"Our superspeedway program was what we needed to focus on with half of these first eight races being this type of track, and we achieved that," crew chief Troy Denis said. "Obviously we crashed at Columbia [International Speedway] but we progressively finished better with every race. We knew we had a winning combination."
Law is the second driver to win in his home state this season, with Chris Harley winning at Piggz Cliff Super Speedway in Colorado. Kenny Knox also won in the NFRN Elite Cup Series at Mirage Short Roval. The crash that brought out the final caution left plenty of people frustrated, particularly those involved that didn't want to take blame for the accident.
Noah Kim also expressed frustration with Alonso after a problem on pit lane in which the #37 ran into the side of Kim and stalled out his car.
The first crash of the day was the result of a 5-wide situation between the Callaway Brothers Racing drivers, TJ Smith, Mike Simpson, and Chase Baldwin. A multitude of cars were involved, including top points contenders AJ Jones and Robert Harrison. Baldwin ended up on his roof after being hit in the door by Simpson, but after getting turned over and refiring the engine, the #35 ended up in 23rd place. "I won't lie, the crash damage alone I thought was gonna take us out, but they flipped my car, it cranked, and my crew said I was good to go," Baldwin said. "We're still way behind, but it could've been a lot worse."
Meanwhile, three past winners put themselves in the top-10, and Robert Harrison looked the best among non-winners still near the top of the standings.
Here's the best 10 drivers in final practice: 1) Justin Rodeback - 43.880 (64 laps) 2) Jason Thales - 43.899 (65) 3) Robert Harrison - 43.906 (65) 4) Chase Baldwin - 43.939 (64) 5) Chris Harley - 43.948 (66) 6) Griffin Lynn - 43.961 (66) 7) TJ Smith - 43.968 (62) 8) TJ Ball - 43.978 (69) 9) Sparky the Sun Devil - 43.987 (67) 10) Donnie Moore - 44.045 (62)
Top-10 standing drivers AJ Jones, Craig Martin, and Robert Harrison were also top-10 on the session. In an ironic note, Joey Radcliffe and Jake Thomas placed in this session the exact same as they did in final practice at Van Zandt, 7th and 10th, respectively.
Here's who's hot from the beach in Jupiter, Florida: 1) Ryan Kendall - 43.744 (97 laps) 2) AJ Jones - 43.763 (94) 3) Craig Martin - 43.778 (99) 4) Kyle Law - 43.808 (99) 5) 19carfan - 43.834 (98) 6) Robert Harrison - 43.837 (96) 7) Joey Radcliffe - 43.844 (99) 8) TJ Ball - 43.867 (102) 9) Griffin Lynn - 43.897 (97) 10) Jake Thomas - 43.934 (99)
"I'm not gonna lie, I was waiting that whole stretch to see if [Lindsay] was setting us up to make the move late, like on the last lap," #54 crew chief Herb Pierce said. "It surprised the hell out of me when he didn't go."
Lindsay was involved in the lone accident of the race when he squeezed Andy Coleman into points leader Chris Harley and spun the #49 out. Lindsay tapped Harley on the spin and possibly created damage that affected his aerodynamics. "Restrictor plate tracks have a tendency to do that, and we saw the problems Harley was having," #95 crew chief Russell Denton said. "I figure that contact we made had slowed us down that little bit we needed, and not pitting when everyone else stayed out was probably a wrong move by me to see if that was gonna affect us. The frontrunners in the points competition remained top-heavy in this race as a second points position was opened on McComb's win. Kenny Knox finished 3rd, Conor Mays 4th, and AJ Jones 7th. Knox and Mays now hold playoff spots on points pending the final five races of the regular season. "It'd be a lot better if we were two spots ahead of where we were, but it's all circumstantial," Knox said. "Consistency is important and even a ton of runner-ups will get us where we need to be."
"Our position really doesn't show where we can be," crew chief Ethan Tudur said. "A blown piston, a superspeedway crash, and a lot of crummy luck has been the story of our lives these past few races. In a couple cases, we were running great, and staying out of trouble puts us where we should be."
