other two non-winners placed ahead of every other playoff driver while being top-13 on speed.
Here's the fastest from the Volunteer State: (playoff drivers in bold) 1) Craig Martin - 29.783 (145 laps) 2) Anthony Lopez - 29.810 (146) 3) TJ Ball - 29.816 (144) 4) Kenny Knox - 29.830 (148) 5) Eric Van Arsdale - 29.832 (145) 6) Jason Thales - 29.841 (144) 7) Ryan Kendall - 29.856 (143) 8) Colin Lindsay - 29.859 (149) 9) Dwayne Callaway - 29.862 (139) 10) TJ Smith - 29.863 (152) 11) Robert Harrison - 29.866 (147) 13) Conor Mays - 29.874 (141) 19) Shane Borlan - 29.902 (149) 20) Chris Harley - 29.913 (139) T21) Austin Rogers - 29.918 (143) T24) Sparky the Sun Devil - 29.927 (151) T24) Kyle Law - 29.927 (144) 33) Jon Gilbert - 29.960 (151) 34) Donnie Moore - 29.962 (147)
"We were going off the #80 (Jason Thales) team's notes," Borlan said. "Those guys led first practice, were top-10 in final practice. I figured we'd improve and could just try to earn enough points on the night since we started the night one point out. A win wasn't on my radar until quals."
Meanwhile, the race for the final playoff position came down to Kenny Knox and Craig Martin. With Borlan sneaking into the playoffs from outside the cut line, plus Robert Harrison and Eric Van Arsdale safely ahead, Knox had to fight off a fast #82 on points. "We started the weekend fast, but when Martin led final practice we were nervous," Knox said. Although he spent most of the race near the back of the field, the #76 avoided two different multi-car accidents to gain enough spots and hang onto the 12th and final playoff spot. Despite finishing 7th, Martin was the first driver out. "It just sucks cause I couldn't do anything at the end," Martin said. "The guys in front drove away and my chances at points fell off. But fair play to Knox, he's had a better season than us." With Borlan entering the playoffs, one driver did end up dropping out. Jacob Rose was one point to the good entering the race, but he slammed right into the spinning Joey Radcliffe and 19carfan that brought out the first caution and sent Rose to a 40th place run. Jay Jefferson and eventual regular season points leader Conor Mays were also involved. The race did end under caution as a result of two part-timers, Tyler Reid and Steve Rea, getting together in turn 1 and collecting multiple cars, including playoff contenders Dwayne Callaway, Chris Harley, Kyle Law, and Austin Rogers, all of whom were either clinched going into the race or safe to advance.
"We're putting most of our chips into this race," crew chief Noah Bruce said. "It's probably going to be a sacrifice to our playoffs performance if we make it, but it means nothing if we don't make it in the first place. We've been lacking the speed regardless.
Martin has a best finish of 10th at Grand Detour Raceway, a short track like Nazareth, but has eight top-20s in the 11 races this season. Here's the top-10 from final practice: 1) Craig Martin - 27.322 (111 laps) 2) 19carfan - 27.330 (110) 3) Ray Chapman - 27.358 (112) 4) Chris Harley - 27.360 (103) 5) Alexander Rowe - 27.361 (105) 6) Ryan Kendall - 27.367 (108) 7) Jason Thales - 27.370 (111) 8) Conor Mays - 27.371 (111) 9) Kyle Basaglia - 27.379 (109) 10) Robert Harrison - 27.382 (105)
In the top-10 for the session, there are five drivers that are within the top-20 in points that do not have a victory and are either trying to win for a playoff spot or claim one of the three still-open spots on points (Conor Mays is guaranteed one of them).
Robert Harrison, who sits the highest above the playoff cut line while still looking for a birth, got the second-fastest time. Here's the top times under the Nazareth lights: 1) Jason Thales - 27.413 (161 laps) T2) Craig Martin - 27.418 (161) T2) Robert Harrison - 27.418 (165) 4) Kenny Knox - 27.419 (165) 5) Hierjel Arvin Alonso - 27.420 (160) 6) Ray Chapman - 27.423 (160) 7) Ryan Kendall - 27.426 (166) 8) Jon Gilbert - 27.429 (168) 9) Jake Thomas - 27.436 (155) 10) Kyle Law - 27.437 (158)
The probation will last through the regular season finale at Nazareth Speedway and the entirety of the first round of the playoffs.
"Looking over the video evidence, we determined that the #23 driver turned his steering wheel straight in order to afflict additional damage to the #9," NFRN Director of Competition Kris Neuert said. "Because of the severity of the ensuing accident, we have to hand out warnings to tell drivers to calm down, regardless of their playoff status." The penalty is the biggest brought against a driver this season, surpassing a pair of three-race probations given to TJ Smith and Jesse Makana (still being served). Law will be watched for aggressive incidents or incidents deemed to be his fault during that set of races, as well as any he may qualify for in the NFRN Elite Cup Series. He has a playoff birth through back-to-back victories at Bumpdraftin' Superspeedway and Nox Raceway, but was unable to officially clinch based on his finishing position at Peoria, which was 39th.