A duo of Western Motorsports teammates, Jason Thales and Jake Thomas, were the only drivers to place top-10 in both practice sessions. Here's how they stack up for a race in the Lone Star State: 1) Justin Rodeback - 36.398 (77 laps) 2) Kenny Knox - 36.400 (82) 3) Shane Borlan - 36.417 (84) 4) Jack Freeman - 36.437 (79) 5) TJ Smith - 36.469 (84) 6) Andy Coleman - 36.482 (78) 7) Joey Radcliffe - 36.492 (81) 8) Jason Thales - 36.502 (79) 9) AJ Jones - 36.507 (86) 10) Jake Thomas - 36.513 (86)
Texas native Jay Jefferson made his way into the fast 10 for the practice as well.
Here's the top times from first practice: 1) Ryan Kendall - 36.037 (129 laps) 2) Griffin Lynn - 36.049 (130) 3) Craig Martin - 36.063 (122) 4) Jason Thales - 36.097 (126) 5) Kyle Basaglia - 36.276 (120) 6) Donnie Moore - 36.277 (127) 7) Hierjel Arvin Alonso - 36.285 (125) 8) Alexander Rowe - 36.303 (117) 9) Jay Jefferson - 36.335 (124) 10) Jake Thomas - 36.338 (130)
Harley drove most of the race in 2nd place to Dwayne Callaway until green flag pit stops. On pit road, Callaway made major contact with polesitter Clint McComb that opened the door for Harley to go by. Obviously that incident put the #49 in the lead, but not everyone added enough fuel to get through the final third of the race. Harley had enough and crossed the line with power.
“Everyone was pushing that boundary, including us,” #49 crew chief Percy Rhys said. “We’ve already won, we’re locked in, we can take risks and we did by banking on the fuel we put in lasting through to the end.” The contact with McComb was enough of a problem for Callaway, but even he didn’t have the gas to make it to the end. The #65 finished 34th on the day. “Disappointed, that’s all I can say,” Callaway said post-race. “I’m not gonna put the blame on Clint, the timing played out poorly is all, but we’re gonna need better communication to keep from messing up leads like that.” While Harley extended his points lead, the front of the field was full of drivers that are looking to get the now-open playoff spot. "A win would be great eventually, but this consistency is great for our team," Conor Mays said after finishing 3rd. "To have the possibility to be in the playoffs in our first year would be huge." “We didn’t run great in qualifying, but I think our crew performed better in the actual situation,” Noah Kim said. “Although we finished 5th today, I still think we’ve got the speed in our #38 Camaro to get ourselves into the Chase.” Unlike the practice sessions, the race was free from on-track incidents.
A couple of teams had very good days in this session. Dwayne Callaway was able to join his brother in the top-10, and Western Motorsports put two of its four drivers in the same range.
Although tire falloff still created discrepancies in speed on the track, there were no notable accidents, a major contrast to first practice. Here are the fastest times heading into the race: 1) Al Callaway - 17.906 (154 laps) 2) Kyle Law - 17.930 (161) 3) Kenny Knox - 17.959 (150) 4) Shane Borlan - 17.965 (161) 5) Ray Chapman - 17.975 (163) 6) Donnie Moore - 17.978 (157) 7) TJ Smith - 17.982 (158) 8) Dwayne Callaway - 18.001 (162) T9) Sparky the Sun Devil - 18.004 (158) T9) Noah Kim - 18.004 (152)
The practice would see a hard accident about 30 minutes in that collected the frontrunner. Kyle Law nudged Noah Kim going into turn 3, collecting AJ Jones and the TJ Ball. Hierjel Arvin Alonso and Jake Thomas both plowed into Jones' car several seconds after the crash, forcing him into a backup.
"It's disappointing that everyone's being so aggressive in a practice run, but the size of the track doesn't surprise me for where it's happening," #4 crew chief Everette Miles said. "But we know the best setup for our car now, and if that can briefly top the board, our backup should be that quick as well."
Law also turned Ball in the entrance to turn 3 with about 20 minutes left in the session, but his car was undamaged. Law ended up involved in all three notable incidents this session and was last on the speed charts.