Eric Van Arsdale, who was fastest in final practice for this race, led the majority of the first half after starting from the pole. However, a quicker green-flag pit stop by Austin Rogers got him out in front to lead the second half.
After a pair of cautions, the race ended under yellow and Rogers was able to hold off the field as the #67 was able to do in the first 20 laps. "It was great work by the crew today," crew chief Stewart Kelan said. "Obviously, our driver did what he needed to in fending off the rest of the field, but since the track was so one-groove, we needed that track position and the pit guys delivered." Chris Harley had been the only driver to officially clinch a playoff spot coming in, but five more drivers officially clinched in following the race, including Dwayne Callaway, Donnie Moore, Rogers, and Sparky the Sun Devil. Conor Mays also locked himself in by virtue of points. "We're obviously really glad to be safe going into Nazareth [Speedway]," Mays said. "The only thing that's really disappointing is that it hasn't resulted in a win. We've come so close so many times, we just need to close it out." Mays finished 13th, and the past two races are the first time he's had back-to-back finishes outside the top-10 this season. Meanwhile, drama reared its ugly head in the later part of the race. Colin Lindsay, NFRN Elite Cup Series Season 1 runner-up, finished last for the second week in a row in a crash involving Jake Thomas and Jack Freeman. He's in a must-win situation going into Nazareth. One of the playoff cut line contenders, Hierjel Arvin Alonso, was rear-ended by Jay Jefferson going into turn 3, putting them both in the wall and damaging them enough to both go backwards in spots. "I'm having a huge issue with Jay Jefferson," Alonso said. "He wasted my chance of another top-10 and I'm sure my playoff spot is at risk. He's driving like crazy."
Lindsay, the first practice leader, came in at 3rd.
Eight of the first session's top-10 found themselves back in that grouping for the second session. Here's final practice times from Peoria: 1) Eric Van Arsdale - 35.980 (82 laps) 2) Robert Harrison - 35.983 (79) T3) Colin Lindsay - 36.000 (84) T3) Shane Borlan - 36.000 (81) 5) Dwayne Callaway - 36.015 (82) 6) Jake Thomas - 36.017 (84) 7) Conor Mays - 36.020 (78) T8) Jason Thales - 36.026 (76) T8) Kenny Knox - 36.026 (76) 10) Noah Kim - 36.028 (82)
It's the third race in a row Lindsay has led one of the two practice sessions, and his fourth practice lead this season.
Here's the session's top-10 for the series' second Illinois race: 1) Colin Lindsay - 35.981 (129 laps) 2) 19carfan - 35.996 (121) 3) Kenny Knox - 35.999 (128) 4) Jake Thomas - 36.007 (119) 5) Shane Borlan - 36.008 (119) 6) Conor Mays - 36.018 (121) 7) Craig Martin - 36.030 (118) 8) Dwayne Callaway - 36.036 (120) 9) Jason Thales - 36.038 (125) 10) Eric Van Arsdale - 36.048 (116)
Then-points leader Chris Harley took the lead away from polesitter Noah Kim on lap 1 and maintained it until pit stops. However, it appeared that Harley's car had fuel pickup issues, and it was not an isolated incident. Multiple teams across all manufacturers were making multiple stops and running out of gas on the track.
As cars ran out, Kyle Law took his #23 to the point with no apparent issues. However, as he tried to avoid Harley stopped against a wall, he came up on Kenny Knox and came to a near-stop as he tried to pass him. Part-timer Jesse Makana, the runner-up in the NFRN Truck Series race at Mayville Lakeside Park, saw the open door to the outside and made the pass on Law and Jacob Rose. He led four laps en route to his first career NFRN victory. "It's just absolutely wild," Makana said post-race. "We had a great run at Mayville, but I didn't expect to fly across the country and one-up myself." The #23 team was gutted not to achieve the three-peat, but they are still in good contention for the playoffs. "We just need to hold our heads up," crew chief Troy Denis said. "We're talking about three first-round points and maybe a mark in the record book. I know they say every point matters but I'm still looking at us with three top-two finishes in a row. That sounds like momentum to me." Kim was among those with an unexpected fuel pickup problem. "I don't even know what happened, our car just stopped, we had a good race going, our team put together a great #38 Chevrolet Camaro, and I think we could have had a great points day if we didn't have some issue with our car," Kim said. The NFRN couldn't immediately explain why so many cars had fuel pickup problems, but they expect to run tests before the series' next race at Peoria Motor Speedway. "We're taking a couple of the bent up cars to R&D to see if we can determine what caused these cars to not get their fuel intake," NFRN Director of Competition Kris Neuert said. "I'm aware of the sandstorm that caused a minor delay for the race, but I can't immediately judge if that was a part of the problem." Now with two part-timers winning in the NACS in addition to the two 2-time winners and no births at risk, a record four spots are guaranteed open for the playoffs on points. Conor Mays currently sits well above that cut line in good shape, while Knox, Robert Harrison, and Kim have plenty of competition behind them. "After all the chaos happened, I think that's an advantage for us," said Hierjel Arvin Alonso, who finished 23rd and is 3 points behind the last open playoff spot. "We were not involved in any incidents, and I am happy that I stayed in the playoff picture."
Also getting into the top-10 is Kenny Knox, the winner of the NFRN Elite Cup Series race at the complex's sister track, Mirage Short Roval.
Here's the top drivers in the desert today: 1) Colin Lindsay - 1:02.441 (48 laps) 2) TJ Smith - 1:02.552 (49) 3) Joey Radcliffe - 1:02.569 (50) 4) Kenny Knox - 1:02.571 (49) 5) Eric Van Arsdale - 1:02.575 (49) T6) Dwayne Callaway - 1:02.584 (51) T6) TJ Ball - 1:02.584 (51) 8) Ryan Kendall - 1:02.587 (51) 9) Chris Harley - 1:02.596 (48) 10) Jay Jefferson - 1:02.600 (46)
The twice-recent NACS winner Kyle Law did not make his way into the single digits.
Here's the top drivers in the desert today: 1) Shane Borlan - 1:02.520 (72 laps) 2) Eric Van Arsdale - 1:02.527 (74) 3) Griffin Lynn - 1:02.552 (75) 4) Jay Jefferson - 1:02.568 (77) 5) Robert Harrison - 1:02.571 (72) 6) Ryan Kendall - 1:02.577 (75) 7) Dwayne Callaway - 1:02.584 (76) 8) AJ Jones - 1:02.596 (72) 9) Hierjel Arvin Alonso - 1:02.601 (71) 10) Justin Rodeback - 1:02.612 (76)
"It's really important for us to go out and win again," crew chief Troy Denis said. "We don't want to slow down or take it easy. Every week we want to go out and win the race. The benefit may only last the first round in the playoffs, but better to maintain momentum than try to re-build it."
Law has now led 22 straight laps, and he'll see if he can continue that streak with another road course next race at Mirage II. His closest competitor was Hierjel Arvin Alonso, who finished runner-up and had his closest challenge coming off of pit lane when he was unable to complete the pass off of turn 1. "I think for me, a runner-up finish is good," Alonso said. "We should have won that race if we didn't make a mistake (on pit lane)." The only major issue in the race was in the first corner, when Jack Freeman tried to overtake the field on the inside and made contact with Craig Martin, clipped by 19carfan, who came across the track to hit and spin Ray Chapman. Points contender Robert Harrison swung wide into the gravel trap and lost spots he was not able to recover. Martin also had to make a pit stop on the final lap of the race, costing several spots. "Just a really bad break for us," Martin said. "A couple of races ago I thought we could run up front. Now it looks like we're in a must-win situation." Law's second victory opened up another playoff spot on points, which Noah Kim claims while Conor Mays and Kenny Knox hold the first two spots.
Last year's NFRN Elite Cup Series runner-up is currently 25th in the point standings and is looking at a must-win situation given the consistency of the top points drivers.
Robert Harrison and 19carfan joined Lindsay in being top-three in both practice sessions on the track. Western Motorsports also put three of its drivers in the top-10. Here's the best drivers turning right in this session: 1) Colin Lindsay - 1:02.208 (50 laps) 2) 19carfan - 1:02.263 (49) 3) Robert Harrison - 1:02.339 (45) 4) Joey Radcliffe - 1:02.368 (50) 5) Dwayne Callaway - 1:02.380 (47) 6) Jason Thales - 1:02.411 (51) 7) Griffin Lynn - 1:02.439 (49) 8) Shane Borlan - 1:02.444 (47) 9) Kyle Basaglia - 1:02.454 (46) 10) Donnie Moore - 1:02.459 (49)
For most drivers in the field -- save for those who attempted Calder Park Raceway for the NECS and a couple of veterans -- this is the first crack at a road course. The teams will head back to Death Valley, California, the race after this one for a run at another track in the Mirage complex, Mirage II. Kenny Knox won at Mirage Short Roval in the NECS earlier this season.
"That track alone could've been called a road course, and I guess it is kinda in the name," Knox said. "We feel good about going back there and just being on a road course again. We finished solid at Calder Park and I'd love to push for the playoffs." Here's the top 10 for the drivers facing their first road course: 1) Robert Harrison - 1:00.805 (75 laps) 2) 19carfan - 1:00.862 (77) 3) Colin Lindsay - 1:00.987 (72) 4) Kyle Law - 1:01.062 (76) 5) Craig Martin - 1:01.091 (75) 6) TJ Smith - 1:01.098 (72) 7) Justin Rodeback - 1:01.113 (73) 8) Al Callaway - 1:01.117 (72) 9) Shane Borlan - 1:01.120 (73) 10) Jake Thomas - 1:01.121 (71) |
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