The session was a good testing opportunity for teams, who found that speed actually came in with a little heat and wear on the tires. Here's the top times for the first laps on the track: 1) Anthony Lopez - 17.914 (225 laps) 2) TJ Ball - 17.931 (224) 3) Austin Rogers - 17.942 (229) 4) Conor Mays - 17.958 (231) 5) Chase Baldwin - 17.989 (212) 6) Chris Harley - 17.994 (235) 7) AJ Jones - 18.005 (229) 8) Ross Kispin (i) - 18.010 (224) T9) Griffin Lynn - 18.019 (238) T9) Justin Rodeback - 18.019 (223)
On the lower straightaway of Eight Bowl Superspeedway, the #1 got around the slow car of Ray Chapman when the rest of the pack could not. From there, several trailing cars caught the draft too quickly, leading to contact between Eric Van Arsdale and TJ Smith that brought out a race-ending caution. Despite a lead that might have been too much to overcome, Sparky was the only one to miss the caution flag and take a lap that guaranteed the victory.
"We didn't have as strong of a qualifying trim as we wanted, so to have the race play out like it did in any way was really good for us and we're looking forward to a playoff run," crew chief Ryan Tempe said. Kenny Knox claimed the runner-up spot in the ordeal, his third top-five and fourth top-10 of the season, to move to 2nd place in the standings. "It is what it is," Knox said. "We were 9th crossing the line that lap. To be where we finished is pretty amazing." In one of the more amazing finishes, Noah Kim went from hard contact with the wall on a lap 2 accident to a 4th place finish. "I thought our day was done when I saw [Adam] Coon flip over my car," Kim said.
"There's a full lane on my bottom," Thales said. "Draft me or pass me. You don't get to do both."
Several drivers will be pulling out backup cars after TJ Ball was turned into the wall and blocked a hard-charging pack, including Joey Radcliffe and Jay Jefferson.
Here's who to watch for heading into the next race: T1) Anthony Lopez - 47.108 (65 laps) T1) Ray Chapman - 47.108 (64) 3) Conor Mays - 47.153 (66) 4) Noah Kim - 47.180 (62) 5) Ryan Kendall - 47.215 (63) 6) Colin Lindsay - 47.222 (64) 7) 19carfan - 47.255 (61) 8) Justin Rodeback - 47.290 (61) 9) Austin Rogers - 47.292 (63) 10) Kyle Law - 47.298 (64)
Two part-time drivers, Carter Friesen and Adam Coon, also cracked the top-10 with fast runs in a smaller field.
Here's the top times for the first laps on the track: 1) Chris Harley - 46.141 (94 laps) 2) Kyle Law - 46.162 (88) 3) Ryan Kendall - 46.194 (103) 4) Dwayne Callaway - 46.195 (100) 5) Carter Friesen (i) - 46.213 (95) 6) Alexander Rowe - 46.236 (101) 7) Eric Van Arsdale - 46.239 (101) 8) Justin Rodeback - 46.241 (94) 9) Adam Coon (i) - 46.261 (98) 10) Griffin Lynn - 46.263 (101)
Ultimately, the only penalty that will come from the incident is a one-race probation to Thomas, including all NFRN Elite Cup Series races he may qualify for until the next NACS race, but how the league came to this conclusion is complex, according to Kris Neuert, NFRN's Director of Competition.
"We reviewed all the footage we had to try and figure out what we were dealing with," Neuert said. "In this situation, fault could be assigned to both drivers. On one hand, you have Van Arsdale too far forward from where he should be in line after taking the caution, and you have Thomas forcing a driver into a precarious position. Van Arsdale loses any chance of contending for positions, and Van Arsdale loses a potential victory. The leader should have the right of way, but there are times when you hit an extreme case, and I think that's what we have here." Van Arsdale is receiving no penalty from this instance, which Neuert explains is an ultimatum to a situation poorly handled by the league in season 1. "At Brooklands [Outer Circuit] last year, Van Arsdale was wrecked by the eventual winner of the race [Dajon Weeks] while he finished 42nd, and we had no penalty policy put in place to handle this," Neuert said. "Without that in consideration, we would likely hand a one-race probation to him as well, but due to what we overlooked last year, he will be let off with a warning." The probation is shorter than that handed to TJ Smith for a similar incident at Mirage Short Roval, and Neuert was questioned about that. "We have to consider the level of blatancy," Neuert said. "In that case, there's no number of excuses you can give to run into another car that many times, especially one that involved another driver who wasn't an issue to him all day."
"We absolutely deserved this one," #31 crew chief Burt Norwood said. "What happened at Columbia [International Speedway] didn't show what this team and what Jon was capable of. Each race we've been climbing and it shined through today."
Gilbert led the final 30 laps of the race after running behind Robert Harrison for the first 30. Pit strategy then came into play as four drivers tried to stretch their tires and fuel hoping for a caution while the rest of the field short-pitted. The first caution did come out as one of those drivers, current points leader Chris Harley, cut down toward pit road not knowing Justin Rodeback was on his inside. This crash brought a new potential for punishment for what would happen the lap after.
Both drivers were adamant the other was at fault.
"I had no idea who the leader was at the time," Van Arsdale said. "All I knew is that I was following the guy in front of me. I really don't think it's too much to ask to either slow down or speed to get clear of the car below and not ruin someone's day for no reason. I don't know what his motivation was there because any normal person would realize that there are brake pedals for a reason." Van Arsdale finished last in the race while Thomas finished 12th, but the cost for the #72 was a trip to the playoffs. "We nailed our strategy to perfection, and it all came crashing down thanks to someone who shouldn't have been where he was," Thomas said. "The video shows it perfectly, I was a mile ahead at the line, so there was no reason he should be anywhere close to me at the end of that turn. He's a lap down, and if I pit and he doesn't, get behind the pace car then." The incident was eerily similar to the one TJ Smith committed at Mirage Short Roval with Jek Porkins, although Smith was the one ending up in the wall. Smith would be under the microscope again after some contact with Jason Thales coming off of turn 2, wrecking Thales, Anthony Lopez, and Ryan Kendall, although none would drop out of the race. Smith was on the first race of three in his probation, but did not reference the incident in a post-race interview after finishing 36th. "With everyone using these odd strategies, as well as the wrecks, we just weren't able to gain any positions," Smith said. "Every time we had momentum, we got knocked right back down." At this time, the NFRN has not released a statement on any impending penalties, but that information is likely to come within the next couple days. As Gilbert made his way toward the top of the standing chart, big shifts allowed new drivers to enter the window to qualify for the next NFRN Elite Cup Series race at Green Valley Super Speed Ring. Craig Martin and Sparky the Sun Devil, both posting top-10 runs at Grand Detour, got themselves in at 10th and 14th in standings, respectively. Thomas, Kendall, and Jay Jefferson also put themselves in contention, all finishing higher than 16th in the race. "It was extremely exciting to post my first career top-10 finish," Martin said. "I didn't qualify our car well and started in the last row because I didn't know about the advantage in turns 3 and 4 until I went out with the other drivers. That new information helped me develop throughout the weekend and we had great circumstances in the closing laps." The next time the NACS takes the track is at Eight Bowl Superspeedway in a doubleheader with NECS in that series' 8th race.
Colin Lindsay, who led the first practice, fell all the way to T-39th place in this session.
Here's who carries speed into the race: 1) Mike Simpson (i) - 18.007 (159 laps) 2)Steve Rea (i) - 18.015 (149) T3) Hierjel Arvin Alonso - 18.019 (141) T3) Kevin Knight (i) - 18.019 (142) 5) 19carfan - 18.024 (136) 6)Tyler Reid (i) - 18.025 (155) 7) TJ Smith - 18.026 (147) 8) Barry Watson (i) - 18.027 (133) 9) Noah Kim - 18.028 (160) 10) Dylan Lexton (i) - 18.030 (155)
The other former NECS driver Eric Van Arsdale posted a time among the 10 fastest cars, but none of this year's winners fell in the same grouping.
Here's the fastest times to start off the race weekend:
1) Colin Lindsay - 17.960 (220 laps) 2) Ray Chapman - 17.965 (222) 3) Kyle Law - 17.968 (231) 4) Joey Radcliffe - 17.974 (218) 5) Austin Rogers - 17.975 (247) 6) Eric Van Arsdale - 17.977 (218) T7) Noah Kim - 17.978 (218) T7) Jason Thales - 17.978 (219) T7) Robert Harrison - 17.978 (189) 10) Anthony Lopez - 17.979 (219)
"We had troubles making everything work [at Thompson]," Denton said. "Our racing package in general was making the product unattainable, so we decided to go to a backup plan where we believe the racing will be a lot more exciting."
Smith was turned by Zachary Fitzwater Sr. on lap 55 of the race at Mirage Short Roval, but as Smith approached the field to line up, he ran into the back of Jek Porkins who was unrelated to the spin. Smith then forced Porkins in the direction of pit road and ran himself into the end of the concrete wall separating it from the track.
Smith placed last and was the only driver to drop out of the race. Porkins was running 25th at the time of the incident and finished 17th. "In this situation, one thing occurred but it spawned another thing that was wholly unnecessary," said Kris Neuert, NFRN's Director of Competition. "Last year, we didn't assess penalties, but we are looking into implementing them this year. We would make this a points penalty if there was clear disadvantage created, but since Porkins was at the rear of the field and gained position, in addition to having some responsibility for a later accident, we want to monitor Smith's driving over his next few races to ensure it remains clean." Smith blamed inability to steer as the reason for the Porkins incident.
With three laps to go at the final restart, four of the top five drivers ducked down to pit road with fuel concerns on the three-plus mile circuit, including then-leader Jake Thomas, leaving Harley with a massive gap over runners-up Conor Mays and Justin Roderick.
"Everyone was playing that game all weekend," #49 crew chief Percy Rhys said. "We knew what would work for us, so we just executed. It wasn't our intention to watch everyone else come down, cause we were right in that group too at third place, but we were prepared to draft to the front if that's what it came to." The late pit stops were a beneficiary for several top five drivers who were grateful for their finishes. "It's great to get a top five," fifth place finisher 19carfan said. "Involved in some trouble early on but didn't give up and ended with an awesome finish." "I'm really proud of the guys who made some minor repairs to get back up to a third place finish, and I hope that everyone is okay after those terrible wrecks," third place finisher Justin Rodeback said. Rodeback's comments on accidents resonate with the extreme danger the race presented with wrecks occurring on various parts of the track, notably on the exit of turn six and merging onto pit lane. "As three incidents happened in the first caution, I think we shouldn't return here - ever," said Hierjel Arvin Alonso, involved in an accident though still managing to finish fourth after fuel strategy. The accidents led to another DNF for Chase Baldwin who led final practice and was sixth in the first. He now sits last in standings among full-timers, 18 points behind the next driver up, Andy Coleman. "Infuriated doesn't cut it," Baldwin said. "This isn't our fault anymore. What we got caught up in falls on Joey [Radcliffe]. We're running our a-- off on a fast track and he decides he doesn't want to let up for a garbage spot. All he does is drive off and we (EAGLE Motorsport) get two wrecked race cars. That's bulls---." As the league moves on, the top 14 in standings get bonus races attempting to qualify for the NFRN Elite Cup Series races at Mirage Short Roval and Riki Raceway, in addition to the already run Piggz Cliff race. "I guess we just have to be thankful we got what we did and move on," said Eric Van Arsdale, who finished 18th. "We are able to qualify for the next three Elite Cup races so we will see what we can do there and come back in the NACS in three weeks."
"We need a turnaround, plain and simple," Baldwin said. "There can't be any more issues on my part."
Here's the top 10 final practice times: 1) Chase Baldwin - 58.685 (45 laps) 2) Noah Kim - 58.739 (43) 3) Hierjel Arvin Alonso - 58.749 (44) 4) TJ Ball - 58.814 (45) 5) Kyle Basaglia - 58.859 (41) 6) Ray Chapman - 58.861 (46) 7) Al Callaway - 58.914 (46) 8) Jon Gilbert - 58.924 (44) 9) Craig Martin - 58.954 (41) 10) 19carfan - 58.962 (42)
"I'm not going to say it was a case of good luck because we didn't have enough data on the first car to tell how it was performing," crew chief Beau Gordon said. "This should show that it's not our team or our driver that's the issue, it's really bad circumstance."
Another driver involved in multiple accidents this year, Chase Baldwin, also found his way into the top ten in practice, while last week's winner Dwayne Callaway grabbed 7th place. Here's practice times from session #1: 1) Andy Coleman - 58.259 (66 laps) 2) 19carfan - 58.269 (67) 3) Anthony Lopez - 58.353 (69) 4) Jack Freeman - 58.393 (67) 5) Robert Harrison - 58.418 (66) 6) Chase Baldwin - 58.420 (68) 7) Dwayne Callaway - 58.464 (69) 8) Noah Kim - 58.479 (68) 9) Hierjel Arvin Alonso - 58.495 (64) 10) Eric Van Arsdale - 58.502 (68)
On a caution flag pit stop near the halfway point of the race, Callaway's team got him out in front of the #38 on a four-tire pit stop, a move that would set the pace for Callaway to earn his first career victory for himself and the family-owned team of Callaway Brothers Racing. Kim ended up sliding to 7th.
"It's not always the easiest to build fast race cars when it's family and friends on the crew, but I think we broke the stereotype that it's impossible for a group like us to win a race," Callaway said. The rest of the top five consisted of Griffin Lynn, Anthony Lopez, Robert Harrison, and Mike Simpson. Simpson won the NFRN Truck Series race at the track. "It's still surreal to have back-to-back great runs at the same race track," Simpson said. Lost from the leaderboard is the #67 of Eric Van Arsdale, who went from running second to a 24th place finish after making contact with Conor Mays on pit road. "I thought I'd lost in every way possible last year, but obviously we're finding new ways to do that this year," Van Arsdale said. "It's usually not our fault either. I know lots of people say it's not their fault, but if you look at all the video, it kinda proves my point that we usually get stuck in situations that other people start. Disappointment also caught many other drivers involved in a lap one accident that was triggered by Shane Borlan tapping the back of Jon Gilbert, sending the #31 into Adam Coon and Mays. The contact would end up damaging multiple cars even though only sending home five. "I thought we could contend for a top 15," said Jay Jefferson, who finished 29th. "We just decided to go for broke after [the wreck] and play the pit strategy, which got us a few more positions, but it's still a disappointing run." For some caught up in accidents, anger would probably be the better adjective. The #37 driver Hierjel Arvin Alonso was extremely displeased about being spun around by the #33 car. "Alexander Rowe is the dumbest driver in the NFRN," Alonso said. "I guess he knows how to be fast but not to be a defensive driver." Alonso's anger was justified when his car was crunched by a major stack-up on the backstretch the lap after while drivers mixed with each other choosing whether or not to come down for pit service. Austin Rogers and Jason Thales were the first to check up as in front of them, Columbia International Speedway winner and Thales' teammate Donnie Moore wanted to stay out but got turned by Colorado native Chris Harley wanting to come in. "[Crew chief] Erick [Alexander] told me that Donnie [Moore] was staying out, but I saw the #49 on the outside and didn't think it was turning out well," Thales said. "I guess I had an advantage getting info from teammates cause everyone behind us clearly didn't get the memo."
Just like the NFRN Truck Series, there is much consistency among drivers remaining in the top 10 at Pikes Peak International Raceway.
Here's what the speed charts look like behind cars hit the track for the main event: 1) Jason Thales - 26.861 (107 laps) 2) Anthony Lopez - 26.862 (114) 3) Craig Martin - 26.865 (115) 4) 19carfan - 26.868 (115) 5) Colin Lindsay - 26.869 (117) 6) Eric Van Arsdale - 26.876 (105) 7) Conor Mays - 26.886 (113) 8) Jake Thomas - 26.895 (109) 9) Kenny Knox - 26.896 (118) 10) Robert Harrison - 26.898 (104) |
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